The Story of Marie Stein 1929-2016
Marie Stein was born in Łódź in western Poland. Her father was an ear-nose-and-throat specialist, her mother came from a family of manufacturers. The family lived a typical middle-class life.
In 1939, when Marie was ten years old, she lost her childhood forever. The Second World War broke out, with Germany invading Poland, overpowering the country in less than a month. From then until their liberation she lived constantly with the risk of getting beaten up, killed or sent to a concentration camp. She remembers that every night she feared that she might have said something that could have endangered the family and could cause them to be killed.
The family spent the war moving between several locations. After a brief time in Łódź they moved in December 1939 to Warsaw, eventually being forced into the city’s ghetto. They ended up back in the Łódź (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto from June 1941 until liberation in January 1945.
The presentation describes how the family survived through several moments of acute crisis, thanks to Marie’s father being a doctor, her mother’s indomitable determination, and sheer luck.
After the war they got Paraguayan visas, which enabled them to go to Sweden, where they eventually stayed. There Marie died in 2016, survived by three children and three grandchildren.
Presented by Gabriel Stein
Gabriel Stein is an economist. He was born in Sweden and moved to London in 1990 where he worked as a macroeconomics forecaster in the City for 25 years. He is now semi-retired, but still comments on economic developments and lectures in economics. He is currently working on a PhD in economic history. He also writes novels and has a travel breakfast blog.
Gabriel tells the story of his mother, Marie Stein (née Mazur) and of how she and her family survived the Holocaust in Poland, mainly in the Łódź Ghetto. Gabriel tells this story both because he has always been interested in history, including that of his own family; and because he believes that every Holocaust survivor’s story is unique and should be told.