“..Vision ..extends ..view ..mind can expand into.” Patrick Dempsey.

We adopt any opportunity, of some form of vision taken of The Holocaust, and even when we can never comprehend what 6,000,000 Jewish People were forced toward we do so, so that we too might understand the horror. It is essential, in what the Survivor imparts, that this extends the view that the incomprehensible mind can then attempt to expand into. For us researching its many layers, even when we can never massage the limits of that imaginary process to do so, we can blunt that effort by other than a fixed idea that the search will deliver for posterity a memory of all those we seek to recall.

What still does not allow the human mind to understand, that such inhumanity searched through does not protect the sensitivity of our minds. Any protective barrier thrown around such despicable hatreds, can dull the senses to meaning and what is deliberate in all we state so we remain open to the visible trauma that affected all 6,000,000 Jewish People. That we have been spared an insight into so much suffering and to those very Jews, too many of whom were destroyed, ensures we broaden our vision to access all points of the atrocity. Yet, we can still not come close to an understanding of all the horrors these individuals faced and no matter how intensely we delve into the recesses of a research so uncompromising, we are charged to do so.

The hatred which so tarnishes humanity forever, will never relent on the need to build  comprehensive bridge between the incomprehensible reality these 6,000,000 Jews People faced and our own incredulity at a World stood still whilst all of this happened. With such an effort, you find that you can liberate yourself from the thoughts that even my own words are confined to, because they can never reach the reality of what the Jewish People endured. Even before the annihilation process took hold and 6,000,000 Jewish People were swept into oblivion, there were incremental stages by which an early intervention would have stalled Hitler and would have saved many more of the 6,000,000 Jews we are set on recalling.

                                                            Abells, Chana Byers        

Abramowitch, Maja        

“..Salaspils ..largest of ..Camps. ..authorities do not encourage remembering. No where on monuments ..is it mentioned that Jews died there.”  Maja Abramowitch.

Adelman, Yehuda            

“..We begin to tell stories about our town. ..Gorodok. ..we lost our parents ..we saw ..deaths of our brothers and sisters. After 2 ..3 years ..injured ..broken hearted we came to our devastated homes.” Yehuda Adelman.

Adelsberger, Lucie                         

“..This report tells ..story of ..victims of Auschwitz ..not with ..purpose of opening old wounds ..but of passing it on as a legacy for us Jews and for all mankind. It will fulfil its purpose only if it helps teach us ..to become better human beings ..to truly love our neighbours ..and to work toward ..eradication of brutality from ..face of ..Earth.” Lucie Adelsberger.

                                                            Adelson, Alan                                  

Adler, H.G.

“..problems of Nazism present nothing but an extreme ..special case of conditions ..possibilities that are encountered in modern society. ..Cruelty ..deindividualisation ..make a Concentration Camp possible ..both ..systematically fostered for it to exist and become ..a place of absolute ..ultimate subjugation beyond ..bounds of a life worth living.” H. G. Adler.

Ager, Eleanor H.     Altbeker, Ruth    Altman, Linda Jacobs      Aly, Goetz      Ancona-Vincent, Victoria

Anielewicz, Mordechai

“..One of our companies held out for 40 minutes and another ..for more than 6 hours. ..mine set in ..brushmakers area exploded. Several of our companies attacked the dispersing Germans. Our losses in manpower are minimal. That is also an achievement. Yechiel fell. He fell a hero ..at ..machine gun. I feel that great things are happening and what we dared do is of great ..enormous importance. Beginning from today we shall shift over to ..partisan tactic. Three battle companies will move out tonight ..with two tasks ..reconnaissance and obtaining arms. Do you remember ..short range weapons are of no use to us. We use such weapons only rarely.  What we need urgently ..grenades ..rifles ..machine guns ..explosives. It is impossible to describe ..conditions under which the Jews of the ghetto are now living. Only a few will be able to hold out. ..remainder will die sooner or later. Their fate is decided. In almost all ..hiding places in which 1,000’s are concealing themselves it is not possible to light a candle for lack of air.  With ..aid of our transmitter we heard ..marvelous report on our fighting by ..Shavit radio station. ..fact that we are remembered beyond ..Ghetto walls encourages us in our struggle. Peace go with you ..my friend. Perhaps we may still meet again. ..dream of my life has risen to become fact. Self defense in ..Ghetto will have been a reality. Jewish armed resistance and revenge are facts. I have been a witness to ..magnificent ..heroic fighting of Jewish men in battle.” Mordechai Anielewicz.

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1919

Hitler’s ability to tune the rhetoric of hatred into a carefully honed and demonstrable tool of destruction is evidenced here as on Tuesday September 16th. he penned a letter to Adolf Gemlich in response to the requirement for an answer to what he had considered was the Jewish problem. As the most formative piece of provocative evidence of Hitler’s very own transit from the vocabulary of hatred into the very deeply disturbing conduct of The Holocaust, here we are perhaps just boarding the train.

“..Herr Gemlich. ..antisemitism based on purely emotional grounds will find its ultimate expression in ..form of ..pogrom.  ..ultimate objective must ..be ..irrevocable removal of ..Jews.”  Adolf Hitler.

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               Anne Frank House                                                                       Apenszlak, Jacob

Appelfeld, Aharon                          

“..After my Mother was Murdered ..I was deported together with my Father to Transnistria. We have spent many weeks on a penal trek of sorts. For days we have been slogging along roads deep in mud ..a lengthy convoy surrounded by Romanian and Ukrainian soldiers who flog and shoot at us. Father holds my hand tight ..my feet no longer touch ..ground. ..sound of ..water slices at my legs and my hips. It’s dark all around ..apart from Father’s hand I don’t feel a thing. Truth to tell ..I don’t feel his hand either ..since my hand is alreadly partly numb. If I move just a little I’ll surely drown. Even Father won’t be able to pull me out. Lots of Children have already drowned this way. I fall asleep ..still clutching his hand. But not for long. While the sky is still dark ..soldiers light up ..convoy with sniping and gunfire. Father holds my hand and tugs me. ..mud is deep and I can’t feel ..bottom. I’m still half alseep and tremendously afraid. It hurts. I call out. Father hears my call and answers at once.” Aharon Appelfeld.

Appelman Jurman, Alicia                                           

“..About 2,000 Jewish Men ..Women ..Children murdered in ..first aktion. ..shot ..buried in a mass grave on ..Fedor Hill. Some ..buried in ..Jewish cemetery.”  Alicia Appleman-Jurman.

Arad, Yitzhak                                   

“..Jews were compelled to establish relations with an alien ..hostile government that regarded them as subhuman ..fit only for exploitation and extermination. ..human values in which they believed and on which they had built their lives tottered and collapsed. In this cruel reality ..Vilna Jewry struggled to survive and seek rescue. ..daily struggle was for life itself ..survive in ..face of hunger ..disease. Jewish Vilna embodied ..majority of hardships ..torment ..European Jewry ..underwent during The Holocaust ..its responses sum up most of ..options ..available to ..Jews during this tragic epoch. Vilna Jewry was a microcosm of ..fate of all Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.”  Yitzhak Arad.

Arendt, Hannah               

“..no conceivable chronicle of any kind could succeed in turning 6,000,000 dead people into a political argument.” Hannah Arendt.

                                                            Association of Jewish Refugees                                

Auerbach, Rachel

“..Remember ..there is a national treasure buried under ..rubble. It’s ..Ringelblum Archive. We must not rest until we find ..Archive. ..even if there are 5 layers of ruins over it ..we have to find ..Archive.” Rachel Auerbach.

Auerbacher, Inge                                                         

“..There was also resistance of ..spirit. Some children in ..ghettoes and camps were taught ..in illegal classes. Just to stay alive one more day was an immense struggle for ..humans.” Inge Auerbacher.

Auschwitz State Museum             

“..of ..1,300,000 deported to ..Camp ..they were from amongst 20 nationalities ..and these nations gave up their Jews also. Of that total ..some 400,000 were registered and kept as Slave Labour and 900,000 were immediately Gassed. While Jews constituted 85% of all those deported here ..they represented more than 90% of all those who were murdered. ..400,000 Slave Labourers were gradually degraded till they could persist no longer and added finally to ..total number of those Jews and others Gassed or otherwise Murdered. That stated ..we assess that of ..1,100,000 who were Murdered from all 1,300,000 deported to ..Camp ..some 900,000 Jews were Gassed immediately or otherwise murdered in ..camp. Of ..400,000 of those registered for Slave Labour ..200,000 died or were otherwise Murdered. These included some 100,000 Jews ..64,000 Poles ..21,000 Gypsies ..14,000 Russian POW’s and a further 10,000 other nationals.”  Auschwitz State Museum.

