my grandad’s unbelievable story - wordpress.com · leon ackermann 2 table of contents my grandads...

Leon Ackermann

My grandad’s unbelievable story

Leon Ackermann

2

Table of Contents

My grandads unbelievable story ......................................................................... 1

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4

Family tree ............................................................................................................ 5

Years before the War ........................................................................................... 6 The village – childhood ......................................................................................................... 6

The town – school years ....................................................................................................... 8

In the war years ................................................................................................. 10 Expectation of war .............................................................................................................. 10

Breakout of war ................................................................................................................... 10

Sosnowiec ............................................................................................................................ 11

Struggle of Survival – Part 1 ............................................................................ 12 Strzyzow ............................................................................................................................... 12

Return to Sosnowiec ........................................................................................................... 12

Krenau (Chrzanow) ............................................................................................................. 12

The Actions (Aktionen) ........................................................................................................ 14

First rescue of Bela ............................................................................................................. 14

The hiding place .................................................................................................................. 14

Second rescue of Bela ........................................................................................................ 14

Behind a steel door ............................................................................................................. 16

Krenau without Jews ........................................................................................................... 16

Escape from the train ......................................................................................................... 16

The Ghetto ........................................................................................................................... 17

The labour camp ................................................................................................................. 17

Escape from the camp ........................................................................................................ 18

Back in Sosnowiec .............................................................................................................. 19

The new identity .................................................................................................................. 19

Gliwice .................................................................................................................................. 22

The liberation ...................................................................................................................... 23

End of war ............................................................................................................................ 23

Struggle of survival – Part 2 – Years after the war ......................................... 24


3

The final certainty ............................................................................................................... 24

Transition Period ................................................................................................................. 26

At the university ................................................................................................................... 26

First restart .......................................................................................................................... 26

Second restart ..................................................................................................................... 27

Third restart ......................................................................................................................... 27

Family images and last words .......................................................................... 29

Leon Ackermann

4

Introduction My TY-project is about my granddad (father of my mother) Mordechai Yehuda Grosskopf

later known as Jan Jakubowski. I have dedicated this project to him because he was one

of the bravest men I know and his life story is unbelievable. There are a lot of interesting

stories in my family but I have got the best information about his survival in the Holocaust

from the book he wrote about it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t talk to him about serious topics

as he died when I was 8 years old but I still remember him very well as a thoughtful and

gentle man.

This booklet is a summary of my granddad’s book and more. I have gathered more pictures

and used the internet to show maps and to complete his family tree. My aim of this project

is to make people remember and honour the people who lost their lives or lost family and

friends in WW2. In addition, I want to make people aware that still nowadays people are

affected by the Holocaust and its dreadful results. I would hate for members of future

generations of my family not to know this story.

My grandad’s book is called “Mein Überlebenskampf mit Beteiligung des Himmels” and

the English translation is “My Struggle of Survival with Participation of Heaven”.


5

Female

Family tree

Necham

a G

rosskopf (D

iamant)

Jakob D

iamant

Abraham

Diam

ant Leibisch D

iamant

Josef D

iamant

Akiba D

iamant

Rosa D

iamant

Menachem

D

iamant

Pinkas Schw

arz

Hinia Schw

arz

Schlomo

Zalman

Diam

ant

Chana Rachel D

iamant

(Pasternak)

Jakob Jekel Wysokier

Diam

ant N

o Nam

e

Josef Chaim

G

rosskopf

Halina Jakubow

ski (G

onsior)

Mordechai Yehuda

Grosskopf /

Jan Jakubowski

Mr. Schiff

Lutz Ackerm

ann Barbara

Jakubowski

Susanne Jakubow

ski Konstantin

Zalonis

Leon Ackerm

ann

Laja G

rosskopf

Czype G

rosskopf

Sara G

rosskopf

Henie G

rosskopf Jakob Mayer

Grosskopf

Jochewed

Grosskopf

Feiga G

rosskopf

Chaja G

rosskopf (Saftles)

