Julian Goren was born in 1935 in Poland. His father was a talented musician and conductor. His mother was a communist organizer.

The family lived in Warsaw and later their neighborhood became the Warsaw Ghetto. Julian recalls seeing a variety of atrocities within the ghetto. There were people starving and collapsing in the streets. Fallen horses were immediately cut up for meat. The kosher butcher’s family was killed and hung in the window of his own store.

One day, shortly before the ghetto wall was sealed, in the morning, Julian’s uncle took Julian, his grandmother, and mother to escape through an opening. They ran for the train station. Julian’s uncle was killed by the Nazis. However, Julian and the others escaped. When the train stopped they ran into the woods. They traveled on foot. Julian’s grandmother perished during this time. Julian and his mother marched on—despite the cold and lack of food—trying to make it to the Soviet border to meet Julian’s father, who was already there through contacts with the new Polish Army. Eventually they were reunited with him.

Julian and his family traveled with the Polish Army from 1 ½ to 2 years across many borders. Julian’s parents stayed in Palestine but ultimately returned to Poland.

Julian immigrated to Israel with his first wife and completed his education there, becoming a government engineer. He had two children there and in 1967 moved to the United States to be with his parents. He returned to school and remarried.

 

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