Names Not Numbers

Manny Gurowski

Ostpreussen, Germany

Gumbinnen Camp

Königsberg Camp

1931

Manny Gurowski

Ostpreussen, Germany

1931

Manny was born on August 13, 1931, in Ostpreussen, Germany. He lived with his mother, Ruth, his father, Max, and his younger sister, also named Ruth. Max had fought in World War I with the Germans and was a successful businessman, owning a store. Manny’s early childhood was marked by the rise of antisemitism. On his first day of school, he was asked to stand up because he was Jewish and was then forced to leave.

The first time Manny encountered the Nazis was during Kristallnacht, on November 9, 1938, when windows were shattered and his father was arrested. Max was taken to a holding camp where he was forced to sign over all his possessions. In 1939, Manny, his mother, and sister were transported to a holding camp in Gumbinnen, Germany, where they stayed for a year before being transferred to another camp in Königsberg, East Germany.

There, Manny was used as a slave laborer, despite being a child, and was forced to wear the Star of David.

They were liberated by Soviet ground troops before the war ended in 1945, and Manny's family managed to escape and find refuge in a nearby farmer’s home. After the Soviet Liberation Army secured the territory, many survivors, including Manny, were sent to Russian holding camps.

It was in one of these camps that Manny was reunited with his father.

After liberation, Manny went to trade school and lived in Berlin, Germany. In 1951, after years of waiting, Manny and his family moved to the United States, settling in Rochester, New York. In 1955, Manny was drafted into the U.S. Army and was transferred to Paris, France. During his time en route, he served as an interpreter at a radio station in Germany.

Manny was discharged in 1959 and returned to Rochester, where he became a wholesale distributor for electronic companies. In 1979, he accepted a new position in Burlington, Vermont. Manny is married to Sandy, and they have three children.

Names Not Numbers

Manny Gurowski

Manny Gurowski

The End