Category:Kovno Boys (subject)

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Kovno Boys (see Holocaust Children Studies)

Overview

In July 8, 1944 the Kovno Ghetto was liquidated. All remaining inhabitants, including children were sent by train to Stutthof, near Gdansk in Poland. There the women, girls and smaller boys were taken off. Some of them were immediately sent to their deaths, and some of them were sent to be exterminated in Birkenau several days later. Others were forced to work until they were murdered or died because of the harsh conditions.

Stutthof was the place in which the boys from Kovno were separated from their mothers, sisters and little brothers. They remained on the train with their fathers and were transported to Landsberg camp in Germany.

Landsberg was a labor camp that was set up beside Dachau in 1944, for the underground airplane construction factory that was located there. A group of 130 boys (age 8 to 16) from Kovno arrived in Landsberg from Stutthof. The boys spent about a week in the camp. Separated from the adults, they were joined by Shlomo Galperin's older brother, the 17-year-old Wolf Galperin, who managed to smuggle into the group. He became their leader.

The 131 boys were sent to Dachau. They were placed in one large, clean wooden hut and took a shower. Dachau, however, was only a stopover on the train trip from Landsberg to Birkenau. Throughout the entire trip to there the children consolidated into an orderly group, under the leadership of Wolf Galperin.

After 10 days at Dachau, the group left for Auschwitz. Two boy escaped from the transport; one of them, Daniel Inbar, managed to survive under false identity as a street child until liberation.

129 boys arrived at Auschwitz on August 1, 1944. Presenting themselves as an organized group, they passed the selection. They were not immediately sent to the gas chambers, but had a number tattooed on their arms with sequential numbers B-2774 to B-2902. Then they were taken to Lager [camp] A, the transit camp at Birkenau. They were used as “human horses” hitched to wagons carrying items from place to place. The children formed a cohesive group and gave each other vital support.

Two main selections progressively reduced their number in September 1944, one on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and the second on Yom Kippur. Around 70-80 members of the original group were sent to the gas chambers. The surviving boys were sent to forced labor in Lager D, another section of Birkenau. Several, including Wolf Galperin, got separated from the rest of the group and were sent to Buchenwald. (Galperin survived in forced labor and death marches until he was liberated on May 2, 1945.) At least one boy (Kalman Arieli) who was not originally selected as part of the 131 boys joined them from Dachau.

On January 18, 1945, 39 boys were forced into a death march to Mauthausen. Two died in the journey, 37 of them arrived in Mauthausen. In contrast to the other camp inmates, the boys were not put to work. One of them was deported to Melk and died there. The remaining 36 were sent in mid-April 1945 to Gunskirchen, where on Aug 4?, 1945, they were liberated by American soldiers.

What is impressive about the “group of 131 boys” is the close contact they have with each other was held. The mutual help and care, the perseverance and the common resistance is an example of solidarity among children in concentration camps that saved the lives of some of the group.

Survivors

Escaped from the train to Auschwitz

Sent to Buchenwald or other camps

  • Yaakov Viz (Visgorditzki), escaped during the death march from Auschwitz in January 1945 and joined the Russian Army.

Sent to Mauthausen & Gunskirchen

<The name of 24 of them are in the Mauthausen records>

  • Yosef Paplisky / Jozef Popilski (Mar 3, 1929) <YES>
  • Solm Pelicas (Aug 3, 1928) <YES>
  • Leib Zieman / Leib Zusman / Leibe Zismanas (Jun 3, 1928) - gestorben <OK> <YES>


Kovno Children.jpg

Pictured in the center is Max Wolfson, an American Jewish liberator. He poses with six "Kovno Boys" in the Gunskirchen concentration camp after Liberation. The six children are (from the right to the left): Leib Zieman, Kalman Tsechenowski, Meir Gecht, Elizier Greiss, Mordechai Levitan, and Daniel Lebanovski. (@USHMM)

History

Report (in German)

