Hear From Holocaust Survivor On 75th Anniversary Of His Escape

DALLAS, TX — For one night, North Texans will have an opportunity to experience a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, listening to a Holocaust survivor detail his escape from a deportation train.

On April 19, 1943, the Nazis forced Gronowski, his mother, and more than 1,600 Jews into box cars at Mechelen Deportation Camp in Belgium. It was the 20th deportation train, out of 28, to leave this deportation camp. Only 5% of the 25,602 deportees from this camp survived the Holocaust.

Three young men in the Belgian resistance received information about the train’s departure. In the middle of the night, they set up a warning lantern on the tracks to stop the train. When the train halted, they cut the chains on one of the box cars allowing some prisoners to escape.

Their act of resistance spurred Jewish deportees in the other box cars to act. They used whatever means they had to claw their way out of the box cars. In the end, 231 Jews jumped from the train that fateful night. 205 survived the Holocaust in hiding.

Simon Gronowski, the youngest prisoner to escape, went in hiding until the end of the war. His mother was not able to escape and died at Auschwitz.

After the War, Gronowski became a lawyer and amateur jazz musician a. He was featured in the documentary "Transport XX to Auschwitz" and has co-written a French-language children’s book about his experience, titled "Simon, L'Enfant du 20e convoy," or “Simon, the child of the 20th convoy.” He is a regular speaker at schools.

Simon Gronowski’s appearance comes as a new national survey found that many American adults lack basic knowledge of what happened during the Holocaust — and this lack of knowledge is more pronounced among millennials, whom the survey defined as people ages 18 to 34.

Thirty-one percent of Americans, and 41 percent of millennials, believe that two million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust; the actual number is around six million. Forty-one percent of Americans, and 66 percent of millennials, cannot say what Auschwitz was. And 52 percent of Americans wrongly think Hitler came to power through force.

Gronowski's presentation is scheduled for April 19, 2018, at Congregation Shearith Israel at 9401 Douglas Avenue in Dallas.

This event Thursday evening is free and open to the public with RSVP required.

Lead image courtesy of Dallas Holocaust Museum, used with permission
Report compiled with information from Dallas Holocaust Museum press release