Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall (1929?–2021) was born in the village of Kluĉárky, Czechoslovakia (today Kliucharky, Ukraine). In 1938, when Fritzie was still a child, Hungary annexed part of Czechoslovakia, including Fritzie's village. The Jewish community was subjected to Hungary's antisemitic policies and laws, but remained relatively safe until March 1944. That month, Nazi Germany invaded Hungary. German and Hungarian authorities quickly isolated, ghettoized, and deported Jews from Hungary. In April 1944, Fritzie, her mother, and two brothers were forced to move into a ghetto. From there, they were sent to Auschwitz. Her mother and brothers were murdered in the gas chambers. Fritzie was selected for forced labor after lying about her age to appear older. Eventually, she was assigned to forced labor in a factory. Fritzie was liberated from a death march in spring 1945. After the war she immigrated to the United States.
The train arrived in the middle of the night, so we were greeted by very bright lights shining down on us. We were greeted by soldiers, SS men, as well as women. We were greeted by dogs and whips, by shouting and screaming, orders to try to empty the train, by confusion, and by men in striped uniform. We didn't know it at the time, but the men in uniform were the Jews who were brought there before us, they were called "Kanada," which I found out later. Their job was to empty the train. One of those men saved my life, that was the first. When they had asked us to empty the trains, these men would come onto the compartment of the train and they would try and push and pull us off the train as fast as they could. These men were not allowed to speak to us, but in their own way they tried to help young people. They walked amongst us and in Yiddish would whisper to a child, "you're fifteen, remember you're fifteen." When we got off the train, they asked us to line up according to age. I lined up and I became fifteen years old. I lined up with the fifteen year-olds and I truly believe that that man whoever he was, saved my life.
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