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A Red Cross official gives assistance to a former concentration camp prisoner who was transported to Sweden under an agreement with the Swedish Red Cross. Malmo, Sweden, April 1945. [Please contact Beth Hatefutsoth for copies of this photograph.]
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Barbara was born in the province of Arad in northern Transylvania, Romania. She went to school until the Hungarian army occupied the area in 1940 and she was no longer allowed to attend. After the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, discrimination against Jews intensified. Barbara and her family were forced into the Oradea ghetto. She worked in the ghetto hospital until she was deported to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, she worked in the kitchens to receive extra food. She was deported to another camp, and later forced on a death march. Toward the war's end, the Red Cross rescued Barbara. She returned to Arad after World War II and worked as a biochemist.
Oral History
Barbara Marton Farkas describes arriving in Sweden at the end of the war with the aid of the Red Cross
Barbara was born in the province of Arad in northern Transylvania, Romania. She went to school until the Hungarian army occupied the area in 1940 and she was no longer allowed to attend. After the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, discrimination against Jews intensified. Barbara and her family were forced into the Oradea ghetto. She worked in the ghetto hospital until she was deported to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, she worked in the kitchens to receive extra food. She was deported to another camp, and later forced on a death march. Toward the war's end, the Red Cross rescued Barbara. She returned to Arad after World War II and worked as a biochemist.
Oral History
Barbara Marton Farkas describes assistance from the Red Cross at the end of the war
Survivors of the camps lacked even basic possessions, such as footwear. The Red Cross issued these United States Army boots to Jacob Polak in June or July 1945 after his repatriation to the Netherlands.
Artifact
Boots issued to Jacob Polak by the Red Cross
In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.
Oral History
Hana Mueller Bruml describes preparations for a Red Cross visit to Theresienstadt
Article
King Christian X of Denmark
A scene staged by the Nazis for the International Red Cross inspection of the Theresienstadt ghetto. The people are probably watching a soccer match. Czechoslovakia, June 23, 1944.
Photo
Propaganda scene in the Theresienstadt ghetto
In response to growing international awareness of Nazi atrocities, the Nazis decided to allow a Red Cross investigation committee to visit the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Elaborate measures were taken to disguise conditions in the ghetto and to portray an atmosphere of normalcy. This footage, showing an orchestral performance, is part of a German propaganda film made following the Red Cross visit to Theresienstadt.
Film
Theresienstadt
A photograph of Jewish children in the Theresienstadt ghetto taken during an inspection by the International Red Cross. Prior to this visit, the ghetto was "beautified" in order to deceive the visitors. Czechoslovakia, June 23, 1944.
Article
Theresienstadt: Final Weeks, Liberation, and Postwar Trials
A photograph of Jewish children in the Theresienstadt ghetto taken during an inspection by the International Red Cross. Prior to this visit, the ghetto was "beautified" in order to deceive the visitors. Czechoslovakia, June 23, 1944.
Article
Theresienstadt: Red Cross Visit
Media Essay
Theresienstadt: Red Cross Visit - Animated Map/Map
Media Essay
Theresienstadt: Red Cross Visit - Photograph

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