Young Voices During the Holocaust: Their Legacies Continue Presenters: Felicia Alexander / USHMM Teacher Fellow Amy McDonald/ USHMM Teacher Fellow

Salvaged Pages by Alexandra Zapruder

Focusing on Four Female Diarists Eva Ginzova – Terezin Ghetto Anonymous Girl – Lodz Ghetto Miriam Korber – Transnistria (Romania, western Ukraine); Forced deportation, ghetto Elsa Binder - Stanislawow, Poland; Ghetto, execution site

Eva Ginzova Terezin/Theresienstadt Ghetto

Terezin/Theresienstadt Ghetto Neither a ghetto or strictly a concentration camp Transit camp, ghetto-labor camp, holding pen Used for German propaganda; ghetto “beautified” for International Red Cross visit in June 1944 Arrival of a transport of Dutch Jews in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Czechoslovakia, February 1944. — US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Terezin/Theresienstadt Ghetto Had a highly developed cultural life Lectures, concerts, and theater performances. The ghetto maintained a lending library of 60,000 volumes. The cast of the children's opera Brundibar by Hans Krasa. The opera was performed 55 times in Theresienstadt.

Terezin 15,000 children passed through Terezin Attended school Approximately 90% of these children perished in death camps.

Eva Ginzova and Petr Ginz, 1934 Regarding this photo, what do you see? What details stand out?  What is this photo’s significance? 

Journal Entries – Eva Ginzova Read the following journal entries: Sept. 27-28, 1944 Is this form of separation (deportation) different from other forms of loss that we experience in peacetime?  How? Read May 14, 1945 Read April 14, 1947 Why do you think Eva chose to write these final words?

Anonymous Girl Lodz Ghetto Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Lodz Ghetto Lodz Ghetto located in part of Poland partitioned into German “Reich” Completely segregated from ethnic German population and Poles Sealed ghetto; no smuggling or trading with outside world Image: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Slave Labor in Lodz Ghetto German forces established factories for the war effort Exploited the ghetto’s residents for forced labor

Slave Labor in Lodz Ghetto Chaim Rumkowski - leader of the Jewish Council in the  Łódź ghetto Hoped to prevent the destruction of the ghetto by making it an essential labor force.

Hunger and Deportations Ghetto inhabitants forced to depend on German allocations Hunger, starvation more widespread in Lodz than in any of other major ghettos January 1942 – deportations to Chelmno begin Jews from the Lodz ghetto board deportation trains for the Chelmno death camp. Image: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Chelmno Killing Center Those unable to work at greatest risk for deportation Located 35 miles from Lodz Death by carbon monoxide poisioning in gas vans Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Miriam Korber Transnistria Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Romania in 1930s Long history of antisemitism Succession of Romanian leaders and antisemitic political parties Legal, economic, social restrictions on Jews August 1940 – antisemitic legislation based on Nazi Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935 enacted September 1940 – Fascist leader Ion Antonescu and Iron Guard party in power

Romania Allies with Germany November 1940 – Romania joined Axis Powers June 1941 – Germany (with ally Romania) invades Soviet Union July 1941 - Romania regained territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina Adolf Hitler shakes hands with Prime Minister of Romania Ion Antonescu. Photo: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Romanian Deportations to Transnistria Mass executions and deportations of Jews in Bessarabia and Bukovina begin Miriam and family deported on Oct. 12, 1941; arrived in Djurin, Transnistria on Nov. 4 Miriam begins journal in Dec. 1941 Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Miriam Korber Miriam Korber and family at family shop, 1938

Miriam Korber Unlike other writers in Salvaged Pages, Mirian was deported and forced into a ghetto by the government of her native country. Other writers suffered at the hands of the Germans who had occupied their countries. Think about how this fundamental difference in Miriam’s circumstances shaped her experiences of deportation and ghettoization.

Elsa Binder Stanislawow, Poland Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Start of WWII – September, 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (Aug. 1939) Eastern Poland annexed to Soviet Union Stanislawow, Poland under Soviet rule Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

June 1941 – Germany Invades Soviet Union Stanislawow occupied by Hungarian troops July 1941 – occupied by German troops Jewish repressions and executions begin Map: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Jewish People Before Their Execution in Stanisławów October 1941 Jewish People Before Their Execution in Stanisławów Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Stanislawow Dec. 1941 – ghetto established Elsa Binder begins her diary Writes from Dec.1941– June 1942 Photo Archive, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem

Major Deportations to Belzec Killing Center March 18, 1942 – 5000 people without work permits deported to Belzec September 1942 – 5000 more sent to Belzec February 1943 – ghetto liquidated Source: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Elsa Binder Elsa Binder (at left) with friends Elsa Binder with members of the Zionist youth group, Hashomer Hazair.

Contact Info / Resources Felicia Alexander: fmode@verizon.et Amy McDonald: amym22@yahoo.com Facing History, Teaching Salvaged Pages website - www.facing.org US Holocaust Memorial Museum - www.ushmm.org