Unterschiede
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fehrbelliner92:malin [2007/12/06 09:30] ingefra |
fehrbelliner92:malin [2007/12/20 09:58] kfr |
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It was already dark when we entered the Jewish children’s home at Fehrbelliner Strasse 92, holding our uncle’s hands, walked up the stairs and knocked on an office door. A lady received us; she spoke to my uncle, whose hand I was holding. It all seemed so dark and gloomy. Then my uncle said goodbye and promised to visit us. He left hastily; it must have been painful for him too. It was February 1940. The war was already under way. My twin sister and I were nine years old. | It was already dark when we entered the Jewish children’s home at Fehrbelliner Strasse 92, holding our uncle’s hands, walked up the stairs and knocked on an office door. A lady received us; she spoke to my uncle, whose hand I was holding. It all seemed so dark and gloomy. Then my uncle said goodbye and promised to visit us. He left hastily; it must have been painful for him too. It was February 1940. The war was already under way. My twin sister and I were nine years old. | ||
- | {{fehrbelliner92: | + | |{{fehrbelliner92: |
+ | ^Die Geschwister Anders, Ruth, Theo, Regina^ | ||
My father, who came from Cracow in Poland, had succeeded in emigrating to America. He was in danger of being taken to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen. He had a brother in America; we were supposed to follow him. My mother went daily to the American consulate and was sent away again and again. I cannot forget those sad hours. The desperation!! My mother was not the only one! | My father, who came from Cracow in Poland, had succeeded in emigrating to America. He was in danger of being taken to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen. He had a brother in America; we were supposed to follow him. My mother went daily to the American consulate and was sent away again and again. I cannot forget those sad hours. The desperation!! My mother was not the only one! | ||
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She suffered for two years, no one helped her, no hospital took her in, no doctor came, no nurse gave her an infusion, she was given no oxygen. It was just her and us – so she suffocated before our eyes on 7 January 1940 of tuberculosis of the larynx. All the years since then have not been able to drive away this sight! | She suffered for two years, no one helped her, no hospital took her in, no doctor came, no nurse gave her an infusion, she was given no oxygen. It was just her and us – so she suffocated before our eyes on 7 January 1940 of tuberculosis of the larynx. All the years since then have not been able to drive away this sight! | ||
- | Then my brother Benno went to the agricultural school at Schniebinchen to prepare for going to Israel. Here he met Carla Wagenberg. We were taken to the children’s home in the Fehrbelliner Strasse 92, where we met Sylvia Wagenberg. Of course we no longer knew what a well-ordered life was when we first arrived at the children’s home. Order and discipline dominated there. It was very hard to start with. School and homework were taken very seriously. However we received a lot of help, because we had very good teachers at the school in Auguststrasse. Most of them were no longer allowed to teach at the university because they were Jewish and so the Jewish Community gave them jobs in their schools. So the teaching standard was very high. I’m amazed sometimes at the amount they taught us in all areas. They enriched us with German and Jewish culture. | + | Then my brother Benno went to the agricultural school at **Schniebinchen** to prepare for going to Israel. Here he met **Carla Wagenberg**. We were taken to the children’s home in the Fehrbelliner Strasse 92, where we met Sylvia Wagenberg. Of course we no longer knew what a well-ordered life was when we first arrived at the children’s home. Order and discipline dominated there. It was very hard to start with. School and homework were taken very seriously. However we received a lot of help, because we had very good teachers at the school in Auguststrasse. Most of them were no longer allowed to teach at the university because they were Jewish and so the Jewish Community gave them jobs in their schools. So the teaching standard was very high. I’m amazed sometimes at the amount they taught us in all areas. They enriched us with German and Jewish culture. |
- | We had a music teacher, Alfred Loewy, whom everyone called “Pencil” because he was so small and thin. He was a genius! He gave us the best present of all – the love of music. In the worst times we sang Beethoven’s ninth symphony in his choir. As if the hatred raging outside had nothing to do with us, we all sang loudly, “All people become brothers” (Alle Menschen werden Brüder). When I hear it today it fills me with the same feeling of comfort I felt back then. | + | We had a music teacher, |
We also sang “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen“, | We also sang “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen“, | ||
