Gerda Weissman Klein

Born 1924, Bielsko, Poland

In 1939, Gerda's brother was deported for forced labor. In June 1942, Gerda's family was deported from the Bielsko ghetto. While her parents were transported to Auschwitz, Gerda was sent to the Gross-Rosen camp system, where for the remainder of the war she performed forced labor in textile factories. Gerda was liberated after a death march, wearing the ski boots her father insisted would help her to survive.

Describes liberation following a death march.

Bela Jakubowicz Tovey

Born 1926, Sosnowiec, Poland

Bella was the oldest of four children born to a Jewish family in Sosnowiec. Her father owned a knitting factory. After the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, they took over the factory. The family's furniture was given to a German woman. Bella was forced to work in a factory in the Sosnowiec ghetto in 1941. At the end of 1942 the family was deported to the Bedzin ghetto. Bella was deported to the Graeben subcamp of Gross-Rosen in 1943 and to Bergen-Belsen in 1944. She was liberated in April 1945.

Describes a British soldier's visit while she was hospitalized in Bergen-Belsen after the liberation of the camp.

Thomas Buergenthal

Born 1934, Lubochna, Czechoslovakia

Thomas and his family left Czechoslovakia as harassment of Jews increased. They entered Poland, and registered with the British Consul in Katowice because they had papers to leave for England. Thomas was five years old when Germany invaded Poland. With the outbreak of war, the family was unable to leave Poland and was eventually forced into the Kielce ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated in 1942, and Thomas and his family ended up in a forced-labor camp. Thomas survived a massacre of children in 1944. He and his parents were deported to Auschwitz, where Thomas was eventually sent to the children's barracks. In January 1945, Auschwitz was evacuated as Soviet troops advanced. Thomas and other inmates were forced on a three-day death march to Gleiwitz. They were then transported to the Sachsenhausen camp. Following the Soviet liberation of Sachsenhausen in April 1945, Thomas was placed in an orphanage. He was eventually reunited with his mother, who had also survived, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1951.

Describes liberation from Sachsenhausen in April 1945.

Irene Freund

Marta Herman