Tamara

Schiff D

afna Zalonis

Moshe

Grosskopf

Shimon

Grosskopf

Doli

Grosskopf

Barak M

oyal

No

Nam

e

Micheal

Grosskopf

No

Nam

e

No

Nam

e

Jeruchim

Grosskopf

Chaje Sara G

rosskopf (Braunstein)

Josef G

rosskopf D

eworah Pessie

Grosskopf

Male

No

Nam

e

No

Nam

e

No

Nam

e

Leon Ackermann

6

Years before the War

The village – childhood

My granddad Mordechai Yehuda Grosskopf was born in Krakow on June 1st, 1923, but his

real homeland was the little village of

Wysoka. His father Josef Chaim

Grosskopf was a private teacher who

met his mother Nechama Diamant when

he taught her younger siblings. Later, he

taught my granddad religion and

Hebrew. After his parents wedding, they

stayed at my granddad’s mother’s

parent’s house but they got divorced

after 5 years of marriage unfortunately.

At the age of 4 my grandfather started

“Kheder” which is the Jewish Elementary School specifically

designed for boys. There he learned to read and recognize

Hebrew letters and signs. Then in 1929 when my granddad

was 6 years old and about to start school he moved with his

mother to Katowice. His mom’s sister Rosa and her 3 brothers

Akiba, Abraham and Josef stayed at their parents’ house. Her

other brothers Leibisch and Mendel had already settled there

and her brother Jakob emigrated to Berlin before my

granddads birth as he was a victim of a pogrom of 1918 in

Strzyzow. (A pogrom is an organized massacre of an ethnic

group, in particularly that of Jews in Russia or Eastern Europe.)

In Katowice, my granddad attended beside the Polish Elementary school the Jewish school

and Kheder. Later when he was older he went to the Jewish school “Berka Joselewicza”

and the Talmud-Torah school. In school, his teachers noticed my granddads artistic talent

as his drawing and painting skills were extraordinary. My granddad couldn’t really

remember if he had good manners as a child but he didn’t suffer any punishment in his

childhood which means he probably was good mannered.

My grandad’s mother and father

My grandad as a

Kheder student


7

Family of my great-great-grandparents in front of their house in Wysoka. The

relationship of my grandad to these family members is described from the left

to the right: Mother Natalie, Grandmother Rachel, Uncle Mendel, Uncle

Abraham, Uncle Akiba, Grandfather Salomon, Uncle Josef and Aunt Rosa.

Leon Ackermann

8

The town – school years

After four years of living in Katowice his mother got married for the second time in 1931.

Her new husband was a widower, an orthodox Jewish man and a son of a rabbi of Zloty

Potok. He brought his 5 children with him as his previous wife died when she gave birth to

her last child. My grandad got along very well with his new stepbrother Hermann who was

the same age as him. At first, they lived together in a two-room apartment with my

granddads new stepfather and his two youngest children. After a year, my granddads

stepsiblings Hermann and Ita moved in and when his sister Hinia was born the apartment

got very crowded.

When he got older he found his first job which delivering newsletters. His stepbrother

Hermann had the same job so they distributed newsletters every morning before school.

This was when my grandad was

confronted with Anti-Semitism for the

first time. The young Christian people

were very hostile with Jews in these

days and sometimes my granddad

was even insulted as a Christ-

Murderer.

An important experience my

granddad made was joining the

organisation “Akiba” for young Jews.

“Akiba” supported Zionism and the

Jewish commitments and as a result

my grandad gained self-confidence

and learned the ability to defend

himself.

When he finished 7th grade the principle asked him if he was switching into a secondary

school because he was interested in his future. Even though money was available through

his Uncle Mendel and the school it was hard to execute as the non-Jewish schools did not

recognize the Sabbat which takes place from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Moreover,

my granddads principle was the very person who motivated him and gave him his interest

in philosophy.