- | Sylvia and Carla Wagenberg saved their lives by music, by playing in the Girl’s Orchestra at Auschwitz. After the war I met survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in Israel, who told me that they were taught the song " | + | Sylvia and Carla Wagenberg saved their lives by music, by playing in the **Girl’s Orchestra at Auschwitz.** After the war I met survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in Israel, who told me that they were taught the song " |
- | I would like to go back to the children’s home and talk about the children! There was a crèche for the very small children. | + | I would like to go back to the children’s home and talk about the children! There was a crèche for the very small children. |
- | One of my best friends was sent on one of the transports. She came and gave me her doll, which she adored. “Yes,” she said, “She’ll be safe with you.” I kept the doll for a long time, to give back to her one day. I knew what the doll meant to her and couldn’t believe it. | + | One of my best friends was sent on one of the transports. She came and gave me her doll, which she adored. “Yes,” she said, “She’ll be safe with you.” I kept the doll for a long time, to give back to her one day. I knew what the doll meant to her and couldn’t believe it.We were eleven years old at the time. I cried a lot when my friend had gone and the doll was my most precious possession. Even today I cannot say goodbye; I’d rather run away. The moments of fear are still with me today. They are engraved in my soul. |
- | We were eleven years old at the time. I cried a lot when my friend had gone and the doll was my most precious possession. Even today I cannot say goodbye; I’d rather run away. The moments of fear are still with me today. They are engraved in my soul. | + | |
Yes, I was woken in the night more than once by other children’s sobs in the children’s home. More than once I sat by someone’s bed to comfort them, hug them and give warmth. The longing to see our parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents and relations overwhelmed us children. We couldn’t sleep for the fear, the hopelessness and helplessness. | Yes, I was woken in the night more than once by other children’s sobs in the children’s home. More than once I sat by someone’s bed to comfort them, hug them and give warmth. The longing to see our parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents and relations overwhelmed us children. We couldn’t sleep for the fear, the hopelessness and helplessness. | ||
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I often think of the tormented end of many of the children, and I often accompany them on their way to the crematorium. They are not just numbers to us; they are engraved on our memories. They were children who never harmed anyone, who had a right to live. They live on in our hearts and our souls. I was fortunate that I had my sister and she had me. We often cried and suffered terrible longing and terrible fear. Even survival has not freed us of that. | I often think of the tormented end of many of the children, and I often accompany them on their way to the crematorium. They are not just numbers to us; they are engraved on our memories. They were children who never harmed anyone, who had a right to live. They live on in our hearts and our souls. I was fortunate that I had my sister and she had me. We often cried and suffered terrible longing and terrible fear. Even survival has not freed us of that. | ||
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Yes, there were a lot of goodbyes. When the mothers received a Gestapo order to report for one of the transports, of course they came and fetched their children, to take them with them. No one suspected where the journey would really end. As a child I thought that they went to a place where only Jews lived. We had no idea of ghettos, still less of death camps. We gave the children the warmest things we had. The coats were slit open and small valuable objects and money were sown into the lining. We realized that these things had to be hidden. I don’t know how we knew. We lived in that atmosphere, we breathed that air. Today we know how little all this hiding of things in coats helped the victims. Nothing escaped the devilish cunning of the murderers and criminals. | Yes, there were a lot of goodbyes. When the mothers received a Gestapo order to report for one of the transports, of course they came and fetched their children, to take them with them. No one suspected where the journey would really end. As a child I thought that they went to a place where only Jews lived. We had no idea of ghettos, still less of death camps. We gave the children the warmest things we had. The coats were slit open and small valuable objects and money were sown into the lining. We realized that these things had to be hidden. I don’t know how we knew. We lived in that atmosphere, we breathed that air. Today we know how little all this hiding of things in coats helped the victims. Nothing escaped the devilish cunning of the murderers and criminals. | ||
