The following is a synopsis of Chaim Ferster’s book which recounts his life before, during and after the Holocaust.
Chaim was born in Sosnowiec, Poland on 18 July 1922. He lived with his parents and three sisters above the brush factory owned by his father. They were religious Jews and only spoke Yiddish. Chaim was 17 when war broke out in September 1939 and German soldiers arrived in his town.
Chaim survived the next two years working in his uncle’s sewing factory making shirts and blouses for the German army. In 1942, all Jews were taken to a large field outside of town, surrounded by armed SS soldiers. They were selected and placed into different groups. Chaim was sent to one camp after another and set to work. Then, in September 1944, he was sent to Auschwitz. In April 1945, he was forced onto a death march to Buchenwald.
After liberation, Chaim was reunited with his younger sister, Manya, and one of their cousins. In February 1946, they came to Manchester. Chaim found work as a sewing machine repairer, and eventually became a toy manufacturer. He married Nan in 1948 and they had three sons, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Chaim passed away in 2017.
