Abe Price - Jews and Dogs Not Allowed!

Abe Price, both in 1923, was the youngest of 5 brothers who grew up in the town of Kielce, Poland. His parents owned a shoe factory and operated a family shoe store. “We had a beautiful family life. Our parents worked hard, treated their employees very nice, and brought us up with love and dignity. The problems of discrimination just seemed part of life.” In 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland and occupied Abe’s hometown. He was sent to work in slave labor camps and his family was later forced to move into a ghetto. “We were put into cattle cars about 80 people to a car and the doors were closed; even the little windows were closed from the outside. It was almost impossible to breathe.” In 1944, Abe was transported to Birkenau and then sent to Trzebina, an Auschwitz-controlled labor camp. Months later, while the prisoners rested for a night during a death march, Abe escaped. In May of 1951, Abe and his wife, Sala, immigrated to the United States with their first son, Herb. “Men, women and children emerged from the darkness of the ghettos, concentration camps and gas chambers, as normal human beings. With broken hearts, but healthy desires to rebuild homes and families, they had lofty ideals to live as free people.” Abe resided in Naples, Florida and regularly shared his story to help educate local students about the Holocaust. This is his testimony.