Maurice Zolkower was born in February 1921 in New York City, New York. It was very nice growing up there. He grew up in an ethnically mixed neighborhood. His father was a very skilled cabinet maker. He worked on handmade prototype furniture prior to the designs going into mass production using machines. In 1921, Zolkower’s father went into business for himself selling new and used furniture in New York City. Zolkower’s mother, Lottie, was a lovely lady who married Zolkower’s father in 1910. They were married in Czernowitz, Austria [Annotator’s Note: modern day Chernivtsi, Austria]. In 1912, Zolkower’s father came to the United States without his wife or infant daughter. Lottie Zolkower joined her husband the following year. The family moved into an apartment after she arrived. It was their home for the next 22 years. The family immigrated to the United States in order to find a new life. Zolkower’s mother sent money to her family in Europe via a German shipping line. As the years proceeded, the German Nazis murdered the whole family. There was no need to continue sending money to them. Zolkower did not experience antisemitism until he joined the Army. He attended a fine school in New York City. He skipped the seventh grade and had no problem doing so. He entered Columbia University College of Pharmacy in 1938 after graduating from Stuyvesant High School, which was highly acclaimed. Zolkower entered pharmacy school because of his association and employment by Finkelstein’s Pharmacy adjacent to his father’s store. Louis Finkelstein had Zolkower assist him in filling bottles of medications. His parents supported his decision to pursue pharmacy as his future career. Neither the rise to power of Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] nor German and Japanese militarism was discussed by the Zolkower family. He joined the National Guard in 1939 because of a recruiter’s promise of a limited time involvement for a nice pay opportunity for the commitment. After two months, it was federalized and he had to leave school and go into the National Guard [Annotator’s Note: during the late 1930s and the early 1940s National Guard units were federalized to bolster the United States Army’s trained manpower assets].

Maurice Zolkower entered the Army at Camp Dix, New Jersey. He was surprised to be assigned to the 114th Infantry [Annotator’s Note: 114th Infantry Regiment], since he had been studying pharmacy. He was assigned to a heavy weapons platoon for what he anticipated would be a year of duty. His squad had a 60 mm mortar [Annotator's Note: M2 60mm mortar, a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles]. He was able to effectively aim the mortar unlike the other squad members. The commander promoted him to corporal because of his skill. He shared a barracks with the platoon sergeant while the rest of the trainees were bunked together in a large room. After his commitment of a year, he returned to college [Annotator’s Note: Zolkower had attended Columbia University School of Pharmacy prior to his National Guard unit being called up for duty]. After completing his second year of college, he was recalled back into the Army because he was in the Reserves. He avoided going back into the infantry. He received three months of medical training at Camp Barkeley in Texas [Annotator’s Note: near Abilene, Texas]. After, he was sent to Fitzsimons General Hospital in Denver, Colorado [Annotator's Note: Fitzsimons Army Hospital, now Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado]. He trained as a dental technician which still did not relate to his previous pharmacy training. He learned about teeth and being an assistant. He made amalgam for fillings. He pumped the drill. The whole unit came in a trunk. It included the seat, drill, and a mixing stand. After completing his training in Denver, which was a nice place [Annotator’s Note: he smiles], he shipped out to Europe. He was concerned about going into the war. He traveled with 10,000 other men on the Queen Elizabeth and landed in Scotland in the Firth of Clyde. The debarkation took a long time. He went then to Bath, England where he was billeted with a family in their private home. They were nice people. He was assigned to the 7th Convalescent Hospital. Wounded veterans were recovering in the hospital to return to combat. Six weeks after D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], he landed in France.