In the end my granddad got further education however he didn’t go to high school but was

taught by a private teacher about maths, physics, chemistry and even about the Torah.

The organisation Akiba with my grandad’s

stepbrother Hermann and my grandad himself


9

His only leisure activity was reading as he was fascinated by the structure and arguments

of the novels. This was when he slightly touched the topic of the absolute truth which is

one of the most discussed questions in philosophy. He saw himself studying philosophy at

Krakow University.

Leon Ackermann

10

In the war years

Expectation of war

This wasn’t the start of the war as the anti-Semitism was already ingrained in the non-

Jewish and Christian communities much earlier and my grandad was regularly insulted.

The parties leaning to the right became more popular and the polish people were apathetic

towards them therefore the Nazis built Auschwitz in Poland as they knew very well that

there wouldn’t be any protests from the Polish people. In 1938, German Jews were sent to

Katowice and my granddads and many other families provided them with food and a place

to sleep.

Breakout of war

My grandad’s family and himself fled on the very day the Germans invaded Poland as they

didn’t expect anything good which proved right. Unfortunately, they didn’t go far and only

got to the neighbouring town of Sosnowiec a mere 10 kilometres away. His parents thought

Sosnowiec was a much safer environment and they also found a hiding place provided by

people they knew. My grandad’s uncle Leibisch and his family fled to Strzyzow at the same

time and his other uncle stayed in Katowice.

The “Wehrmacht” (German army) invaded Warsaw

without any resistance and on the next day they shot

13 Jews as a “deterrent”. The so-called

“Kristallnacht” (the night of broken glass) followed

these incidents but my granddad hadn’t heard of

them by then. The “Kristallnacht” happened on the

night of November 9th to November 10th, 1938, when

Synagogues and Jewish stores were set on fire and

Jewish people were beaten up. Even the Synagogue

in Katowice was affected by the crimes on this very

night and was almost destroyed entirely.

Then Jewish men who stayed in Katowice had been

solicited to register for work. My grandad’s uncle did

so and later my grandad got to know that those people

were taken to the border of the Soviet Union from which only a few returned.

Synagogue in Katowice


11

Sosnowiec

Suddenly my grandad and his family were in a terrible situation as they couldn’t make any

money and my grandad’s education plans were destroyed. The Jewish companies and

businesses were forced to close and the Jewish people were left unemployed. This was

when my grandad and his stepbrother Hermann decided to move on. They decided to go

to Strzyzow and my grandad went first.

Leon Ackermann

12

Struggle of Survival – Part 1

Strzyzow

In November 1939, my grandad left Sosnowiec and smuggled himself into Strzyzow as the

Jews weren’t allowed to travel anymore. This was where his grandmother lived just outside

of the town and this was fortunate as they were harassed less than the people living in the

town. As the deportations of the Jews started my granddad decided to return to Sosnowiec.

Return to Sosnowiec

In September 1940, my granddad returned to Sosnowiec by walking and it took him and

his family 7 days. On the way, they pretended to be Polish people as otherwise they

wouldn’t have found a place to sleep and couldn’t have travelled with the train. When they

arrived, my granddad realized that there were new rules for Jewish people. For example,

they had to wear a star of David, pay more taxes to the town and lived under the threat of

death at all times.

Krenau (Chrzanow)

In Sosnowiec, my granddad wasn’t happy either so he moved to Krenau. There Jewish

people were in the majority as well but they were forced to live in so called “Ghettos”. The

Jews were not permitted to be in the polish areas but the polish people could go anywhere

they wanted. My grandad made the best out of this situation as he pretended to be a polish

electrician. He didn’t lodgings as it was too dangerous for him at that stage. He stayed

outside during the night and changed places every day. When the winter arrived, he made

money by producing soap, he made very little money out of this but he survived. Much more

important was food and clothes but back at this time there was a different system for

getting food. You could only get food with food ration cards which were limited. Fortunately,

my grandad found a connection from which he was supplied with food ration cards and

helped other people as well to get ration cards.


