Aron Zolty photograph collection

Aron (Arek) Chuna Zolty was born on August 7, 1926 in Łódź, Poland to Szlama Zolty (March 6, 1886-August 20, 1942) and Dina Zolty (née Korn, June 13, 1889-July 3, 1940), . His father worked as a tailor. Aron had two older siblings, Elka Zolty (later Elka Pawigon December 20, 1915-1945) and Abram Hersz Zolty (February 15, 1920- January 1945). The family was forced to move into the Łódź ghetto. On July 3, 1940, Aron’s mother, Dina Zolty, died at the age of 51. His father and sister found work in a sewing workshop. Aron attended school in the ghetto until September 1941, when the school closed. He went to work in a leather and saddle workshop. On August 20, 1942, his father, Szlama Zolty died of starvation at the age of 56. Around the same time, Aron suffered appendicitis and underwent surgery in the ghetto hospital. After surgery, Helena Rumkowska, sister-in-law of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, granted Aron two weeks of recovery time in the hospital, which included better food rations. On September 5, 1942, during the Gehsperre Aktion, Aron was selected for deportation, despite his work permit and age. He managed to show his work permit of Hans Biebow, the Nazi administrator of the ghetto, who released him from deportation. On August 8, 1944, Aron and Abram Zolty were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Abram Zolty was sent to Gross Rosen concentration camp where he died in January 1945. Aron was transferred to Trzebinia, a sub camp of Auschwitz. On January 17, 1945, at midnight, the Germans ordered 600 prisoners to march to Auschwitz I concentration camp. Approximately 300 prisoners arrived at Auschwitz I the following day at 3:00 PM, Aron was among them. The group was supposed to join a transport of 56,000 prisoners, but they arrived late and were forced to stand in heavy snow. Aron requested permission to go to the latrine. He walked as far as he could and decided that he preferred to die in the camp than go on a death march. The group left without him. Aron Zolty was among the 1,200 Jewish prisoners who were liberated by the Soviet Army eight days later on January 27, 1945. After recovering, Aron returned to Łódź where he learned to repair sewing machines. He learned that his sister, Elka Pawigon, perished in either Bergen-Belsen or Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945. He reunited with her widower, David Pawigon, who survived a POW camp. It is unclear when Elka and David Pawigon married. Aron left Łódź for a DP camp in Blankenese, where he met and married Sima on May 13 1946. They immigrated to Israel and have three children: Shlomo (b. 1950); Tzipi (b. 1954), and Avi (b. 1965).

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Aron Chuna Zolty

Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Aron Zolty donated the Aron Zolty photograph collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005.