- | I must tell another sad story. One day a new girl arrived; she was about eight years old. Two men, apparently from the Gestapo, brought her. She sat there crying her heart out. Fraulein | + | I must tell another sad story. One day a new girl arrived; she was about eight years old. Two men, apparently from the Gestapo, brought her. She sat there crying her heart out. Fräulein |
- | The times got worse and worse and more and more laws were passed which made our lives hell. There were cards for everything but you couldn’t get most things on the Jewish cards. One day, three of our carers – Fraulein Levin, Fraulein Ganz and Fraulein Guttmann – had very bad colds and needed lemons. I said I would try to find a lemon. I went from one greengrocer’s to another. They all said they had no lemons for me, because they saw the star. I was in despair and disappointed, | + | I felt extremely sorry for her because she had been torn away from her normal life so suddenly. She had no idea what Jewish people were. Of course |
- | Yes, then there was the other time. I was supposed to be fetching some kind of syrup from the chemists, but I didn’t pay any attention to the sign saying, 'No entry for Jews!!' | + | |
- | “The world is too dangerous | + | The times got worse and worse and more and more laws were passed which made our lives hell. There were cards for everything but you couldn’t get most things on the Jewish cards. One day, three of our carers – Fräulein Levin, Fräulein Ganz and Fräulein Guttmann – had very bad colds and needed lemons. I said I would try to find a lemon. I went from one greengrocer’s to another. They all said they had no lemons for me, because |
- | I would like to add another side of life in the children’s home. We went to the synagogue at festivals and on Saturdays. We belonged to the big synagogue in Oranienburger Strasse. It was the biggest synagogue in Europe, built in the Moorish style. There were three choirs in this synagogue: a men’s choir, a women’s choir and a children’s choir. A lot of the children from the children’s home sang in this choir. My sister and I and Sylvia Wagenburg sang too. My sister sang “Hear O Israel” as a solo. Her voice sounded enormous in the huge room, which also seemed to have very good acoustics. We knew all the prayers and chants in Hebrew by heart. We could read Hebrew very well because we had learnt it at school. Of course we didn’t understand very much. For us it was the holy language we used when we prayed. We sang fervently and the people prayed fervently. After the prayers, the singers mingled and talked to each other. They shared their troubles and exchanged the latest news. It broke our hearts to see the worried faces. People told each other that someone or other had been taken away, or someone who should have returned had not come back or someone could not obtain an emigration visa and was desperate. What could one do? Everyone rejoiced when the Cohen family succeeded in obtaining visas for Peking. My sister and I stood on one side and listened. We were only small children but we understood the distress, the fear, the despair! We are still standing there, for we knew the people who were standing there and the people they were talking about. Their children were our schoolfellows. We all belonged to one community, the community in Oranienburger Strasse. | + | When I got back to the children’s home, I felt as though I had saved our carers’ lives with the lemons. The joy they felt still gives me pleasure today. |
+ | Yes, then there was the other time. I was supposed to be fetching some kind of syrup from the chemists, but I didn’t pay any attention to the sign saying, 'No entry for Jews!!' | ||
+ | Where did this inhumanity and aggression come from? There may have been many reasons, but they don’t excuse this behaviour. A great deal of educational effort is still necessary to get rid of such reasons. I have given these two examples to show that there was a friendly way and an inhuman way. Yes, and then there are those who didn’t do anything, of whom Albert Einstein wrote: | ||
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+ | //“The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who stand by and let them.” | ||
+ | // | ||
+ | I would like to add another side of life in the children’s home. We went to the synagogue at festivals and on Saturdays. We belonged to the big synagogue in Oranienburger Strasse. It was the biggest synagogue in Europe, built in the Moorish style. There were three choirs in this synagogue: a men’s choir, a women’s choir and a children’s choir. A lot of the children from the children’s home sang in this choir. My sister and I and Sylvia Wagenburg sang too. My sister sang //“Hear O Israel//” as a solo. Her voice sounded enormous in the huge room, which also seemed to have very good acoustics. We knew all the prayers and chants in Hebrew by heart. We could read Hebrew very well because we had learnt it at school. Of course we didn’t understand very much. For us it was the holy language we used when we prayed. We sang fervently and the people prayed fervently. After the prayers, the singers mingled and talked to each other. They shared their troubles and exchanged the latest news. It broke our hearts to see the worried faces. People told each other that someone or other had been taken away, or someone who should have returned had not come back or someone could not obtain an emigration visa and was desperate. What could one do? Everyone rejoiced when the Cohen family succeeded in obtaining visas for Peking. | ||
