Determined
A Memoir
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2018 Martin Baranek with Lisa B. Cicero
v4.0
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Martin Baranek
I want to thank my wife of 64 years, Betty Baranek. She has been a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend to so many. She has stood by me all these years, which has not always been easy and she has supported me in my efforts to return to Poland and Israel again and again as I share my story with those who have accompanied me on the March of the Living.
I want to thank my children, the late Morry, his wife Arlene, and their children Reide, Palmer, and Brett, my son Mark and his wife, Nava, my son Lenny and his wife, Ita, and their children, Hayley, Jamie and Sam, and my daughter, Marlene, and her children, Brandon, Jenna, and Cole.
I want to thank Lisa Cicero from the bottom of my heart for being there for me these last several years, for the Ciceros being part of our Miami family, and for taking on this project. If it werent for Lisas persistence this book would not have been possible. I was constantly amazed at the historical information she was able to find out about my family, my town, and me through her research. Thank you for helping me to preserve my story for my family, and for future generations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Lisa B. Cicero
I WANT TO thank Marty Baranek for his willingness to work with me on this project and for trusting me with his remarkable story. In 2005 I participated in the March of the Living commemorating the 60 th anniversary of the end of the war. Most evenings after long and emotionally draining days, Marty, and fellow survivor, Leo Martin, would tell me of their very different experiences during the Holocaust. Marty could stand in front of a group in the barracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau and tell his life story, but he had never written any of it down. He agreed to memorialize it in writing for the sake of his family, and the sake of history. Over time, the project grew into this book that details one boys survival story.
I also want to thank the saintly Betty Baranek who has supported this project from the beginning and who herself is a survivor having spent the war years in Siberia, and in a DP camp.
Thank you also to Mark and Nava Baranek. Mark was the Holocaust educator on each of the March of the Living trips I attended. Thank you also to Lenny and Ita Baranek, and their children, Hayley, Jamie and Sam, Marlene Baranek, and her children, Brandon, Jenna, and Cole, and Reide, Palmer, and Brett, children of the late Morry Baranek and Arlene Baranek for their willingness to share Marty with all the marchers who have traveled to Poland and Israel with him.
Thank you to the early readers of the manuscript for their very helpful edits, comments, and suggestions including J.R. Rosskamp McDowell, Betsy Mateu, Stephanie Rosen (my roommate on the 2011 March of the Living), Lisa Rosen, Bonnie Berman, and Sonia Taitz. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Sonias own memoir, The Watchmakers Daughter, inspired me to help Marty with his book and gave me insight in to the effects of the Holocaust on the next generation. A big thank you to Robin Rosenbaum Andras for her review of the manuscript and all things graphic and design related, along with Christa Williams for the design of the family tree and map of Martys journey, and to the entire team at Damonza for cover design and interior design layout.
Thank you also to Christopher R. Browning, Frank Porter Graham Professor of History Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of Remembering Survival, a book he was compelled to write after researching the trial of Walther Becker, the head of the German police in charge of Martys town. Despite the testimony of 60 eyewitnesses, the trial ended in an acquittal. Browning interviewed numerous survivors from Martys town, including Marty. Brownings comments greatly improved the manuscript and I am indebted to him for his keen historical knowledge.
I want to thank my editor Leonard Nash for his encouragement, praise, and careful review of the manuscript and for the many improvements he made to it. Leonard is the Florida Book Award Silver Medal recipient for his debut collection, You Cant Get There from Here and Other Stories.
Thank you to my parents, Neil and Sandra Malamud, for sharing in the March of the Living with me in 2011 and 2013. Thank you to my children, Alexandra, Jordan, and Marina for their support and their understanding as to why this project, although time-consuming, is so important. Their relationship with Marty and Betty is a blessing, and I am thankful that they see Marty as their hero.
DEDICATION
This book, which is based upon my memory and my own personal experience, is dedicated to my parents and my brother Chaskel and to all the other victims of the Holocaust. May their memory be for a blessing, and may the world never forget the terrible lessons of this tragedy. Any historical inaccuracies are unintended. This book is based solely upon my memory of events that happened to my family, my town and to me.
A Note about spelling throughout the book: Most of the names contained in the book utilize the original Yiddish spellings. Upon arrival in Israel or North America many eastern Europeans changed the spelling of their names to something more Hebrew or English sounding. In some cases, individuals adopted an entirely new name. At times, the variation of spellings or the adoption of new names altogether created delays and confusion in helping survivors reunite with family members or friends.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Lisa B. Cicero
T HIS IS THE story of the Miracle Kid, the nickname given to Martin Baranek by his concentration camp brethren.
I am standing beside Martin in the town square of his former hometown of Wierzbnik, Poland. A taxi driver approaches and begins speaking to Martin in Polish. I can hear the anguish in the mans voice as he says to Martin, I remember October 27, 1942. I was too young to do anything. I was just a child. He asks Martin what has become of his former classmates and neighbors. Martin tells him of the few who survived the war, but mostly of those who did not. The man has a helpless expression frozen in time on his aging face.
