Holocaust History: October 2013

Hey all. I just discovered this interesting Holocaust exhibition called "Spots of Light: To Be a Women in the Holocaust"! I couldn't recover that much information about it besides this:
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/traveling_exhibitions/spots_of_light/index.asp

However, I thought it would be interesting if we highlighted some of the women that have been mentioned on this blog and other prominent women of not only the Holocaust but who resisted against the Nazis.

Lilian Rolfe 1914-1945. British spy in WW2, wireless operator, reported on German troop movements, took part in French Resistance missions. Executed at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.

Lilian Rolfe 1914-1945. British spy in WW2, wireless operator, reported on German troop movements, took part in French Resistance missions. Executed at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.

Lilian Rofle- British Spy in World War 2 and participant in French Resistance missions.

Irena Sendler- Social Worker who smuggled and found homes for Jewish children.

Anne Frank- Was in hiding from the Nazis for 2 years and a voice for the Jews in hiding before her arrest.

Gisella Perl- Infamous abortion docter of Auschwitz!

Livia Bitton-Jackson- Holocaust survivor and author of several memoirs. Jackson's Holocaust memoir, "I Have Lived a Thousand Years" provides insight into the Holocaust from a teenager's perspective and experiences.

Gerda Weissmann Klein- Holocaust survivor and author of "All But My Life". To this day, Klein is a human rights activist.

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Maria Restituta- Martyred Catholic nun under the 3rd Reich. She was guillotined for holding opposite values and opinions to those of the Nazis.

Violette Szabo-undercover British agent in the SOE, known as the bravest of us all. She was tortured by Gestapo & executed @ Ravensbruck. Her story was documented by the film & book Carve Her Name W/ Pride.

Violette Szabo-undercover British agent in the SOE, known as the bravest of us all. She was tortured by Gestapo & executed @ Ravensbruck. Her story was documented by the film & book Carve Her Name W/ Pride.

Violette Szabo- British Special Operations Executive agent during the war. Also a prisoner of Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Virginia Hall- An American spy with the British Special Operations Executive.

Nancy Wake- A British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.

Odette Hallowes - GC, MBE, Chevalier de la legion d'honneur. She worked for the French underground, but was betrayed to the Gestapo. Under torture, she stuck to her cover story, was sentenced to death and taken to Ravensbruck. She survived the war and went on to testify against her prison guards in 1946.

Odette Hallowes - GC, MBE, Chevalier de la legion d'honneur. She worked for the French underground, but was betrayed to the Gestapo. Under torture, she stuck to her cover story, was sentenced to death and taken to Ravensbruck. She survived the war and went on to testify against her prison guards in 1946.

Odette Hallowes- Allied intelligence officer during World War 2.

Milena Jesenska, Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator, who refused to abandon her Jewish friends and was deported with several of them to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where she died.

Milena Jesenska, Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator, who refused to abandon her Jewish friends and was deported with several of them to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where she died.

Milena Jesenska- Campaigning Czech journalist who worked in the Ravensbrück Revier.

Both were arrested in the raid of a lesbian bar and since both were Jewish they were taken to Ravensbruck. Their documents noted that Schermann was a "compulsive lesbian" and Punjer as a "very active (sassy) lesbian". They were gassed to death in early 1942 in the Bernburg Nursing Home near Dessau, which had been adapted as a death factory.

Both were arrested in the raid of a lesbian bar and since both were Jewish they were taken to Ravensbruck. Their documents noted that Schermann was a "compulsive lesbian" and Punjer as a "very active (sassy) lesbian". They were gassed to death in early 1942 in the Bernburg Nursing Home near Dessau, which had been adapted as a death factory.

Schermann & Punjer- Jewish, lesbian women who were arrested and gassed at Ravensbrück.

Artist's depiction of Ravensbruck concentration camp and female Jehovah's Witness prisoners.

Artist's depiction of Ravensbruck concentration camp and female Jehovah's Witness prisoners.

Artistic depiction of a women's barrack for Jehovah's Witness' prisoners.

Helen Ernst. Women of Ravensbruck. A social initiative, dubbed by The Saturday Review as Ravensbrueck Lapins Project. came to life thanks to American citizens, who in the years 1958-1959, on their own initiative, organized and funded the medical treatment in the United States for thirty one Polish victims on whom German doctors conducted experiments in the concentration camp in the years 1942-1943. These women also struggled to get compensation from the German government after the war.