In the summer of 1941, the SS established the Kauen ghetto in Kaunas (Lithuania). September 1943 was converted into a concentration camp. On July 14, 1944 it was Kauen concentration camp was dissolved and the prisoners who were still alive moved to it Deported to the Stutthof concentration camp. Women and small children stayed in Stutthof concentration camp, while men and older boys in the concentration camp Landsberg, a satellite camp of the Dachau concentration camp (Landsberg / Kaufering warehouse complex). During a “morning roll call” in the concentration camp Landsberg, the SS selected a group of 131 boys between the ages of 11 and 15 who were separated from other concentration camp inmates and guarded. This group was ins Dachau concentration camp transferred to where the boys found their cohesion and mutual Developed solidarity. Wolf Galperin, who was in the Landsberg subcamp with the goal When he came to help his younger brother, he became the coordinator of the group Solidarity. The group was deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Two boys managed to escape during the transport, one of the two (Daniel Inbar) survived the war. In On the night of August 31st to September 1st, 1944, the group of now 129 boys joined one organized, joint entry into the extermination camp, which the SS surprisingly was allowed. So organized cohesion saved them younger among them before selection and assassination. During their imprisonment in Extermination camp Auschwitz / Birkenau, two thirds of the group were murdered. In the course of the death marches due to the dissolution of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp the group was separated. Most of the group was sent to a concentration camp Mauthausen and a small part of the group were deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp and the rest were separated from the groups. The group that went to Mauthausen concentration camp was deported, was driven to Althamer and from there by train to Mauthausen. Two were killed during the transport. In the concentration camp Mauthausen, the surviving concentration camp prisoners continued to show their solidarity was an essential factor in their will to survive. The commander of the Mauthausen concentration camp decided on April 14, 1945 that the prisoners who were im Tent camps were interned in Mauthausen, in the Gunskirchen concentration camp - one of the 49 satellite camps of the Mauthausen concentration camp - should be transferred. The The group of boys who had been interned in the tent camp was thus transferred to another Death march driven. The Gunskirchen satellite camp served as a reception camp for Jews Inmates conceived. A few days before the liberation, prisoners were sent to the satellite camp Gunskirchen transferred with the order to bury the corpses in a makeshift manner. Still was the liberation camp littered with dead prisoners. The US 71st Infantry Division occupied Gunskirchen on May 4, 1945, on May 5, 1945 there were more than 1,300 US soldiers quartered in the school and the prisoner detachment there was liberated. The warehouse in Forest was only discovered these days. During the liberation, the US soldiers 5,419 survivors, approx. 3,000 had left the camp before the arrival of the US troops, registered. Between 2,700 and 5,000 prisoners in the Gunskirchen subcamp have her Lost life. With regard to transport lists and change reports, that is Gunskirchen satellite camp is a special case because, in contrast to the other satellite camps of the Mauthausen concentration camp these did not exist and were therefore reconstructed. Transports from Mauthausen concentration camp to Gunskirchen concentration camp can be obtained from records of the gendarmerie services as well Contemporary witness reports of the local population can be proven. In the sub-camp Gunskirchen may have been interned between 12,000 and 15,000 prisoners. After the liberation of the Gunskirchen concentration camp, the survivors were the "131 boys" in the area around Wels supplied by the "US Army" or in DP camps (DP = Displaced Person) accommodated. The majority of the surviving boys faced the "Jewish Brigade" and so managed to come to Israel after the liberation. One of these 131 boys is Daniel Chanoch. He survived six concentration camps. His Parents and his sister were murdered by the National Socialists. At the end of the war he was discovered by a Jewish brigade that brought him to Israel. On the way after Israel he met his brother Uri in Italy, who also survived. His brother Uri saw Daniel for the last time in the Landsberg concentration camp. His brother Uri died in the night of September 1st to 2nd, 2015. It's a big one for Daniel Chanoch Concern to pass on his testimony about the Holocaust and for a "never again" to appeal.

