Kalman & Yehudit Bar-On
Kalman Bar-On (M / Yugoslavia, 1930), Holocaust survivors.
Biography (Yad Vashem)
Born in May 1930, in Ilok, northern Yugoslavia, to an Orthodox family, Kalman had 4 siblings, one of them a twin sister. His father and two of his brothers died of illnesses when he was a child.
In 1943, Kalman was sent to study in a yeshiva. Two years later, he returned to his family in the ghetto. In June 1944, he was deported with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau. On the railway platform, his mother heard shouts: “Zwillinger-raus!” (Twins-out!). Holding both their hands, she pulled Kalman and his sister out of the line. By the time the three could figure out what was going on, everyone else had disappeared – Kalman’s grandfather, cousins and their families. They never saw them again.
Kalman was separated from the others and taken to the “Twins Block.” There he met a dwarf by the name of Leush Peled, who was also his distant relative. Their familial relationship and shared plight bonded the two together, and they looked out for each other from then on.
Kalman was put to work in the guardroom. This posting provided him with opportunities to hide precious food scraps, which he shared with his cousin Leush. He was subjected to medical experiments, receiving numerous injections. In July 1944, Kalman learnt that his mother and sister had been transferred to the barracks next to his. He began to throw food to them over the fence.
One day, a party was held for SS soldiers in the guardroom. Kalman was placed against a wall and shots were fired between his legs and hands and near his head. Suddenly someone shouted: “What are you doing? He belongs to Mengele!” The shooting practice ended abruptly and Kalman was released.
During the death marches, Kalman hid for a week under a bunk, until he was liberated on 27 January 1945 by the Red Army. He wandered alone for months until he found his sister. His mother had died before the liberation.
Kalman arrived in Israel in 1947. After his discharge from the IDF he went to work for El Al, where he served as chief quality control officer and later as head of the Australia and New Zealand offices. Kalman is married and has twin sons and one grandson.
Candles
Kalman and Yehudit Braun were born in May 1930, in Ilok, northern Yugoslavia, to an Orthodox Jewish family with five children. Their father and two of their brothers died of illnesses when they were young children.
In June 1944, the Braun family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. On the railway platform, their mother heard shouts: “Zwillinger-raus!” (Twins-out!). Holding both their hands, she pulled her twins out of the line. By the time the three understood what was happening, the rest of the family had disappeared—their grandfather, cousins and their families.
Kalman was separated from his mother and sister and taken to the “Twins Block,” where he met a dwarf named Ludovit Feld, who happened to be his distant relative. From that time on, they looked out for each other, sharing the same bottom bunk and worn-out blanket. Kalman also shared a bunk with another twin named Leopold “Leo” Lowy. Kalman and Leo met in 2002 after 60 years apart.
Kalman and Leo worked in the guardroom shining officers’ boots, and Kalman took advantage of opportunities to hide food scraps, which he shared with Ludovit. Kalman was subjected to medical experiments by Josef Mengele and received numerous injections. Fortunately they didn’t seem to damage his health in later years.
In July 1944, Kalman learned that his mother and twin sister had been transferred to the barracks next to his, and he began to throw food to them over the fence. He described his mother as being a muselmann, a skeleton.
As the Soviet forces approached, Kalman remembers Auschwitz becoming desolate, and explosions and fires destroying buildings. One day the SS guards announced that everyone would leave the camp the following morning. Ludovit Feld convinced Kalman and fourteen other twin boys not to leave but to hide under the lowest bunk, covering themselves with blankets. Ten days later, on January 27, 1945, Kalman and the others were liberated by the Soviet Army.
It took Kalman many months before he found his twin sister, Yehudit. Their mother died before liberation. Yehudit never spoke about what was done to her or how their mother died.
Kalman arrived in Israel in 1947. He worked for El Al Airlines, where he served as chief quality control officer and later as head of the Australia and New Zealand offices. Kalman married and had twin sons of his own, something he viewed as a personal triumph over sadistic Dr. Mengele. “From a Mengele twin came twins,” said Kalman, who also became a proud grandfather.
Kalman (Braun) Bar-On’s tattoo number: A 14096 Yehudit’s number: unknown