his brother wanted to take his place, but he couldn't
were taken in cattle cars to Lublin
out of the 1,000 who went from Czestochowa, only 3 survived
slept in straw barns w/ 70-80 in each
only received 2 kilos of bread and was divided between 4 people
got lice, and people got diseases and died
to go to the bathroom you had to drop your pants and sit over a big ditch-wipe with leaves
Ukranian and Lithuanian guards took their guns and played with the Jews
they would shoot close and if they got you, they wanted you to fall in the ditch
got diarrhea from bad food
some labor was cutting down trees, digging up hills, filled trenches
there was this cart they had to push up the hill
4 people pushed it, it was used to move the earth
going down was harder than going up since it had no brakes
people would get killed doing this
if you got hit/hurt you were worth nothing and would get shot
he was very careful not to get hurt
he did get hit one day, right in the head and began crying
those who escaped, there bodies were brought back tied to a horse
two German soldiers were the only reason he survived
he knew them from the big ghetto in Czestochowa
one night he was sleeping and 2 Ukranian guards came in and called for him
instead of shooting him as he thought they took him to the infirmary
put bandages on him up to his neck- he looked injured
next he was shipped to a little village, nearby
the two men were there waiting
they took off his bandages gave him clothes and a ticket for the next train
he was in that slave labor for 9 months- he was the only one who came home
Rudy's story at Auschwitz
loaded in cattle cars
80-100 in each cart
heard gun shots but didn't know what from
marched for 4-5 hrs. between two posts of barbed wire with a huge sign, EXTREME DANGER, HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL WIRES
each morning we'd get metal cups and a spoon
got 2 slices of bread and sometimes a pat of butter
the midday meal was potato soup with maybe a little bit of meat
they were beginning to starve
in the evening they got another piece of bread- that's it
if anyone would complain they were shot
we weren't aware Auschwitz was an extermination camp
there was always a sickly sweet smell in the air
later they found out it was gas canisters that were used in the gas chambers to kill people
his brother had a book he hid that they read so many times they memorized it
they had a deck of cars and that's all they did for 'fun'
no birds, no grass- it seemed like no living thing, no
mom found wild grass that she had seen geese eating before
dead people were stacked 4ft. high- eyes open
starving for 3 to 4 months....already
Quotes and piece of mind or the survivors.....
- "In a world of absurdity, we must invent reason..." - unknown
- "Fear not your enemies, for they can only kill you. Fear not your friends, for they can only betray you. Fear only the indifferent, who permit the killers and betrayers to walk safely on the earth." - Edward Yashinsky
- "For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It's not a written law that the next victims must be Jews." - Simon Wiesenthal
- "I survived the Nazi horrors and bestial oppression, nothing if forgotten." - unknown
- "We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." - unknown
- "I was there, I saw, I remember what happened. All that will be left will be books of literature and research, pictures and films, and multitudinous testimony." - Zvi Gill
- "Those of you who may survive, bear witness, let the world know what has happened here." - Aleksander Arohwich Pechersky
- "Perhaps some day someone will explain how, on the level of man, Auschwitz was possible; but on the level of God, it will forever remain the most disturbing of mysteries." - Ellie Wiesel
- "The element that distinguishes the Holocaust was the search for God. From morning until night we cried out for a sign that God was still with us...We were always accompanied by the crushing and unsettling feeling that God had disappeared from our midst." - unknown
Jeannine Burks story in hiding
her father took her in a streetcar and this was the last time she saw her father
they walked a long distance and he knocked on the door, a lady came, that was the last time
she lived in that house for two years
sometimes she could go in the backyard, but never in the front
she was never mistreated but, never loved
most of her childhood was lost b/c she was a Jew
when the Nazi's would have parades you had to open your door and watch
the lady would always watch but hid me in the outhouse
"I was petrified. I just didn't know what I was scared of yet."
one time, while in the outhouse, she opened the door, and on her hands and knees grabbed a cat, and held it
no toys
the only fresh air was in the back yard
made up imaginary friends b/c she had no one else
doesn't remmeber being hugged or kissed for two yrs.
her brother was 12 yrs. older and already hiding in a Christian boys home
her sister couldn't be moved easily b/c of a bone disease called osteomyelitis
*Told to her by her sister while she was in the home.....
some neighbors snitched on them
there mother said they could shoot her as long as they left her sister
the Gestapo took her father and threw him in there truck
they said they'd be back
there mother luckily made a final call and got her sister into a hospital
one night her mother and sister waited for her father
later the agency called saying he had been gassed
in 1944 her mother got her and than her sister, she had to learn to walk again
"My father never killed anyone, robbed anyone, yet they murdered him b/c he was a Jew" - Jeannine Burk
after the war they had nothing
her mother got breast cancer- they removed the breast but it then spread throughout the body
in Feb. of 1950 her mother died
Allyson K.
