Garay 1

Meghan Garay Mr. Neuburger English Comp. 102-102 23 March 2012 Holocaust Survivors Testimonies Eva Safferman: Eva Safferman was born in Lodz, Poland into a pretty well-off family; they owned a clothing company, lived in a two-bedroom apartment, and had a maid. Safferman attended a public school and while in sixth grade the war began. Her father did not quite obey the Nazi laws; illegally keeping a radio, and removing the Hebrew star to do business. Safferman

watched as Nazis marched her mothers family to evacuate. Her mother packed their things to go as well, but they were told to stay put due to Saffermans German appearance. They later received word that her mothers family had been executed. Shortly after, the Nazis returned to evacuate the rest of the Jews to a Ghetto. At the Ghetto, Safferman attended school until it shut down, and she was put to work in a linen factory. During this time her father had been taken off the streets by an evacuation truck, and had been executed. She and her mother were then forced to move into a smaller apartment with another family. She was moved again to a factory that produced uniforms for the German army. Here she learned that her name had appeared on an evacuation list twice. Twice they came looking for her. Twice she hid under beat leaves and they never found her. They lived in the Ghetto for three years, which Safferman described as the worst part of our lives, because we lived in constant fear. At the age of 11, Safferman and her mother were

Garay 2

sent to Auschwitz. As she and her mother were being led to the oven to die, a German saw her blue eyes and instead led them to a group that was being prepped to go to a working camp. The working camp was a day-to-day survival. It was hunger and fear (Safferman). On April 15, 1945 (her birthday) the war and everyone was freed. She and her mother were sent to Sweden where they lived for three and a half years before she moved to America with her new husband.

Ursula Levy: Ursula Levy was born in Germany. She was a young child throughout most of the war and didnt have many memories of her family. She remembered that in 1939 Nazis took her father and uncle to concentration camps where they were died four months after being taken. She would sleep in bed with her mother in fear of the barking dogs, hoping they were not police dogs coming to attack. Her mother would comfort her and sing her loving songs that would paint her a peaceful image of Heaven. She never really considered herself Jewish, only

remembering the food and not so much the religion. After Krystalnauft, Levy and her brother, George, were sent to a family that was helping children escape Germany. They were then sent to a convent in Holland. They were raised by Catholic nuns and were even given extra attention by the priest that looked after the convent. Levy and George occasionally received letters from their mother, and with her permission were baptized Catholic. Soon though, the letters stopped and they never heard from their mother again. When the Germans invaded Holland and took over, they replaced the Dutch officials with Nazis. This gave them access to all the records of any Jews in the area. With the Jewish records, the Nazis went to the convent to collect the Jewish children. They took Levy, George, and three

Garay 3

other children to concentration camps; where only Levy and George survived. The priest had gone to the camp and had brought up question of their heritage stating their father was Catholic and lived in America. Their blue eyes and light complexion helped with this lie. They then joined the privileged Jews traveling from camp to camp. During a passage, she saw this beautiful cherry tree in bloom, it symbolized life and another start, and she was right as the war ended and they were freed. She agreed to do the interview to let people know that she suffered so much, but does not spend time seeking revengeSomewhere, she states, all of this hatred has to stop (Levy). Word Count: 695 (345 Safferman, 350 Levy)