Vladek

Vladek is Born

Oct 11, 1906

Vladek Spiegelman is born on october 11, 1906.

Vladek meets Anja

Dec 19, 1935

Vladek meets Anja for the first time while visiting family in Sosnowiec.

Vladek and Anja Marry

Feb 14, 1937

Vladek and Anja marry after a little over a year of meeting eachother.

Richieu is Born

Oct 6, 1937

Vladek and Anja have their first son, Richieu.

Anja goes to a Sanitarium

Jan 7, 1938

Vladek took Anja to a sanitarium in Czechoslovakia. On the way there they saw a Nazi flag hanging high in the center of town. Anja ended up staying in the sanitarium for 3 months until she returned home.

Vladek is Drafted

Aug 24, 1939

Vladek recieves a letter from the government drafting him into the army.

Vladek is taken as a prisoner of war

Nov 19, 1939

Vladek gets sent to a prisoner of war camp and is made to sleep outside in the cold with tents and all the other Jewish prisoners while the Polish prisoners get to live in heated cabins.

Vladek is Released

Jan 20, 1940

Vladek is released from the prisoner of war camp and plans to go back to Sosnowiec to see Anja and Richieu. Little does he know that he is being moved to another prison camp in the protectorate of Germany in Poland.

Parshas Truma

Jan 20, 1940

Vladek had a strange vision that he would be freed from the work camp on Parshas Truma. When it came the Jews were "released" but instead of being releasing them the Germans moved them to another prison camp to the protectorate of Germany in Poland.

Vladek Returns to Sosnoweic

Apr 8, 1940

Vladek pretends to be Polish and convinces the conductor to hide him in the train so he can go to Sosnoweic and see his family.

All Jews in Sosnoweic Forced to Ghettos

Dec 16, 1941

Vladek's family and all of the Jews in Sosnoweic are forced into the Ghettos.

Vladek's Father Sent to Auschwitz

Aug 24, 1942

Vladeks father is taken from the Ghetto during an inspection. He later dies in a gass chamber in Auschwitz

Richieu Dies

Aug 26, 1943

Anja's older sister who was caring for Richieu decides to kill him and herself rather then be sent to a concentration camp and die in the gass chambers.

Vladek and Anja sent to Auschwitz

Mar 17, 1944

Vladek paid some smugglers to help him and Anja get to Hungary but the smugglers betray them and turn them into the Germans.

Vladek and the Kapo

Mar 22, 1944

Vladek gets extremely lucky as the Kapo chooses him to teach himself english. He got clothes that fit, better food, and things for Mandelbaum, one of his friends. The Kapo kept Vladek safe for 2 months.

Vladek becomes a Tinman

May 22, 1944

After Vladek was finished helping the Kapo he became a Tinman. During this time he becomes friends with Mancie who helps keep him in touch with Anja who is in Birkenau.

Vladek works as a Shoemaker

Sep 6, 1944

Vladek gets a job as a shoemaker. For one of the shoes Vladek fixed a German officer gave him a sasuge as payment. Vladek was also able to fix Anja's Kapo's shoes which made the Kapo stop beating her.

Happiest Moment in Auschwitz

Oct 1, 1944

Vladek saves up a fortune of bribes to bring Anja to tbe barracks close to his. This is was the only time he was happy in Auschwitz.

The Auschwitz March

Dec 22, 1944

Vladek and the remaining prisoners marched back into the reich past the gross-rosen line because Germany was losing the war and Russian troops were closing in on Auschwitz.

Vladek is Liberated

Jan 16, 1945

While staying in a barn American soldiers show up and Vladek is finally safe but he still has typhus and at the hospital he finds out that he has diabetes

Vladek and Anja Reunite in Sosnoweic

Feb 17, 1945

Vladek Dies

Aug 22, 1982

Vladek Spiegelman dies at age 75 of a heart attack.