13

These two maps show how far my grandad walked, which was around 442 kilometres

(275 miles). The first is view on a part of Europe and the second is a zoomed closer.

into Poland.

Leon Ackermann

14

The Actions (Aktionen)

As my grandad provided other people with spare food ration cards he met his first girlfriend

Bela Bornstein in autumn 1941. Every couple of weeks the officers would execute so-called

“Aktionen” (actions) where Jews were brought to working-camps. Most of the people

obeyed but if they didn’t they would have been charged with a high sentence. However, my

granddad decided to ignore these as he wasn’t known by the authorities.

As the time went on the “Aktionen” got worse as the police even brutally dragged the people

out of their apartments or beds.

First rescue of Bela

Bela then was taken to a working camp as well but my grandad had thought out a plan

already to rescue her. He knew that the prisoners were brought by train to the train station

in Sosnowiec. There he had eye contact with Bela to show her that he had got a rescue

plan. He asked his mother and stepfather for help which they offered without any

questions. They provided him with money to bribe an officer who let Bela go. She arrived

two days later at home and from then my grandad was loved by Bela’s parents.

The hiding place

Before the town was split the Bornstein’s ran a small store and lived in the centre of the

town. Then they were forced to leave their home and give up their store and had to move

into and share a two-room apartment with a second family. One big advantage happened

to be a small stock room which they easily changed into a hiding place. Over the next couple

of weeks, the two families hid in the small room behind a closet and were safe during the

next “Aktion”.

Second rescue of Bela

My grandad rescued his girlfriend Bela again when almost the whole Jewish population in

Krenau were forced into a church. The Nazis planned to bring all of them to a labour camp

from there. Fortunately, my grandad came early enough and took all his bravery and

confidence to talk to one the officers. He told him that he was working for the commander

and that he needed his girlfriend who was inside the church. She was brought out and they

left together quickly.


15

This is a map which shows that people from all over Europe were deported to

Auschwitz.

Leon Ackermann

16

Behind a steel door

My grandad decided that it wasn’t safe in the town and looked for a place which was more

secure. He found a small house with a steel door and a barred window which had been a

stock room for food previously and rented it. My grandad and his girlfriend Bela lived there

happily for a few months. They planned to escape from Krenau, faked their ID’s and waited

for the summer.

Krenau without Jews

Unfortunately, one morning they were woken up by the police who told them to leave the

house quickly. They banged against the door, broke it up and entered the room armed. Of

course, this situation was scary but they didn’t harm my grandad and his girlfriend and

were told only to take their most essential items they required.

My grandad and Bela were brought to a gathering place where the people were separated

into two groups; men and women. Only in the evening were the people put into a train.

Escape from the train

In the night, the train started moving and it was crowded. My grandad chose a spot which

was as far away as possible from the door where a police man had positioned himself. The

train seemed to have a certain destination as there weren’t any stops on the train journey.

My grandad didn’t know where he was being brought but he knew that the last “Aktion”

had taken place in Krenau.

As soon as the police man was out of sight he opened the window, put the bags with the

little stuff he brought from home on his knees and jumped. Luckily, he landed properly,

didn’t break any bones and was able to walk. He went to a small hedge and lay there until

dawn.

My grandad woke up and he saw a man coming closer to him. My grandad explained his

condition and why he was there and the man reacted sympathetically unexpectedly and

offered him help. This was a polish man with a family and he took my grandad to his home.

My grandad stayed there for 2 days and they provided him with food, a place to sleep,

clothes and he could take a bath. On the third day, they brought him to the train station

and even bought him a ticket to Sosnowiec. My grandad was very grateful for everything

and more so as he had almost lost his belief in humanity. My grandad asked the family for

their name and address but in the end, they agreed not to share their identities with each

other. This family gave him new hope and on the same day he arrived at his parents’ house.