Maurice Zolkower voyaged on Nieuw Amsterdam [Annotator’s Note: Dutch ship SS Nieuw Amsterdam] to Omaha Beach [Annotator’s Note: in Normandy, France]. He boarded a landing craft after climbing down a rope ladder. The beach was all cleaned up [Annotator’s Note: he arrived on Omaha Beach six weeks after D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. After traveling about ten miles into France, hospital tents were set up [Annotator’s Note: he was a dental assistant with the 120th Medical Battalion]. The days that led up to the D-Day invasion seemed very chaotic. He arrived six weeks after the invasion. Zolkower thanked God that he did not set foot on the beach on that fateful day of invasion. After the hospital tents were set up, medical attention could be provided to the wounded. The injured arrived at the hospital and were processed through an assessment to determine if they could be treated locally or had to be forwarded to a field hospital for more extensive treatment. Zolkower received a battle star for Central Europe for his actions as a medic. That was something to be highly regarded. As a dental technician, he was involved with facial wounds. For example, men arrived without a chin or teeth. There was a lot of blood. If his location could not help the patient, the next stop would be a field hospital. The staff included two medical officers, a dental officer, and three technicians. They wired jaws and stopped bleeding for the injured troops. With the loss of blood there [Annotator’s Note: he gestures toward his mouth], not a lot of men were saved. Zolkower was with the 7th Convalescent Hospital awaiting the Battle of Saint-Lô [Annotator’s Note: Saint-Lô was a major breakout battle of July 1944 in the Normandy region following D-Day in June 1944]. The Germans were pushed out and the liberation of Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] ensued. The 7th Convalescent Hospital was relocated to a spot 50 miles outside Paris called Étampes [Annotator’s Note: Étampes, France]. The Germans left everything there including a five story telephone headquarters for the German Army and a fully functional 350-bed hospital ready for American use. Zolkower’s captain received a leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to Paris and called on Zolkower to accompany him. Additionally, Zolkower had the opportunity through rest and recuperation leave to visit Paris on two other occasions. Being a medic with the Red Cross on his armband, he was treated nicely by the French citizens of Paris. The girls of Paris spoke German after so many years of occupation. They loved the armband and would not leave Zolkower alone. [Annotator’s Note: He laughs.] He felt compelled to refuse their advances. Paris was dark with the blackouts, but it was nice. He could get anything he wanted. He was in Étampes for several months before being transferred. He was informed that he was no longer needed as a dental technician.

Maurice Zolkower was told he would receive a helmet with a Red Cross on it and be transferred to the 92nd Mechanized Cavalry in the 14th Armored Division, the “Liberators” [Annotator’s Note: he had been a dental technician with the 7th Convalescent Hospital in Étampes, France up to that point]. He was going somewhere in France near Belgium. He was to be part of a halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks] squad of four to six riflemen and a fellow with a .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] up front. They might need a medic as they drove around looking for Germans. The squad never found any Germans. Zolkower knew about basic medical treatment for wounds as a result of his pharmacy training [Annotator’s Note: he took several semesters of pharmacy instructions at Columbia University School of Pharmacy in New York City, New York] as well as Army basic training. Life was tough on the halftrack [Annotator’s Note: he makes the sound of the rumbling vehicle], but he did nothing as a medic because there were no Germans to be found. Zolkower had been a corporal, but lost the rank in the transfers to medical training. He was receiving more pay in Europe as a private, so he did not care about the loss in rank. He was a buck private, but he did his job. After his stint on the halftrack, he was transferred to the 120th Medical Battalion, Company C “clearing company” in the 45th Infantry Division, called the “Thunderbirds”. They were a premier fighting unit experiencing many skirmishes and battles. That resulted in Zolkower receiving a battle star [Annotator's Note: a device worn on a campaign ribbon to indicate the number of campaigns a ship or individual took part in]. Zolkower joined the 45th as they moved from France to Belgium through Liege and Brussels. He then went to Luxembourg. From there, the 45th entered Germany. All the while, Zolkower was a medic with an infantry company. He treated the wounded with pressure bandages and tried to help them. He saw quite a bit of action in Germany. All the local citizens claimed not to be Nazis, but he felt they were all Nazis. It was scary when he realized he was in a war. He thought he might not make it home. While in Germany, Zolkower’s work in the clearing company involved triage of wounded to see the extent of treatment required for their injuries. Some of the casualties required relocation to a field hospital if the wounds were significant enough. If the jaw damage was very extensive, the dental and medical officer opted to send them back to the field hospital. It was a terrible time for Zolkower. He took care of many wounded men. In the Battle of Nuremberg [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Nuremberg, 16 to 20 April 1945; Nuremberg, Germany], the 45th Division blew up the huge Nazi sign at the Reichstag. During the fighting, Zolkower was upfront with the combat. After Nuremberg, the 45th pushed on to Munich [Annotator’s Note: Munich, Germany]. It was near the end of the war. He was billeted in the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization] barracks that was like a five-star hotel. It was beautiful. The Germans were nuts. He was there until the war ended on 8 May [Annotator’s Note: 8 May 1945]. He thanked God he was going home, but instead he had to relocate to a clinic in Germany to tend to local farmers. He spent a couple of months there in a hospital tent with a green light signifying help. Each local that came to him refused to admit that they were a Nazi. He gave them cursory attention for their medical issues and hurried them on their way. He gave chocolate to a German girl who did his laundry. In the end, he did not like any of the Germans. They did not tell the truth. They were all Nazis. He enjoyed aggravating the locals by telling them “ich bin Jude”, or “I am a Jew”. [Annotator’s Note: He smiles.] He would then tell them to get out. Zolkower had a terrible time there.

