The Holocaust

Kitty

• Kitty is a Holocaust survivor who came to talk to the year 9’s.

• She shared her sad story of her time during the Holocaust.

• It was harrowing for all of us, but she gave us the opportunity to know what really happened in The Holocaust and to find out if all the things we read about are really true or not.

• Another speaker named Louise from the Holocaust Memorial Trust came to deepen our understanding of The Holocaust.

Kitty told us she had to travel around Germany and Poland mostly on foot. This was because she and her family had escaped from the ghettos – where they were ‘placed’ – when they were taken from their homes in Poland.

Kitty and her mother were caught with ID documents that weren’t theirs, which was considered a crime, and were sent to Auschwitz to work. Fortunately, Kitty and her mother managed to survive two years in Auschwitz.

Sadly, their journey, was not over. They had to complete a “Death March” to get away from the incoming Russians and Germans.

Her Story

The Death March • The Death March was a walk many people were forced to do by

the Nazi’s because the British and American soldiers were invading the concentration camps. If a person on the march couldn’t keep up, they were most likely to be killed because the Nazi’s did not want somebody who was most expected to slow them down.

• The prisoners were forced to go without food, rest or water in extreme temperatures for long distances. They often had to climb mountains in the snow, just like Kitty did herself.

• The Nazi’s killed hundreds or thousands of people before, during, and after the marches.

• It was called a death march because the biggest outcome was death and the aim was to get rid of as many jews before the war was over.

“Arbeit Macht Frei” is the sign displayed above the gates of Auschwitz. It means “Work Makes You Free”. This sign is still hanging over Auschwitz camp, which is now an open museum.

This picture was taken in 2007.

These are all pictures or symbols from the time of the Holocaust.