We’re grateful to Barb Smith for introducing us to Art and Rose Gelbart, Holocaust survivors who joined our livestream on December 1, 2025. Barb wrote an account of their World War II experiences in the DD214 Chronicle, a print newspaper serving northern Ohio. Thank you to publisher and USMC veteran Donald Stark for giving us permission to post part 1 of Barb’s article here.
By Barb Smith
May 8, 2025 11th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program Palace Theater / Lorain, Ohio
On the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, Arnie Milner, president of Agudath B’nai Israel Synagogue of Lorain, Ohio, introduced Arthur (Abram) Gelbart, survivor of the Holocaust, to a full house.
Larger Than Life- Holocaust Survivor Art Gelbart shares his story-Holocaust
Remembrance Day Program, May 8, 2025-Palace Theater, Lorain,Ohio
Born on March 25, 1929, Art shared the horrors of war from his hometown of Klobuck, Poland.
“I was 12 when my father, Mordecai, a veteran of the Polish Army and a kosher butcher, was taken away to Auschwitz for slaughtering a cow. My mother took care of my three sisters and me. In 1942, she was shot to death by Nazis while hiding in a basement. We were sent to a labor camp where they forced us to destroy a Jewish cemetery and carry the sacred rubble to build roads. I had never met my father’s father, who died a year after I was born. Now, I was reading his name, ‘Wolf Gelbart’, on the tombstone I carried to place in the road.”
Art became separated from my sisters, who were sent to Langenbielau labor camp, but with tenacity, endurance and good luck, perhaps they would meet again. Art was sent to Blechammer, a Polish subcamp of Auschwitz.
“Look at his calloused hands,” a friend told the guards. “He’s a hard worker.”
“I watched that Nazi pierce my arm with every number, 1-7-7-1-9-1, then wipe ink on it, but I’m still Abram Gelbart.”
Art Gelbart’s record from Gross Rosen “The Germans kept very good records.”
The fuel factory was bombed a lot. We had to repair the roads, dig foundations, carry stones. We had soup in the morning and soup and one slice of bread at night. Once, a nice guard gave me an extra slice. I put it under my belt buckle. Another guard saw the bulge and hit my face with his gun and broke my teeth. I got twelve lashes. I survived there for 2.5 years.
“On January 21, 1945, 4,000 of us were sent on a Death March to Gross Rosen, still in Poland, 120 miles away. This was a way the Nazis could kill us and save bullets. 800 prisoners were killed, more collapsed and died of starvation. It was cold. We took the clothes from the dead. My boots were broken. I took a pair. We walked for two weeks.
“1,200 arrived in February. Gross Rosen had no barracks. We slept in tents on mud. Gross Rosen was a transit camp. Prisoners couldn’t take it anymore. They threw themselves against the electric fence. My job was to pull off the dead bodies. We were there a couple weeks.
“On March 7, we boarded open cattle cars for train transport and rode 266 miles without food, water, or warm clothes to Buchenwald, in Germany. Allies didn’t know and bombed our cars. I was in rubble up to my neck. Prisoners dug me out and helped me walk. It was hard to stay alive.
“On April 11, 1945, the 6th Ar- mored Division of Patton’s Third Army liberated Buchenwald. We, kids, were put in barracks and given food. If we ate too much, we would die. The first American soldier to greet me was a Jewish rabbi, who shouted, “You’re FREE! The War is over!” I was 16 years old, about 5’5” and weighed approximately 70 pounds.
“After the war, my three sisters searched for and found me in Weiden, Germany, when I was 17 years old.
“I gave someone a carton of cigarettes to learn to drive. I got an international driver’s license without passing a test. My younger sister Frances and I boarded a U.S. ship from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City. We each had a dollar, bought nickel Cokes and had 95 cents left. The Jewish Family Federation spon- sored our train ride from New York City to Cleveland. “Our great aunt, Chotka Yetta met us at the station. Our first home in America is the brick house at 3536 Severin Rd. in Cleveland Hts. My married sisters Anne and Esther and their families joined us later. We all made our homes in Cleveland. I’m the one who’s left. I married Rozia Grozman from Kalisz, Poland. We have two sons.
“I always felt that the US Army saved my life, so I joined. I always tell children to be proud. At age 96, I am very proud that I have the choice to vote. This is a wonderful country. Don’t ever hesitate to live free and enjoy it-and I love you all.”
During a standing ovation Art’s wife Rose, a Holocaust survivor herself, joined Art on stage. Lorain‘s mayor Jack Bradley read a proclamation. He reminded us to speak when we see hatred, and to act when we see injustice. Arnie Milner added that we need to work harder to make this world a better place.
My husband Bob and I are indebted to Arnie Milner for introducing Rose and Art Gelbart into our lives. Bob and I will be spending Hanukkah and Christmas traveling throughout the cities of their childhood, with their friend Jerzy of Lodz and our friend Wojtek of Skierniewice, as our guides. Rose sheepishly asked, “Would you please pack me in your suitcase?”
Death Factory-German Blechammer (Poland) Concentration Camp Rosia and Abram Part II, “Neath the Numbers: Indelible Friends,” will detail Art’s US military service and our Polish travels.
For more about Art and Rose Gelbart and stories of Jewish Heritage:
In the March/April, 2026 issue of the DD214 Chronicle:
- https://www.ushmm.org/search?query=Art+Gelbart
- Undeniable: The Truth to Remember-CBS News 46:47 min- YouTube
- Contact Barb Smith: ussfdr82@gmail.com
