My Voice: Ivor Wieder

Where was G–d in Auschwitz?

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• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9781526192431
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526192424
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Jewish History
• Index: History

Ivor was born in 1931 and grew up in the village of Barsana, Romania, with his parents and siblings.

In August 1940, the village was occupied by the Hungarians, allies of Nazi Germany, and began to pass anti-Jewish laws. Jewish men and children were beaten up and Ivor couldn't go to school without children chasing after him, calling him, 'a dirty Jew.'

In 1944, at 12 years old, Ivor was forced onto a cramped cattle train to Auschwitz, where he was shaved, tattooed, and witnessed the worst cruelty imaginable. His father was killed, after sustaining a hand injury. Later, Ivor and his brother were taken to Bergen-Belsen where they were liberated by the British Army.

In October 1945, Ivor was flown to Southampton, and he later settled in north-west London, starting a business from nothing with his brother, manufacturing bags, which soon flourished. Ivor met his wife, Marion, and they had two sons. Ivor now has quite a legacy, with seven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Ivor's book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.

Table of contents

• Front matter
• My Voice Project
• Dedication
• Contents
• 1 – My family
• 2 – A hard life in Bârsana
• 3 – Antisemitism in the village
• 4 – Jewish terror under the Hungarian occupation
• 5 – Selection at Auschwitz with a twist of a thumb
• 6 – No chance of escape
• 7 – An arduous trek to Dora
• 8 – Belsen, the Angel of Death’s waiting room
• 9 – Speaking Yiddish in a foreign land
• 10 – Making friends at Gateshead Yeshiva
• 11 – Starting a business from nothing
• 12 – Learning my sisters were alive
• 13 – Family life with Marion
• 14 – Travel and keeping in touch with family
• 15 – I can’t forget
• 16 – My message to future generations
• Glossary
• My Voice volunteers
• About The Fed