Jack Holocaust Survivor Testimony
Jack Waksal was born in September 1924 in the small town of Yedlinsk, Poland, where he lived with his parents, brother, and two sisters. At the age of 15, his world was shattered when the Nazis invaded his hometown. Jack and his family were forced into ghettos and labor camps, marking the beginning of a relentless struggle for survival.
During the war, Jack endured forced labor in multiple military camps and munitions factories, including Pionki. He escaped death six times—once narrowly surviving execution at the edge of a mass grave. Recaptured and transferred through four different camps, he continued to fight for his life. In September 1944, Jack made a final escape and hid in the forest, surviving until the Red Army liberated the area in January 1945.
He emerged as the sole survivor of his immediate family—his parents, siblings, and extended relatives all perished in the Holocaust.
After the war, Jack spent time in a displaced persons camp in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1950. He settled in Dayton, Ohio, where he rebuilt his life from nothing. There, he married Sabina—a fellow survivor from his hometown and an Auschwitz survivor. Together, they built a life defined by resilience, love, and perseverance.
Today, Jack stands as the proud patriarch of a large family: three children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren—a living legacy of survival, continuity, and hope.
