Fred Mayer

Fred Mayer of Atwood Rd., Olive Bridge died Thursday, April 30, 2009 at Benedictine Hospital. He was 86. He was born December 22, 1922 in Lubaczow, Poland, a son of the late Herschel and Esther Schwartz Mayer. In 1942, the Nazis sent Jews from his town to a ghetto in Bochnia, and then to a work camp in Belsus. When Fred and others in his town heard that the Jewish population was being exterminated at the camp in Belsus, they gathered rifles, pistols and ammunition and escaped to the woods to fight. Since Fred, age 20, did not own a gun, he volunteered to warn the Jews in Bochnia about the extermination in Belsus. With the help of Ukranian farmers who held his parents in high regard, he was able to gain access onto the train to Bochnia. No one believed him in Bochnia. They thought the Germans were too civilized. He stayed in the B Ghetto with terrible conditions, but was then moved to the A Ghetto, as he was forced to fix cars for the Germans. During the war, he was sent to five concentration camps: Chebnia, Postkow, Auschwitz, Gleiwitz, and then finally he went on a death march to the notorius Little (B) Camp at Buchenwald. He was liberated by the American Army on April 11, 1945. For two years after the war, he was employed as a courier for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, which helped displaced persons, primarily Jews. He immigrated to the United States under the sponsorship of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. He served as a staff sergeant in the American army, stateside during the Korean Conflict, and then became a member of the American Army Reserves. After the army he worked for Rheo Motors where he met his wife, Beatrice Pauline Schleifer Mayer. They were married on April 5, 1950. He worked for General Motors, Cadillac division and then quit to go into business for himself. For over thirty years, he owned and operated Drive Line Motors, a successful automotive repair and body shop in Laurelton, Queens. He maintained repair contracts with the NY Police Deptartment, US Post Office and NY Telephone Company in addition to private work. For many years he operated a day and night shift. He also enjoyed gardening. On March 13, 2002, Fred and other Buchenwald survivors were honored at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. by President apppointed U.S. Preservation Commission Chair, Warren Miller. The ceremony was to mark the dedication of the Buchenwald Memorial in Germany. Various U.S. Senators and Diplomats of countries that were involved in the war were in attendance. He is survived by his wife Beatrice Pauline Mayer; two daughters, Maxine Gruber of Stone Ridge, Harriet Reilly of Cedarhurst; one son, Gary Mayer of Stone Ridge; three sisters, Gertrude Lola Holoszyc of Riverdale, Helen Eichner of Manhattan and Rachel Krebs of Haifa, Israel. Four grandchildren, Kenneth Henderson, Jaime Gruber, Christine Reilly and Paul Reilly and several nieces and nephews also survive. Two sisters, Nora Holloshutz and Adele Gotwald died previously. Funeral services will be conducted on Sunday, 12:30 PM at Simpson-Gaus Funeral Home, 411 Albany Ave., Kingston. Cantor Robert Cohen will officiate. Interment will follow in Montrepose Cemetery.