17

The Ghetto

At this stage all the Jewish people left had to move into a suburb or a ghetto but my grandad

didn’t. He found a place to stay outside of the ghetto but still visited his family twice a week.

One day he tried to visit his family but he was caught and locked into a room with 15 other

young teenagers. The worst thing was that on that very day a certain number of young Jews

was required to work in a camp. On that same day, my grandad was brought to a camp

where he waited to be brought to the working camp.

The labour camp

At first my grandad had to register himself in the camp but he noticed that the officers

didn’t show much interest in the documents. My grandad gave them the fake name

“Unger” as he didn’t want to put his family in danger. Moreover, my grandad knew that a

man named Unger lived in Krenau and was deported when the deportations started. He

stayed in the camp overnight and on the next day, they were put into a Lorry and brought

to the actual camp “Chorzow”.

The camp consisted of three barracks, two of them provided the prisoners with a bed and

the last one was the kitchen and there was one latrine. When my grandad arrived there,

the camp was almost empty as the last prisoners which were French Jews were brought to

Auschwitz as they were too weak to work. When the first group-call was held, the prisoners

were split into groups and the SA-men took my grandad as a technician as my grandad said

he was an electrician and he spoke German. My grandad and his team were told to repair

the fence around the “Herman-Göring-Hut” which was 1 kilometre away from the camp.

They worked for two weeks on the fence and every single day a woman brought them bread.

My grandad and his team were very grateful as they didn’t get enough food in the camp.

The worst thing in the camp wasn’t even the lack of food it was loneliness. Even though my

grandad shared a barrack with quite a few people he couldn’t talk to anybody and share

his issues. This was when he thought about escaping from the camp.

In the third week, the prisoners got to know that the camp would be increased by one

barrack. My grandad and his team got the job and had to build a bigger fence around the

camp. This was a perfect opportunity to escape.

Leon Ackermann

18

Escape from the camp

Sometimes the team left a small bit of the fence opened but there were guards who looked

over the whole situation, however my grandad knew exactly how to escape.

When my grandad and his team finished the fence, he cut a little hole in the bottom of the

fence and covered it with mud.

One week later some girls were brought to the labour camp and my grandad asked one of

them to clean the suit that he needed for his escape. Following that one night he went to

the latrine with his cleaned suit in his hand, sneaked to spot where he cut a hole in the

fence and escaped. He tried his best to make the fence like it was, then he ran into a field

changed into his suit as he would have been recognizable with his camp clothes and the

star of David on it. He went to the neighbouring town and tried to look as inconspicuous as

possible so he could take the tram.

Old fence

New fence

Where my grandad escaped

Kitchen

Latrine

This picture shows

the labour camp and

where the new fence

was built.


19

Back in Sosnowiec

He went back to Sosnowiec by tram and after a 2-hour drive he rang his parents’ door bell.

He arrived on the first evening (Seder) of Passover which is an ironic coincidence as the

Jews fled from Egypt to Israel and my grandad fled or escaped from a place he didn’t want

to be either.

My grandad didn’t want to stay in the ghetto therefore he found a place to stay at one of

his mother’s previous neighbours. The neighbour was a Christian woman who agreed to

hide my grandad and to provide him with simple life-essential stuff.

One day when my grandad stood outside the door, he was recognized by a man who came

up to him and asked if he was Unger. This man fled as well and told my grandad that after

the guards in the labour camp noticed an escape and realized that my grandad was missing

they started chasing after Unger. On the next morning during the group call the guards

announced that Unger was shot. As my grandad was still alive obviously, Unger being shot

was a lie but this was when my grandad realized that he needed a fake ID.

In Krenau my grandad got to know a man who was one of the few Jewish people who were

still allowed to work for the authorities. My grandad used this connection to create a new

identity or change his original one.

The new identity

He bought a semi-official ID at first. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any influence on the

name or date of birth of his new identity and therefore my grandad Mordechai Yehuda

Grosskopf became Johann Jakubowski.

