Bill was born in Warsaw on September 20, 1939, the day before
Nazis bombed the hospital and 19 days after they invaded Poland to
start WW II. The Gingolds were incarcerated in the Warsaw
Ghetto until their second escape attempt, after which they were
picked up and transported in cattle cars to Siberia. From there, his
family survived in Kazakhstan and a Displaced Persons Camp in
Germany, then arrived by boat at Ellis Island in America, in May,
1951. Bill is committed to tell the story of his family to as many
people as possible to bring out the best in all who hear.

Before he retired, Bill was Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Illinois and social entrepreneurial “incubator” for business. He and Phyllis - a retired English teacher who now enjoys reading 4-5 books a week - have been married 59 years and have three grown children.

 

Bill’s story has a positive impact upon audiences as they experience deep
encounters with empathy, understanding and insights. He uses
PowerPoint with photos of his family to describe imprisonment in the
Warsaw Ghetto, harrowing escape attempts, cattle cars to the Soviet
Gulag, Siberian snow and bears, the trek to Kazakhstan, years in a
Displaced Persons Camp, then finally embarkation for Ellis Island and the
shores of America.