Felix Zgnilek
- born on 11 July 1927 in Sosnowitz, died on 30 August 1983
- 1939 - 2 April 1943 Sosnowitz/Ghetto Sosnowitz
- 2 April 1943 - July 1943 Auschwitz concentration camp, prisoner number 174094
- July 1943 - January 1945 Auschwitz concentration camp / Blechhammer subcamp
- January 1945 - 9/10 February 1945 Gross-Rosen concentration camp
10 February 1945 - 17/18 February 45 Buchenwald concentration camp, prisoner number 124321
- until 11 April 1945 Buchenwald concentration camp/ Halberstadt/Langenstein subcamp (tunnel construction)
- 8 Sept. 1945 Stuttgart (Displaced Persons Camp Stuttgart-West, Stuttgart-Fellbach)
- 20 Nov. 1948 Departs for the USA via Hamburg on board the "SS Marine Flasher"
Before the persecution
Before the outbreak of the persecution, I lived with my parents and three siblings in Sosnowitz at Oderbergerstr. 9. I was a strong, healthy boy and attended primary school. My family lived in secure economic circumstances. My father was the owner of a shoe wholesale business and we lived well.
Source: Unless otherwise stated: Konrad Kittl files, Felix Zgnilek affidavit
Start of the persecution
My home town was occupied by the Nazis in September 1939 and shortly afterwards the persecution began. Even in the first few months I was made to do hard labour. Mostly it was cleaning work and in winter I had to shovel snow for hours. Then I was dragged off to the camps together with my older brother. This separated me from my family. I lost sight of my brother a little later. I never saw any of my family again. They all died at the hands of the Nazis. In the concentration camps - I refer you to my explanations - I had to do real slave labour under the most inhumane conditions. As I was a skilled craftsman, I learnt to work as an electrician. This ultimately saved my life. Nevertheless, my treatment was not much better. I was often harassed and beaten all the more.
2.4.43 - Juli 1943 Auschwitz
In the Auschwitz concentration camp I lived in constant fear of being sent to the gas chambers. I suffered from feverish chills several times here, but never received medical help because I didn't ask for it. Every sick person was destroyed. The more the years went by, the worse our treatment became. I almost collapsed on the extermination march to Buchenwald. I will never forget the horror of those days. The worst thing was having to watch how fellow prisoners were simply shot or collapsed from exhaustion and we had to leave them behind.
July1943 to January 1945 Blechhammer, January 1945 to 10 February 1945 Groß Rosen
| Subcamps of the Auschwitz concentration camp | |
|---|---|
| Location | Blachownia Śląska, Sławięcice / Tin Hammer |
| Designation | Railway station warehouse, Ehrenforst railway station warehouse |
| Area | Prussia (Province of Upper Silesia) |
| Opening | 01.04.1944; previously a forced labour camp for Jews |
| Closing | "Evacuation" on 21/01/1945 to Groß-Rosen, arrived there on 02/02/1945. Liberation on 26 January 1945 |
| Prisons | 3958 prisoners on 17 January 1945 |
| Gender | Men |
| Employment of the prisoners at | Oberschlesische Hydrierwerke AG |
| Type of work | Construction of the chemical plants |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkal.de | |
10 February 1945 to 18 February 1945 Buchenwald, 18 February 1945 to 11 April 1945 Zwieberge/Langenstein
I didn't have to work in Buchenwald itself. But in the Langenstein concentration camp, to which we were dragged from there, it was the most terrible. We were put to work in day and night shifts building tunnels in the Goering works. It was bitterly cold back then, and when I once tried to steal underwear from a guard for myself and other prisoners, I was caught. They beat me up until I was unconscious. I only have fellow prisoners to thank for my life. I was unconscious afterwards and only regained consciousness when the liberation had already taken place.
Anmerkung: "BII" bedeutet "Zwieberge", zum Datum siehe Tenhumberg
Lager Zwieberge
| Subcamps of the Buchenwald concentration camp | |
|---|---|
| Location | Halberstadt-Zwieberge |
| Area | Prussia (Province of Saxony) |
| Opening | 07 January 1945 (first mention) |
| Closing | 09 April 1945 ("evacuation"); liberation on 11 April 1945 |
| Gender | Men |
| Employment of the prisoners at | Malachite AG |
| Type of work | Tunnelling, road and railway construction |
| Comments | The prisoners were housed together with the Halberstadt-Zwieberge satellite camp ("B II"). |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkal.de | |
After the Liberation
I was in a terrible state at the time and could hardly be described as human. I had been emaciated to a skeleton and was completely dead. I was kept in hospital in Halberstadt for about two months. As far as I remember, it was a provisional US Army hospital. Then I went to Poland for a short time and travelled around Germany looking for my family. But I couldn't find anyone and arrived in Fellbach in September 1945, where I stayed until I emigrated to the USA at the end of 1948. During this time I received outpatient care from doctors from Jewish aid organisations. I was not hospitalised. I have no recollection of the names of the doctors and would ask you to enquire ex officio.
Notes
Further Sources
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Office for Compensation
Stuttgart, ES/A 4055 (0)
Notes
Versch. Schreibweisen im Akt: Zynilek/Zgnitek/Zgnilek Felix;
Häftlingsunterlagen unter dem Namen "Zgnilek, Salomon, geb. 11.7.1925". Felix Zgnilek und Salomon Zgnilek identisch: der selbe Wohnort (Stadt und Strasse, vgl. Eidesstattliche Erklärung), Namen der Eltern (vgl. ITS-Bescheinigung).
Picture Credits
- Individuelle Unterlagen KZ Buchenwald; 1.1.5.3/7485429/ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives
- Nummernzugangsbuch des Konzentrationslagers Buchenwald (Männer); 1.1.5.1/5721355/ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photograph Number: 07026
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photograph Number: 10099
- Felix Zgnilek, C/M 1 Akte aus Deutschland, 3.2.1.1/79956149/ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives