WHEN Holocaust Memorial Day took place recently, it evoked dark memories for one Abergele resident. Irena Kostrzewa, 83, is one of the few survivors of Auschwitz. Living at the time in Krakow, Poland, Irena was sent to the Birkenau camp at the age of 14, despite being a Christian. "I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." Irena told the Visitor. "The conditions were horrendous. There were around a thousand women to a barrack with no mattresses and no toilet. With five girls to one bunk, the only way we could have survived was by huddling up to each other for warmth." In 1944, aged 18, Irena managed to escape when a truck she was being transferred in overturned. All 50 occupants ran for freedom, and Irena was injured in doing so. But her story doesn’t end there. Irena made it to a German farm, where she stayed for a short time before conflict began again. "I was out the back of the house peeling potatoes when the Gestapo arrived. They had heard that the farmer was keeping an American paratrooper in his loft," she said. "When they arrived the farmer told me to hide in one of the potato sacks. As I hid, the Gestapo took away the American before shooting the farmer, his wife, young son and his baby in his wife’s arms." That final act of the German farmer saved Irena’s life. From there, she managed to make it to the French border where she was taken to Paris. It was there she learnt that from the women who had fled the truck, that just 13 made it to the border. Irena then joined the British fighting against the Germans and met her husband Alfred, who was also serving in the Army. They were married for 62 years before Alfred sadly passed away last year. For the past five years Irena has lived in Abergele after moving with her daughter Christina. Having overcome so much in her life, including four bypass operations, Irena has nothing but praise for her home town. "The people of Abergele are very nice. They understand what Polish people went through during that terrible time and not just Jewish people – people from all nations and religions," said Irena. And so when Holocaust Memorial Day takes place each year, this truly remarkable lady will think back to the many, many lives lost during that time, especially that of the farmer who saved her own. When hearing her story, you can’t help but be in awe of Irena’s spirit, and when asked what she enjoyed about living in Abergele, Irena answered, after a pause: "I love the chips!" | 
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