Holocaust Survivors – Testimonies and interviews. Below are longer interviews and insights from Holocaust survivors all over the world, from Europe to China and the Philippines. The Story of Elsie V. Alfredo F.Vorshirm was the author of From Swastikas to Palm Trees (1991) and De la Esvastica a. Holocaust Survivor Stories. The stories of broken families, dead bodies burning, and prisoners packed so tightly into cattle cars that they couldn't move are too numerous to count. Other tales of hiding in attics or making an escape across the border are filled with fear, close calls, and sacrifices.
Her story begins in Prague. Her father, Bernd, had fled Nazi Germany and met her Slovakian mother, Anka. They fell in love and married in May, 1940. But the Nazis were approaching, occupying many central and northern European countries as part of Adolf Hitler's Final Solution - the genocide of Jewish people. By 1941 both her parents were in Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
Tens of thousands of people died of malnutrition and disease at the camp. Many were killed outright. Miraculously, the couple survived for three years. Despite segregation of the sexes at the camp, Anka became pregnant. To their horror, the couple were told the baby would be handed over to the Gestapo, the Nazis' state police, and killed.
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But the baby boy died of pneumonia at only two months old.
Margit Meissner tells young people about the Holocaust and her own narrow escape from the Nazis.96-year-old Margit Meissner survived the Holocaust, and now she’s doing all she can to make sure it’s never forgotten. She’s a very active volunteer at Washington D.C.’s Holocaust Memorial Museum. She regularly meets young people to tell them about the genocide of the Jews and how she herself narrowly escaped the Nazis over 75 years ago. She’s also taking part in a project by German photographer Luigi Toscano. He’s been travelling around the world, trying to document as many Holocaust survivors as possible.
It wasn’t easy for Margit Meissner to agree to his request – just hearing the German language still invokes traumatic memories for her.Due to a high volume of comments that are not in accordance with our netiquette policy, the comment section for this video has been disabled. For more information, click the following link:Exciting, powerful and informative – DW Documentary is always close to current affairs and international events. Our eclectic mix of award-winning films and reports take you straight to the heart of the story. Dive into different cultures, journey across distant lands, and discover the inner workings of modern-day life. Subscribe and explore the world around you – every day, one DW Documentary at a time.Subscribe to DW Documentary:For more information visit:InstagramFacebook:DW netiquette policy.