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1925     

Nor do we find on July 18th. with Hitler’s 1st. Volume of ‘Mein Kampf’, My Struggle, to be published, a purile effort in adding words to pages, we encounter the invective of a hatred for the Jewish People he had firmly set course for. In terms of what must be considered the outpourings of a confrontation with his own naked hatred’s we visit a person who incredibly intuitive instincts would inveigle the German people’s in the most horrific crimes of all time. The flavour of such hatred was not hidden and a World, weary of War must have considered the on coming resolution of such bile, an affront to all peace.

It is not simply that Hitler targeted the Jews, but that the Jewish People were to be confronted on every level of their existence. Remember too, and be well prepared that for every word concocted in his treatise of hatred, Hitler simply turned the words on their head and exactly acted out what he had considered in their words. While we will come eventually to the very realisation that without Hitler The Holocaust would not have come into being, we search through the words he used to pint us toward what he had always intended for the Jewish People, their removal as an intelligentsia and finally, extermination.

“..Now begins ..great last revolution. In gaining political power ..Jew casts off ..few cloaks that he still wears. ..democratic people’s Jew becomes ..blood Jew and tyrant over peoples. In a few years he tries to exterminate ..national intelligentsia and by robbing ..peoples of their natural intellectual leadership makes them ripe for ..slave’s lot of permanent subjugation.” Mein Kampf.

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                              Bankowska, Aleksandra                 Bartov, Omer                                  

Bauer, Yehuda                                               

“..People seldom learn from history. Can we be an exception.”    Yehuda Bauer.

Bauman, Janina     Beckman, Morris     Becu, Yves     Benz, Wolfgang     Berenbaum, Michael    

Beres, Witold                    Berg, Mary                        Bergman, Eleonora                        Berman, Dr. Adolf

Berr, Helene                                                   

“..Why did God endow humanity with ..power to do evil ..as well as ..capacity always to hope to be free.”  Helene Berr.

Birenbaum, Halina                         

“..teachings ..about ..world ..people ..ethics ..faith ..I had to learn ..by myself in ..hell of concentration camps ..without my Mother who was put to death in ..Gas Chambers in Majdanek ..my Father ..put to death and burnt in ..crematorium in Treblinka ..my Brother ..my Sister in law ..so young ..but cared for me like my Mother ..tormented and burnt in Auschwitz. ” Halina Birenbaum.

               Birger, Zev                                                                      Bitton-Jackson, Livia                                     

Blatt, Thomas                                  

“..15 years old ..I survived because you made me your shoeshine boy. Besides me nobody survived ..not my Father ..not my Mother ..not my Brother ..none of ..2,000 Jews from ..Izbica.”   Thomas ‘Toivi’ Blatt.

                                                            Bloch, Eliezer Lip

Bloch, Marc

“..Behold ..historian called to render his account. He does so not without an inner tremor. What craftsman ..grown old in his trade ..has not asked himself with a sudden qualm whether he has spent his life wisely. ..question far transcends  ..minor scruples of a professional conscience. ..our entire Western civilisation is concerned in it.”  Marc Bloch.

                                                            Boas, Jacob                                      

Bondy, Ruth

“..4 of us returned from The Holocaust ..Grandmother Hermann ..Cousin Ota ..My Sister Dita and I. 25 were wiped out in The Holocaust. Statistically ..we were a lucky family. Someone remained to tell ..tale.” Ruth Bondy.

                                                            Borowiec, Andrew                                                       

Borowski, Tadeusz                                        

“..This is where they load freight for Birkenau ..supplies for ..construction of ..camp ..and People for ..gas chambers.” Tadeusz Borowski.

Braham, Randolph L.     

“..I reached ..decision with a heavy heart ..having followed ..recent developments in Hungary with great concern. ..history cleansing campaign of ..past few years calculated to whitewash ..historical record of ..Horthy era ..including ..changes ..legalised ..sinister measures that were subsequently taken to absolve Hungary from ..active role it had played in ..destruction of close to 600,000 of its citizens of ..Jewish faith.” Randolph L. Braham.

Braz, Hans     Brecher, Elinor J.      Breitman, Richard       Breslav, Szmuel        Brostoff, Anita    

Browning, Christopher R.    Buber-Agassi, Judith          Burrleigh, Michael          Burrin, Philipp          

Carp, Matatias                                Cargas, Harry J.               

Celan, Paul                                       

“..Only one thing remained reachable ..close and secure amid all losses ..language. ..In spite of everything ..it remained secure against loss. ..it had to go through ..own lack of answers ..through terrifying silence ..through ..thousand darknesses of murderous speech. It went through. It gave me no words for what was happening ..but went through it. Went through and could resurface ..’enriched’ by it all.” Paul Celan.

Cesarani, David                               

“..Justice delayed may not be justice denied ..but history denied will never lead to justice.”  David Ceserani.

Czapnik, Liza                      Chesnoff, Richard Z.      Chostowski, Witold           Cohen, Elie A. 

“..would never have thought that ..man ..given very inadequate nourishment ..insufficiently clothed ..slept little ..lived in ..worst possible hygienic circumstances ..exposed to all conditions of ..weather ..would have thought it impossible ..he would go on living. ..powers of adaptation ..endurance ..so great ..body is capable of efforts ..held to be impossible in normal life. ..many broke down ..perished ..but ..miracle is ..there are still Survivors.”   Elie A. Cohen.

Cohn, Norman                                 Confino, Alan                                   Corni, Gustavo                                

Czech, Danuta                  

“..Chronicle is not only a framework for research into ..camp’s history and ..fate of prisoner’s and an aid for criminal investigations ..it is also an epitaph ..a memorial book for those who suffered and struggled in Auschwitz Birkenau ..for those who did not survive Auschwitz ..who died nameless ..those ..killed in ..gas chambers immediately after ..arrival.” Danuta Czech.

Czerniakow, Adam                         

“..Sturmbannfuhrer Hoefle ..in charge of ..evacuation ..informed me that for ..time being my wife was free ..but if ..deportation were impeded in any way ..she would be ..first one ..shot.” Adam Czerniakow.

                                                            David, Janina                                   

Dawidowicz, Lucy S.                                     

“..Despite ..recent outpouring of popular and scholarly books on Hitler ..no work has yet been produced that satisfactorily explains Hitler’s obsessive ideas about ..Jews ..readiness of ..German people to accept these ideas ..and Hitler’s ability to harness an enormous apparatus of men ..institutions ..facilities just in order to murder ..Jews. Hitler has proved to be an elusive and unrewarding subject for conventional biography because ..explanations for ..baffling mystique he exercised ..for ..power he came to wield ..and for his unspeakable accomplishments are not to be found in ..facts of a banal life ..but in ..ideas and feelings that created ..symbiosis between him and ..German people. Their mutuality and interdependence thrived ..as Hitler first expressed and later gratified ..Germans’ most arrogant and abominable ambitions. He relieved their deepest fears and anxieties and ..near ..end ..disburdened them both of guilt and responsibility for ..wickedness they had given him warrant to commit.” Lucy Schildkret Dawidowicz.

Dean, Martin     Defonseca, Misha                           de Gaulle, Genevieve                     Deker, Sheila Cohn

Delbo, Charlotte                                            

“..Flora ..our ss ..was to accompany us to Birkenau. Just ..name Birkenau filled us with trepidation. What reassured us was ..sight of a cart waiting for us. We would never have climbed into a truck. ..Trucks took people straight to ..gas chambers.”  Charlotte Delbo.

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1933

When on January 30th. Adolf Hitler is appointed ‘Reichskanzler’ a further founding effort toward the destruction of the Jewish People is gained. While some saw that the civilisation and culture of a Germany with its people would not turn its back on what Jews had already brought to such culture, it was to be a forlorn hope. By the following day it is recognised that such was the hope for the Jewish People within the sphere of Hitler’s reach, that we see to this day there was so much optimism displaced.

Tuesday January 31st. 1933 “..within ..German nation ..forces are active that would turn against a barbarian anti-Jewish policy.”  Judische Rundschau.

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                                                            de Mendelsohn, Peter   

Dempsey, Patrick

“..PREFACE.

“..the treatment of the civilian population ..presented the highest political and military leaders with a welcomed opportunity for carrying out their plans ..the systematic extermination of ..Jewry.”1:1

This Book is not just about the Holocaust and the destruction of the Jewish People, though perceptibly it is very much an account of it. This Book is the very detail of the Holocaust, in extraction! In all of its words and meanings, this Book embodies all that the Holocaust means to me and should, hopefully, mean to you. It is, however, not my Holocaust nor is it the property of other than those who suffered, endured and were silenced by the effects of a cold blooded attempt at complete annihilation!” Patrick Dempsey.

Dempsey, Patrick

“..Preface.

“..Conquest ..gives no title ..if it exists over the body ..it fails over the mind. It can exert no empire over men’s reason ..judgment ..affections.” Roger Casement.

