Narrative

Child of Stutthof

Being born in a concentration camp is like playing with fire: You never know if you’ll survive. Andrzej Kaźmierczak, now an elderly man, was born in Stutthof concentration camp in northern Poland where he spent the first seven months of his life. Even though he was too young to remember much about his  birth and early life in a concentration camp, over the years he has learned some of the essentials of what happened to him.. Furthermore, he has lived with the consequences of his cruel and torturous beginnings for his entire life.  However, in spite of his bleak childhood, his survival and ability to live a full life make his story remarkable and his personality admirable. This is his story.

Andrzej Kaźmierczak was born in Stutthof concentration camp on August 17, 1944. His father was a French general and his mother, though also French,  was of Jewish descendent which made her vulnerable under the Nazi regime. If his mother wouldn’t have had false papers that stated that she was of Roman Catholic belief, Andrzej wouldn’t have survived. During the first few months of his life, Andrzej was deathly ill, contracting both typhus and bubonic plague. Since the doctor said he had Nordic traits, Mr. Kaźmierczak was not destined  for death in the gas chamber but rather he became one of the many children used for experiments.  One such experiment was when the doctor used an old vaccine to test if it would cure the disease Andrzej recently contracted, and, if successful,  could it be applied on the SS men. He was saved.   

Soon after the vaccine experiment, Andrzej was smuggled out of the camp with the laundry along with other children, and given to German nuns in Gdańsk for Germanization. Following the end of World War II,  in the summer of 1946 he was given for adoption to Helena and Wacław Kaźmierczak who lived in a wealthy apartment in Łódź. Since his adoptive father was a successful filmmaker, Andrzej had a more comfortable life than most people in those years following the war. However, despite all the wealth his life wasn’t perfect. At first, his adoptive mother treated Andrzej more like a pet than her son but  as he was growing up he stopped being his mother’s pet and instead endured  beatings and, ultimately, arguments upon arguments. Interestingly enough Mr. Kaźmierczak was baptized 3 times: The first time by a priest in the camp, second time by the nuns were he was “Germanized” and, finally, a third time by his adoptive parents.

At age 11, Mr. Kaźmierczak was sent to study in a monastery to enhance his knowledge. When he was sixteen, he discovered ths story of his adoption; he became enraged with the way he found out and had an argument with his mother. When he turned 17 Mr. Kaźmierczak started working and “had to juggle studying and working and working and studying” as Mr. Kaźmierczak phrased it. He refused to take any more money from his parents. In his adulthood,  Andrzej’s mother made him pay back all the money she had spent on him during the 15 years she raised him and, eventually, he did repay her.. Also at this age Mr. Kaźmierczak became incredibly and suddenly wealthy. When he realized that his youthful appearance not matching his chronological age, he began dating older women. When describing his charm, he chuckled as he observed that 1 in 100 women who walked past him on the street would come up to him and propose.

Mr. Kaźmierczak had 3 wives. His first marriage lasted 11 years, and he and his first wife had a baby boy together in 1972; he is still on amiable terms with his first wife. His second marriage  he referred to as a mistake and was married only for a few months and had no children with his second wife.. After that unsuccessful marriage he thought that love wasn’t for him and was planning on giving up on it when he fell in love. Mr. Kaźmierczak is still married to his third wife and the pair have a daughter who is about 20 years.

Over the years Mr. Andrzej traveled to the Middle East, France, Germany and to the Chinese mountains on the border with Russia. Mr. Andrzej explained how he knew German from his Germanization during his time at the nunnery, spoke French, and also knows Russian because it was a supplementary language to take during communist times in Poland. However, when he tries to speak the languages now he admits he wouldn’t be able to keep a conversation going even though  when he goes to the country of which the language is the mother tongue he will instantly remember the language fluently.

While telling us one of his stories of what he’s been through Mr. Kaźmierczak told us that he’s been arrested several times and also held at gunpoint. Mr. Kaźmierczak has faced death many times.

Mr. Kaźmierczak is a man of many other surprises. He told our group members that he has photographic memory and that after seeing us today he will remember us forever since his mind already took a snapshot of us.. All the stories he told us about what has happened to him over the years were truly amazing. And in spite of the solemnity and sorrow of what he was sharing,, Mr. Kaźmierczak talked to us in a way which made everyone laugh and smile once in awhile. This was truly an unforgettable and amazing experience.