Oral History Interview with Lillian Steinig

Norman Rosen, one of seven children, was born in a religious family in Nowe Miasto, Poland in 1922. He describes life before and after 1938, when he first experienced antisemitism. Norman fled to Warsaw after the German invasion in September 1939, but returned home after Warsaw fell. He describes life under the German occupation before the establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, including hiding during the day, forced labor, abuse of Jews, and confiscation of Jewish owned businesses.

Norman describes in great detail his experiences in both the Warsaw and the Nowe Miasto Ghettos, smuggling food aided by non-Jews, and a brief detention by the GESTAPO. Norman escaped from the Nowe Miasto Ghetto with a small group of young men aided by non-Jews. They hid in a cellar for 27 months. Later Norman and his brothers hid in a hole under a haystack and then in an attic, again helped by non-Jewish farmers.

In January 1945, as the Russians advanced and the Germans fled, Norman returned to Nowe Miasto. He describes the hostile reaction by Poles. His parents were killed in Auschwitz, but he was reunited with his surviving brothers. They travelled together to Germany, stayed in Zeilsheim Displaced Persons camp near Frankfurt from 1945 to 1946, and subsequently in Backnang Displaced Persons camp near Stuttgart until 1949 when he came to the United States.

Bernard Lobe served as a rifleman in the 26th Infantry Division, 328th Regiment, L Company, during World War II. He was captured by Germans on October 10, 1944 somewhere between Nancy and Metz, France and was taken prisoner. He describes constant interrogation and how the Wehrmacht treated him and his five fellow prisoners of war.

He had several interesting experiences because he did not deny that he was Jewish, partly because of the letter "H" on his dog tags. He also relates several brief encounters: one with a German officer after Bernard filled out a form and indicated that "Hebrew" was his religion; one with an American who went to Germany to serve under Hitler; one with a German officer who told him Hitler made a mistake by not letting Jews join him.

Bernard describes living and working conditions and lack of food as a prisoner of war in a STALAG at Moosburg near Munich; slave labor on a farm and in Munich; and why he and 16 fellow prisoners did not try to escape. He never received food packages from his family or the Red Cross. On Christmas Eve, seven prisoners of war including Bernard and another Jewish man, went to each barrack to sing Christmas carols despite great personal risk, to boost morale. During an air raid American prisoners were not allowed to go into a shelter because the bombers were Americans. As the Allied forces came closer, their guards left and a local woman told the prisoners of war when it was safe to flee. They met up with an American tank unit. Bernard concludes the interview with an account of his capture and how he earned his Purple Heart medal.

Interviewee: LOBE, Bernard Date: December 2, 1944

Rita Harmelin, nee Brauner, was born June 17, 1925 in Bucharest, Romania to Polish-born parents who returned to Poland in 1931. The family moved to Boryslaw an oil town. She describes her secular and religious education and interactions with local Poles and Ukrainians. Rita describes life under Russian occupation September 1939.

Rita's memories of the German invasion of Boryslaw, June 1941 include efforts of local Ukrainians to save Jews. She focuses on successive waves of pogroms encouraged by Germans and carried out by local Poles and Ukrainians. A Jewish quarter or ghetto was established in Boryslaw. There were periodic roundups leading to deportation. BertoldBeitz, a director in the local petrol industry and Mr. Siegemund rescued many Jews, including Rita from the deportations several times. Restrictions increased gradually. Many Jews worked in the Boryslaw petrol industry. A forced labor camp was established in 1943 for the Jewish workers guarded by Ukrainian volunteers. She mentions escape attempts by workers. Rita, her future husband Rolek, and 11 other people went into hiding in the home of a local Ukrainian from March to August 7, 1944 when Russian troops arrived and re-occupied Boryslaw. Her parents were deported before they could accept an offer to hide in a Polish woman’s house. Her mother was killed in Auschwitz, her father survived. Jews from Boryslaw were transported to Plaszow, Poland but the final transport, July 1944 went directly to Auschwitz.

Interviewee: HARMELIN, Rita Date: April 26, 1992

Suzanne Leibowitz, née Langer, was born May 27, 1928 in Prague and later lived in Novy Jičin, Moldavia. She and her parents were totally assimilated, patriotic Czechs. After the German occupation in 1938, the family fled to the Protectorate of Bohemia where Suzanne first experienced antisemitism. She mentions how the Nuremberg laws affected her. She was forced to quit school and had to work on a farm until 1942.

