Brigitte Friedmann Altman (1924–2025) was born in Klaipėda (also known as Memel). A city located on the Baltic Sea in western Lithuania, Klaipėda was annexed by Nazi Germany in March 1939. That year, Brigitte and her family moved to Kovno to flee the Nazis. The Germans occupied the city in late June 1941. Soon afterwards, Brigitte’s family was forced to move into the Kovno ghetto. During the “Great Action” in October 1941, Brigitte and her loved ones narrowly avoided selection and murder. They were, however, unable to help their neighbors. After a roundup targeting children and the elderly in March 1944, Brigitte escaped from the Kovno ghetto with the help of her father’s former employee. She survived the rest of the war in hiding. Soviet forces liberated Kovno in August 1944.
In our house, everybody except the old pharmacist and his wife returned. We went back to the square the next morning. And found Mr. Misakhovitsh slumped over on a camp stool which his wife had brought along for him to rest because she knew it was going to be a long day for him. He must have suffered a heart attack. And he was just left behind slumped over. His wife must have been led away. Shall I confess at this point that the two of them had tried to remain close to us and form a family unit with us? And that I certainly was trying to get away from them because I knew that our chances were slim to begin with and I was afraid that if there was an elderly couple with us, our chances would be even slimmer. So they did not return.
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