“Even in the most barbaric times, a human spark glowed in the rudest heart and children were spared. But the Hitlerian beast is quite different. It would devour the dearest of us, those who arouse the greatest compassion-our innocent children.”
– Emanuel Ringelblum, Warsaw ghetto historian, 1942
1.5 million children died during the Holocaust.
Some were killed in the streets as they were being rounded up.
Some were killed by their caretakers to prevent them from going to the camps.
Most though...
"Schlinder's List" Clip
Helen Goldkind: Arrival at Auschwtiz
On slides:
-Many were taken from their parents.
-Marched to the gas chambers.
-And died within
Most of those who did survived did so by hiding.
Many created hiding places…
In cellars
In ceilings…
Even ingeniously hidden in the walls
Others found hiding places through protectors…
Some of those did so out of good will and tricked and bribed Nazi soldiers in order to help
Another "Schlinder's List" Clip
Others did so because they were paid
Some protectors however would become frightened of the consequences, often broadcasted by flyers and posters, and...
Halina Peabody: Hiding in Plain Sight
Many of those who were turned out were unable to find new hiding places and were captured
Some however were able to hide in plain sight.
Those who could not find protectors or hiding places hid in plain sight.
Fade to Black screen
Jews who did not look Jewish Aryans could obtain false papers and assumed those roles.
Halina Peabody
Some even took new Genders
In accordance with ancient ritual, Jews circumcised male infants, leaving telltale scars. Therefore, some younger boys cross-dressed in order to lower their chances of being discovered.
Though there were many things to be learned
Halina Peabody
No matter how they hid, whether it was in the walls or out in the open, a slip of tongue, a too long pause, or a misplaced trust could have them chained in the camps.
After the War, those who hid faced many of the same problems as the survivors of the death camps.
Many survived only to find themselves orphaned
And some of those who were lucky enough to have a surviving parent had very little memory of their families.
Slide: “I had been separated from my Mother so long that Mother didn’t mean anything to me.” –Renee Fritz, Jewish child hidden in Belgium
Almost all had trouble adjusting to normal lives and former identities.
However, they endured and soon their bodies grew to match their minds. They give interviews and presentations, adding their tales of living in shadows with concentration camp survivors’ tales of living in fire, completing the picture of the Jewish People’s Hell on Earth.