Leon Ackermann

20

This is the fake ID and the German writing says: “This certifies, that the picture and

description of the person which is shown matches. Schakowa (place) and date

(May 5th, 1943)”


21

My grandad even got a job through his new connection and was employed as an electrician.

His new boss agreed to keep the secret about my grandad’s identity but as a compensation

my grandad didn’t get any wages.

My grandad visited his mother and sister Hinia in a shop outside the ghetto once a week

and tried to convince a farmer to take Hinia into his family in return for money.

Unfortunately, my grandad’s stepfather said whatever happens to us shall happen to her.

The final deportations started on August 1st, 1943 and lasted until August 12th.

This is my grandads working ID

Leon Ackermann

22

This is a list of the historian F. Piper which shows how many people were deported from

Sosnowiec:

16/8/1942 & 18/8/1942 8000 people

12/5/1942 & 20/6/1942 4500 people

21/5/1943 & 24/6/1943 2645 people

1/8/1943 4000 people

3/8/1943 9000 people

5/8/1943 4000 people

6/8/1943 3000 people

10/8/1943 3000 people

12/8/1943 1000 people

13/1/1944 1600 people

7/2/1944 & 23/7/1944 678 people

It was 41423 people from Sosnowiec in total.

Later my grandad worked in Auschwitz to complete a job and he knew what was going on.

He even tried to help prisoners to escape but they didn’t want to out of pure fear. After a

while my grandad found it hard to live and felt uncomfortable in the town of Auschwitz. He

asked his boss to move to a different town which happened to be Gliwice.

Gliwice

My grandad found a small room in the town with help of his company and enjoyed freedom

for the first time in 3 years. After a short time, his neighbours knew that there was an

electrician in the street who could nearly fix any device and solve any electrical problem.

His wage usually was cigarettes and food which wasn’t too bad as he didn’t have that many

food ration cards.

One day a guard noticed that my grandad who was working at a well-established company

wasn’t registered by the police. On the following day, my grandad went to the police station

to register. Luckily, the Russian already had occupied the town of Lublin which is the

birthplace of my grandad’s fake ID so they couldn’t check his identity. He even benefited

out of registering himself as he got the same amount of food ration cards as a polish

worker.


23

At home in Gliwice his host who provided my grandad with a room possessed a radio so

that my grandad was well informed about the war all the time. He listened to channels from

different countries e.g. BBC World service which they were not allowed to listen to.

The liberation

At the start of January 1945 my grandad had to run into the cellar a lot of times as the red

army came closer. On January 21st, my grandad could hear the roaring of the canons and

again he and his neighbours went into the cellar to be safe. That night my grandad

considered the situation as serious therefore he put on his best suit and took his only

valuable possession with him which was his golden watch. My grandad and his neighbours

stayed there overnight and were very frightened as the blast of the canons wasn’t that far

away. Even small pieces of the wall came off and everyone hoped to survive.

On the following morning, they were woken up by loud bangs on the door which were

caused by 2 Russian soldiers. They took my grandad to the officer who asked my grandad

who he was. As my grandad said that he was a Jew who worked there one of the soldiers

spoke to him in Yiddish. The soldier confirmed that my grandad was a Jew and the officer

told my grandad to take all his neighbours to place which is safe.

They went to a place were other people had arrived earlier already. The Russian soldiers

weren’t the nicest people as they raped a young girl and the following time after her mother

tried to protect her a soldier shot the girl and her mother. Fortunately, the soldiers didn’t

mind letting my grandad and his neighbours leave this horrible place. They stayed in empty

flats in the suburbs for the next two days but went back into the city after.

End of war

At this time, my grandad had the possibility to convert to Christianity and his host convinced

him to make an appointment with the pastor. My grandad though had a clear opinion which

was not to convert as he owed his family to keep his original religion as he almost hadn’t

had any hope in seeing them again. He felt he would betray his family if he converted which

is understandable.

