Michael Goldin papers
Extent and Medium
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Creator(s)
- Michal Goldin
Biographical History
Michal Goldin was born on August 30, 1922, in Warsaw, Poland, to a Jewish couple, Jacob and Rosa Ruth Mirski Goldin. He had one sister, Isabelle, who was born on April 24, 1925, in Warsaw. His father Jacob was born on February 16, 1889, in Slonim (Slonim, Belarus) and was an industrialist. His mother Rosa was born on September 18, 1901, in Warsaw. Michal attended high school in Heide Antwerp, Belgium. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Michal was cut off from his family in Warsaw and enlisted in the Polish Army in exile in France. He fought in France following the German invasion in May 1940. As German troops advanced through France in June, his unit retreated across the border to Switzerland, where they were interned in camps. Michal attended the University of Fribourg and received an undergraduate law degree. In 1943, he escaped from Switzerland to Great Britain, where he rejoined the Polish Army and was assigned to a unit in Scotland. He attended the University of St. Andrews and received a master’s degree in economics. In June 1944, his unit was shipped to France and he participated in the invasion of Normandy. He served as a corporal. On August 19, 1944, 21 year old Michal was killed near Falaise while trying to evacuate an ambulance of wounded soldiers. He was posthumously awarded a Virtuti Militari Silver Cross medal. His father, mother, and sister escaped from Poland to South Africa and emigrated to the United States in 1946.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark and Paul Weinberg
The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Paul N. Weinberg in 2013.
Scope and Content
Collection of publications: “Goniec Obozowy” published by and for the interned Polish Military in Switzerland. Cpl. Michael Goldin (donor’s maternal uncle) joined the Polish Army in France in 1940 was later interned with the Second Polish Division in Switzerland. In 1943 Cpl. Goldin reached UK where he rejoined Polish Forces; he participated in the invasion of Normandy and was killed in France while trying to rescue an ambulance with wounded soldiers. Includes a citation from Commander in Chief; Soldier’s pay book with last will; school notebook c. 1936, Warsaw, Poland; Postcards from UK; Polish Digest; Johannesburg, SA 1944.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Paul N. Weinberg
People
- Michal Goldin
Genre
- Document