Skip to main content

Mike Prayzer papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 1065-043

Collection Overview

The collection consists of newspaper clippings and a videotaped interview of Mike Prayzer, a Jewish native of Bendzin, Poland, who survived imprisonment in ten concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau. Prayzer immigrated to the United States in 1949.

Dates

  • Creation: 1982-1995

Creator

Language of Material

Materials in English

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

Mayer "Mike" Prayzer was born in Bendzin, Poland, in 1922. Prayzer, his parents, four brothers, and a sister, were all arrested following the Nazi invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II. Over the course of the war, he was imprisoned in ten different concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He was in Dachau concentration camp when it was liberated by American troops in April 1945.

Prayzer stayed in Germany after the war to look for relatives who survived. He found three of his brothers, but his fourth brother, his sister, and his parents were all dead. While searching, Prayzer met Esther Fromovitz, a native of Romania and a fellow survivor. They were married in Rehau, Germany, in August 1946, and immigrated to the United States in 1949 with their young son Morris. In 1951, after settling in Lorain, Ohio, their daughter, Bernice, was born, followed by son Kenneth in 1960.

Extent

0.25 linear feet (1 folder, 1 videocassette)

Abstract

The collection consists of newspaper clippings and a videotaped interview of Mike Prayzer, a Jewish native of Bendzin, Poland, who survived imprisonment in ten concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau. Prayzer immigrated to the United States in 1949.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at the folder level.

Acquisitions Information

Materials donated in 2005 by Bernice Prayzer Rubin.

Related Material

Related materials in College of Charleston Special Collections include an oral history interview with Prayzer's daughter, Bernice Rubin (Mss 1035-301).

Processing Information

Processed by Rebecca McClure, April 2012.

Title
Inventory of the Mike Prayzer papers, 1982-1995
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by: Rebecca McClure; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rebecca McClure
Date
2012
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)