Leon Ackermann

24

Struggle of survival – Part 2 – Years after the war

The final certainty

When the war ended, my grandad noticed that the people weren’t happy and didn’t show

an obvious reaction to the end of the war, most people had to deal and cope with their own

problems, losses and the fact that they lost the war.

My grandad went to Katowice as fast as he could and looked everywhere and went to every

place where he could find out about his family who were deported. He still hoped for a

miracle that his family was somehow still alive. Then as he met survivors of Auschwitz he

was most certainly sure that his parents and sister Hinia perished in Auschwitz.

My grandad lost 17 close

family members but the

number increases quickly if

its added by the siblings of my

grandad’s grandfather which

brings it to 63 family

members.

Unfortunately and obviously,

there is no grave for any of his

family members which is

terrible. The graves are

spread out all over whole

Europe as they were burned

in a crematorium.

This is the only picture of my grandad’s sister Hinia.

This picture was taken in May 1943 when she was 4

months old.


25

This is the list of my grandad’s losses:

Relationship Name Place of death

Grandmother Rachel Belzec

Mother Natalie Auschwitz

Sister Hinia Auschwitz

Stepfather Pinkas Auschwitz

Stepbrother Aaron Auschwitz

Stepbrother Josef Auschwitz

Aunt Malka Auschwitz

Cousin Schulamit Auschwitz

Aunt Rosa Ghetto Krakow

Uncle Pinkas Ghetto Krakow

Cousin Elieser Belzec

Uncle Leibisch Belzec

Aunt Ita Belzec

Cousin Sara Belzec

Cousin Chana Belzec

Uncle Josef Belzec

Uncle Abraham Auschwitz

Even when my grandads Uncle Mendel came back from Siberia out of a miracle it didn’t

help to cheer up my grandad. My grandad stayed in Gliwice as the little town offered a nice

environment and my grandad felt more comfortable there. In his subconscious he

considered Gliwice as a place of defeat and victory but Katowice reminded him of a

catastrophe.

He was kind of depressed and didn’t even want to find out what happened with his last

girlfriend Bela. One day his Uncle Mendel told him to come Katowice without a special

reason but then my grandad found out that someone was waiting for him. As he saw Bela

they were both surprised, very happy and had to tell each other a lot. Somehow, both had

changed that much that they didn’t get back together and only years later they met up

again.

Leon Ackermann

26

Transition Period

In this time life became normal again and a new government was built. A lot of people

emigrated to the west into the previous German occupied areas which belonged to Poland

by then. My granddad started wondering how he wanted to continue his life and what his

future should look like. After thinking he realized he wanted to become an astronaut

therefore his only aim was to study electrical engineering in the University of Gliwice. The

only problem was to get the papers and his reports from school to prove that he had been

educated. As a lot of people had those problems the university invented 3 big exams which

had to be passed by the future students. My grandad didn’t have any problems and passed

every exam as his Uncle provided him with money to take a private teacher.

At the university

He found the subject higher maths very easy and that’s why he was offered a small job at

the university. He took it gratefully as now he could afford a better flat and wasn’t

dependent on his Uncle Mendel who planned to emigrate to Israel. This was when my

grandad thought about emigrating as well as he then didn’t have any relatives in Poland.

In 1951, he finished his classes and started working for his diploma.

In January 1952, he went to a party and met a colleague Ina with whom he got along very

well with from the very first moment they met. However, at first, he couldn’t imagine being

with a non-Jewish woman but my grandad changed his mind in time. On June 25th, 1952,

he passed the exam for his diploma and was offered a job in the military straight away. My

grandad however couldn’t take the job as he couldn’t imagine holding and shooting with a

weapon.