To hurt a fellow human being; to have the capacity to inflict pain upon another person is a terrible indictment which we have inflicted upon mankind. To threaten to inflict pain on another person, and then to carry it out to its most horrendous, murderous and destructive conclusion, is an even more vicious and pernicious evil. In politics there is this belief that he who governs decides, and that is even more so in a totalitarian, rightist, Nazi or fascist state.” Patrick Dempsey.

Dempsey, Patrick

“..Preface.

“..These are true and just words ..they contain a moral appreciation of ethical understanding ..and that ..in ..Intolerance shown to ..Jews of ..Holocaust ..we have clearly shown an Indifference to ..struggle for mankind’s own relevance in a caring World?” Annals of the Holocaust.

I want my work to have validity, and I do not simply want to communicate the condemnation, of all that was done against the Jewish People, but I roundly condemn all those who perpetrated these crimes, without us learning from the process. Those who were supposedly Christian in nature, who failed significantly in their moral duty to that ‘christian’ ethos, and should have alleviated the Jewish suffering, have only their consciences to save them.” Patrick Dempsey.

Dempsey, Patrick

“..Preface.

“..Przemysl. ..All ..deportations were to Belzec. From ..first deportation ..a few who had jumped from ..train returned and they warned people in ..second operation that ..same thing awaited them. People began to hide themselves. But many went to ..square in ..normal manner. ..they obeyed ..order.”  Dr. Josef Buzminsky.

Belzec was born out of Kozielsk Hill and Hitler’s desperation to rid Europe of its Jews. This place was to be Hitler’s Endlosung. The locals referred to the formative Death Camp established formerly as a Labour Camp situated just outside the Village of Belzec as the Camp on the Hill or Kozielsk Camp. But infamy had a judgement to make and History records that within a tight and confined space in a wooded clearing atop a hill, some 884,700 Jews of Poland, and many other Jews from a wider Europe were murdered, annihilated and totally destroyed here.” Patrick Dempsey.

Denenberg, Barry                           Dinur, Yehiel       Dobroszycki, Lucjan                        Doerry, Martin

Donat, Alexander

“..On ..site where for 400 ghastly days ..blasphemy of Treblinka tormented human history there is now a monument. It shows in ..centre an enormous rock topped by a menorah to symbolise ..300,000 martyred Jews of Warsaw. ..rock is surrounded by huge slabs of concrete from which rises a forest of 1,000’s of granite pillars of varying shapes and sizes ..representing cities ..villages ..and shtetlach los in ..Holocaust. On 150 of them are carved ..names of ..localities from which ..murdered Jews came. ..massive pillars bear ..names of ..Country’s of ..victims origin.”  Alexander Donat.

Dwork, Deborah      Eber, Irene      Edelheit, Abraham J.      Ehrenburg, Ilya       Eisenstat, Bernice

Eisenstat, Stuart        Eliach, Yaffa         Elias, Ruth         Epstein, Eric          Epsztein, Tadeusz                                               Faber, David                                                    Feld, Yehuda

Fink, Ida

“..Did you ever see someone who was killed in ..war but who is still alive.” Ida Fink.

Fischel, Jack R.   Fischer, Klaus B.   Fisher, Julius S.  Fleming, Gerald   Fligelman, Daniel   Fogelman, Eva

Frank, Anne

“..Day and night ..dragged off. ..deprived ..of ..possessions. Families ..torn apart ..all ..separated. Children coming home ..find ..their parents have disappeared. Women return ..to find their families gone.” Anne Frank.

Frankl, Viktor

“..You weigh on me ..you whom I lost in death. You’ve given me ..silent charge to live for you ..for me ..to erase ..debt of your extermination.”   Viktor E. Frankl.

Freeman, Joseph              Freid, Heidi         Friedlander, Albert H.           Friedlaender, Saul

Friedman, Philip

“..vast area of Europe seized ..held by ..Nazi’s and their accomplices during WWII contained approximately 8,300,000 Jews. ..estimated that 6,000,000 perished by Nazi lethal devices ..disease ..starvation. Considering that Hitler mobilised all of German’y resources for ..avowed purpose of annihilating ..Jews ..and that in this work he found helpers and collaborators among ..native population in almost all Nazi occupied countries ..it is indeed a miracle that more than 2,000,000 remained alive.”  Dr. Philip Friedman.

Friedrich, Otto

“..The Holocaust still horrifies us not because some Jews were Murdered ..that happens almost every week in New York City ..but because ..incredibile total of 6,000,000 murders represents ..attempt to kill ALL Jews ..genocide. And Auschwitz represents The Holocaust ..because more People died here than anywhere else.” Otto Friedrich.

Fuswerk, Bluma                                             Georg, Willy                                                    Geve, Thomas

Gies, Miep

“..People should never think that you have to be a very special person to help those who need you.” Miep Gies.

Gigliotti, Simone   Gilbert, Gustave Mark       Gilbert, Martin         Gill, Anton       Ginsburg, Waldemar

Ginz, Peter

“..They tore us unjustly away from ..fertile ground of work ..joy ..culture. ..They do this for ..one purpose ..to destroy us ..spiritually ..morally. ..Deprived of our former sources of culture ..we shall create new ones. Separated from ..sources of our old happiness ..we shall create a new and joyfully radiant life.” Peter Ginz.

Giterman, Icchak      Glazer, Richard       Goldhagen, Daniel       Goldin,Leib              Goni, Uki         

Gorny, Jechiel ‘Chil’                                       Gottesfeld-Heller, Fanya

Graber, Dawid

“..What we were unable to scream out to ..World ..we have concealed under ..ground. One thing I am proud of ..namely in these disastrous and horrible days I had been chosen to help bury ..treasure ..in order that you may know of ..tortures and murders of ..Nazi tyrants.” Dawid Graber.

Graebe, Hermann

“..On ..October 5th. 1942 ..I visited ..building office at Dubno ..my foreman told me that in ..vicinity of ..site Jews from Dubno ..had been shot in 3 large pits ..each about 30 metres long ..3 metres deep. About 1,500 persons ..killed daily. All ..to be liquidated. As ..shootings had taken place in his presence he was still very upset. Moennikes and I went straight to .. pits. Nobody prevented us. I heard a quick succession of shots from behind one of ..mounds of earth. ..people ..got off .. lorries ..men ..women ..children ..all ages ..undress upon ..order of ..SS man ..who carried ..whip. They had to put their clothes on separate piles ..shoes ..top clothing ..underclothing.  I saw ..heap of shoes ..800 to 1,000 pairs ..great piles of clothes and undergarments. Without screaming or weeping these people undressed ..stood in family groups ..kissed each other ..said their farewells ..waited for a sign from another SS man ..who stood near ..pit ..also with ..whip in ..hand. During ..15 minutes that I stood near ..pit ..I did not hear anyone complain or beg for mercy. I watched a family of about 8 ..man ..woman ..both about 50 ..with their children ..aged about 1 ..8 ..10 ..and 2 grown up daughters ..about 20 to 24. An old woman with snow white hair was holding ..1 year old child in her arms ..singing something to it ..tickling it. ..child was crowing with delight. ..man and wife were looking on with tears in their eyes. ..father was holding ..hand of a boy about 10 ..speaking to him softly. ..boy was fighting back his tears. ..father pointed to ..sky ..stroked ..boy’s head and seemed to explain something to him. At that moment ..SS man at ..pit shouted something to his comrade ..who separated off about 20 persons and ordered them to go behind ..mound of earth. Among them .. family I have mentioned. I still clearly remember a dark haired ..slim girl who pointed to herself as she passed close to me and said ..’23’ I walked to ..other side of ..mound and found myself standing before an enormous grave. ..people lay so closely packed ..one on top of ..other ..only their heads ..visible. Nearly all had blood running over their shoulders from their heads. Some ..still moving. Some lifted an arm and turned a head to show that they were still alive. ..pit was already two-thirds full. I estimated that it already contained about 1,000 people. I looked round for ..man who had shot them. He was ..SS man ..sitting on ..edge of ..pit ..legs dangling into it. He had a sub machine gun ..smoking a cigarette. ..people ..completely naked ..went down ..steps ..cut in .. clay wall of ..pit ..climbed over ..heads of those already lying there ..to ..place indicated by ..SS man. They laid down in front of ..dead or injured people. Some of them caressed those who were still alive and spoke to them softly. Then I heard a series of shots. I looked into ..pit and saw ..bodies were twitching or ..heads lay motionless on top of ..bodies which lay before them. Blood was pouring from their necks. I was surprised I was not ordered away ..but saw there were also 2 or 3 uniformed policemen standing nearby. ..next batch was already approaching. They climbed into ..pit lined up against ..previous victims and were shot. When I walked back round ..mound I noticed another lorry load of people ..had just arrived. ..it included sick ..infirm people. A very thin old woman ..with terribly thin legs ..was undressed by others who were already naked ..while 2 people supported her. ..woman appeared to be paralysed. ..naked people carried ..woman around ..mound. I left with Moennikes ..drove back to Dubno. ..morning of ..next day ..I visited ..site ..saw about 30 naked people lying near ..pit ..about 30 to 50 metres ..from it. Some ..still alive ..looked straight in front of them with a fixed stare ..seemed not to notice ..chillness nor ..workers of my firm who stood around. A girl of about 20 spoke to me and asked me to give her clothes and help her escape. At that moment we heard a fast car approach and I noticed it was an SS detail. I moved away to my site. 10 minutes later we heard shots from ..vicinity of ..pit. Those Jews who were still alive had been ordered to throw ..corpses into ..pit then they themselves had to lie down in ..pit to be shot in ..neck.” Hermann Graebe.

