Kankakee Public Library Podcasts

Aaron Elster is a child survivor of the Holocaust. He was born in 1933 in the small northeastern village of Sokolow-Podlaski in Poland. Aaron lived in the Sokolow Ghetto with his two sisters, mother and father until the liquidation of the ghetto in September 1942. He escaped the liquidation and hid in various surrounding farms. Eventually, Aaron found refuge in the attic of a Polish family, where he hid for two years until the war's end. After the war Aaron lived in several orphanages throughout Poland, and eventually was smuggled out of Poland to various DP camps in West Germany. Aaron Elster and his sister came to the United States in June of 1947. He was educated in Chicago and served in the armed forces in Korea. Now married with 2 sons and 2 grandchildren, he is an active member of the community, serving as Co-Chairman of the Speakers' Bureau and Vice President at the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois. Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the Speaker's Bureau for the Hidden Children Association