Arek Hersh Informative Speech

Arek Hersh was born in Sieradz, Poland and was immediately taken to his first concentration camp when he was only eleven years old. Arek was taken to a camp called Otoschno, near Poznan, which was run by the Schutzstaffel. There were originally 2500 men but only eleven men survived. Arek also managed to survived through his job as a cleaner at the commander’s office. More importantly, it allowed him to steal some food. In 1942, he was able to go home. When he arrived, he was bombarded with confused and frightened people who were in need of answers to what happened to their relatives. However, Arek does not have the strength to tell them what had actually happened. Arek was now taken to Lodz, which is a ghetto. The commander of the ghetto wanted to …show more content…
Luckily, Arek was allowed to stay in the camp and was instantly given a stripped suit, and the Germans tattooed his number into his arm which is B7608. The people lost their names, including Arek, and was now only referred to by their numbers. He was forced to work as an agriculture labourer. In January 18, 1945, the Germans cleared the Auschwitz camp because the Russian army was getting close. Therefore, they took prisoners on a forced march, known as the “Death March.” They experienced harsh weather, starvation and dehydration. Afterwards, Arek and the survivors were now on their way to Buchenwald, Germany, where they were loaded into wagons and sent off on a month-long journey to Theresienstadt. Arek was one of the 600 who arrived alive in Czechoslovakia on May, 1945. Eventually, they were liberated by the Soviet army. After the war, he wrote a book called, “A Detail of History.” In fact, he visits schools, universities and other organizations to talk about his experiences of the Holocaust. Today, Arek lives in Leeds, England. He is married and has three daughters and seven grandchildren. His years since the Holocaust have been quiet and