THE SURVIVED, THE HIDDEN, THE DEAD, AND THE BROKEN

Thesis

• During the Holocaust, children, Jewish and non-Jewish, were confined to ghettos and concentration camps and some had to hide by themselves to survive from the Nazi's; some survived, but 1.5 million children innocently died.

in the ghettos and camps

• Children are the face of innocence. Mothers' new born babies struggle to survive, and for what reason did these families and children suffer, because of their beliefs? Because they were children?

In the Ghettos and Camps

• In the corrupted ghettos and camps of Germany and Poland, Jewish children perished from starvation, exposure, and the insufficiency of shelter and clothing. Some attempted escape from the ghettos, but numerous lost their lives during or after their get away.

Untitled Slide

• Those who outlasted past their escape died shortly after from starvation, illness, and many times, even loneliness. Some, though, did survive and were liberated, and they were considered very lucky.

In the Ghettos and Camps

• The countless children and people that were stuck in the ghettos went through a process every once in a while called "Selektion,"or selection. When new prisoners arrived at the camps and ghettos, SS doctors judged whether or not they lived or died. If a prisoner was fit to work, they were moved to one side with the others fit to work.

in the ghettos and camps

• But if a prisoner was judged unfit to work, they were moved to the other side and sent directly into the gas chambers to be executed.

FATES OF JEWISH AND NON-JEWISH CHILDREN AND YOUTH

• Jewish children faced and suffered everything Jewish adults faced and more. Most children under the ages of 14 or 15 were chosen for death immediately after their arrival at the extermination camps. Children died promptly after their arrival at killing camps. In all of Europe, in the ghettos, in camps, even while in hiding, Jewish children were always the first to die.

FATES OF JEWISH AND NON-JEWISH CHILDREN AND YOUTH

• Various children, usually over the age of 12, were used as laborers (slaves) and subjects for medical experiments. Jewish children and babies were carelessly mistreated and killed for no other reason than no reason. Even Jewish born babies were killed immediately after birth. In the eyes of the Nazi's, "Jewish babies were born guilty of ruining the world and sentenced to death before their first breath."

Discrimination

• The multitudes of non-Jewish citizens that discriminated against Jews were for many unrealistic reasons such as, Jews were forced to wear the Star of David on their clothing to represent that they were the killers of Christ.

discrimination

• Jewish children were separated from their non-Jewish playmates and friends so that no harm came to their families. Jew children were even expelled from state-sponsored schools because of their family's religion.

The Hidden

• Throughout the dreadful events of the Holocaust, many of the country's Jewish children went into hiding to escape the threats of the Nazi army. Some hid alone in forests or the outskirts of small villages. Others hid themselves in non-Jewish or Christian homes with a new identity. Few children could pass as non-Jewish and receive a new identity and enjoy freedom, those who were, were very fortunate.

The Hidden

• Not all Jewish kids, though, could pass as non-Jewish. Those who "looked Jewish," didn't speak the local language, or whose presence in a rescuer's family raised too much suspicion had to be hid in cellars and attics and had to keep quiet and motionless for hours on end.

the hidden

• In rural areas, hidden children lived in barns, forest huts, and even chicken coops. Any noise, conversations or footsteps, could make visitors and neighbors suspicious. Occasionally, it could prompt them to call for a police raid.

THE HIDDEN

• A woman named Kristine Keren was a survivor of the Holocaust that hid for a year in a sewer to survive, from June of 1943-July of 1944. She was known as "The Girl in the Green Sweater." When the Germans invaded Poland, Kristine and her family were forced to live in the sewers to prevent discovery by the Nazi's.

The Hidden

• Kristine was about 6 years old when her and her family went into hiding, and she had a green sweater that her grandmother had hand knitted for her. Her father forced her to always wear it and she never opposed, Kristine wore it every day that entire year they hid. Kristine's family hid with 17 other families in those sewers.

