Kestenberg Archive

EZ was born in Czechoslovakia, the younger of two sisters. She remained with her mother and sister throughout the war, and believes that this kept her alive. EZ spent periods in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen Belsen before being marched on foot to a small camp in Southern Germany where she worked in an underground plane factory. After the factory was evacuated EZ, her mother and sister were again taken on a march but managed to run away and hide in a barn before making their way to the American zone. After the war the three went to their home town, now in the Russian zone. They were not welcomed back by neighbors and no one else from their large family returned. EZ was 16 by this time. In order to get away from the Russians, she left for the Sudetenland, where she lived and worked in a factory. EZ's mother remarried and she was very jealous. In Sudetenland EZ heard for the first time about Palestine and decided that she wanted to go there. She eventually left Europe with her sister, mother, step father and baby half-brother in 1948. EZ lived on a Kibbutz and married. The couple then moved to Jerusalem. After 10 years of marriage her husband was killed in a car crash. For EZ, this was more traumatic than her childhood experiences. EZ has no children. She cared for her ailing mother for many years and after she died it was too late to rebuild her life. EZ retired at 60 but keeps very busy. EZ does not like to speak about her experiences and says that she is always in a good mood. She maintains an excellent relationship with her half-brother and nieces and nephews.