Helen Ernst artistic depiction of women in Ravensbrück.

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis: On October 9th, 1944, Friedl died in the Nazi gas chambers. She was a hero in one of the truest senses of the word. In 1942, she and her husband Pavel were taken by the Nazis to Terezin Concentration Camp. Unbeknownst to the Nazis, Friedl, a talented artist, and the other teachers imprisoned at Terezin taught children forbidden subjects. Friedl helped the children to escape from the harsh world and retreat to a world of creativity, and she did it for free.

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis- Woman of the Holocaust. Perished in the Terezen Gas Chambers.

"Helga Hošková. [Deported to Terezin.] Helga started writing a diary before being deported to the ghetto and she continued in Terezin. She also secretly painted everyday life in the ghetto. Helga and her mother were sent to the concentration camp Auschwitz. Unlike Helga's father, they survived the selection and were assigned work. Soon they were deported to Freiberg in an aircraft factory. From there they were deported to the concentration camp Mauthausen."

Helga Hoskova- Woman of Holocaust. Wrote a diary and painting scenes depicting life in the Ghettos before being deported to Terezen.

Sophie Scholl (May 9, 1921 - February 22, 1943), German resistance fighter convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine in Munich's Stadelheim Prison.

Sophie Scholl (May 9, 1921 - February 22, 1943), German resistance fighter convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine in Munich's Stadelheim Prison.

Sophie Scholl- Famous female resistance fighter of the White Rose Group!

Orli Wald was a member of the German Resistance in Nazi Germany. She was arrested in 1936 and charged with high treason, whereupon she served four and a half years in a women's prison, followed by "protective custody" in Nazi concentration camps until 1945, when she escaped. She was a prisoner functionary in the infirmary at Auschwitz-Birkenau and because of her helpfulness to Jewish and other prisoners, was called the "Angel of Auschwitz".

Orli Wald- Member of the German Resistance, woman of the Holocaust and "Angel of Auschwitz".

"Jewish women and girls await execution at a mass grave in Skede, Latvia. Made to strip down to underclothes as they waited, the women were told to approach the lip of the grave in groups of ten. They were there forced to strip naked, before being shot. Many did not die from the gunshot, but bled to death, or were smothered by the weight of bodies that fell on top of them. In groups of ten, 2,800 human beings were killed between December 15 and 17, 1941."

Women before their execution.

Although Zivia Lubetkin left Poland before the outbreak of World War ll, she returned in 1940 to become a leading personality in the Jewish underground of the Warsaw Ghetto. A member of the Underground High Command, Zivia's name was used in all underground correspondence of the time as the code word for Poland. ... <3 www.24kzone.com

Although Zivia Lubetkin left Poland before the outbreak of World War ll, she returned in 1940 to become a leading personality in the Jewish underground of the Warsaw Ghetto. A member of the Underground High Command, Zivia's name was used in all underground correspondence of the time as the code word for Poland. ... <3 www.24kzone.com

Zivia Lubetkin- Leading personality in the Jewish Underground.

Czeslawa Kwoka, age 14, appears in a prisoner identity photo provided by the Auschwitz Museum, taken by Wilhelm Brasse while working in the photography department at Auschwitz, the Nazi-run death camp where some 1.5 million people, most of them Jewish, died during World War II. Czeslawa was a Polish Catholic girl, from Wolka Zlojecka, Poland, who was sent to Auschwitz with her mother in December of 1942. Within three months, both were dead. Photographer (and fellow prisoner) Brasse recalled p...

Czeslawa Kwoka- Woman of the Holocaust, perished in Auschwitz.

"I have lived through many wars & have lost everything many times - my husband, my mother & my beloved son. Yet life is beautiful& I have so much to learn & enjoy. I have no space nor time for pessimism & hate. I have had such a beautiful life. Life is beautiful, love is beautiful, nature & music are beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish & pass on to those we love". Alice Herz Sommer, pianist & survivor of Theresiensta..the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor

Alice Herz Sommer- Survivor of the Holocaust. At 108, the oldest Holocaust survivor in the world. Here is a quote from here that I absolutely love:
"I have lived through many wars and lost everything many times- my husband, my mother and my beloved son. Yet life is beautiful and I have so much to love and enjoy. I have no time nor space for permission and hate. I have had such a beautiful life. Life is beautiful, love is beautiful. Nature and music is beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love."