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1938

Between July 6th. and July 15th. a Refugee Conference is called for by President Roosevelt and is convened at Evian-les-Bains, France. Of those invited only 29 of these 33 Nations turn up to meet and discuss the growing crisis for Jews under Hitler’s yoke! As if the Jews dont feel isolated enough, or abandoned completely, Hitler has captured the indifferent mood of the World to their predicament and this is reflected in a News Paper article the day before the Evian Conference ends.

Thursday July 14th.1938 “..Jews for Sale at a Bargain price. Who Wants Them? No One!” German Newspaper Reichswart.

As the Evian Conference ends none of those present could resolve the major issue, to admit large numbers of Jewish refugees who are facing an increasing weight of abuse, isolation and even death. After 10 days of deliberation, those Jewish People under direct threat from Hitler must now feel totally abandoned by a World of unconcern. Within the space of a few months the Jews would be torn into a sequence of events that recognised their position became so untenable and ever further from the lives they had sought to lead.

Friday July 15th.1938 “..delegates take ..floor to say ..We feel sorry for ..refugees and potential refugees but.” The Washington Post

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Greif, Gideon             Gross, Jan T.            Grossman, Grubler, Kurt             Grunwald Spier, Agnes

Gryn, Hugo        

“..All sorts of things happened to my faith during The Holocaust ..although I could not have articulated it in this way ..one thing I understood ..precisely ..what happened to us was not because of what God did ..but what people did after rejecting him.. I witnessed ..destruction that follows when men try to turn themselves into Gods.” Hugo Gryn.

Grynberg, Michal                                           Grzanska, B & M                             Grzywacz, Nachum

Gurfein, Yakov

“..middle of January 1943 ..they woke us up. We saw that we were surrounded by SS men who were stationed around ..Sanok ghetto. They ordered us to line up in ..courtyard ..allowed each one to take a blanket ..and led us on foot to ..Zaslaw camp. At Zaslaw they put everyone into one hall and kept us there for 3 days and 2 nights. They didn’t give us any food or drink. They didn’t allow us to go outside for our personal needs. We relieved ourselves inside this hall. Everything. In front of each other ..women ..children and men together. On Friday morning they put us into railway wagons. In ..morning we heard that a train was arriving and we saw that there were 10 railway wagons. At ..railway entrance SS men stood with dogs ..they commanded us to get into them ..to crowd into these wagons. We didn’t resist and we boarded ..train. We no longer had any strength left. Very simply ..we wanted it to end quickly. After so many years we did not have ..strength to resist any more. We were 1,300 souls. And we were lucky. I counted ..people in our wagon ..there were 103 of us. This was a French freight wagon ..there was a notice on ..door 8 horses or 40 people. I read French. When they put us in all together into ..wagons ..there was no place to stand or sit. Some ..people sat on ..floor ..some stood ..then every hour we exchanged positions. We relieved ourselves in ..corner of this wagon. There were women and children and old people together. They closed ..door. ..windows were already shut ..and also secured with barbed wire. I was in that wagon from Friday morning until 2 o’clock ..next morning. They gave us neither food nor drink. They didn’t even allow us to bring snow into ..wagon. We wanted to quench our thirst with snow ..even this they forbade ..and they shot into ..wagon ahead of us because someone had brought a little snow into it. Towards noon ..train moved. We could notice through ..aperture in ..windows that ..train was travelling in ..direction of Przemysl ..after that in ..direction of Jaroslaw. We knew that they were exterminating ..Jews of ..surroundings in ..Belzec. We decided that if ..train turned to ..right in ..direction of Rawa Ruska ..we would try to burst out of ..train. To ..right was in ..direction of Belzec ..and left in ..direction of Krakow. We still had only a spark of hope that perhaps they were transferring us to Plaszow ..a labour camp near Krakow. We knew it because they announced ..day and night ..that they needed ..trains for their victory. We couldn’t understand that nevertheless they found ..time to transport ..Jews for extermination all the time and to use trains for them. On every train there was an inscription ..Wheels must roll for ..sake of victory. At that time I didn’t believe that ..programme was to destroy ..Jewish People ..despite ..fact that I had heard reports from Belzec. We received reports ..but ..spark of hope ..nevertheless ..still flickered in our hearts and we hoped that ..perhaps ..despite this ..some miracle would occur. They kept promising day and night that they were stopping ..deportations ..exterminations. For from ..moment that we saw that ..train was going in ..direction of Belzec ..it turned in ..direction of Rawa Ruska ..some spark was ignited. We managed to force ..window open and several of ..people in ..train jumped out. We saw someone jumping and some spark was kindled within people who wanted to save themselves. Each time a person jumped out ..we heard shots. On each wagon there was an SS man with a machine gun. At approximately 2 o’clock in ..morning ..this was beyond Jaroslaw ..my mother pushed me from ..wagon and told me to jump. I jumped from ..wagon. As I said ..we wanted to die more quickly. There nevertheless was an impulse. I wouldn’t have jumped ..if my mother hadn’t pushed me forcibly. I left behind ..my mother ..my brother. I hid in ..snow. They halted ..train and began to shoot in my direction. I crossed to ..other side of ..track and dug myself into ..snow ..I remained in ..snow for 2 hours until I heard ..train moving. I didn’t see my mother after this ..nor any members of my family.” Yakov Gurfein.

                                                            Gutkowski, Eliasz

Gutman, Yisrael

“..first Jews to reach Majdanek were ..from Slovakia ..Czechoslovakia. When I was there ..they told me that 10,000 of them had arrived ..and ..of these ..there remained ..100 ..perhaps ..200.” Yisrael Gutman.

Gutterman, Bella                                                 Hackett, David                                          Halter, Roman

Hart, Kitty

“..After all has been said that can be said ..how future generations run their own lives will be up to them. At least we will have done our duty.”  Kitty Hart.

                                                            Hartman, Geoffrey

Hausner, Gideon

“..When I stand before you ..to lead ..Prosecution of Adolf Eichmann ..I am not standing alone. With me are 6,000,000 accusers. ..they cannot rise ..and point an accusing finger. ..For their ashes are piled up on ..hills of Auschwitz and ..fields of Treblinka ..and are strewn in ..forests of Poland. Their graves are scattered throughout ..length and breadth of Europe. Their blood cries out ..but their voice is not heard. ..I will be their spokesman and in their name I will unfold ..awesome indictment.” Gideon Hausner.

               Heller, Celia                                                                    Hersh, Arek

Herzberg, Abel

“..No 6,000,000 Jews were murdered ..but only one Jew ..and this happened 6,000,000 times. If you really want to understand ..meaning of ..persecution of ..Jews ..you would have to write 6,000,000 biographies of 6,000,000 individuals.” Abel Herzberg.

Hilberg, Raul

“..first and foremost perpetrator was Adolf Hitler. ..without him it would have been inconceivable.” Raul Hilberg.

Hillesum, Etty

“..If there were only one decent German ..then he should be cherished despite that whole barbaric gang ..and because of that one decent German it is wrong to pour hatred over an entire people.” Etty Hillesum.

Hillman, Hannelore                                       Hoffman, Eva                                   Huberband, Szymon

Isaacson, Judith Magyar

“..I revisited Auschwitz. ..Our transport was among ..last ones ..from Hungary July 8th. 1944 ..and due to ..unusual number of arrivals ..SS were forced to change their customary procedures. ..gas chambers ..crematoria could not accommodate everyone judged unfit for work ..so 100’s were piled along ..railroad tracks to be immolated. ..due to ..heartless haste ..clothed in rags ..marked with ..painted red cross ..hardly any food or water ..also due to this haste ..escaped tattooing.”  Judith Magyar Isaacson.

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1938

On November 9th. as Ernst vom Rath dies a wave of terror sweeps across German lands and the Jewish People are thrown into utter chaos. This, the Night of Broken Glass, or ‘Kristallnacht’, is Hitler orchestrated throughout Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland nd where some 267 synagogues are ransacked and destroyed, 7,500 Jewish Shops are looted with over 50,000 Jews removed to Concentration Camps at Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. Over 240 Jewish Men and Women are Murdered, commensurate with what must be considered in terms of The Final Solution of The Jewish Question, die Endlosung der Judenfrage, a month later.