+ | My sister and I stood on one side and listened. We were only small children but we understood the distress, the fear, the despair! We are still standing there, for we knew the people who were standing there and the people they were talking about. Their children were our schoolfellows. We all belonged to one community, the community in Oranienburger Strasse. | ||
When the news came that the children’s home was to be closed and everyone was to go to the Auerbach’s orphanage, my sister decided to go to our guardian in the Jewish Community and ask if she could find us a foster family. My sister was determined to avoid the orphanage at all costs. At first I knew nothing about this. But when she didn’t come home from school one day and everyone was getting worried, a phone call came from the Jewish Community that Regina was there. Our guardian, a Dr…….. – I have forgotten her name – said to Regina, “I don’t know if it will be possible, my child, but I will try.” Next day the answer came that she had found something. So we were taken in by Jewish foster parents. | When the news came that the children’s home was to be closed and everyone was to go to the Auerbach’s orphanage, my sister decided to go to our guardian in the Jewish Community and ask if she could find us a foster family. My sister was determined to avoid the orphanage at all costs. At first I knew nothing about this. But when she didn’t come home from school one day and everyone was getting worried, a phone call came from the Jewish Community that Regina was there. Our guardian, a Dr…….. – I have forgotten her name – said to Regina, “I don’t know if it will be possible, my child, but I will try.” Next day the answer came that she had found something. So we were taken in by Jewish foster parents. | ||
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Yes, then one asks oneself how we survived? How did history affect the rest of our lives? The word Holocaust still makes me shudder. If someone near me says the word “selection”, | Yes, then one asks oneself how we survived? How did history affect the rest of our lives? The word Holocaust still makes me shudder. If someone near me says the word “selection”, | ||
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My brother was in Auschwitz, was tattooed with a number, had to undress completely and his whole body was shaved, so that he did not recognize himself. He was fourteen or fifteen. He thought, now I am no longer a person, only an animal, and he was treated like one. He survived and he quoted a song to me, which he called “Comfort in hard times in the camp” by Körner. | My brother was in Auschwitz, was tattooed with a number, had to undress completely and his whole body was shaved, so that he did not recognize himself. He was fourteen or fifteen. He thought, now I am no longer a person, only an animal, and he was treated like one. He survived and he quoted a song to me, which he called “Comfort in hard times in the camp” by Körner. | ||
- | “One thing I know, and it makes me strong and sure. | + | //"One thing I know, and it makes me strong and sure. |
No night was so dark that the light did not endure. | No night was so dark that the light did not endure. | ||
No winter’s ice so hard that it did not melt in spring. | No winter’s ice so hard that it did not melt in spring. | ||
- | No prison walls so lasting that they weren’t worn down by time.” [author’s translation] | + | No prison walls so lasting that they weren’t worn down by time.”// |
+ | [author’s translation] | ||
This song gave him courage. He survived all the forced labour, the torments, humiliations, | This song gave him courage. He survived all the forced labour, the torments, humiliations, | ||
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The second and third generation alive today only now realize what was done to them as well, because they have to cope with their parents’ pain. It is difficult for them to identify themselves with their parents and at the same time to maintain a positive world view. For a long time they did not understand where all their grandparents, | The second and third generation alive today only now realize what was done to them as well, because they have to cope with their parents’ pain. It is difficult for them to identify themselves with their parents and at the same time to maintain a positive world view. For a long time they did not understand where all their grandparents, | ||
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It was 60 years before I could write about my experiences, | It was 60 years before I could write about my experiences, | ||
[[thanks# | [[thanks# |