He Survived the Holocaust Because of a Stranger’s Kindness

This story originally aired January 21th, 2022 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

In 1941, Philip Lazowski and his family were among thousands of Jews sent to the Zhetel Ghetto in what was then Poland.

One day, the Lazowski family caught wind that the Nazis were killing Jews in the ghetto and they decided to go into hiding. But Philip, just 11 years old, was caught alone by a German soldier after helping his parents and siblings take shelter in a hideout they’d built in their apartment.

Rounded up into the Zhetel marketplace, he saw the soldiers sending children and the elderly to their deaths, but noticed they seemed to be sparing families with adults who had jobs deemed valuable by the Nazis, like doctors, tailors or cobblers.

When he was 91 years old, Rabbi Philip Lazowski came to StoryCorps with his wife, Ruth, 86, to remember a quick decision that saved his life.

Rabbi Philip and Ruth Lazowski on their wedding day, in 1955. Credit: courtesy of the Lazowski family.

Storycorp's mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. Listen to more stories like this on the Storycorp website and learn how you can record your own! All stories are archived at the Library of Congress.

Top Photo: Rabbi Philip Lazowski and Ruth Lazowski. Credit: courtesy of the Lazowski family.