Henri Suyderhoud was born in 1930 on the island of Borneo in the Dutch colony of Indonesia. Both his parents were Dutch citizens. His mother was a Protestant and his father was a Freemason. Henri’s childhood in a diverse community shaped Henri into a racially...
Henny was born in 1926 in Stuttgart, Germany to Rose and Morris Katz. Before the war, Henny had a happy childhood. Hitler’s rise to power changed everything. In 1933 laws and restrictions against Jews set in. Henny’s gentile friends became cruel. An anti-Semitic newspaper was prominently...
[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignright" width="300"] Hella Wartski (second from left)[/caption] Date of Birth: 1929 Hella Wartski and her family were arrested by the Hungarian and German soldiers in April of 1944 in her hometown of Uzshorod, Hungary. They were then sent on a terrifying transport to Auschwitz. She...
[caption id="attachment_647" align="alignright" width="270"] Heinz Wartski pictured with his sister, Ruth[/caption] Date of Birth: 1929 Heinz Wartski grew up in Danzig with his parents and two siblings. In the 1930's, the Nazis gained control of the Danzig government and systematically targeted the Jewish people. "We were a...
Gerda Friedman was born in Muenster, Germany in 1914 to the Waideck family. Her father, a World War I veteran, was a prosperous businessman and patriotic German. Prior to Hitler's rise to power, she experienced no anti-Semitism in her community. In 1933, Hitler set laws that...
Fred Flatau was born in Berlin in 1931 to an affluent Jewish family. His family was very assimilated and not religious. His father was an entertainment lawyer who fought for Germany in World War I. During Kristallnacht in November of 1938, the Nazis took Fred's father to...
Fani was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia. She was the only child of David and Rachel Davidowitz. In 1943, Fani’s family was moved to the ghetto in Brno. She was there for 2 ½ months before her family’s deportation to Auschwitz. Fani’s grandfather told her when they...
Erna Rosner was born in 1935 into a conservative Jewish family in Krakow, Poland as Erna Zuckerman. In 1939 the Germans occupied Krakow. Almost immediately, the persecution of the Jews began. For the first time in her life, Erna felt fear. In 1941 the Germans...
Eric Pachner was born in 1928 in Vienna, Austria. His, mother Elsa, and father, Robert both lacked a high school education, but they had a comfortable, middle class life. His family was not very religious, and they only attended their Synagogue on high holidays. Eric received...
Elena was born in Pisa, Italy in 1924. Elena was from a Jewish family. She had two sisters and a brother. After attending public school in Pisa, Elena and her family moved to Rome when she was 14 years old where she finished her education...