Sobotka, Mark_1974/11/6, Oral History, 1974-11-6

GREATER HARTFORD JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION

Tape No.: # 81 No. of Tapes: Name of Interviewee: Mark Sobotka Date of Interview: 11/06/74 Occupation: vice-president of the General Elevator Company Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Luge, Poland Transcript (yes/no): yes No. of Pages: 28

Abstract: Mark Sobotka emigrated to the US from Luge, Poland twenty-five years ago with his wife and young son. The original name of the family in Poland was changed from Hershberg to Sobotka. His father owned a factory and the family had a comfortable life. He was a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Community Center as well as a founder of the Jewish Cultural Committee and an organizer of a commemoration ceremony of the six million. It was the Jewish Cultural Committee that was responsible for organizing the Jewish Historical Society in 1971. Mr. Sobotka spoke at length about his family of six brothers and sisters, three of whom died in the Holocaust. One of his sisters who survived and lived in Sweden was known in Poland for her oratorical ability. She was active in politics, never running for office but assisting those who did. In Poland at that time, it was unusual for a Jewish woman to undertake this role. Mr. Sobotka was brought up Orthodox, his father was a Chasid. He described the life and attire as well as the role, influence and importance of the Chasidic rabbis in the town of Gerra, Poland, where many people in surrounding towns came for advice and help. Mr. Sobotka recounted his experiences during the war when he was smuggled from Poland into Russia where he remained for a short time, but returned to Poland because of his concern for his family. He described the horrors of what went on in the ghetto of Luge and his subsequent internment in Auschwitz. He was released to German industrialists to work in their factories where he remained until the capitulation in 1945. He was sent to a DP camp under the jurisdiction of the occupational army and supervised by a Jewish committee in Munich. He administered the food rations until the camp was liquidated a year later. Despite being a Zionist, he emigrated to the US in 1949 instead of going to Israel, because he felt it would be easier with a young child. He came to Hartford because of the presence of a cousin. Barney Rappaport gave him a job in the tobacco business, although he had been trained as an accountant he had to accept any available job. Sobotka soon left because the work affected his breathing. Then he worked his way up to the vice-president of an elevator company. His oldest son is a lawyer and his youngest son is a freshman at Yale.

Subject Index: Business Community Activities (in the Jewish Community) Community Leadership (in the Jewish Community) Eastern European Jews Holocaust Oral History Rabbis Zionism