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My Grandfather, Henry Dorfman (Yehoshua David Chaim Dorfman) was born on February 11th, 1922, to Moshe and Glicka Dorfman in the little town of Głowaczów, Poland. He was the oldest of four children with two little brothers, Calman and Israel, and a little sister, Rachel. Only Henry and Moshe would live to survive the Holocaust. Henry was 17 when the Nazis occupied Poland. Unlike in many other towns, the Jews of Głowaczów continued to live in their homes until 1941, when they were transported to the Kozienice ghetto. In 1942, Heinrich Meyer, a non-Jew the Dorfmans had a close business relationship with, told Moshe that they must avoid getting on the trains at all costs, and that if they did, it would be the end of them. The Dorfman family was rounded up with the rest of the Jews in the Kozienice ghetto and the women and children were separated from the men. That was the last time Henry saw his mother and siblings. They were forced into separate cattle cars on a train headed to Treblinka. It took Henry and Moshe two full days of clawing with their hands and banging with their heads to break through the side of the cattle car. Henry was the first to escape, followed by about 20-25 other Jews. Most of the others were gunned down and killed. Henry was fortunately unscathed and Moshe was injured, but not fatally. The two managed to hide in a bunker on the outskirts of a forest near Magnuszew. They survived in hiding, with assistance from Heinrich Meyer from 1942-1944. When Henry was able to sleep, he would clutch a grenade because he wasn’t willing to be taken alive. What Heinrich Meyer didn’t know was that heroically and with great self-sacrifice, Moshe and Henry were taking in other Jews to hide as well. Finally, after over two years in hiding, they were liberated by the Russian Army in December, 1944. Click the link in my bio to watch the video of Papa Henry telling his story in his own words. Video interview conducted by Henry & Mala’s daughter, Carolyn Dorfman (my mom) on February 11, 1992. Audio interview conducted by Sidney Bolkosky over two days: August 11 & August 25, 1989.