Rachel Growe

"I hope it never happens again. It was the most horrible thing that ever happened. People should be kind to one another. But no one listens, look at what’s going on. I hope it never happens to any group of people."

Name at birth

Rachel Wohl

Date of birth

01/02/1924

Where were you born?

Leordina, Romania

Where did you grow up?

Leordina, Romania

Name of father, occupation

Alter Shmuel Wohl, Lumber Business

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Minga Dawidowicz, Homemaker, small money lender

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents and five children: Rosa, Miriam, me, Leah and Menachem Mendel

How many in entire extended family?

75, we had a large family, my father had eight siblings and my mother had many siblings. They all perished.

Who survived the Holocaust?

Miriam, Leah, Menachem Mendel, two uncles and me. One uncle was murdered after the Holocaust; he was robbed in his home by Romanian peasants.

Rosa was sent to Auschwitz with her 2 year old daughter. My sister, Miriam left for Palestine in 1934 and sent papers to get the family out. The papers arrived too late in 1944. Our father lived almost till liberation, but was beaten to death by a Kapo. I was also part of a death march.

Name of Ghetto(s)

Ober Vijo

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Auschwitz Birkenau / Stutthof

When did you come to the United States?

1950

Spouse

Abraham Rosen, from Lodz, deceased in 1957; Charles Growe, second husband

Children

Steven (Shmuel Leib), Ronald (Pesach), Michael (Moishe), and Marilyn (Minga)

Grandchildren

Three

What do you think helped you to survive?

I don’t know, it was a miracle. I think I lived for my sister; we wanted to survive and tell the world. We lived for each other.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

I hope it never happens again. It was the most horrible thing that ever happened. People should be kind to one another. But no one listens, look at what’s going on. I hope it never happens to any group of people.