Maurice Zolkower was with them [Annotator’s Note: the 45th Infantry Division] when they received a call from Corps Headquarters to liberate Dachau [Annotator's Note: Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany]. He went with the 179th Infantry [Annotator’s Note: 179th Infantry Regiment], Company B as a medic. He was accompanied by another medic plus a medical officer or two. He did not initially enter the main camp, but went to a railroad which had boxcars full of dead people. Upon attempting to enter the camp, a half-hour battle ensued with opposing riflemen firing on each other. The company commander requested a halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks] with a .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] from headquarters which was about 18 miles away. The women guards did not want to raise their hands like the German guards did. The machine gunners killed them all. Zolkower did not want to enter the camp because of the stench. He was told not to provide food to the inmates [Annotator’s Note: because of chronic malnutrition, the digestive system of the inmates could not tolerate rich food provided to the troops]. Cigarettes were provided instead. Zolkower told the company commander that they had to leave. He returned to the SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization] barracks which was nice [Annotator’s Note: he had previously described the barracks where he was then billeted as being equal to a luxurious hotel]. He was ready to return home at that point. After two months at Gars, Germany [Annotator’s Note: he had very reluctantly served as a medic treating local Germans needing medical assistance], he was informed that he would be returning home. He thanked God. He was driven to Ulm, Germany where there was a railway station. He was going to Cherbourg, France to go by ship back to the United States. At Cherbourg, he entered Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France] where he stayed for seven or eight days. The song “Sentimental Journey” was played over the public address system every hour while he was there [Annotator’s Note: the song was a popular 1945 musical piece played by Les Brown and his Orchestra with vocals by Doris Day]. He sailed to the States in a Kaiser Liberty Ship returning to New York [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. Along with about 5,000 other troops, he voyaged back eating chicken feather soup. [Annotator’s Note: He laughs.] After disembarking, he had a steak and chocolate malt. It was wonderful being home. After returning home, he was sent to Camp Barkeley again [Annotator’s Note: Camp Barkeley near Abilene, Texas, where he received his medical training prior to deployment overseas]. He was debriefed there and was finally discharged after a month or two in New York in December [Annotator’s Note: December 1945].

Maurice Zolkower had promised to marry his girlfriend, so he finalized the nuptials in six weeks [Annotator’s Note: after his discharge in December 1945] in 1946. He informed his new wife, Lilian or Lilly, that she would have to work while he completed pharmacy school [Annotator’s Note: he had enrolled in Columbia University School of Pharmacy prior to being recalled to serve in the Army]. He promised that, after that, she would never have to work again. She never did in the 68 years they were together. They wrote to each other often during the war. Zolkower did a good job of adjusting to civilian life. The G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] provided good financial assistance for his education and the couple’s life during those years. He worked in the Hotel Roosevelt pharmacy in New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. He also worked at the Hitchcock Pharmacy in New York. He never talked much to his wife about the war. It was irritating to him. He could not sleep without a light on for four or five years. His wife did not understand that he could not sleep otherwise. He had nightmares about the dead Jews and the condition of their bodies. He fell out of bed a few months ago. He returns to Dachau in his dreams [Annotator's Note: as a medic in the 45th Infantry Division he had participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany in April 1945]. He wanted to get out because he is Jewish. He had pains [Annotator’s Note: he motions to his chest] all the time which resulted in a quadruple bypass. He has never met anyone from the 45th Infantry Division. His wife wondered about him thrashing around all the time. The couple had four children. His 73-year-old daughter, Francie, does not look her age. He is complimented because he has no wrinkles.

Maurice Zolkower thought it was an adventure to approach Dachau [Annotator's Note: as a medic in the 45th Infantry Division, he had participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp complex near Dachau, Germany in April 1945]. It was nothing like that. He returned to the streets of Dachau about a week later and found it to be like a street in Long Island [Annotator’s Note: Long Island, New York] with nice two-story houses and even Maytag appliances [Annotator’s Note: Maytag, a major appliance manufacturer in the United States]. The Dachau citizens said they did not know what was going on in the camp. His memory of the camp consists of images of piles of bodies that look like ghosts. The guards deserved being killed. It was terrible at the camp. It was hard to believe what he witnessed. He suffered at home for about four years afterward. Zolkower’s most memorable experience of World War Two was his great treatment in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] on R & R [Annotator's Note: rest and recuperation]. He had to serve during the war because he was in the Army. The war changed his life because he used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and became a pharmacist with a 73-year career. Zolkower’s parents never heard much from him about his wartime experiences. Zolkower’s brother was a real hero, earning a Silver Star [Annotator's Note: the Silver Star Medal is the third-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] and a battlefield promotion from sergeant to warrant officer. He was a good guy, but unfortunately passed away a short time before the interview. Zolkower was just a private, but a good guy doing good things during the war. That type of conflict should never happen again. It is important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. Zolkower is happy with his life.