Miru Alcana

Miru was the youngest of four children born to a family of Spanish-Jewish descent on the island of Rhodes. Rhodes had been occupied by Italy since 1912, so Miru learned Italian as well as French at school. At home the Alcana family conversed in Ladino, the Spanish-Jewish language. Miru attended a Jewish school, where she received instruction in Hebrew three times a week.

1933-39: Life on Miru's beautiful island was pleasant and the Alcanas were close with their neighbors. She called them Auntie Rivka and Uncle Giuseppe, even though they were not really blood relations. She liked to spend time with her dozens of cousins and nieces and nephews. After finishing secondary school, she began studying midwifery, and she enjoyed her studies very much. She also regularly attended meetings of the Menorah Zionist organization.

1940-44: The Nazis occupied Rhodes in September 1943 and on July 23, 1944, Miru and her family were arrested and deported to Auschwitz. Upon arrival she was separated from her family. She was branded with a number and her hair was cut. She was told she'd see her parents later. While waiting for the roll-call, the newcomers heard a distant orchestra playing classical music and they smelled what seemed to be burning meat. They were horrified to learn that the smell came from the crematoria and that the burning flesh was that of their friends and relatives.

Miru was the only one of 57 family members to survive Auschwitz and was one of only 161 Jews of Rhodes to survive the Holocaust. She immigrated to the United States in 1950.