Kestenberg Archive

16-39A: FG was born in Tomaszow, Poland in May 1934. When the war broke out, FG's father was drafted to the Polish army and the rest of the family relocated to Warsaw motivated by their search for safety and the fact that they had relatives in Warsaw. FG's younger sister was born in Warsaw. The family later returned to Tomaszow and soon thereafter they were forced to move into the ghetto. From the ghetto they were taken to Blidzyn labor camp. In 1944, after two years of being in the labor camp, FG and her mother were sent to Auschwitz where they found extended family. After a few months of being in Auschwitz the infamous selections began and many of FG's relatives were transported to other camps. Through the aid of other inmates, FG and her cousin were taken to the Twins' Block where Dr. Josef Mengele carried out his experiments. Although, they were not twins and they did not even pose as twins, they were able to stay in the Twin Block where the conditions were slightly better. FG, her mother, aunt and cousin tried to participate in the evacuation from Auschwitz; but, due to their poor physical condition they did not manage to leave the camp. They later managed to leave Auschwitz and made their way back to their home town. Soon after returning to Tomaszow, FG's father too returned and they were reunited. Following the pogrom in Kielce and the antisemitism the children experienced when they went back to school, FG's family decided to leave Poland. Both her mother and father worked hard to save money for their emigration. The family travelled to Stettin where they remained for approximately one year. From Stettin they crossed over the Polish border and entered Berlin. ; 16-39B: In a follow-up interview FG speaks about the effects of being a childhood survivor. She discusses her personal journey and how being a child Holocaust survivor affected her marriage- and divorce. FG makes mention of the above interview. She tells of her sister born during the war. FG experienced air raids while visiting her mother at the hospital. She recalls the painful incident of when her younger, sick, sister was taken away from the family. At the time, FG had to hide herself in a cupboard, behind a pile of uniforms- in order to avoid being seen. FG reminisces about this poignant day - and other events- which etched an indelible mark on her life and her personality. ; 16-39C: FG describes life in Auschwitz leading up to the Liberation. The camp had emptied out, many of the Germans and Russians had fled. Due to the tension, the chaos and uncertainty, there was a relatively large supply of food. Prior to the liberation, was the evacuation from Auschwitz. FG's mother, aunt and cousin had attempted to join in the evacuation; however FG and her cousin were not well enough to manage the walk. FG suffered from rickets, and her cousin suffered from Tuberculosis . The four of them remained in the camp. When the Russian army arrived, the camp inmates were provided with cooked food and given medical attention. From Auschwitz's main camp they eventually made their way back to Tomaszow. ; 16-39D: After leaving Auschwitz FG, along with her mother, aunt and cousin travelled to Cracow. In Cracow, a shelter had been established by the Jewish Committee. After staying in the shelter the four woman made their to way to their home town, Tomaszow. FG discusses her life, many years after the war. For years she suffered from nightmares, trauma and emotional struggles. FG has been in therapy for several years in order to help her overcome her troubles. She is an art historian and recent years became involved psychology and medical fields. ; 16-51: The interviewee was born in 1934. Her father was a businessman. In 1939 her younger sister was born, whom a few years later was transported and killed. The interviewee was in a ghetto and then in a labor camp, and in late 1944 (November-December) she was transported along with her mother, cousin and aunt to Auschwitz. She was placed with her cousin in Mengele's children's barracks for twins. She describes memories from the barracks insofar as the age of the children, the atmosphere, medical experiments, sleeping conditions, and the guards. Her mother would visit daily and speak to her through the barbed wires. When the camp was liberated she was transported from Birkenau to Auschwitz and there she received medical attention and food for 3 weeks. They then got a ride to Cracow and were deposited in a Jewish committee shelter. They stayed there for about two weeks and then they got on a train to Germany and lived on a DP camp. At some point they received visas for America, left Europe and settled in New York. She got married and had 3 children but her marriage did not last and she got divorced. She went through years of therapy and she changed her profession from being an art historian to becoming a social worker/therapist. Some time after her mother got sick with cancer, she started training in behavioral medicine and hypnosis. ; After the war she reports having had nightmares, lacked the ability to communicate on a deep level and felt she needed to acquire a sense of empowerment. She feels that she, as all holocaust survivors, suffered from PTSD. The loyalty she feels to her loved ones that were lost makes her feel the need to remember and makes it difficult for her to let go of her trauma. She is happy that her story has now been told, recorded and will be kept safely and hopes the existence of this testimony will ease her of the sole responsibility of remembering it herself and therebye freeing her to think less about it.