Kovno Boys, Victims of the Holocaust

Perished on the trip to Auschwitz

  1. Name unknown - jumped from the train and was apparently killed.

Perished at Auschwitz

  1. Alperowitz Avraham (b. March 31, 1931)
  2. Astajek Yaakov
  3. Astrodomov Y. L.
  4. Atlas Ami (b. July 5, 1932)
  5. Berman David (b. May 28, 1930)
  6. Birman Efraim (b. March 1, 1929)
  7. Bloch Yitzhak
  8. Blumberg Yoel (b. May 1, 1930)
  9. Braun Yitzhak (b. November 29, 1931)
  10. Burek Yosef (b. February 17, 1928)
  11. Chait Feliks
  12. Disler Yakel (b. August 13, 1930)
  13. Eidelman Yaakov (b. July 16, 1930)
  14. Feivuš Abba
  15. Fiš Hirsh
  16. Fort Zalman (b. March 13, 1930)
  17. Fridenberg Menachem (b. July 12, 1931)
  18. Fridman Pavel
  19. Fridman Yaakov (b. June 14, 1932)
  20. Gavronski Naftali
  21. Gempel Bezalel (b. July 25, 1930)
  22. Gempel Shimon (b. January 15, 1930)
  23. Gerber Motel (b. March 8, 1930)
  24. Gerson Yehoshua (b. January 10, 1930)
  25. Geselson Kushel (b. July 9, 1932)
  26. Gilinski Melech (b. April 13, 1930)
  27. Goldšmit Leib (b. May 8, 1930)
  28. Golub Avraham (b. December 2, 1930)
  29. Greišpul Marius (b. September 8, 1929)
  30. Grinstein Hune (b. May 5, 1931)
  31. Gutner Wolf
  32. Gu?anski Gershon (b. November 14, 1930)
  33. Hof Shlomo (b. January 22, 1930)
  34. Janovitz Meir (b. December 28, 1932)
  35. Kagan Moshe (b. September 16, 1930)
  36. Kagan Reuven (Henrik) (b. November 5, 1931)
  37. Kamber Moshe (b. December 1, 1930)
  38. Kamen?ik Nahme
  39. Kanovitz Haim (b. June 6, 1928)
  40. Kaplan Shlomo (b. March 12, 1931)
  41. Karokin Leib (b. May 1, 1930)
  42. Katz David (b. December 4, 1931)
  43. Kaufman Eliezer
  44. Klikovitz Shimon (b. February 26, 1930)
  45. Kobel Yosef (b. June 15, 1928)
  46. Kopelman Shmuel (b. December 16, 1936)
  47. Kopelov Hune
  48. Krasienišok Leib (b. July 2, 1934)
  49. Kremer Aharon
  50. Kubilkovski Yaakov
  51. Kurtzer Yosef (b. November 29, 1929)
  52. Lanzman Haim (b. June 10, 1930)
  53. Lekert David (b. May 21, 1928)
  54. Lipkovitz Yitzhak (b. December 10, 1930)
  55. Luria Heinrich (b. February 17, 1931)
  56. Luria Leo (b. April 27, 1929)
  57. Marijaš Yisrael (b. September 15, 1932)
  58. Marshak Motel
  59. Mašianski Daniel (b. September 15, 1929)
  60. Mator Yisrael (b. July 17, 1931)
  61. Melnik Leib
  62. Melnik Pesach
  63. Milner Shmuel
  64. Ozoras Abba (b. February 13, 1930)
  65. Paimau Moshe (b. July 18, 1930)
  66. Pavrovski Elia (b. July 23, 1930)
  67. Prova Nahum
  68. Reznicki Shmerl
  69. Rochelson Boris (b. October 9, 1930)
  70. Rozenblat Meir (b. March 24, 1932)
  71. Rozenblum Ivsai (b. July 7, 1929)
  72. Sanovski Yosef (b. February 2, 1931)
  73. Schuster Yitzhak
  74. Schwartz Reuven (b. January 3, 1930)
  75. Schwartz Shmuel (b. January 19, 1932)
  76. Shapira Moshe
  77. Škliar Yaakov
  78. Sneider Yehoshua (b. September 9, 1929)
  79. Spitz Haim (b. September 26, 1930)
  80. Steinbek Michael (b. December 28, 1932)
  81. Šverin Yaakov
  82. Tarshish Haim (b. April 1, 1929)
  83. Valet Zosia
  84. Zeidel Lapid (b. February 11, 1932)
  85. Zitel Leib (b. January 16, 1929)

Died during the Death March to Mauthausen

  1. Haim Urka – murdered while being transported to Mauthausen concentration camp
  2. Yaakov Shoham (b. September 29, 1929) – murdered while being transported to Mauthausen concentration camp

Died at Melk

  1. Mozes Kagan / Moshe Kagan (Sep 16, 1929) <YES> – deported to Melk concentration camp and presumably murdered there
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