Bieberstein family photographs
Extent and Medium
folder
1
Creator(s)
- Casimir Biebers
Biographical History
Kazimierz Bieberstein (later Casimir Biebers, 1931-2014) was born on March 16, 1931 to Szymon and Irena Bieberstein. His brother Tadeusz was born in 1925. Szymon was able to leave Poland in 1939 and arrived in the United States in 1941. Irena and her sons remained in Warsaw, and were forced into the ghetto in 1940. Kazimierz’s mother bribed a German guard with gold coins to protect him during a selection. With the help of Romuald Kaszynski, the father of one of Tadeusz's friends, the family was able to escape from the ghetto. At one point Kazimierz was staying with a Polish prostitute who catered to German officers, and he was also on a farm for which they paid a great deal of money for him to stay there. Kazimierz used the false identity of Jerzy Krasucki, Irena became Irena Lasocka, and Tadeusz became Romuald Kaouseweski. Tadeusz was hidden by the Kaszynski family along with their grandfather, and Irena was hidden by an aunt who was Volkdeutsche. Only one aunt was aware of where everyone was hidden. After their liberation by the Soviet Army, the family was reunited. They returned to their apartment in Warsaw which was still standing. The family then went to Sweden where they received visas to immigrate to the United States. After a brief stay in Canada, they arrived in the United States where they were reunited with Szymon.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Casimir Biebers
The photographs were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Casimir Biebers in 2002.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of three wartime photographs depicting the Bieberstein family, including Kazimierz Bieberstein (later Casimir Biebers), his brother Tadeusz Bieberstein, and his mother Irena Bieberstein. The photographs were taken around the time the family was forced into the Warsaw ghetto and were intended for false identification papers that would enable the family to leave Poland, but the images were never used for that purpose.
People
- Bieberstein, Irena.
- Biebers, Casimir.
- Bieberstein, Tadeusz.
- Casimir Biebers
Subjects
- Warsaw (Poland)
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Warsaw.
Genre
- Document
- Photographs.