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During the Holocaust, Larry Wenig was first declared an enemy of the state and sent to a camp, later being sent to Uzbekistan and being accused of being a German spy.
“We listened to the radio and we listed to Hitler’s speeches when he indicated his hatred of the Jews and interest to eliminate them,” said Wenig, who was born in Dynw, Poland in 1924.
As Wenig heard Hitler speak about that and a desire to take over German territories in the early ‘30s, he said they could tell Hitler was serious about it although they still did not pay much attention. His step-father merely dismissed it as nonsense.
After hearing about Kristallnacht in Germany, Wenig’s family tried to get out of Poland but was unable to do so. Wenig said that although Germany entered Poland on September 1, 1939, they did not reach his own town until 10 or 12 days later.
Wenig’s family decided to try to escape east, but ran into members of the red army. As they were registered, the KGB discovered that Wenig’s step-father was a wealthy merchant.
“We were classified as capitalists and enemies of the people,” he said.
After a two-week-long trip on a cattle car, they arrived at the camp Gulag 149. Although he was about 15 at the time, Wenig’s parents registered him under a younger age so that he would not be sent out to work in the forest.
Later during the war, Wenig, his step-father, mother, step-sister and step-brother were sent to Uzbekistan, where they lived in a one-room mud hut next to a cow. They remained there for two years.
In order to support the family, Wenig’s step-father began dealing with the black market for bread. Wenig was sent to the illegal farmer’s market to buy food one day when he was 16 years old. He was stopped by a militia member who was suspicious of the amount he had been able to purchase and was accused of being able to afford it because he was a German spy. Only through a bribe, was he rescued from potential execution.
“The value of my life was two flints to a cigarette lighter,” Wenig said.
Even after the war came to an end, Wenig witnessed anti-Semitism, including pogroms against the Jews. There was also an instance when he was in a barbershop and heard people saying they were grateful to Hitler for getting rid of so many Jews.
“I took a silent oath that I would devote myself to seeing the establishment of a Jewish state,” said Wenig, adding that he felt the only way for Jews to be safe was for them to have their own state.
After spending time in a displaced person’s camp, Wenig and his family arrived in the United States on June 13, 1946 through the help of an uncle. Although he was 22, had not finished high school and did not speak English, Wenig insisted on pursuing his dream of becoming a lawyer. He went on to eventually have his own successful private practice.
Wenig has been married to his wife Selma for 54 years. They currently reside in North Shore Towers and have two children.
