Food ration coupon issued to a Polish forced laborer
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Width: 10.500 inches (26.67 cm)
Creator(s)
- Joseph S. Wardzala (Subject)
Biographical History
Joseph Wardzala was born on October 11, 1923, in Smigno, Poland. He was the youngest of five sons in a Roman Catholic family. After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Joseph was no longer able to attend school. One of his brothers joined a partisan group and provided food for Polish Jews in hiding. Joseph began to help his brother with these activities and was arrested three times from 1939 to 1941. In April 1941, Joseph was kidnapped from the street in Tarnow and taken to a labor camp in Watenstedt-Salzgitter in northwest Germany, where he was forced to work in construction for the German Army. In April 1945, the camp was liberated and Joseph was taken to a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency camp. He remained there for five years while attempting to acquire a visa to the United States. In 1950, he was able to emigrate to the US where he settled in Connecticut. He married Dorothy Gutrick in 1946 and they had two sons. Joseph dedicated himself to church and commnuity charity work and received many awards for his service. Joseph, age 91, died on November 1, 2014.
Archival History
The coupon was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 by Joseph Wardzala.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Joseph Wardzala
Scope and Content
Food ration coupon issued to Joseph Wardzala for Lebenstedt Firmenlager, a work camp near Braunschweig, Germany. The coupon has separate sections for warm and cold food and for sugar rations. Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany in September 1939. In April 1941, Joseph, age 18, a Roman Catholic, was kidnapped by the Germans from the streets of Tarnow and deported to Watenstedt-Salzgitter labor camp in northwest Germany. He was forced to work in construction for the German Army. Joseph was liberated by American troops in April 1945. He was taken to a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) displaced persons camp. After five years, he finally acquired a visa to the United States and, in 1950, emigrated to the US where he settled in Connecticut.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Identification verso
Subjects
- Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Germany--Personal narratives, Polish.
- Forced labor--Germany--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Polish.
- Foreign workers, Polish--Germany--Biography.
Genre
- Object
- Exchange Media