Mother Marie Skobtzova. Russian Orthodox Nun in France who helped Jews during the Holocaust. In July 1942 the Nazis rounded up thousands of Jews for deportation. Mother Maria managed to enter the stadium where they were being held, and with the help of garbage collectors, smuggled out several children in garbage bins. The Nazis soon warned her to stop helping Jews, but she did not listen. Mother Maria was arrested in February 1943 and sent to concentration camps, where she perished.

Mother Marie Skobtzova- Russian Orthodox bub in France who aided and assisted Jews.

Auschwitz, Poland, A Jewish woman, Prisoner number 6872.

A woman of the Holocaust- Prisoner #6872.

Ilse Weber. A Czech singer and poet, Ilse, along with her son and husband, was sent to the Thereseinstadt Concentration camp by the Nazis. She willingly followed her husband when he was transferred to Auschwitz, hoping to keep her family together. When her young son, Tommy, was sent to the gas chamber with other children, she voluntarily accompanied them, softly singing a lullaby she had written to keep them calm. The immensely beautiful song is called Wiegala. Her husband survived.

Iilse Weber- Czech singer and poet, deported to Thereseinstadt where she was willingly gassed with her young son.

Birkenau Concentration Camp Complex, Oswiecim, Poland. This is the mug shot photograph of a young girl named Krystyna Trzesniewska that was taken by the SS at the Birkenau Concentration Camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Krystyna was a 13 year old Polish Jew who arrived at Birkenau via the infamous "Gates of Death" on December 13, 1942. You can see that she has been crying and has fear, sadness, and desperation in her eyes.

Krystyna Trzesniewska- Woman of the holocaust, deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Corrie Ten Boom helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust by hiding them in a secret room in her family's home. Eventually she was arrested and taken to concentration camps, including Ravensbruck. While imprisoned she held Bible studies using a small Bible she managed to sneak passed guards. After the war she aided Holocaust survivors, traveled as a public speaker to over sixty countries and wrote eight books. (Submitted by Michaela Jaros)

Corrie Ten Boom- Assisted Jews by hiding them in her family's home, eventually sent to Ravensbrück.

A Survivor of Auschwitz. Her will to survive and see the downfall of her tormentors must have been well-nigh indomitable. I work closely with several survivors of Auschwitz and other camps, and can say from experience that even though many were subjected to degradation and pain unimaginable, they are some of the kindest, gentlest, most forgiving people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I can never forgive those who hurt them. I hope God damns them all.

Survivor of Auschwitz.

She was an elite WWII fighter saving Jews with the Dutch Resistance but kept it a secret until her 90th birthday. Modest gran reveals incredible hidden past. Link for story.

She was an elite WWII fighter saving Jews with the Dutch Resistance but kept it a secret until her 90th birthday. Modest gran reveals incredible hidden past. Link for story.

Saved Jews through the Dutch Resistance.

Bergen-Belsen, Germany, Women Survivors Getting New Clothes, April 1945

Women survivors of Bergen-Belsen receive new clothes.

Tina Strobos, famous woman of the Dutch resistance who sheltered more than 100 Jews during the Holocaust, recently passed away at the age of 91. She risked her own life for total strangers. She found ingenious ways to forge travel documents. She let carpenters build hidden rooms in her own house. She was arrested multiple times and survived all the interrogations. Her house was searched multiple times. “I never believed in God,” she said, “but I believed in the sacredness of life.”

Tina Strobos- Famous member of the Dutch resistance, sheltered 100 Jews in her home.

Élise Rivet was the Mother Superior at the convent of “Notre Dame de Compassion”, where she not only hid refugees from the gestapo, but also used the convent to stash some weapons & ammunition for the resistance. She was eventually caught in March of 1944 & sentenced to hard labor at Ravensbrück concentration camp. About a year later, Élise was murdered along with thousands of others just weeks before the war ended. She volunteered to go into the gas chamber in the place of a mother.

Elise Rivet- Mother Superior at "Notre Dame de Compassion" convent where she hid refugees from the Gestapo and supplies for the resistance. Eventually sent to Ravensbrück and perished weeks before the war ended because she willingly took the place of a mother in the gas chambers.