Thursday November 10th. 1938. “..we know what happened yesterday. We do not know what tomorrow holds. However ..we have experienced what happened today. Outside ..synagogue burns. That is also a house of God.”   Father Bernhard Lichtenberg.

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                                                                           Jacob, Lili                                                                                  Jarecka, Gustawa

“..a stone hurled under history’s wheel in order to stop it.” Gustawa Jarecka.

Kaczerginski, Shmerke

“..Quiet, quiet my son, let us speak softly,

Here grow the graves

Which they that hate planted.

Here are the paths.

The roads lead to Ponar,

There is no way back.

Father has gone, never to return,

And with him the light.

Quiet my son, my treasure.

Let us not cry in pain.

In any case, we have wept;

The enemy does not understand.

The sea has limits and a shore –

This, our suffering

Is limitless,

Is endless.” Shmerke Kaczerginski.

                                                            Kampelmacher, Bernard

Kaplan, Chaim Aron

“..anyone ..attempting to write ..on ..nature of Nazism ..will not be able to express ..truth ..Nazism’s cruelty and barbarism. ..no writer among ..gentiles is qualified for this task. ..a Jewish writer who lives ..life of his people ..who feels ..suffers their agony ..cannot find a true path here. Only one who feels ..taste of Nazi rule ..only one who ..bared his back to ..lashes ..only ..a writer ..if he is a man of sensitivity ..might be able to.” Chaim Aron Kaplan.

                                                            Kaplan, Josef

Karay, Felicja

“..Here I am incognito ..because that’s not important to me. Those aren’t memories ..they are research work.” Felicja Karay.

                                                            Karmel, Ilona

Karski, Jan

“..There is a difference between ..German orchestrated systems of terror against ..Poles and ..Jews. ..Germans want to ruin ..Polish state as a state. ..with regard to ..Jews ..they want to devastate ..biological substance of ..Jewish Nation. If ..Germans do not change their method of dealing with ..Jewish population ..if there is no effort at Allied intervention ..whether through reprisals or other action ..barring some unforeseen circumstance ..within 18 months of ..time I left ..Homeland ..Jewish People of Poland will cease to exist.” Jan Karski.

               Kassow, Samuel D.                                                       Katsh, Abraham J.

Katz, Tema

“..In Lukiszki they separated us. My husband and son were on ..men’s side ..I and my daughters ..Feyge aged 17 and Mine aged 10 ..remained with ..women. .. two nights we lived outside. ..third day ..barely alive ..find out ..groups taken out ..led to Ponar. ..never dared to think that so many people were being taken to be shot. ..Thursday ..driven hastily to Ponar. ..Friday morning ..came to a hilly forest area ..lay among ..sand dunes ..tired ..scared. ..Not far from us burst salvos of rifle shots. ..12 noon ..a turning point. ..stood up ..quiet ..resigned ..no protests ..no pleas. ..family after family walked their last steps. My oldest daughter hugged me by ..waist. ..younger one ..weeping ..lying ..on my knees. ..I decided to wait. ..Maybe a miracle? ..I didn’t know what maybe I was waiting for. ..about 5:30 ..our turn came. I set out with my daughters. ..They stood us in a front line ..I felt my older daughter’s hand slip out of mine. When I came to ..I felt packed in ..people walking over me ..I was wet ..covered with some acid. I grasped ..I was lying in a mass grave among corpses ..I was soaked with ..blood ..I was alive ..wounded. I didn’t see my two children anymore ..I didn’t even look for them. ..made bandages from our shirts to bind ..wounds ..At daybreak ..cleaned off ..blood and lime ..cautiously went toward ..nearby village of Nowosolsk. ..in ..peasant’s house ..washed ..cleaned up ..ate ..and ..went ..to Sorok-Tatary. ..I later came back to Vilna alone ..back to ..ghetto.” Tema Katz.

Katzenelson, Yitzhak

“..I am happy to die amidst fighting Halutzim. We will take with us into our graves ..awareness that ..Jewish People will endure eternally.”  Yitzhak Katzenelson.

                                                            Kaufman, Lola Rein

Kazimirski, Ann

“..a rush to get everything down in writing before ..generation of survivors dies away. There is also a search for knowledge and understanding by ..descendants of survivors ..leading ..young to rediscover their Jewish heritage. Jews are proudly calling themselves Jews once more. ..young people of today will be ..leaders of ..next generation. They and people of all nations have an obligation to protect ..memory of The Holocaust.” Ann Kazimirski.

Kemperer, Victor     Kennealy, Thomas     Kessel, Sim     Kirby, James     Klarsfeld, Serge     Klein, Gerda

Klibanski, Bronia

“..real heroes of The Holocaust period are mostly those who did not Survive ..remained little known and had no myths built around them. One such person was Tema Sznajderman ..also known by her Aryan name of Wanda Majewska ..one of ..first couriers and an especially brave one.” Bronia Klibanski.

Kluger, Ruth                                      Knopp, Guido                                   Kochan, Lionel

Kogon, Eugen

“..reader will have to rest content with ..mere inkling of ..character and extent of ..fate that engulfed ..Jews in ..Concentration Camps proper ..as well as in ..Eastern Ghettos.” Eugen Kogon.

Kon, Menahem Mendel                       Koninski, Aaron                                        Kolinsky, Eva

Korczak, Januscz

“..There are 2 Billion People in ..World ..and I constitute a community many 1,000,000 times greater ..therefore I have ..right ..I have ..duty to look after my own trillions toward  which I have certain responsibilities. Januscz Korczak.

                                                            Kornreich, Rena

Kosinski, Jerzy

“..I did not perceive myself as a vendor of personal guilt and private reminiscences ..nor as a chronicler of ..disaster that befell my People and my generation ..but purely as a story teller.” Jerzy Kosinski.

Kovner, Abba

“..illusion that we all did not share ..same fate. That until ..last moment ..even if one knew that there was a Ponar ..they always gave us a spark ..this distorted hope ..that possibly you would be exempt. ..frightful illusion produced frightful results of people wanting to prolong ..life of some at ..expense of others ..and depriving ..masses of any possibility of a different attitude. Only a minority that felt itself possibly less stricken ..less misled ..less under shock ..due to its past ..its education and its adherence to certain movements which trained people to give a personal example ..perhaps only they could cope with it. And it is not ..evidently ..a matter of chance from where ..people came in every Ghetto who formed ..fighting nucleus. Perhaps it arose from ..fact that they experienced less degradation ..that they were less panic ..stricken ..and they knew better how to live in ..Ghetto as free men in every respect.” Abba Kovner.

                                                            Krakowski, Shmuel

Kruk, Herman

“..Today ..Ghetto library which is supervised by ..culture department held a ceremony in ..Ghetto theatre marking ..loan of ..100,000th. book. Aside from ..celebrations ..Ghetto book shop presented a display. ..artistic display booth showed that despite all ..pain and ..troubles and despite ..difficult situation of ..Ghetto ..a heart of culture is pulsating within it.” Hermann Kruk.

                                                            Kulka, Erich

Kulka, Otto Dov

“..In my mind’s eye I see images ..one image. These are actually seconds ..only seconds ..seconds of a hasty farewell after which my mother turned around and started to walk into ..distance toward those grey structures of ..camp. She wore a thin dress that rippled in ..light breeze and I watched as she walked and receded into ..distance. I expected her to turn her head ..expected a sign of some kind. She did not turn her head. ..I could not understand. ..I thought about it afterwards ..and think about it to this day ..why did she not turn her head ..at least once?”  Otto ‘Dov’ Kulka.

Kuper, Jack                  Kurtz, Glenn                           Kurz, Abraham                  Kurzman, Dan

Kuznetsov, Anatoli

“..Again I visit Kiev. Babi Yar is gone. ..ravine is covered ..through it passes a new road ..around it building remnants. ..up to this day ..while foundations are dug ..there are bones found. ..ashes were scattered a long time ago ..parts remained in ..depth of ..earth ..from ..victims remained only numbers ..memories. Each one ..a living human being ..a personality with ideas ..joys ..sorrows ..talents. Until recently ..there lived in ..cemetery house above ..ravine ..guard woman M. S. Lucenko ..aunt Masha ..of whom ..Germans forgot all about and didn’t suspect her ..while she crawled in ..bushes ..saw it all. I think that any social crime cannot be kept a secret. There will always be aunt Masha who sees ..or 14 who survive ..two ..one ..who will testify. ..if there are no living people ..dead will testify. History cannot be cheated ..it is impossible to hide anything from it.”  Anatoli Kuznettsov.

