1938
Jack Fried was born in Chorostkow, Poland (Now Khorostkov, Ukraine).
1941
July: German soldiers came in and occupied the city. The soldiers that came were hungry and so Jack’s mother fed them. The soldiers warned them to leave before the SS came but they had nowhere else to go; therefore, they stayed. By the end of the year the Chorostkow ghetto was formed and Jack and his family were placed there. Every day they would take 200-300 Jews away on the train and they never returned.
1942
The Chorostkow ghetto was liquidated, and Jack and his family were moved to a camp six kilometers away. That camp was also liquidated in 1943.
1943
Jack and his family were then brought to the Jablonica Forced Labor Camp. His mother was made to cook, and his father was a confectioner (baker). Their extra provision of food was the main reason they managed to survive.
At the age of 5, Jack was put to work gathering fruits and vegetables in a farm co-cop to feed German soldiers. Soldiers watched to ensure that the Jews didn’t eat the food.
