Religious Holiday Observances

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  Morris Ostreicher

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Morris talks about spending Rosh Hashanah—the holiday commemorating the start of the Jewish New Year—in a labor camp in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1944. He recalls pleading with the camp barber not to shave his hair, because it was Rosh Hashanah.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: July 27, 1910
  City of birth: Strabicovo
  Country of birth: Austria-Hungary
  Ghettos:
  Sevlus (Czechoslovakia)
  Went into hiding: No
  Other experiences: Concentration Camps: Markstädt (Germany), Märzbachtal (Germany), Auschwitz (Poland), Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany)

   
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  Ruth Brand

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Ruth talks about the decision to fast on Yom Kippur—also known as the Day of Atonement—in Auschwitz II-Birkenau as a form of resistance.

  Gender: Female
  DOB: 1928
  City of birth: Cuhea
  Country of birth: Romania
  Ghettos: Dragomiresti (Romania)
  Went into hiding: No
  Other experiences: Concentration camps: Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland), Bergen-Belsen Germany); Displaced persons camps

   
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  Nechama Ariel

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  While in hiding in Poland, Nechama chose to sneak into the ghetto so that she could celebrate Rosh Hashanah, pray with other Jews, and hear the shofar being blown. She recalls the atmosphere in the ghetto and her interactions with family and friends who were living in the ghetto.

  Gender: Female
  DOB: September 10, 1929
  City of birth: Wlodzimierz
  Country of birth: Poland
  Ghettos: Wlodzimierz (Poland)
  Went into hiding: Yes
  Other experiences: Displaced persons camp

   
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  Rita Hilton

  Language: English

  Jewish Survivor

  Rita describes the clandestine celebration of Kol Nidrei services on Yom Kippur in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. She remembers it to this day, especially during Kol Nidrei services on Yom Kippur.

   

  Gender: Female
  DOB: Jul 22, 1926
  City of Birth: Warsaw
  Country of Birth: Poland
  Ghettos: Pabianice (Poland), Warsaw (Poland)
  Went into Hiding: No
  Concentration Camps: Auschwitz I (Poland), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland), Bergen-Belsen (Germany)

   
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  Esther Jungreis

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Esther explains how cigarettes were obtained in her barrack in exchange for a shofar. She remembers the joyful feeling upon hearing the shofar blowing during a celebration of Rosh Hashana- the holiday commemorating the start of the Jewish New Year- in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

  Gender: Female
  
  DOB: Apr 7, 1936
  
  City of Birth: Szeged (Hungary)
  
  Country of Birth: Hungary
  
  Ghettos: Szeged (Hungary)
  
  Went into Hiding: No
  
  Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen (Germany), Kasztner Transport

   
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  William Stern

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  William recalls the joyful celebration of Simhat Torah-the holiday marking the completion of weekly Torah readings- with Rabbi Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe, holding a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) - in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. The celebration took place even though the barrack was surrounded by German soldiers.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: Jul 2, 1935City of Birth: Budapest
  Country of Birth: Hungary
  Went into Hiding: No
  Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen (Germany), Kasztner Transport

   
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  Jacob Jungreis

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Rabbi Jungreis remembers the ritual circumcision, Brit Milah, performed on a baby eight days after his birth in front of the Holy Ark at the synagogue in the Szeged ghetto. Jacob relates that rather than a joyous occasion, it became a sad one in which the quorum of ten Jewish men—a Minyan—cried bitterly and pronounced that “now his fate is sealed.” The baby, however, survived the war and later became a Hasidic Rabbi in Williamsburg, New York.

  Gender: Male
  
  DOB: Feb 4, 1933
  
  City of Birth: Derecske (Bihar, Hungary)
  
  Country of Birth: Hungary
  
  Ghettos: Szeged (Hungary)
  
  Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen (Germany), Kasztner Transport

   
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  Stefan Einhorn

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Mr. Einhorn remembers the observance of Yom Kippur- also known as the day of atonement-at the Schwientochlowitz Concentration Camp. He explains how the candles were made and of the use of potatoes as candle holders. He recites the Jewish prayers chanted quietly and so emotionally by the prisoners in the camp. He believes that even G-d was crying with them.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: Feb 2, 1916
  City of Birth: Bochnia (Poland)
  Country of Birth: Austria-Hungary
  Ghettos: Bochnia (Poland)
  Went into Hiding: No
  Concentration Camps: Mauthausen (Austria), Trzebinia (Poland), Gross Rosen (Germany), Schwientochlowitz (Poland), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland)

   
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  Manfred Strauss

  Language: English

  Jewish Holocaust Survivor

  Mr. Strauss remembers the observance of Shabbat in Buchenwald as a form of spiritual resistance. The prisoners continued to chant the Jewish prayers even under the threat of death.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: Jan 15, 1922
  City of Birth: Langendiebach (Germany)
  Country of Birth: Germany
  Concentration Camp: Buchenwald (Germany), Prisons: Hanau (Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany)
  Fled Nazi-controlled territory: Yes