Kestenberg Archive

MH was born Helenstadt, a small village, in Germany. Her father owned a store and her grandfather owned a farm. In 1933 the family moved to Lippstadt. MH did not experience any antisemitism until 1936 or 1937. The family was fairly religious. Since her father had been awarded a medal of honor for service in World War I, he was not deported to a concentration camp but her uncles were. The family moved again to a town called Wielerfeld (Bielefeld?) and in 1939 she was expelled from school. Her father worked for the Judenrat which is possibly why the family was only sent to Theresienstadt in 1941 in a regular train (as opposed to a cattle cart). On the whole she recalls positive experiences: friendships, learning Hebrew and dancing. ; The family was deported to Auschwitz after MH's father was caught stealing food. MH describes her very close friendship with a girl from Theresienstadt, who was also transported to Auschwitz, as being the reason that she survived. After 6 months MH volunteered to go with her close friend to Birkenau and was thus separated from her family. From there they were sent to work in ammunition factories in Hamburg. Because she and her friend spoke German the soldiers sometimes gave them a little food and the local residents would also leave food for the prisoners. They were then moved to Freihoffen where they were imprisoned with POWs who would also share their food (from Red Cross packages). She describes being afraid of the rodents that lived in the barracks and is still afraid of them today. She says she was very positive. Six weeks before liberation the group was forced to walk to Bergen-Belsen which took 3 or 4 days. She describes the stench of the dead bodies as they arrived at the camp, and the horrific conditions. The camp was liberated by the British two weeks later. MH contracted typhoid and her memory of the days right after liberation are unclear as she was ill. She and her friend were separated and MH went to Sweden where she was in quarantine for 6 weeks. In Sweden MH was taken in by a volunteer for the Red Cross who sent her to summer school. MH finished school in Sweden and in 1947 joined relatives in the United States leaving behind her non-Jewish fiancé. She suffers from deep guilt over leaving her family in Auschwitz. ; MH works in computers and has a daughter and a son. She and her husband divorced. After her daughter and son left home, MH suffered from a psychosomatic disease and had therapy, which she still goes to if she feels depressed. She once tried to commit suicide. She describes being ashamed of being Jewish, but is happy that her children have strong Jewish identities. She feels resentment toward wealthy Jews in America who did nothing to help the Jews in Europe. She did not really discuss the Holocaust with her children and feels discussing it is not the best way for her to deal with it. She still keeps in touch with people she met in Theresienstadt and in Sweden after the war.