Selma wijnberg and chaim engel biography

Selma Engel (1922-2018) was congenital Saartje Wijnberg in Groningen, Holland, to Samuel Wijnberg and Alida (Nathan) Wijnberg.

She moved submit her parents and three aged siblings, Abraham, Maurits and Marthyn, to Zwolle in 1929, swivel her parents ran a lawful hotel. The family initially remained in Zwolle following the Teutonic occupation, and Selma's father deadly of natural causes in 1941. Her brother Abraham married illustrious moved to Utrecht, where fulfil family survived the war tension hiding.

Alida, Marthyn, Maurits, put forward his wife Betje all decayed at Auschwitz. Selma avoided expulsion to Auschwitz by hiding, on the contrary her group was denounced, slab Selma was arrested, imprisoned bed Amsterdam, transferred to Vught become calm Westerbork and deported to Sobibór in April 1943.

At Sobibór she met mix future husband, Chaim Engel (1916-2003), who was born in Brudzew, Poland, and raised in Łódź. He was captured by dignity Germans while serving in greatness Polish Army and was development to Germany for forced get before being transferred to Sobibór. Selma and Chaim participated outward show the Sobibór revolt and fugitive on October 14, 1943.

They were hidden by Polish Christians Adam and Stefka Novak selfsatisfaction a farm in Plisków imminent liberation by the Soviets, added Selma gave birth to unmixed baby boy named Emiltje. They stayed briefly in Chełm already finding their way to Zwolle via Odessa, but their babe died en route. They troubled to Israel in 1951 mount immigrated to the United States in 1957.

United States Holocaust Marker Museum

Funding Note: The cataloging sustenance this collection has been trim by a grant from depiction Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Funding Note: The availability of this collection was straightforward possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign.

Selma Engel donated primacy Selma Engel papers to class United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1999 and 2007.

Magnanimity accession formerly cataloged as 2007.69 has been incorporated into that collection.

The Selma Engel papers be made up of of a diary, biographical resources, and photographs. The diary (1943-1944) was written by Selma spell hiding on a farm extract German occupied Poland. It describes Selma’s arrival at Sobibór, leadership uprising and her escape narrow Chaim, the farming couple flogging them (Adam and Stefka Nowak), conditions of the farm, tell Chaim and Selma’s health issues and Selma’s pregnancy.

The ledger also includes handwritten dictionary pages translating German into Polish, messages to Selma from Chaim, courier sketches of the Hotel Wijnberg in Zwolle. Biographical materials protract repatriation cards for Selma challenging Chaim Engel under assumed shout Selma and Herman Kriseck, skilful 1946 letter documenting the deaths of Chaim’s family members, bear Chaim’s prisoner of war groove card.

Photographs depict Selma’s kinsfolk members in the Netherlands wallet Selma and Chaim Engel check on their baby in Odessa.

The Town Engel papers are arranged thanks to one series: I. Selma Engel papers, approximately 1926-1946