Kestenberg Archive

RG was born in 1930 in Ponevezh, Lithuania and raised in Kovno. She was born to a middle class Orthodox merchant family. Her father and two older brothers were killed in the war, whereas her mother survived together with RG. In June 1940, the Lithuanians shot many Jewish men in the city, however, they skipped RG's father and brothers, perhaps due to their Aryan features. About a month after the German occupation began, the family was transferred to Vlotka (?). Her oldest brother, active in the Irgun, worked as a policeman in the ghetto. In August 1941, her younger brother was killed, shot in the Kovno fortress as part of the “intellectuals' action”. After his death, RG's mother became depressed. In 1942, age 12, RG started to work in a stocking factory. The family continued to fight to survive, worked, hid from roundups, and brother as a policeman tried to save who he could. In March 1943, RG survived the “kinder action” because she looked older than she really was. Her oldest brother was killed during this incident - perhaps because he was trying to save some of the children. ; In August 1944, RG and parents were hiding in a basement and a Jew disclosed them to the Germans. They were transported by cattle train to Stutthoff. Two weeks later her father was taken to Dachau never to be seen again. RG and mother were kept in Stutthoff for six weeks and once again RG was mistaken to be older than she really was thus saving her from death. They then were taken to a labor camp where they dug ditches and slept in horses' stables. In January 1945, they started the Death March and mother stole potatoes along the way. RG would cry every night, mother would hug her, and make sure she would eat. RG and mother were liberated by the Russians in Malkin. RG contracted typhus and after recuperating they left for Poland. In Poland, brother's friends from the Irgun gave them money to immigrate to Israel via Prague, Hungary, Austria and Italy. In Italy the UJA and UNRA provided food and clothing for them and RG went to ORT to learn a trade. There she met her husband to be in 1948. Her husband had survived Buchenwald and Auschwitz. After the Independence Day War in Israel mother became afraid to come to Israel so in 1950, RG, husband and mother went to America instead. In America RG had two sons. Mother again fell into a depression; she was not able to keep a job, never remarried, did not get along with RG's husband and was distant with RG's sons. She lived with RG until she died in 1973. ; RG describes herself during the war as a “zomby” and a “robot” just doing the things she had to do to survive. She also proudly describes herself as never having taken away from someone else to get for herself. Throughout all the years together in the war, RG never had conversations with her mother, and to this day, RG never shared any of her experiences with her sons. Her younger son intermarried and she has not spoken to him ever since (two years). For the majority of the interview, RG described her experiences emotionlessly, however, when she started to speak about her younger son she started to cry. RG is currently involved with the Jewish community center in Bensonhurst and manages the Bingo game at ORT.