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1939

On September 1st. along with Hitler’s aggression, and his Invasion of the Sovereign state of Poland, the World was catapulted into a Second War of those in this World. For the people of Poland this was to be an assault upon all cultures but for Polish Jewry, this was to be the beginnings of a long road toward the very Final Solution which would deficit the World of 6,000,000 Jewish lives, 3,000,000 of whom were Polish Jews Murdered on their own soil. Almost immediately, the destruction began and by November some 5,000 of Poland’s Jews had been Murdered. Before a formidable Einsatzgruppe horde of more than 80,000 had laid to waste 1,500,000 Jews the length and breadth of their advance, a formative Einsatz force was bludgeoning and Murdering Polish Jews, at will.

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Landau, Alexander                                         Landau, Elaine                  Landau, Ronnie S.

Langbein, Hermann

“..When 4,000,000 have died in Auschwitz ..I shall know how to die as well.”  Hermann Langbein.

                                                            Langer, Laurence L.

Lanzmann, Claude

“..Incredulous ..I read ..reread this naked ..bloodless text. A strange force seems to have filled it through and through ..it resists ..it lives its own life. It is ..writing of ..disaster ..for me ..another mystery.” Claude Lanzmann.

                                                            Laquer, Walter

Laska, Vera

“..A little Window ..nailed shut with ..boards. Laboriously I split away part of 1 with my fingers. I am with People I do not know. ..Woman next to me is dead. ..she takes up 2 spaces. I have to stretch over her toward ..slit in ..window.”  Vera Laska.

Lasker-Walfisch, Anita                   Lebovitz, Shirley                                             Le-Cheyne, Evelyn

Lengyel, Olga

“..when I think about our arrival ..cars of our train appear to me as so many coffins. ..a funeral train. ss ..gestapo ..our undertakers ..officers ..evaluated our riches were our greedy ..impatient heirs.”  Olga Lengyel.

Levi, Primo

“..If This Is a Man

You who live safe

In your warm houses,

You who find on returning in the evening,

Hot food and friendly faces:

Consider if this is a man

Who works in the mud

Who does not know peace

Who fights for a scrap of bread

Who dies because of a yes or a no.

Consider if this is a woman,

Without hair and without name

With no more strength to remember,

Her eyes empty and her womb cold

Like a frog in winter.

Meditate that this came about:

I commend these words to you.

Carve them in your hearts

At home, in the street,

Going to bed, rising;

Repeat them to your children,

Or may your house fall apart,

May illness impede you,

May your children turn their faces from you.” Primo Levi.

                                                            Levi, Trude

Levin, Nora

“..In spite of ..vast accumulating literature ..an abyss still lies between those who endured ..unimagineable and those who did not. ..Survivors themselves remain pendant between ..living ..and ..dead ..searching ..to pierce ..realms of each.”  Nora Levin.

                                                            Levine, Karen

Levy-Hass, Hanna

“..This human mass is heterogeneous. It is piled together here ..by force ..by violence ..in this small patch of dirty ..humid ground ..forced to live in ..most humiliating conditions and to endure ..most brutal deprivations ..that all human passions ..weaknesses have unleashed themselves ..taking on beastly forms.”  Hanna Levy-Hass.

                                                                           Lewin, Abraham                                                           

Lichtensztein, Israel

“..At present ..both of us ..ready to meet ..death. I wish my little daughter to be remembered. Margalith ..20 months ..today. ..I don’t lament my own life nor that of my wife. I pity only ..so little ..nice ..talented girl. She deserves to be remembered.”   Israel Lichtensztein.

Ligocka, Roma

“..I want to tell ..story ..of .little girl ..crying deep ..inside me who is still afraid. ..you ..Grandmother ..I’ll have to write about you. I’ll have to let you die ..again. ..forgive me.” Roma Ligocka.

Linder, Menachem       Lindsay, Hal       Lipstadt, Deborah E.       Loeb, Ladislas       Loftus, John   

Longerrich, Peter             Loridan-Ivens, Marceline              Lothe, Jakob                      Lower, Wendy

Lubetkin, Livia

“..After we had heard ..account from Vilna ..on ..one hand ..and ..Chelmno on ..other ..we believed that this was being done systematically. I must say that in ..previous years ..even we could not picture to ourselves that a nation in ..20th. century would indeed execute a death sentence on an entire people. We asked ourselves more than once ..They are degrading us ..they are suppressing us ..are they truly thinking of destroying all of us? We did not believe it. ”  Zivia Lubetkin.

                                                            Lustig, Arnost

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1941

On a two day period, no other accomplishment in the mass destruction of the Jewish People was ever carried out as numerically devastating on a daily basis than what happened to the Jews of Kiev, here at Babi Yar. On just 2 days 29th. September and 30th. September in complince with Nazi instructions to be moved away for ‘resettlement’, a euphemism we know today for the calculated Slaughter they would encounter.

“..empty apartments ..put at ..disposal of ..population. ..apartments ..available through liquidation ..36,000 Jews ..September 29 ..30 ..1941. ..Jews ..Kiev ..ordered to appear ..Monday ..September 29 by 6 o’clock. ..In co-operation ..HQ ..Einsatzgruppe C ..2 Kommandos ..police regiment South ..SK 4a executed 33,771 Jews ..September 29 ..30. ..Gold ..valuables ..linen ..clothing ..secured. army ..approved ..measures taken.” Operational Situation Report No.106

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Macadam, Heather Dune          Maier, Ruth           Maik, Michael           Marienka, Maria Hochberg   

Markell, Jan    Marks, Jane           Marrus, Michael R.                         Marshall, Robert

Marszalek, Josef

“..Majdanek ..bleeding wound of Polish society and other nations.”  Josef Marszalek.

                                                            Mayer, Arno J.

Michelsen, Max

“..in Latvia ..persecution of ..Jews was approved ..accepted by ..majority of ..local population.”  Max Michelson.

Millu, Liana

“..one Woman ..overcome with ..emotion stirred ..by memories ..burst into tears. Wailing with grief ..she named all ..names of those who would not see ..sacred candles lit next year ..nor ..year after ..nor ever again ..for any holiday on Earth. One after another ..Women took up her cries ..and soon nearly everyone was sobbing in desolation.”  Liana Millu.

Minaj, Matel          Moorehead, Caroline               Morse, Arthur D.                   Mueller, Georg Leon     

Muller, Filip

“..whole complex had forty-six retorts ..each with ..capacity for three to five persons. ..burning in a retort lasted about half an hour. ..it was theoretically possible to cremate about 12,000 corpses in twenty four hours ..4,380,000 a year. ..well-constructed crematoria fell far behind at a number of camps ..especially at Auschwitz in 1944. In August ..total cremation reached a peak one day of 24,000 ..still a bottleneck occurred. Camp authorities needed an economic and fast method of corpse disposal ..dug six huge pits beside Krema V ..reopened old pits in ..wood. ..late 1944 ..pit burning became ..chief method of corpse disposal. ..pits had indentations at one end from which human fat drained off. To keep ..pits burning ..stokers poured oil ..alcohol ..large quantities of boiling human fat over ..bodies.” Filip Muller.

Naumann, Bernd

“..first shipment ..inmates arrived ..June 14th. 1940. 12 months later ..Hitler decided on ..Final Solution of ..Jewish Problem. Auschwitz ..chosen centre of ..planned mass extermination.”  Bernd Naumann.

Nicholas, Lynn H.             Nieuwsman, Milton J.    Nomberg-Prestyk, Sarah               Novick, Peter

Novitch, Miriam

“..I would like to hope ..testimonies will continue to serve as a manifesto ..which says ..day will come when all discriminations will stop in this world ..hatred ..mass murders ..wars ..and peace ..dream of our prophets ..will dwell safely upon this earth.”  Miriam Novitch.

                                                            Nowogrodzki, Sonia

Nyiszli, Dr. Miklos

“..I was ..struck by ..enormous tongues of flame rising between ..lightning rods ..which were set at angles on ..square tops of ..chimney.”  Miklos Nyiszli.

Offen, Bernard                  Ofer, Dalia          Oliner, Samuel P.                            Opoczynski, Perec

Oppenheimer, Paul

“..We travelled by train in 3rd. class passenger coaches ..arrived early in ..morning at another camp ..Belsen. ..We had never heard this name before and had no idea what it was like.  ..as soon as we marched into ..camp ..we could see that it was even larger than Westerbork ..and much worse.  ..barbed wire ..guard towers ..electrified fences ..SS ..with bloodhounds ..machine guns ..searchlights. ..a real concentration camp.” Paul Oppenheimer.

