Born Survivors: Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope by Wendy Holden

Author:Wendy Holden [Holden, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography, Holocaust, World War II
ISBN: 9780062370259
Amazon: 0062370251
Barnesnoble: 0062370251
Publisher: Harper
Published: 2015-05-04T23:00:00+00:00

The memorial to the dead of KZ Freiberg

Priska, as tired and hungry as the rest of the inmates, stubbornly refused to allow thoughts of death to enter her mind. Still pinning her hopes on Tibor being alive somewhere, urging her to think only of beautiful things, she gazed intently at the intricate frost patterns on the windows of their barracks. One of the few who lifted her head each time they plodded to and from the factory, she would kick at the powdered snow to watch it sparkle or marvel at the hoarfrost that coated the trees like sugar on foggy mornings. She’d promised Tibor that she and their baby would survive, and he’d told her that was all he was living for. ‘I was just focused on my husband and baby. I didn’t try to get close to anyone …’ she said. ‘I was hoping that [Tibor] would be there when I came home.’

Morale dipped lower with an even greater drop in temperatures, however, and the women couldn’t help but feel increasingly desperate and abandoned. They were painfully aware that the long harsh winter would only make conditions more unbearable. Deprived of the most basic needs while slaving for the Nazis, the ghostlike figures lost even more weight. Their clothes and spirits threadbare, they developed festering sores from lice, bedbugs and their own inner decay. There was no space in their heads to think of anything but food and surviving another day. ‘I don’t even remember having dreams,’ Anka said. ‘It took so much to stay alive that there was no time for anything else.’

For Anka and Rachel, who’d already endured years of privation in the ghettos, their pitiful existence beyond all human reach seemed interminable. Whatever would happen to them and their unborn babies? What about Bernd and Monik? Were they even alive? Anka had Mitzka to share her burden and whisper to in the night, although she was afraid that even her knowledge of the pregnancy might be dangerous. Rachel, who worked with Bala every day and shared her bunk, hadn’t even told her or her other two sisters that she was expecting for fear that the information might put them at risk too.

Sala and Ester had been fortunate enough to be given secretarial jobs in the factory office, which meant better food and clothing and relative comfort. ‘We started off building aeroplanes but an SS officer came over to me when I was filing metal and asked me in German, “Where’s your sister?” I was always with her but I looked at him in shock because I didn’t even know that he knew we were sisters.’ He told them to follow him and they walked to the far end of the factory. ‘He kept on talking to me in German and asking me, “Do you know how to read and write?” He put the two of us in an office where all the plans were kept for how to make the aircraft, and we were safe for eight months! We were so lucky.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.