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In Isak Borenstein's first battle, he and about 35 other Russians were defeated by Germans. After surrendering, they were marched. Isak escaped while going around a street corner. Then he went to work with the Partisans.
He was given up by a drunk friend, and the Germans took him and about sixty other Partisans to a prison in Dnepropetrovsk. He was tortured in the worst ways possible, and eventually, the Germans concluded that he was not a Jew. Although he was a Jew, he made up very clever stories to be able to survive the prison.
When Russia started to close in on the prison, all of the prisoners were moved to Mauthausen. At Mauthausen, Borenstein had so many chances to die, but always got lucky escapes. For example, a guard once was about to kill him to make the other people work harder. He had the gun raised and the safety off. But another guard luckily advised him not to. He was finally freed when the camp was liberated.
I admire Isak Borenstein because he stuck to his beliefs, and he was very clever to keep himself alive. He made very believable stories and even went as far as to change his last name to a Polish last name at one point; Broniewski. He was a very smart and well rounded person.
"...they hung six Russian boys. The SS put us out to watch. You cannot see anything. You do not feel anything. They make you feel like an animal. It was a slaughter house. Absolutely not describable! How can you forget?"
"How do I deal with it? By just going praying. I get up at 5:30 a.m. I go to work. I make myself busy. If not busy, I might go crazy. Busy night and day. I remember nothing. Cut it off."
"We were a big family. We were eight children. I am the oldest of eight. When they took us to the trains to take to the death camp, I was seventeen years old and my youngest brother was three years old and I still hear him scream, 'I want to live too.'"