*Ways People Survived
-Many children survived by just simply hiding
-Got liberated
-Ran away
-Hid in sewers for months and months
-Some German officiers told Jews to lie about their age in order to be sent somwhere where they'll survive
-1,000 of the survivers were liberated and returned home from Aushcwitz on January 27
-One surviver, Kate Bernth survived just by never giving up and loosing hope
-Sometimes if Jews wanted to survive they had no choice but to eat worms, spiders, raw potatoes, etc.
-Eva Galler survived by escaping from a death train
*Personal Stories
-Joseph Sher
-Was born in Krzepice, Poland
-The family moved to the city of Czestochowa when the German Army came
-They burned down the Synagogue
-Joseph and his close friend Isaac heard young kids were going across the bored to Russia and that it was safe there, they decided to go
-Joseph Sher survived, because of two German Jews that he knew from the BIG ghetto
-Otto Frank
-Was born on May 12, 1889
-Worked for a metal engineering company in Germany
-Had two daughters [Anne Frank and Margot Frank]
-Otto survived by basically playinghis cards right
-He helped the Nazis with little chores now and again
-Since he helped them with things [didn't help kill Jews] they let him escape to freedom
-Isak Borenstein
-Born in Radom, Poland
-Born May 5, 1918
-During wartime he was a Prisoner of war
-He's married with one son
-he ran to Russia and wokred there as a carpenter
-When Hitler invaded Russia Isak Borenstein joined the Russian Army
-When him and 35 other Jews surrenedered only two survived the shootings, whereas the rest were picked out by the Germans and killed
-Krystyna was seven and hid in a sewer with her mom, dad, and brother for 14 months
-They survived by the black bread and margarine they recieved from the Polish sewer workers
-"There was worms, bugs, and smelly water, and red rats running around everywhere." Krystyna said
-They couldn't talk loudly all they could do was whisper to one another
-Toward the end of her hiding she heard canons and sirons...she was scared but she knew it was their liberators
-She was so happy when she finally saw the sun and flowers once again
*Lives today
-During the Holocaust survivors lives were chaos and they felt that there was nothing to live for but now that they had survived something so terrible they live their lives to the fullest EVERYDAY
-Holocaust survivors are happier than ever to just be alive and free once again
-Joseph Sher says "Some mornings I wake up and I am so worn out I cannot go to work, I am free but I am still in he concentration camp. You go through it again and again."
*Quotes
-"You must survive and let the world know what happened."
--Annonymous
-"I've met Holocaust survivor victims, through other films, and I know what survivor guilt is like."
--Annonymous
-"Every Jew alive today is a Holocaust survivor , and I feel that also will be true for every Jew in the future... Th Holocaust survivors are the most patriotic, most loyal American Citizens we should have."
--Neil Sher
-"As the generation of Holocaust survivors and liberators dwindles, the torch of remembrance, of bearing witness, and of education must continue forward."
--Dan Gillerman
-"I know as do other people know it's very important to tell the story for the future. For the children and the grandchildren. To preserve these memories because everyday there are less and less of us left."
--Annonymous
Mary Kate L.
Family Information
Life During Holocaust
Life After Rescue and Current Life
Survivors of the Holocaust
Emily L.
Joseph Sher's story in the camps
Rudy's story at Auschwitz
Quotes and piece of mind or the survivors.....