Opdyke, Irene Gut     Ostrowska, Salomea        Pagis, Dan    Perl, Lila    Perle, Shie     Pettitt, Jayne

Pivnik, Sam

“..When I first came to London ..nobody wanted to know. They all had their own problems ..loss of their own loved ones ..part of me said ..forget it. Build a new life. Move on. ..But I couldn’t forget it. What you will read ..I live with that ..every night ..every day. Every Holocaust survivor does. This is not complaining. This is not poor me. It is a simple fact.”  Sam Pivnik.

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1944

Though most believe the War Crimes Trials against the Nazi’s who oversaw the worst ever crimes systematically conducted against humanity began once World War II ended, that is not the case. The first liberated Death Camp, at  Majdanek on July 23rd. 1944, brought to trial 6 of those personnel of the Extermination Camp who failed to escape the Russian advance. This initial trial ran from  November 27th. 1944 till December 2nd. 1944. This Death Camp, in the City limits of Lublin, Poland found all 6 guilty of these mass murderers, and they hanged all but one on December 3rd. 1944, as the other coward committed suicide prior to execution, does not in itself establish Justice for the 360,000 mostly Jewish People Murdered here, nor the 6,000,000 and more Jews soon to be exemplified in Crimes Against Humanity.

“..irrefutable proof of ..organized murder of between 600,000 and 1,000,000 helpless persons at ..Majdanek Camp ..Lublin. ..Prisoners too ill to walk into ..camp were dragged alive to ..furnaces and thrust in alongside ..dead.”  Illustrated London News.

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Poliakov, Leon

“..only part of these reports (OSR’s) have been recovered. ..enabled ..Nuremberg to arrive at a definite total of over 1,000,000 victims ..Eichmann who ..had all ..pertinent data ..said 2,000,000.”  Leon Poliakov.

Porter, Anna         Press, Bernhard        Presser, Jacob         Pringle, Heather      Pullman, Symon   Rabinowicz, Szyja     Rabinowitz, Dorothy        Rajchman, Chill              Rapaport, Safira                                                    Rappaport, Doreen                                                                     Raynes, Menachem

Reder, Rudolf

“..August 17th. 1942 ..deported to ..Belzec ..extermination camp. ..unloaded ..had to strip naked. ..about 4,500 people on ..transport. ..women had ..heads shaved. ..driven into ..corridor. ..building was low ..long ..broad. ..built of grey concrete ..a flat roof made of roofing felt ..with a net over it ..covered with branches. Three steps ..led into ..building. ..front of ..building stood a large flowerpot with colorful flowers ..placard ..‘Bath and inhalation Rooms.’ ..steps led into a dark ..empty corridor which was very long ..only 1.5 m. wide. To ..left and right of it were ..doors to ..6 gas chambers. Each chamber could hold 750 people. ..building was ..concrete. Gassing took ..20 minutes. Gas ..fed through pipes from ..engine in ..small hut a 2 x 2 m. shed which housed ..gas machine.. ..operated machine which dug ..earth out of pits which served as graves for ..gassed. ..In ..opposite wall of every chamber was a removable door through which ..bodies of ..gassed were thrown out. ..I ..had to drag ..corpses out of ..gas chambers ..to ..pits. ..30 graves ..100 metres long ..25 metres wide 15 metres deep. 100,000 corpses could be buried. ..corpses ..stacked up to ..50 centimetres above ..edge of ..pit ..because ..corpses later settled.”   Rudolf Reder.

Reichental, Tomi

“..German people could have tried to save those people ..but maybe they were afraid for themselves. I feel afraid when I hear people say The Holocaust never happened. I feel nothing but pity for ..ignorance of such people ..shame on them ..they should know better. ..1,500,000 ..Jewish Children were murdered by ..Nazis 1,000’s of other innocent children perished because they were considered not worthy of a life. Why would I hate these people? That would make me ..same as them and I will never be that.” Tomi Reichental.

Reitlinger, Gerald

“..Apart from ..gassings in Auschwitz and ..Polish death camps ..more than 1,000,000 Jews must have died by ..firing squads or during round ups in ..ghettoes.  Auschwitz ..in spite of its immense symbolic significance ..probably contributed less that 1/5th. of ..victims.”  Gerald Reitlinger.

Ringelblum, Emanuel

“..Day in ..day out ..in hundreds of cities throughout Poland ..Russia 1,000’s upon 1,000’s  of Jews are ..systematically murdered according to a preconceived plan ..no one .takes our part.”  Emanuel Ringelblum.

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1945

On January 27th. Auschwitz is liberated by Russian forces and any idea that the Jewish Survivor will be other than abused and treated with further contempt is met across Europe, particularly within Poland. With sickening regularity, and with some 1,500 Jewish Survivors Murdered in Poland alone for having returned, and this was achieved in the first months after their supposed liberation, Jewish presence in Poland is a danger to their Survival. There are estimates as high as 2,500,000 Jews having been murdered at Auschwitz and Birkenau.

“..highest number of gassings in one day was 10,000. ..most that could be carried out in a day with ..available facilities.”    Rudolf Hoess.

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Rittner, Carol     Robertson, Jenny     Roseman, Mark   Ross, Henryk   Rossel, Seymour   Roth, John K.

               Rothkirchen, Livia                           Rousset, David                                Rubinstein, William D. 

Sachs, Nelly

“..We ..rescued ..From whose hollowed bones death hads begun to whittle his flutes ..And on whose sinews he had already stroked his bow ..Our bodies continue to lament ..With mutilated music.”  Nelly Sachs.

Sakerwicz, Kazimiercz

“..already know what was going on. ..3:00 pm ..large group of Jews ..taken ..300 people. ..hour later ..volleys began. Ten ..shot at a time.”    Kazimierz Sakerwicz.

Samberg, A.          Sansom, Naomi                             Scheller, Sandra                Schelvis, Jules

Scheyer, Moriz                                

“..We were already in a sort of No Man’s Land ..between life and death. ..on ..other side of ..Demarcation Line ..Germans awaited us. There would begin ..a realm of agony. Nor would we be given ..small comfort of being allowed to die together. They would tear us apart. Not a voice ..not a look ..would be allowed to reach us there. Nothing but ..mocking laughter of our executioners. That is why so many ..though still alive ..though still unscathed ..were already wearing their own death masks.” Moriz Scheyer.

                                                            Schiff, Hilda

Schiff, Rosalie Baum

“..Who will teach ..next generation that social justice is their responsibility. Who will teach them it is their duty to protect all human beings from persecution and violence. One crazy insecure man tried to destroy my people. He almost got away with it ..thanks to 1,000,000’s of supporters who blamed other people for their own failures and unhappiness.”  Rosalie Baum Schiff.

                                                            Schiff, Vera

Schiff, William                                                                                                                    

“..Nobody thought they would murder everyone. Even after they put us through 3 years of hell ..made us live in ..ghetto it was still inconceivable. ..day they took Rose’s family I saw soldiers shoving children onto ..transport train. One of them kicked a little girl so hard he could have broken her back. That gave me a real bad feeling. ..almost 3 years after ..invasion ..eyes finally started to open. ..too late to do anything then.”  William Schiff.

                                                            Schleunes, Karl A.

Schloss, Eva

“..Anne Frank wrote at ..end of her Diary ..she still believed people were good at heart ..I wonder what she would have thought if she had Survived ..Auschwitz and ..Belsen. ..people have a unique capacity for cruelty ..brutality ..indiffernce to human suffering. ..I have seen ..unedifying evidence of that at close hand ..it has led me to a lifetime of wondering about ..human soul.”  Eva Schloss.

Schneider, Helga          Schupack, Joseph             Schwarz, Daniel R.            Seidl, Rochelle G.     

Gela Seksztayn-Lichtensztein

“..I have to die ..but I did my thing. I would like ..memory of my paintings to survive.” Gela Seksztajn-Lichtensztein.                                                             

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1945

On November 20th. 1945 The Nuremberg Trials of the Major War Criminals, with 23 Signatories who agree to go forward with an International Military Tribunal, convenes at Nuremberg. America,  Australia, Belgium, Britain, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Haiti, Holland, Honduras, India, Luxemburg, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

The Allies agree to prohibit the use of the defence of superior orders, although they agree to allow its consideration in mitigation of sentence. Perhaps the underlying concern with Nuremberg will be the comparative relationship some wish to place before the Tribunal, world events with acts committed against Cities and its peoples. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and even Dresden were used as some sort of equation that would somehow tip the scale of justice? In truth, the murders of 6,000,000 Jews is not comparative on any scale, is a separate issue of Crimes Against Humanity, where Laws of Governments and International States are supplanted by immoral codes and acts of murderous contempt for that rule of Law. This is marked by the salutary indictment of merely 24 high level Nazi’s as the trial ran  till  October 1st. 1946.

