Ben Sweet

"Young people should have a profession, not to depend on someone to give. I was a crane operator."

Name at birth

Berel Ziskind

Date of birth

03/04/1921

Where were you born?

Lodz, Poland

Where did you grow up?

Lodz, Poland

From Prushkov (14 kilometers from Warsaw), I fled back to Lodz where my mother was. The Germans thought I was a Folksdeusche as I knew German fluently. I fled to Russia away from the Germans.

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Prushkov

Where were you in hiding?

I was in Russian-occupied Finland and worked in the forest cutting lumber in the woods. It was 60 degree below zero in deep, deep snow. I was strong as a horse. The Russians saved a million Jews. If you worked you lived. With the Germans, the more you worked, the more they beat you.

Occupation after the war

Crane Operator

What do you think helped you to survive?

Knowing the German language and I was young and I was strong.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

Young people should have a profession, not to depend on someone to give. I was a crane operator.