Michael (Majer) Melton

Was in the concentration camps age 12 to 14

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Michael Melton was born as Majer Mliczkiewicz in Poland in 1928. After the Nazis invaded Poland, Michael was sent to the Demblin Ghetto from May 1940, when he was 11 years old, until May 1941. Later, he was sent to a forced labor camp, Czestochowa, to work in a munitions plant in June 1943, when he was 14 years old. In 1944 he was sent to the infamous Buchenwald Concentration Camp. In March 1945 he was sent to the infamous Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. His train transport had left with 6,000 men and, when it finally arrived, only 800 were still alive.

In 1945, a great miracle occurred. His camp was liberated by the Russian Army, and 722 "Boys" (former prisoners) were sent to England, where they were to be cared for. It was when he was in England that he learned that his parents were still alive in Sweden. And then they were reunited.

He was predeceased by his wife, Mamie Bichunsky Melton, and his son, Max. They lived at 108 Buckingham St. Meriden for many years. He is survived by his daughter, Lee Resnick, and her husband Steven, of Colebrook.

Funeral was at the B'nai Abraham Cemetery, 114 Corrigan Ave., Meriden, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 14.

Published in The Record-Journal on Mar. 13, 2010.