Names Not Numbers

Israel Starck

Munkacs, Czechoslovakia

Munkacs Ghetto

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Melk Concentration Camp

Ebensee Concentration Camp

1929

Israel Starck

Munkacs, Czechoslovakia

1929

Israel, called "Srulek" by his family, was born in 1929 in the town of Podhoryan-Munkacs, located in the Carpatho-Rutheniaregion of Czechoslovakia. In 1939, this town came under Hungarian control. Israel had three sisters, though tragically, his youngest sister passed away before the war began.

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In March 1944, German forces invaded Hungary, and soon after, Israel (known as Izzy) and his family were forced to leave their home and relocate to the ghetto in Munkacs, where conditions were dreadful. A few weeks later, deportations began. The family was herded onto cattle cars, and the Judenrat falsely told them they were being sent to work on Hungarian farms.

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Upon arriving at Auschwitz/Birkenau, Izzy was immediately separated from his mother and sisters. A prisoner advised 14-year-old Izzy to lie about his age and claim he was 18. This lie saved his life, as he was selected for labor and allowed to stay with his father. Izzy and his father were taken to Mauthausen, but they were soon separated, and his father was murdered there.

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Izzy was sent to Melk, Austria, where he was forced to help build tunnels through the mountains for the German air force. His job involved carrying used steel points to the blacksmith to be sharpened. With access to fire, Izzy ingeniously burned wood into charcoal, ground it into powder, and distributed it to those suffering from dysentery.

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The camp in Melk was near a German air force base, which was frequently bombed by the Allies, resulting in casualties among the prisoners.

In early 1945, as the war was nearing its end, the Melk camp was evacuated, and Izzy was transferred to Ebensee, Austria.

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On May 8, 1945, he was liberated by American troops. During his time in the camps, Izzy remembered many stories of Jews striving to continue performing mitzvot despite the horrific conditions.

After the war, the American Army took Izzy back tohis hometown of Podhorany, where he was reunited with his two older sisters.

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In 1948, Izzy and his sisters immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Chicago, Illinois. There, he started his own diamond cutting business and built a new life.

Izzy and his wife, Ethel, raised seven children and became grandparents and great-grandparents to a large extended family in Chicago, New Jersey, and Israel.

In 2015, Izzy's memoir, A Boy Named 68818, was published, sharing the inspiring story of his survival during the Holocaust.

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Names Not Numbers

Israel Starck

Israel Starck

The End