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death marches

Category: Oral History

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| Displaying results 51-60 of 105 for "death marches" |

  • Gerda Weissmann Klein describes her birthday celebration in the Bielsko ghetto

    Oral History

    In 1939, Gerda's brother was deported for forced labor. In June 1942, Gerda's family was deported from the Bielsko ghetto. While her parents were transported to Auschwitz, Gerda was sent to the Gross-Rosen camp system, where for the remainder of the war she performed forced labor in textile factories. Gerda was liberated after a death march, wearing the ski boots her father insisted would help her to survive. She married her American liberator.

    Tags: ghettos youth
    Gerda Weissmann Klein describes her birthday celebration in the Bielsko ghetto
  • Eddie Hellmuth Willner describes conditions in the Langenstein camp

    Oral History

    In December 1939, Eddie's father sent Eddie to live with a family in Belgium, a safer place for Jews as it was not yet occupied by Germany. Later, while visiting his father in a camp in France, Eddie was detained. He and his father escaped, but were later deported. Eddie survived forced labor in a series of camps, and with his friend Mauritz "Michael" Swaab, escaped a death march from Langenstein, a Buchenwald subcamp. The two were liberated while on the run.

    Tags: Buchenwald
    Eddie Hellmuth Willner describes conditions in the Langenstein camp
  • Sam Spiegel describes life in a displaced persons camp

    Oral History

    In 1942, Sam was forced into a ghetto in his hometown and assigned to work in a munitions factory. In 1944 he was transported to Auschwitz and then forced to work in a train factory. He survived eight days on a death march after the evacuation of Auschwitz by the Nazis. He was liberated by Soviet units in January 1945. He lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany where worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. In 1947, he immigrated to the United States.

    Sam Spiegel describes life in a displaced persons camp
  • Agate (Agi) Rubin describes the role of interpersonal bonds in surviving the Auschwitz camp

    Oral History

    In April 1944, after the German occupation of Hungary, Agi, her mother, six-year-old brother, and aunt were forced into the Munkacs ghetto. Before deportation to Auschwitz, Agi was forced to work in the ghetto's brick factory. At Auschwitz, Agi, then 14 years old, was chosen as part of a Sonderkommando. This forced-labor detachment had to sort the clothing and possessions of inmates and victims at Auschwitz. In January 1945, Agi and other prisoners were forced on a death march from Auschwitz. She was…

    Tags: Auschwitz
    Agate (Agi) Rubin describes the role of interpersonal bonds in surviving the Auschwitz camp
  • Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall describes receiving help from a prisoner in the "Kanada" detail upon arrival at Auschwitz

    Oral History

    Fritzie's father immigrated to the United States, but by the time he could bring his family over, war had begun and Fritzie's mother feared attacks on transatlantic shipping. Fritzie, her mother, and two brothers were eventually sent to Auschwitz. Her mother and brothers died. Fritzie survived by pretending to be older than her age and thus a stronger worker. On a death march from Auschwitz, Fritzie ran into a forest, where she was later liberated.

    Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall describes receiving help from a prisoner in the "Kanada" detail upon arrival at Auschwitz
  • Rochelle Blackman Slivka describes the formation of the Vilna ghetto

    Oral History

    The Germans occupied Vilna in June 1941. In October, Rochelle and her family were confined to the Vilna ghetto, where her mother died. Her father, a Jewish council member, was killed in a camp in Estonia. When the ghetto was liquidated in 1943, Rochelle and her sister were deported--first to the Kaiserwald camp in Latvia and later to Stutthof, near Danzig. In 1945, on the sixth week of a death march that forced the sisters to protect their bare feet with rags, the Soviet army liberated them.

    Rochelle Blackman Slivka describes the formation of the Vilna ghetto
  • Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall describes the selection process in Auschwitz

    Oral History

    Fritzie's father immigrated to the United States, but by the time he could bring his family over, war had begun and Fritzie's mother feared attacks on transatlantic shipping. Fritzie, her mother, and two brothers were eventually sent to Auschwitz. Her mother and brothers died. Fritzie survived by pretending to be older than her age and thus a stronger worker. On a death march from Auschwitz, Fritzie ran into a forest, where she was later liberated.

    Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall describes the selection process in Auschwitz
  • Morris Kornberg describes forced labor beginning after the German invasion of Poland

    Oral History

    Morris grew up in a very religious Jewish household and was active in a Zionist sports league. When the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, Morris's town was severely damaged. Morris's family was forced to live in a ghetto, and Morris was assigned to forced labor. After a period of imprisonment in Konskie, a town about 30 miles from Przedborz, Morris was deported to the Auschwitz camp. He was assigned to the Jawischowitz subcamp of Auschwitz. In January 1945, Morris was forced on a death march and…

    Morris Kornberg describes forced labor beginning after the German invasion of Poland
  • Sam Spiegel describes conditions in a forced-labor camp

    Oral History

    In 1942, Sam was forced into a ghetto in his hometown and assigned to work in a munitions factory. In 1944 he was transported to Auschwitz and then forced to work in a train factory. He survived eight days on a death march after the evacuation of Auschwitz by the Nazis. He was liberated by Soviet units in January 1945. He lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany where worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. In 1947, he immigrated to the United States.

    Sam Spiegel describes conditions in a forced-labor camp
  • Leo Kutner describes forced labor in Stutthof

    Oral History

    Leo was arrested on the first day of the war, and assigned to forced labor in a shipyard, then on a farm. In 1940, like other Jews, he was deported to Stutthof. There, he upholstered furniture for the SS. The following year, he was sent to Auschwitz, where he cleaned the streets and dug ditches. As the Allies neared, Leo was evacuated to a series of camps. On a death march from Flossenbürg, the Nazis dispersed, allowing Leo and other prisoners to get away. He was liberated by US forces in April 1945.

    Leo Kutner describes forced labor in Stutthof

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