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Sheperd, Ben        Skalow, Moshe         Slapakowa-Slepak, Cecilya ‘Luba ‘           Snyder, Timothy        Sofsky, Wolfgang      Sonnino, Piera         Soros, Twidor       Soviet Embassy           Spector, Shmuel        Spiegel, Renia    Spielberg, Steven     Steinbacher, Sybille     Steinberg, Jonathon         Steinberg, Paul         Sutin, Jack & Roshelle                Svirsky, Hana       Symchowitz, Rosa        Szajnkinder, Szmuel

Szmaglewska, Seweryna

“..No bird ever flies low over Birkenau ..prisoners strain their eyes to search ..skies for them. ..Guided by smell or instinct ..birds avoid ..place. Birkenau does not exist officially ..its name never appears in an address. It is Oswiecim II. ..it was not ..intended to hold people for any length of time. It is a ..precrematorium waiting room ..for 20,000 to 30,000 people.” Seweryna Szmaglewska.

               Szpilman, Wladyslaw                                                                  Szwarcbard, Mordechaj

Tec, Nechama

“..For many hidden children their parents were strangers ..often unwelcome strangers. When parents came to claim them ..it created ambivalent feelings at best. Acceptance ..hostility ..resentment ..shame ..regret were only some of ..emotions we hidden children had. Some of us may still continue to have such feelings about our Jewishness ..our religion. ..we children could ..not easily give up that which helped us survive. If being Jewish meant danger ..disapproval ..something one could be killed for ..why would a child want to take it back?”  Nechama Tec.

Tedeschi, Giuliana

“..deprived of ..relaxation that night should bring ..stars seemed to belong to a different world ..where our infinite misery was unknown. ..in ..abandon of ..sleeping camp you saw that misery more clearly and sharply than during ..gigantic struggle for existence that went on in ..light of day.”  Giuliana Tedeschi.

Temkin-Berman, Basia                                 Troller, Norbert                               Trubakov, Ziama

Trunk, Isaiah

“..all ..considered ..Jewish participation ..nonparticipation in ..deportations had no substantial influence ..on ..final outcome of ..Holocaust in Eastern Europe.” Isaiah Trunk.

Unsdorfer, S. B.                Van Es, Bart        Velman, Edith                   Venetzia, Shlomo            

Verolme, Hetty

“..during ..German occupation of Holland ..Germans decided to concentrate ..Jewish population in Amsterdam East. I was 11 years old. ..We saw families dragged from their homes ..never to be heard of again. ..God only knew what was happening to them.”  Hetty Verolme.

                                                            Vishniac, Roman

Vrba, Rudolf

“..attempts by members ..German General Staff to whitewash their complicity in these atrocities ..or by German historians to exculpate ..regular German Army ..should not be allowed to cover up ..fact of ..vital ..significant economic ..stragegic advantages ..Nazi establishment together with ..German Army and its General Staff derived from this unprecedented ..unparalleled mass murder and robbery.”  Rudolf Vrba.

Wachsman, Nikolaus                                    Wardi, Dina                                      Wasser, Bluma  

Wasser, Hersz

“..Sunday December 15th. 1940. ..Today is ..first anniversary of my wedding I gave my Blimele my dream of peace and dreams of happiness for all people. For ..next anniversary I would like to make her a gift of these fantasies come true.” Hersz Wasser. His Wife is Bluma Wasser.

Wasserstein, Bernard

Weinberg, Felix

“..we got our Wehrmacht escort to ..cattle trucks. ..a delay while ..soldiers went to collect one old couple who had not turned up. They never did turn up ..an overdose ..night before. ..a sort of victory.”  Felix Weinberg.

                                                            Weiss, Ann

Weiss, Helga

“..to all young people ..in ..hope that they will keep ..past alive in their memories ..and that they will never experience ..what my generation has had to live through.”  Helga Weiss.

                                                            Wells, Leon Weliczer

Wetzler, Alfred

“..Americans ..British ..fly in these regions. ..Why did they not drop ..bombs on ..horrible tomb ..sixty kilometres from their Northern Frontier. They could have wrecked  SS barracks ..ramps ..crematoriums ..roads ..rail track. Why didn’t they.”  Alfred Wetzler.

               Wienberg, Jeshajahu                                                                                  Wiener, Alter

Wiesel, Elie

“.. Not all victims were Jewish in this place but all Jews were victims.” Elie Wiesel.

Wiesenthal, Simon

“..Murder of 6,000,000 Jews must never be reduced to a statistic.”  Simon Wiesenthal.

Willenberg, Samuel

“..I live two lives ..one is here and now and ..other is what happened there. ..It never leaves me. It stays in my head. It goes with me always.” Samuel Willenberg.

Wilson, Cara Weiss          Winkler, Jerzy    Winnik, Izrael     Winstone, Martin             Winter, Szmuel

Wisniewska, Anna            Wistrich, Robert Solomon            Wolf, Jacqueline         Wyman, David S.

YadVashem                                       Yahil, Leni                                         Yizkor Books

Yosselevska, Rivka

“..We turned towards the grave and then he turned around and asked “Whom shall I shoot first?” We were already facing the grave. ..German asked “Whom do you want me to shoot first?” I did not answer. I felt him take the child from my arms. ..child cried out and was shot immediately. And then he aimed at me. First he held on to my hair and turned my head around ..I stayed standing; I heard a shot, but I continued to stand and then he turned my head again and he aimed the revolver at me and ordered me to watch and then turned my head around and shot at me. Then I fell to the ground into the pit amongst the bodies; but I felt nothing. The moment I did feel I felt a sort of heaviness and then I thought maybe I am not alive any more, but I feel something after I died. I thought I was dead, that this was the feeling which comes after death. Then I felt that I was choking; people falling over me. I tried to move and felt that I was alive and that I could rise. I was strangling. I heard the shots and I was praying for another bullet to put an end to my suffering, but I continued to move about. I felt that I was choking, strangling, but I tried to save myself, to find some air to breathe, and then I felt that I was climbing towards the top of the grave above the bodies. I rose, and I felt bodies pulling at me with their hands, biting at my legs, pulling me down, down. And yet with my last strength I came up on top of the grave, and when I did I did not know the place, so many bodies were lying all over, dead people; I wanted to see the end of this stretch of dead bodies but I could not. It was impossible. They were lying, all dying; suffering; not all of them dead, but in their last sufferings; naked; shot, but not dead. Children crying “Mother”, “Father”; I could not stand on my feet.’ Germans were gone. There was nobody there. No one standing up.”I was naked, covered with blood, dirty from the other bodies, with the excrement from other bodies which was poured on to me.When I was shot I was wounded in the head.”I have a scar to this day from the shot by the Germans; and yet, somehow I did come out of the grave. This was something I thought I would never live to recount. I was searching among the dead for my little girl, and I cried for her – Merkele was her name – Merkele! There were children crying “Mother!”, “Father!”- but they were all smeared with blood and one could not recognize the children. I cried for my daughter. From afar I saw two women standing. I went up to them. They did not know me, I did not know them, and then I said who I was, and then they said, “So you survived. ” And there was another woman crying “Pull me out from amongst the corpses, I am alive, help!” We were thinking how could we escape from the place. ..cries of ..woman, “Help, pull me out from the corpses!” We pulled her out. Her name was Mikla Rosenberg. ..removed ..corpses ..dying people who held on to her and continued to bite. She asked us to take her out, to free her ..did not have  ..strength.” Rivka Yosselevska.

Zagan, Shakne    Zapruder, Alexander                       Ziemian, Joseph                Znicz, Michal

Zsolt, Bela          

“..tortured ..as a Jew ..giving rein to their envy ..greed ..first by ..laws ..to deprive us of our money ..our civilised pleasures ..then ..only troubled by ..physical ..material inconveniences ..ill treatments ..could never ..hurt morally or emotionally.” Bela Zsolt.

Zuccotti, Susan                 Zullo, Alan                          Zusak, Marcus                   Zylberberg, Jakub

Zylberberg, Michael       

“..All ..people buried ..had been in ..ghetto ..seemed to come to life. ..cemetery wall had been destroyed ..to break down ..division between ..two worlds of life and death. ..walked back through ..ruins of ..ghetto. My footprints ..in ..snow ..they were ..only ones.”  Michael Zylberberg.

The pages have not been written which will best serve the memory of 6,000,000 Jews of Europe, so abruptly taken from us. But above are some of the names who have added to the memory we seek to recall of the devastated, the rejected and dejected, the forgotten to toon to be remembered and those who should still be alive, if we had intervened. I suggest the last words of this partiular page belong to Emanuel Ringelblum who recognised, in the need to occupy his fellow Jews, with a deed far greater than time will submit to, and which has gifted much of History a grounding in the needs to approach humanity with its best human aspects, deeds after words.

“..future historian will have to dedicate an appropriate page to ..Jewish woman. ..She will take up an important page in Jewish history for her courage and steadfastness. By her merit ..1,000’s of families have managed to surmount ..terror of ..times.” Emanuel Ringelblum.