From Westerbork, you are sent to Auschwitz. The trip is a
terrifying experience. Nearly 100 of you are crammed into a railway boxcar
where some die of starvation before you even arrive at the camp. When the
door is finally opened, you are pulled out and forced to march into the
camp, under a gateway with a sign: Arbeit Macht Frei,
Work Leads to
Freedom. The next morning, you and about 500 other Jews are put back on a
train and sent to Berlin to work in the Krupp Munitions Factory.
Rumors reach you that the Nazis have made a mistake. Jews are rarely let out of that death camp. Somehow you and other Jews were included with a group of non-Jewish workers. You fully expect that they will return you to Auschwitz, but they do not; apparently, the officers are too embarrassed or afraid to admit their mistake.
In March 1945, the entire group is taken to Ravensbrück. Fortunately, within a month you are liberated and sent to Sweden to recuperate. Because you feel uncomfortable in Sweden, you decide to go back to Germany, to Nuremberg, where Nazis are being tried for their war crimes. You feel compelled to tell the world what they did, and you testify during the trials.
You live out the rest of your life in Germany, telling young Germans what happened during the Holocaust. You teach in a high school and feel satisfied that you are doing work that is important. Your work may prevent another anti-Semitic tragedy.
END