- "In a world of absurdity, we must invent reason..." - unknown
- "Fear not your enemies, for they can only kill you. Fear not your friends, for they can only betray you. Fear only the indifferent, who permit the killers and betrayers to walk safely on the earth." - Edward Yashinsky
- "For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It's not a written law that the next victims must be Jews." - Simon Wiesenthal
- "I survived the Nazi horrors and bestial oppression, nothing if forgotten." - unknown
- "We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." - unknown
- "I was there, I saw, I remember what happened. All that will be left will be books of literature and research, pictures and films, and multitudinous testimony." - Zvi Gill
- "Those of you who may survive, bear witness, let the world know what has happened here." - Aleksander Arohwich Pechersky
- "Perhaps some day someone will explain how, on the level of man, Auschwitz was possible; but on the level of God, it will forever remain the most disturbing of mysteries." - Ellie Wiesel
- "The element that distinguishes the Holocaust was the search for God. From morning until night we cried out for a sign that God was still with us...We were always accompanied by the crushing and unsettling feeling that God had disappeared from our midst." - unknown
Jeannine Burks story in hiding
- her father took her in a streetcar and this was the last time she saw her father
- they walked a long distance and he knocked on the door, a lady came, that was the last time
- she lived in that house for two years
![burk_portrait+large[1].jpg](/file/view/burk_portrait%2Blarge%5B1%5D.jpg/30559542/163x199/burk_portrait%2Blarge%5B1%5D.jpg "burk_portrait+large[1].jpg")
- sometimes she could go in the backyard, but never in the front
- she was never mistreated but, never loved
- most of her childhood was lost b/c she was a Jew
- when the Nazi's would have parades you had to open your door and watch
- the lady would always watch but hid me in the outhouse
- "I was petrified. I just didn't know what I was scared of yet."
- one time, while in the outhouse, she opened the door, and on her hands and knees grabbed a cat, and held it
- no toys
- the only fresh air was in the back yard
- made up imaginary friends b/c she had no one else
- doesn't remmeber being hugged or kissed for two yrs.
- her brother was 12 yrs. older and already hiding in a Christian boys home
- her sister couldn't be moved easily b/c of a bone disease called osteomyelitis
*Told to her by her sister while she was in the home.....Allyson K.
*Ways People Survived
-Many children survived by just simply hiding
-Got liberated
-Ran away
-Hid in sewers for months and months
-Some German officiers told Jews to lie about their age in order to be sent somwhere where they'll survive
-1,000 of the survivers were liberated and returned home from Aushcwitz on January 27
-One surviver, Kate Bernth survived just by never giving up and loosing hope
-Sometimes if Jews wanted to survive they had no choice but to eat worms, spiders, raw potatoes, etc.
-Eva Galler survived by escaping from a death train
*Personal Stories
-Joseph Sher
-Was born in Krzepice, Poland
-The family moved to the city of Czestochowa when the German Army came
-They burned down the Synagogue
-Joseph and his close friend Isaac heard young kids were going across the bored to Russia and that it was safe there, they decided to go
-Joseph Sher survived, because of two German Jews that he knew from the BIG ghetto
-Otto Frank
-Was born on May 12, 1889
-Worked for a metal engineering company in Germany
-Had two daughters [Anne Frank and Margot Frank]
-Otto survived by basically playinghis cards right
-He helped the Nazis with little chores now and again
-Since he helped them with things [didn't help kill Jews] they let him escape to freedom
-Isak Borenstein
-Born in Radom, Poland
-Born May 5, 1918
-During wartime he was a Prisoner of war
-He's married with one son
-he ran to Russia and wokred there as a carpenter
-When Hitler invaded Russia Isak Borenstein joined the Russian Army
-When him and 35 other Jews surrenedered only two survived the shootings, whereas the rest were picked out by the Germans and killed
-Krystyna was seven and hid in a sewer with her mom, dad, and brother for 14 months
-They survived by the black bread and margarine they recieved from the Polish sewer workers
-"There was worms, bugs, and smelly water, and red rats running around everywhere." Krystyna said
-They couldn't talk loudly all they could do was whisper to one another
-Toward the end of her hiding she heard canons and sirons...she was scared but she knew it was their liberators
-She was so happy when she finally saw the sun and flowers once again
*Lives today
-During the Holocaust survivors lives were chaos and they felt that there was nothing to live for but now that they had survived something so terrible they live their lives to the fullest EVERYDAY
-Holocaust survivors are happier than ever to just be alive and free once again
-Joseph Sher says "Some mornings I wake up and I am so worn out I cannot go to work, I am free but I am still in he concentration camp. You go through it again and again."
*Quotes
-"You must survive and let the world know what happened."
--Annonymous
-"I've met Holocaust survivor victims, through other films, and I know what survivor guilt is like."
--Annonymous
-"Every Jew alive today is a Holocaust survivor , and I feel that also will be true for every Jew in the future... Th Holocaust survivors are the most patriotic, most loyal American Citizens we should have."
--Neil Sher
-"As the generation of Holocaust survivors and liberators dwindles, the torch of remembrance, of bearing witness, and of education must continue forward."
--Dan Gillerman
-"I know as do other people know it's very important to tell the story for the future. For the children and the grandchildren. To preserve these memories because everyday there are less and less of us left."
--Annonymous