Mark Kupfer was born in November 1929 in Nowogródek, Poland – the second youngest of nine children. The family ran a dry goods store and drugstore. Following the invasion of Poland by Germany in September 1939, Mark and his family were forced to go to work for the Nazis doing slave labor on highways, bridges, camps, etc. but managed to keep the family business running.
In 1940, Mark’s father built a secret bunker in their warehouse, which the family later hid in during a roundup of the Jews in their village in November 1941. After fifteen days they were out of food and water. They turned themselves into the Polish police and were taken to the Nowy Korczyn ghetto where they were put to work. In October 1942, Mark, his sister, and brother left the family and escaped the ghetto. They were hidden by Polish friends in the countryside. In August 1943, Mark rejoined his parents in the ghetto that they had been transferred to. But this ghetto was soon liquidated, with everyone forced onto trains, most likely bound for Auschwitz. Urged by his father, Mark jumped from the train and made his way to his hometown and then to his original hiding place. For Mark, his brother, and his sister the next few years were spent fleeing from the Nazis, hiding in one place after another. They were eventually betrayed and turned in by a man hiding them. The Nazis surrounded their hiding place. Mark’s sister was killed immediately, and his brother was fatally wounded. Mark was arrested and interrogated under torture. He was imprisoned in Plaszow for five months before being sent on a forced march to Auschwitz. In January 1945, he was sent to Mauthausen, Dachau, and finally to Flossenbürg.
On April 10, 1945, Mark was forced on a death march when the Nazi soldiers suddenly disappeared. At only 85 pounds, Mark collapsed and days later awoke in an American emergency hospital. By 1946, he was able to travel to Landsberg where he was reunited with a brother and sister, the only other survivors of his family. In April 1948, Mark came to the United States at the age of 17. He lived in Brooklyn while working and going to school to learn English. He moved to El Paso with his brother and met Rose Eisenberg from El Paso in 1956. They were married in 1957 and had four children. Mark died in 1998.