Arie's Story and Full Video Testimony
Born in Poland in 1929, Arie Birnbaum was only ten years old when his father told him on September 1, 1939 — the day World War II began — “It is all over.” It was the end of the childhood he had known.
After the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland, Arie’s father fled to Romania when the Russians began targeting wealthy families and business owners. Soon after, Arie watched his family fall apart: his sick mother was denied medical care, and his brother was deported to Siberia along with millions of other Poles.
Arie and his mother found refuge with Ukrainian friends near what is now western Ukraine, but in June 1941 everything changed again when the Nazis invaded the region. Arie witnessed the first mass executions of Jews with his own eyes. He later recalled seeing tens of thousands murdered. Refusing to wear the yellow star or armband, he hid among the crowds and survived.
By the end of 1941, Arie was trapped alone during the liquidation of a ghetto in Ukraine after being separated from his mother. Because he knew tailoring work, he was assigned to assist a fur tailor and transported by train. In a desperate escape, he jumped from the moving train into a cornfield with another prisoner who did not survive. Arie took the man’s boots and jacket and ran for his life across open fields.
After wandering for days, Arie eventually joined a group of partisans sabotaging Nazi trains in the forests of Ukraine. Still just a teenager, he survived hunger, war, and constant fear completely alone.
After the war, Arie rebuilt his life and eventually settled in Caracas, where he dedicated himself to sharing his testimony so the world would never forget what he witnessed.
