Oral History Interview with Anneliese Nossbaum

Original File

Transcript

English

About this item

Title

Oral History Interview with Anneliese Nossbaum

Date

May 5, 1981

Contributor

Interviewee:

Anneliese Nossbaum

Interviewer:

Self-taped Self-taped Memoir

Summary

Anneliese Nossbaum, née Winterburg, was born in Guben, Germany on January 8, 1929. She and her parents relocated to Bonn, Germany. Anneliese describes societal changes in 1933 as signs excluding Jews from shops and parks began to appear. With other Jewish children, she attended a special school. After Kristallnacht, November 10,1938, the family attempted to emigrate; however, the borders closed before they could escape. Trapped in Germany, in 1941, they surrendered their home and were relocated to a two-room apartment in a former cloister. Anneliese describes the deteriorating conditions for Jews: Jews had to wear yellow stars, were required to walk in the streets, could not attend schools, and had no freedom of movement.

Eventually, the family was deported to Theresienstadt.There, mother and daughter were housed together for a short while before Anneliese was sent to a youth home. Anneliese describes the 1944 visit by the International Red Cross as a total farce and gives details of cover-up. Once the inspection ended, the transports to Auschwitz resumed. Anneliese, her parents and an aunt and uncle traveled for three days to reach Auschwitz.Her father died in Kaufering/Dachau in December 1944.

Although she and her mother remained in Auschwitz for only five days, she believes those days stripped away any semblance of childhood that remained. She gives a detailed description of arrival, selection, showers and the barracks. While at Auschwitz she experienced depravation, humiliation, hunger, beatings and fear she would be killed as she listened to the deaths of others. After five days, she and her mother were sent to an airplane factory in Saxony, near Dresden. She describes the improved living conditions compared with Auschwitz, the 10 hour working day, and the bombing of the factory which lead the inmates to despair since they had time to reflect on the horrible conditions.She describes a horrific three week journey in open air cattle carsand closed cars to Mauthausenin Austria. On May 2, 1945, with the Allies close by the women nearly missed death when they were returned to their barracks rather than gassed because of a lack of Zyklon B gas. Two days later, guards dressed in civilian clothing and fled. On May 5, the camp surrendered to the Americans. Eventually, the Russians took over. Her mother was being treated for tuberculosis, but faked an attack of appendicitis in order to be transferred to a hospital in Linz under the control of the Americans. Her mother died there of TB. Anneliese emigrated to the United States in the summer of 1946.

Collateral Material associated with this interviewee:

Transcript includes poetry in German and English on additional pages.

There are also copies of personal documents, including passports available through the Gratz CollegeTuttleman Library.

More details

Publisher:

Gratz College

Number of Tapes:

Language:

English

Identifier:

HOHAGC00375

Rights

Copyright date:

2017

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