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Irving Shapiro

Irving Shapiro was born Israel Szapiro on April 15, 1923, in Międzyrzec, Poland. From 1942-1945, he was imprisoned and assigned to forced labor at Majdanek concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, Buna-Monowitz (or Auschwitz III) concentration camp, and at the end of the war at Dora-Mittlebau concentration camp. Irving was sent to Majdanek with his brother, Abraham, who disappeared sometime during 1942. Sadly, the boys were never reunited. Irving searched for Abraham throughout his lifetime. Their father, Hershel, and mother, Mala, were murdered in the Treblinka death camp in 1942. Irving married Clara Zaltzman in September 1945 in Neustadt, Germany. They later immigrated to Canada with their first daughter, Tatiana. Seven years later, in 1955, relatives provided sponsorship for them to move to the US in Gering, Nebraska, where they settled and built successful businesses. Irving and Clara had two additional children, Hershel and Marlene. Hear Irving's testimony in his own words.


63 items

List of names of the 1459 new arrivals, August 5, 1944

  • Date: August 5, 1944
  • Format: document
  • Source: AVM, Arolsen 25.2.91 SM/bl/117/ITS ISS-0678, ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Letter from Irving Shapiro to Howard Shaff, August 14, 1984

  • Date: August 14, 1984
  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro Notes (From Shapiro)

  • Date: September 17, 1984
  • Format: document

Sophie Bleiwiss Remembrance of Irving Shapiro

  • Date: 1985 ca.
  • Format: letter

A Letter to Levi

  • Date: June 2, 1985
  • Format: book

Jewish Group Responds With Facts to Hate Talk

  • Date: December 10, 1985
  • Format: newspaper

A Time in the Life of Israel Szapiro #129564

  • Date: 1988
  • Format: book

Gering Man Believes Parents Killed by "Ivan the Terrible"

  • Date: April 30, 1988
  • Format: newspaper

Sermons in stone speak from Treblinka

  • Date: September 10, 1989
  • Creator(s): Will, George
  • Format: newspaper

Irving Shapiro Interview (Part I)

  • Date: 1990
  • Format: testimony

Irving Shapiro Interview (Part II)

  • Date: 1990
  • Format: testimony

Irving Shapiro

  • Date: 1990
  • Creator(s): Pregowski, Konrad | Pregowski, Robert
  • Format: photograph
  • Source: Film, "A Time in the Life of ISRAEL SZAPIRO No. 129564"

Letter from Milton Marcus to Irving Shapiro, December 10, 1990

  • Date: December 10, 1990
  • Creator(s): Marcus, Milton
  • Format: letter

Closed Eyes

  • Date: May 2, 1991
  • Creator(s): Preiss, Rebecca Lynn
  • Format: poem

Letter from Radu Ioanid to Irving Shapiro, July 25, 1994

  • Date: July 25, 1994
  • Creator(s): Ioanid, Radu
  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro's 50th Anniversary Speech Draft

  • Date: 1995
  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: document

Letter from Ari Zev to Irving Shapiro, March 24, 1995

  • Date: March 24, 1995
  • Format: letter

Letter from Governor Ben Nelson to Audra Weitzel, May 24, 1996

  • Date: May 24, 1996
  • Creator(s): Nelson, E. Benjamin (Earl Benjamin), 1941-
  • Format: letter

Resolution Honoring Irving Shapiro

  • Date: June 21, 1996
  • Format: document

Nebraska's Panhandle Families: Faith in a Faraway Place

  • Date: Summer 2008
  • Creator(s): Shelley, Rita
  • Format: email

Tatiana Shapiro's Story

  • Date: January 5, 2010
  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Tatiana
  • Format: email

Email from Martin Kriwet to Hershel Shapiro, February 16, 2010

  • Date: February 16, 2010
  • Creator(s): Kriwet, Martin
  • Format: email

Email from Megan Lewis to Hershel Shapiro, April 16, 2010

  • Date: April 16, 2010
  • Creator(s): Lewis, Megan
  • Format: email

Email from Hershel Shapiro to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, April 16, 2010

  • Date: April 16, 2010
  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Hershel Joshua
  • Format: email

Email from Jo-Ellyn Decker to Hershel Shapiro, May 27, 2010

  • Date: May 27, 2010
  • Creator(s): Decker, Jo-Ellyn Decker
  • Format: email

Hershel Joshua Shapiro Obituary

  • Date: March 7, 2014
  • Format: newspaper

Tania Shapiro Moore Obituary

  • Date: September 5, 2017
  • Format: newspaper

Interview with John and Rita Stinner, Friends of Irving Shapiro

  • Date: October 18, 2023
  • Format: testimony

Irving Shapiro Speech Draft

  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro's Speech Snippet (Swastika in Yard)

  • Format: document

Shapiro Speech to Educators (2)

  • Format: document

Irving Shapiro Notes (Nobody is entitled to forget about Aushwitz)

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: document

Flags of the Liberating Divisions

  • Format: document

Survivors of the Shoah Invitation

  • Format: document

Document verification office at the Arolsen special registry office

  • Format: document
  • Source: Zugangabuch 65.501 - 67.910, G.C.C. 2/175/35, ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Poster for My Story: A Time in the Life of 129564

  • Format: letter

Abraham Szapiro's records from Buchenwald

  • Format: document

Irving Shapiro's Tattoo

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: photograph
  • Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Photograph number N01069.07

Paved with Roses (Irving and Clara Shapiro's Wedding Story)

  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro Notes (The 2 tragic dates)

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: document

In Modern Times

  • Format: book

Buchenwald 65001-74000 Block Book

  • Format: document
  • Source: AVM, Arolsen 25.2.91 SM/bl/117/ITS ISS-0678, ITS Digital Archivem Arolsen Archives

Vandalism on Irving Shapiro's Lawn (Image 1)

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: photograph

Letter from Hershel Shapiro to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Hershel Joshua
  • Format: letter

Shapiro Speech to Educators

  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro Notes (End of War)

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: document

Letter from Hershel Shapiro to Beth Dotan

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Hershel Joshua
  • Format: letter

Irving Shapiro's Writings (Anybody who came to Mezht. in 1946)

  • Format: document

Irving Shapiro Notes (Jews of Mezr.)

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: document

Irving Shapiro's Tattoo

  • Creator(s): Shapiro, Irving
  • Format: photograph
  • Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Photograph number N01069.06
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