Edwin Bruell: A Holocaust Survivor's Story
Channel: Mr. Bowns
Date: 18/12/2022

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR EDWIN BRUELL
HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS
SPRING 2002

A mutual friend connected me with Edwin Bruell, recognizing how each year, the world had fewer Holocaust survivors still alive to share what they'd seen firsthand. 

I wasted no time before inviting Edwin to speak with my history students at Whittier Regional Technical High School. He'd make additional trips for the next few years to meet new groups of students. Each time, he drove for an hour each way from the Worcester area, never wanting any honoraria or travel reimbursements. When I later moved on to other career paths which brought me outside of the teaching classroom, we ultimately lost track of each other. 

Despite witnessing horrible atrocities firsthand, Edwin hadn't abandon his optimism. Rather than representing dread or discomfort as he talked with students, Edwin clearly saw a much bigger picture beyond his own painful memories. That was simply to make sure that his story -- and the larger story about when humanity went horribly wrong -- would not end. 

In each retelling which I witnessed over several years, he gave us a piece of his past, entrusting it to a few dozen representatives of a much younger generation. Wherever they are living their adult lives today, I hope that they still remember when a valiant yet very modest Polish immigrant wanted to meet them and open their eyes a little wider towards a different time. 

Recently, I found an old VHS tape mixed in with dozens of others. None had been watched in the last decade, and since 2002 we've since gone from DVDs to Blu-Ray and have become a digital streaming society. Yet  I could not let Edwin's story remain out of sight any longer, locked away in a Rubbermaid storage bin as it already had for years. Instead, I learned how to convert it for modern times. So, here is the 35-minute recorded footage of Edwin's very first student talk. Now, anyone can hear him tell his story.

Edwin Bruell passed away on December 21, 2013. If I could ask him about being on YouTube, I think the odds are pretty good that he'd approve.

Never forget, 
Mr. Bowns

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EDWIN BRUELL'S BIOGRAPHY

Edwin E. Bruell's life was quite extraordinary. He was born in Mikuszowice, Bielsko-Biala, Poland. His parents, Walter and Elfreda (Schreinzer) Bruell, ran a successful woolen mill. Edwin himself became an expert in woolen textiles. He graduated from Bielsko Gymnasium-Technical School 1937, and then went to study textile engineering in England at Bradford Technical College (now Bradford University). He then took an apprenticeship at a Bradford wool dealer and later continued his education at Huddersfield Technical College until June 1939.

This productive life of learning was disrupted by the cataclysm that culminated in the Nazi holocaust, during which Edwin, his father, and his two brothers were arrested by the Gestapo and carted off to the Auschwitz concentration camp and later to Buchenwald. They were held as political prisoners, were tattooed with consecutive numbers, and luckily all survived the camps.

The camp was liberated on April 11, 1945 by General Patton's U.S. Third Army, and because he spoke Polish, German, and English, Edwin was assigned by the American commander to help the war crimes investigation team as an interpreter. He later got a job at the America Red Cross headquarters in Wiesbaden also as an interpreter. His boss, Clifford Johnson, Jr. of Wellesley, MA made it possible for him to obtain a US immigration visa so he could immigrate to the United States.

Edwin arrived in New York, NY June 21, 1947. He got in touch with Leo Honig of Anglo Fabrics in Webster, MA who was a good friend of Edwin's father, and was offered a job as an assistant designer. He worked 51 years at Anglo Fabrics, retiring as Plant Superintendent in April 1998.

Edwin also became a travel agent and in 1978 became owner of Tri-Town Travel. Edwin loved to travel and in addition to regular trips back to Poland he traveled widely around the world, e.g., to: Hungary, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Canada, England, Israel, Spain, Australia, Norway, Morocco, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Venezuela, St Lucia, Aruba, Bermuda, Bahamas, Margarita Island, and St. Martin.

Edwin enjoyed many hobbies: tennis, skiing, ice hockey, water polo, and photography. Edwin was married to Loretta Frances (Nowosadko) Bruell on December 20th 1950, and together they had four children. Sadly, Loretta died on September 22, 2007 in Webster at age 84 after 56 years of marriage. Edwin died at the age of 95 on December 21, 2013 at home. 

He is survived by three sons and a daughter: Clifford J. Bruell of North Chelmsford, Jeffrey W. Bruell of Stow, Gregory A. Bruell of West Roxbury, and Barbara B. Bruell of Sammamish, Washington State. He is also survived by 7 grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. 

SOURCE: https://bartelfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/426/Edwin-Bruell/obituary.html