First restart

Ina wasn’t happy with the military job either so she organized a job for my grandad in the

chemical industry. My grandad’s life even got better as he married Ina, my grandmother, in

December 1952 and moved in together at the start of 1953. In 1954, their first daughter

Susanne was born and in 1956 their second daughter Barbara was born. At this time, it

was difficult for my grandad and grandmother to figure out how to raise their children as

my grandmother had to stay at home to look after the children. My grandad was forced to

take a lot of part time jobs which was quite common at the time but the money was only

enough for the simplest things. In addition, my grandad and grandmother weren’t pleased

with the new government as their policies still were built on Anti-Semitism. They seriously


27

thought about emigrating to Israel and prepared themselves to do so. After a few months

when they had completed all the requirements and received all the papers my grandad,

grandmother and their children (my aunt and mother) went on the ship to Israel on April

10th, 1957, and arrived on May 2nd, 1957, in Israel.

Second restart

The integration in Israel was easier than expected and it felt good to be able to do whatever

you wanted. In addition, my grandad could see his relatives which made Israel like home

and met Bela one more time. At first, my grandad and his family lived in a small flat but

after a short time they moved into a bigger place in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, my grandad

didn’t earn enough money there either so he took an extra job. However, as good as it was

going in Israel my grandad had problems with the hot climate which led to a lot of illness

over the years. My grandad and grandmother had to think about moving again and

considered New York as reasonable but the waiting time was too long. A second place was

the BRD (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) whose economy was improving much quicker than

other countries and my grandad spoke German already. My grandad and his family went in

the BRD on holidays in June 1961 and a few jobs were just perfect for my grandad. In the

end, he decided to go with the company AEG in Stuttgart where he would work as an

engineer. He prepared all the required papers for himself and his family and in November

1961 the whole family moved to Germany. Even though, my grandad’s children Susanne

and Barbara had settled in Israel and spoken Hebrew perfectly there wasn’t that much of

a problem as my grandmother taught them some German before they arrived.

Third restart

When my grandad arrived in Stuttgart he found out that he was entitled to get money as

he was a victim of the Holocaust. He got 9000 DM (BRD currency) in total which was a sum

of 150 DM for every month he endured under the Nazi-Regime.

In Stuttgart then he decided not to raise his children in the Jewish faith. After 4 years, the

US finally agreed to let my grandad’s family emigrate to America but my grandparents

decided to stay in Stuttgart where they felt comfortable in Stuttgart. My grandad got along

very well at work and didn’t hear a Jewish joke once from his colleagues. However, the

money he earned still wasn’t enough and my grandmother had to work part-time as well.

At some stage in the 70’s my grandads his artistic talent came to the fore and one piece

of his work was even presented on the television.

Leon Ackermann

28

In 1980 then my

grandad and

grandmother visited my

grandad’s roots after 43

years, they went to

Wysoka to my grandad’s

grandparent’s home

where my grandad used

to be during his holidays

and the house looked the

same as it did before the

war. He even met a girl

he used to play with as a

child. My grandad went to all the places he had lived in at some stage and couldn’t believe

how empty they were. For example, the population of Strzyzow was 90% Jews but after the

war there was hardly any Jews left.

My great-great-grandparents house in Wysoka


29

Family images and last words

My grandad Jan Jakubowski lived in Stuttgart from 1961 until his death in 2008 a happy

life. He is buried in Stuttgart next to his wife Halina Jakubowski (my grandmother) and after

he retired gave a lot of lectures in schools to make students aware of the Holocaust. In

addition, he wrote a book to share his legacy.

This is my grandad’s story and I am very proud of him. I still can’t believe how incredible

his legacy is and how brave he was.

My grandad and grandmother

My grandad’s and grandmother’s gravestone in a Jewish

graveyard in Stuttgart.

Leon Ackermann

30

My grandad, grandmother and me at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

My grandad’s oldest daughter

Susanne (my aunt)

My grandad’s younger daughter

Barbara (my mom)

My grandad, my grandmother, my mom and me in the town of Röbel in Germany.

my grandad’s unbelievable story - wordpress.com · leon ackermann 2 table of contents my grandads...

Documents