Suzanne and her parents were sent to Theresienstadt in 1942. She describes conditions in Theresienstadt in great detail. She mentions friction between Jews from different countries and that many Jews when they first arrived believed they were going to a rest home. Warnings about death camps scratched on many of the cattle cars were not believed. She managed to work outside the ghetto on a farm, to help people on the transports, and to trade for food. A Czech policeman - who also saved Suzanne and her parents from being sent to Birkenau - helped her do this.

Suzanne witnessed the charade Germans put on for the Red Cross in 1944. She explains how the concentration camp was transformed. She recalls how a baby born in the camp was hidden and kept alive for one year. She briefly refers to a Catholic prayer group, attempts to educate Jewish children, and plays and concerts performed by the prisoners. In October 1944, the Germans tricked all the men and later the women – including her parents – into going on a transport to Auschwitz, so that only young girls and children remained, to prevent an uprising. Suzanne never saw her parents again. Suzanne describes survivors from these transports, who returned in January 1945, as walking skeletons who had become cannibals.

Suzanne relates her post-liberation experiences. She was involved in a campaign to rid the town of Teplitz Schönau of Germans. She got married in 1947 and came to the United States in October 1948.

Note: Collateral Material available through the Gratz College Tuttleman Library:

Photocopy of first person memoir from Terezin survivor,"Making Moving Pictures" Jewish Exponent, Nov 21, 1988.

Interviewee: LEIBOWITZ, Suzanne Langer Date: April 18, 1981

Margaret Bowman, nee Harnik, was born in Dresden, Germany in 1914. Her family had a dry goods store in Dresden and later moved to Hanover where they bought a shoe store. She very briefly talks about her life in Germany and her relationship with German and East European Jews. Margaret experienced no antisemitism until 1937.

She immigrated to Peru in 1938, later moved to Bolivia where she met and married her husband. In 1939, with help from HIAS, she got her family out of Germany into Bolivia, but many of her relatives were deported and perished. She describes how Jewish refugees lived and established a sense of community in Bolivia aided by the Hilfsverein, a welfare agency. Margaret and her husband moved to America in 1946 and later managed to get some of her relatives into the United States.

Dora Freilich, nee Golubowitz, was born December 25, 1926 in Pruzany, Poland, near Bialystok. She describes pre-war life: schooling, relations with non-Jewish Poles, Jewish community life and youth groups. She talks in great detail about the Russian occupation 1939-41, including expropriation of her family’s business. After the German invasion, her family had to move into the Pruzany Ghetto in June 1941. She describes living conditions, cultural activities, labor units, Judenrat, and contact with Jewish partisans in the ghetto. A non-Jewish ex-employee of her father hid her baby sister but later the family asked him to return the child.

Dora describes the evacuation of the ghetto in January 1943, and her family’s transport to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She witnessed Mengele’s sadistic games with prisoners and was aware of medical experiments, which she describes in great detail. She details sadistic behavior by guards, including shooting her sister for sport. Conditions at Birkernau: slave labor, types of prisoners, orchestra, death process, and relations among inmates are described. She explains how older girls tried to help the younger ones and the coping strategies they used to survive.

She describes the sabotage of a crematorium in October 1944 and the public hanging of four girls held responsible. She describes the escape, capture and execution of Mala Zimetbaum.

In January 1945 she experienced the final days of the camp and described the death march to and conditions in Ravensbrück. After three months she went to Malchow. Dora and 11 girls escaped into the forest. They were liberated by Russian soldiers May 1945. She describes treatment by Russians, which ranged from kindness to brutality.

The girls returned to Pruzany after a three month journey where Dora experienced both antisemitism and help from non-Jews. They went on to Lodz. Their attempt to go to Palestine with Aliyah Bet failed. Dora and her friend, Bess, married two brothers. In 1946 they went to Feldafing, a Displaced Persons camp. She emigrated to the United States in March, 1949. Dora talks about survivor’s guilt and how the Holocaust and the loss of her family still affects both her and her daughter. Her husband, Bernard, and her friend Bess were also interviewed by the Holocaust Oral History Archive staff.