Kestenberg Archive

RH was born in 1937 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. RH's family lived together with the extended family in a centralized area. She was two years old when war broke out and four years old when the ghetto was established in 1941. Some uncles were sent with family money to Russia. RH's parent's brought textiles into the ghetto, which they used for bartering with the Germans. Her grandparents disappeared while in the ghetto. When RH was five years old, the family was removed to Starachowice for forced labor. RH accompanied her mother to a factory and played alongside her. They built a false ceiling and the children were placed inside to escape actions. When the camp was liquidated, RH was taken to Auschwitz in the Spring-Summer 1944. Her father died while in transport. She remained with her mother for a month and then was forced to go into a children's barrack. An uncle (Polish underground) located her and reunited RH and mother in 1945. At liberation, RH was oozing with sores and infected pustules. She recalls the Russian liberators setting up portable soup kitchens. She arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1958. Today, RH has adult children and is involved in the Holocaust Center. She and her mother have maintained close friendships with the women that accompanied them throughout their struggle for survival.