Neftali Frankel was born on December 26, 1921 in Tarnow, Poland where he lived with his parents, sisters Gela and Tusia and brother Henrick until the Nazi invasion. The Frankel family was forced into the ghetto before being deported to Auschwitz where they were separated. Neftali was put into forced labor, and, toward the end of the war, he and his father were sent to labor camps. They were liberated from Bergen-Belsen by the British Army on April 15, 1945. After the war, Neftali immigrated to Mexico and married in 1947. He and his wife moved to El Paso, Texas in 2003.

Ghettos & Deportations

Anti-Jewish Laws

Agnes (Klein) Schaechner was born in 1930 in Debrecen, Hungary to an Orthodox Jewish family- parents Solomon and Lily Klein and twin brothers Otto and Ference. In 1944, they were forced into the ghetto then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Agnes was later sent to concentration camps and was liberated by the American Army on April 14, 1945. Agnes came to the United States in 1949 and married survivor Tibor Schaechner in 1956. They had three daughters. After earning a Master’s degree, Agnes went into social work. She worked for the Texas Department of Human Services for 22 years. Agnes died in 1998.

Arlene (Grunberger) Pergricht was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1912 to David and Hannah Grunberger. Arlene had three older brothers and two sisters. She married in 1937 and became Arlene Shugart. Arlene was forced into the Budapest ghetto with her son Peter, nephew and mother in 1944. Arlene’s mother was taken in a round-up, which Arlene narrowly escaped. She was liberated on January 20, 1945. Her husband did not survive, and in 1948, Arlene and Peter immigrated to the United States. She married survivor Bernard Pergricht in 1959, and they moved to El Paso, Texas in 1978. Arlene died in 1994.

Escape

Bernard Pergricht was born on April 12, 1913 in Sosnowiec, Poland. He had five brothers and three sisters. Bernard worked at a lumber company until 1939. In 1941, his parents and young wife were deported and killed in Auschwitz. Bernard was sent to Blechhammer labor camp. January 1945 he was sent on a death march to Gross Rosen then liberated by the American Army on a second death march in April 1945. Bernard came to the United States in 1952, and he and his two surviving brothers opened a liquor store. Bernard married survivor Arlene Shugart in 1959, and in 1978 they moved to El Paso. Bernard died in 2001.

Labor Camps

David Kaplan was born in 1928 in Kaunas, Lithuania. In 1941, the Nazis occupied Lithuania, and David and his family were forced into the Slobodka Ghetto. In 1942, they were sent to Sanzai and then deported to Stutthof concentration camp. David’s mother and sister perished in Majdanek, and David and his brother were sent to Landsberg where his brother perished. In April 1945, David was forced on a death march to Dachau and Bad-Toelz where he was liberated by the American Army. David immigrated to the United States in 1949. He met his wife in Mexico, and they moved to El Paso where David became a successful businessman.

Concentration Camp

Edith Eger was born on September 29, 1927, in Kosice, Slovakia, where she lived with her parents and two sisters, Magda and Clara, until 1944 when the Nazis occupied Hungary and forced them into Kosice Ghetto. In May 1944, they were loaded onto cattle cars and sent to Auschwitz, where Edith first encountered Dr. Mengele. In November 1944, Edith and Magda were consigned to ammunition trains and slave labor. In May 1945, they were liberated from Gunskirchen and were reunited with Clara in Prague. Edith married and came to the United States. She had three children and became a clinical psychologist.

Antisemitism