THE HIDDEN

• To be able to obtain food and water and other necessary supplies, Kristine's father paid people above in the city to bring them these items and care, and to help them stay hidden. It was very risky work, to care for a hidden Jewish family living in the sewers, but also trusting a man to keep their family hidden, but the men did a fine job.

the hidden

• On July 23, 1944, the city was liberated by the Soviet Union, and on July 27 of 1944, Kristine and her family heard a knocking and it was the men her father paid, they told her and the other 17 families that they were free and they went out.

the survived

• Some of the children that survived the Holocaust were interviewed later in their life and their stories were told to the world to remind others how frightening this event was and to make sure the people never forget and never try to attempt these actions.

the survived

• One woman who survived by hiding while a young child during the Holocaust was a woman named Charlene Schiff. Charlene was born in 1929, in Horochow, Poland. She had a mother, father, and a sister. Charlene's father was a professor at the nearby university, and one day while teaching during World War I, he was arrested by the Soviet Union and never seen again.

The survived

• Charlene, her sister, and her mother were forced into a ghetto and it was very challenging for the family and others to survive. While contained in the ghetto, the prisoners dug out holes in the fences so that a child could sneak through. When the children snuck out, they were able to take off the Star of David and attempt to act like a normal, non-Jewish child to see if they could obtain food.

the survived

• Occasionally, some brought back little food to the ghetto. Charlene snuck out many times, almost frequently, but it was very dangerous, because if caught, one would pay with life. She was very fortunate.

the survived

• Every once in a while, she would bring back a slice of bread, or a carrot, or a potato, or even an egg, and these were very great achievements. Charlene's mother made her promise to not do it anymore because of the high risks, but she was so hungry she disobeyed.

the survived

• After being confined into the ghetto for a while, Charlene and her mother and sister fled when they heard it was to be destroyed. Her sister ran off and hid by herself, for she thought it would be better that way, and she was never seen again. Charlene and her mother went into hiding in underbrush at the edge of the river.

the survived

• They avoided being discovered by submerging part time into the water. They hid for several, long and tiring days. But one day she woke up and her mother had vanished. Charlene had to learn to survive on her own after her mother left or vanished for an odd reason. So, she hid herself in the forests near Horochow. During the long and cold winters, she hid in the nearby farmer's potato cellars.

the survived

• For food, Charlene was forced to eat things no human or child should have to eat. It was very hard for her but, she wanted to live. Charlene ate raw bugs, worms, snow for water, and a raw rat to stay alive. She was always quite sick and very ill because of the things she ate, and she always thought to herself asking,, "What did I do wrong?"

the survived

• But, Charlene wanted to survive and she was very afraid, and she was only about the age of 7. Finally, Charlene was liberated by Soviet troops and eventually moved to the United States.

the dead

• During the horrifying events of the Holocaust and all of it's destruction, 1.5 million children, Jewish and non-Jewish, were murdered or died. Also accompanying this amount of child deaths, 3% of the world's population was wiped out during this disastrous phenomenon.

the dead

• One inspiring story of a, sadly, young teenaged girl that did not survive the Holocaust was a diary written by the famous Anne Frank. Anne Frank was born in 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany. Anne and her family were Jewish, and she was just 4 when her and her parents fled Germany to escape to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands after Hitler when he arose to power.

the dead

• In 1940, Germans occupied Amsterdam and in 1942, they started deporting Jews to concentration camps. In July of 1942, the Frank family went into hiding in a secret apartment hidden behind an office for two years. During those two long years, the family had to keep quiet to stay undiscovered, so to occupy herself, Anne wrote a diary of everything going on.

the dead

• In 1944, the family was betrayed by a Dutch informant and they were sent to Auschwitz. Anne and her sister were sent to Bergen-Belson. Anne was 15 and she died, just weeks before the British liberated the camp, of typhus fever.

the dead

• Anne Frank's diary was found and published to the world as a reminder of the events of the Holocaust, and the book became very well known as did she, today she is remembered as a very famous young lady whom, though unfortunately did not survive, changed the world.

the broken

• The citizens and innocent children that survived the Holocaust and lived to tell their stories have no intent to scare people and haunt them, but to remind the world what a treacherous situation the world can become involved in.

the broken

• Though some feel relief, many still feel the burden of their experiences as a child, accused of wrong doings, losing their loved ones and close friends, trying to survive all alone, and trying to escape the fears and sadness that will forever haunt them.

1.5 million children died during those years, and that is something the world should never forget.