Bob Geminder (M / Poland, 1935-2019), Holocaust survivor

Bob Geminder (M / Poland, 1935-2019), Holocaust survivor

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March of the Living

BOB GEMINDER z'l was born on Aug. 3, 1935 in Wroclaw, Poland. Upon the outbreak of war, Bob’s family was forcibly relocated to Stanislawow, a city then under Soviet occupation. The family’s fate worsened in 1941 when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Stanislawow fell under heavy bombing, during which time his father suffered a fatal heart attack. Bob’s mother sent his brother and him to live with a family near Krakow who were paid with the ownership of their family’s apartment building. Bob’s brother was soon sent back to their family, but Bob stayed for another three months where he was neglected and underfed. Bob, his mother, his step-father, and his brother eventually made their way to Warsaw, where after the Uprising, they were sent to Auschwitz.

Just before the train arrived, they managed to escape through a hatch in the roof, and hid in a nearby village until they were liberated by Soviet troops in January 1945. Bob’s family left Poland for the United States in 1947, and moved to Pittsburgh. After he served in the US Army, he moved to Los Angeles and began his career as an engineer.

2015, Bob met and fell in love with fellow survivor, Gabriella Karin. Read How two survivors found romance HERE.

Bob passed away on January 27, 2019, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. May his memory be a blessing and may his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.