Description
Object description
Czechoslovakian Jewish civilian in Potstejn, Czechoslovakia, 1939-1942; inmate in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, Czechoslovakia, 12/1942-10/1942 and Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Auschwitz III-Monowitz Concentration Camps, Poland, 10/1942-1/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1918-1939: family; history of Jews in Czechoslovakia; education; question of anti-Semitism; reaction to Munich Agreement, 9/1938; Czech patriotism; attitude towards German speaking population of Czechoslovakia. Aspects of period as civilian in Potstejn, Czechoslovakia, 1939-1942: reaction of Czech population to German invasion, 3/1939; confiscation of family home; move to village with new husband; betrayal to Gestapo by neighbour; arrest by Gestapo; attitude of Czechs to German occupation.
REEL 2 Continues: question of Czech collaboration with Germans. Recollections of period as inmate of Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, Czechoslovakia, 12/1942-10/1944: journey to camp; attitude towards prospect of imprisonment; description of camp; sense of optimism; living conditions; medical care; entertainment; punishment for those who tried to document their time in camp; visit by Red Cross; relations between German and Czech inmates; medical problems.
REEL 3 Continues: volunteering to leave camp. Recollections of period as inmate in Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Auschwitz III-Monowitz Concentration Camps, Poland, 10/1944-1/1945: cattle truck journey to camp; arrival in camp, 10/1944; advice given to new arrivals by inmates; selection procedure; attitude towards Germans; showering and head shaving; attitude towards not receiving tattoo; receiving clothes; move into barrack accommodation; knowledge of gas chambers; reaction to Allied bombing; survival technique.
REEL 4 Continues: selection for work in Krupps armaments factory in Auschwitz III-Monowitz Concentration Camp; nature of work; treatment by German guards; German use of dogs; execution of escapee; health problems and lice; relations between inmates. Aspects of march away from Auschwitz III-Monowitz Concentration Camp and escape, 1/1945: conditions during march; killing of friend by Schutzstaffel (SS) guards; escaping from march, 29/1/1945; betrayal by Hitler Youth after escaping from march; how she was allowed to escape from march for second time by Schutzstaffel (SS) guard.
REEL 5 Continues: aid received from Soviet forced labourers; advise to go to Poland; taking refuge in school; delousing organised by Soviets; return to Czechoslovakia. Reflections on Holocaust experiences: impact of experience on religious beliefs; belief in ultimate survival; question of why she and not others survived.