Ester Samuel Cahn- Woman of the Holocaust.

Sara Isreali- Woman of the Holocaust.

Hannah Gofrit- Woman of the Holocaust.

Vera Dotan- Woman of the Holocaust.

Dina Ostrover- Woman of the Holocaust.

Edith Drori- Woman of the Holocaust.

Artemis Miron- Woman of the Holocaust.

Stella Franco Israel- Woman of the Holocaust.

Miriam Liptcher- Woman of the Holocaust.

Chava Pressburger- Woman of the Holocaust.

Chasia Vardi- Woman of the Holocaust.

Chasia Bornstein- Woman of the Holocaust.

Noga Davidoff- Woman of the Holocaust.

Nata Osmo Gattegno- Woman of the Holocaust.

The woman’s barrack at Auschwitz as it was seen immediately upon liberation by the Soviets, 27 Jan 1945

Women barracks of Auschwitz.

Tema Schneiderman, a courier in the Jewish underground in the Bialystok, Vilna and Warsaw ghetto with two of friends before the war

Tema Schneidermann- Courier in the Jewish Underground.

Margot Cohn- Participant of resistance and assisted Jewish children by smuggling them out of France.

Tosia Altman was a leader of the Jewish underground and helped organize the Warsaw ghetto uprising

Tosia Altman- Leader of the Jewish underground, helped organize the Ghetto uprising.

Sarah Ginaite was a member of the underground resistance movement in the ghetto of Vilna, Poland. Novogrudok, Belarus http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Hidden-heroes-Filmmaker-focuses-on-Marin-s-2864571.php#photo-2231788

Sarah Ginaite- Member of the underground resistance.

Hella Schupper was part of the Kashariyot. These women would help the jewish resistance and go on illegal missions http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kashariyot-couriers-in-jewish-resistance-during-holocaust

Hella Schupper- Participant of the Kashariyot. Helped with the Jewish Resistance and went on illegal missions.

Faye Schulman was a women who took pictures of life as a partisan. She faught along side the men as they rebelled against the Nazis and nursed them back to health when they were wounded . http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/37486/rare-photos-show-hidden-life-of-partisans-who-fought-nazis/

Faye Schulman- Took pictures as the life of a partisan. Fought alongside the men of the resistance.

Roza Robota- Participant in the Jewish Resistance Movement of Birkenau.

Ala Gartner a woman imprisoned in the Auschwitz camp. She participated in the camp's resistance movement and was hanged for her part in smuggling the gunpowder that destroyed Crematorium 4 at Auschwitz. Bedzin, Poland, 1930s. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005176=3073

Ala Gartner- Participant in the Birkenau Jewish Resistance, later hung for her participation.

Mala Zimetbaum was the first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz. However when she was captured soon after escaping she was brought back to the camp and burned alive. Her resistance started an uprising. http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/zimetbaum-mala#

Mala Zimetbaum- First Jewish woman to escape Auschwitz! However, she was eventually re-captured and burned alive. Although, her resistance started an uprising!

Baranow, Poland, A Jewish girl who perished in the Holocaust.

Woman who perished in the Holocaust.

Manya Kornblit, WWII Holocaust, Survivor of 5 concentration camps including Auschwitz while 9 of her family members died.

Manya Kornblit- Woman of the Holocaust, she survived 5 camps including Auschwitz.

Elisabeth Emmler with all her children .all were murdered in Auschwitz. Photo: Documentation and cultural centre of German Sinti and Roma

Elizabeth Emmler- Mother with her children, later died in Auschwitz.

This is only a taste of the Women and countless other stories during the Holocaust. This is what I love about history, having the opportunity to tell the life stories of individuals and bring to light the injustice which was not recognized.

Hey all. The latest memoir that I have been reading is, "Inside the Gas Chambers: Eight Months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz" by Shlomo Venezia.

The Sonderkommando was a specific group of individuals who were assigned to remove, burn and clean-up after the innocent victims that the Nazis gassed. Mr. Venezia was on the Sonderkommando. He assisted the Jewish victims before their death, removed hair or any other "useful" parts of the victim's body, burned/ ground up the bones of the victims and cleaned up any other evidence which would have been suspicious to the next group of innocent victims.