Kestenberg Archive

HK was born in 1913 in Zgierz, a town in central Poland near Lodz. Her father was a factory worker. He perished during the First World War and therefore her mother had to support five children by herself. She worked on a farm. They moved to Dzierzazna, a village in the same region. The Nazis seized their land. One of her brothers was sent to a concentration camp, another one was deported to Germany to work as a forced laborer. In 1942 a branch of the Lodz concentration camp for children was established in Dzierzazna. Initially it was only for boys but later 1943 young girls, from 10 to 14, were also brought there for agricultural work. The Nazis called these children “bandits”. The camp commandant was Hans Heinrich Fuge. The work was exhausting; besides, the girls suffered hunger and from the cold and they were beaten for minor faults by German guards, by Fugge himself, his wife and mother in law. There were also Polish female guards in the camp ; Most of the Polish guards had compassion for those children, they secretly helped them with food and protected them from beatings. HK mentions Helena Biederman, as one of the most humane guards. Fuge's leadership was characterized by continued alcohol abuse and corruption. HK worked in the camp as a cook. She felt a lot of sympathy for these children laborers and they loved her too. In 1944 many girls were released but some of them, the older ones, were transferred to Ravensbruck concentration camp.