Overview
- Description
- The collection documents the experiences of Susan Beer and her parents, Dr. Max and Rose Eisdorfer, after the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. The collection includes family photographs; records relating to confiscated property and punitive monetary measures against her parents; identity cards; and a memoir, "To Auschwitz and back: an odyssey," describing her illegal emigration to Hungary and her deportation back to Czechoslovakia; conditions inside the Budapest ghetto; Hannah Senesh; Susan's imprisonment in Auschwitz; a death march; her liberation and reunion with her parents; and the family's immigration to the United States.
- Collection Creator
- Susan Beer
- Biography
-
Susan Beer (née Eisdorfer) was born on 14 May 1924 in Budapest, Hungary to Max and Rose Eisdorfer. She grew up in Topolčany, Czechoslovakia (Topolčany, Slovakia). In 1939 her father arranged for her to be smuggled into Hungary to live with relatives. Her parents later joined her. Susan was arrested in 1943 and sent to a prison in Budapest. She and her parents were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. In January 1945 the camp was evacuated and Susan and her mother were sent to Ravensbrück and then Mecklenburg. After liberation, Susan and her mother were reunited with her father in Budapest. The family moved to Bratislava (Slovakia) and then immigrated to the United States in 1948.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Identification cards. Photographs.
- Extent
-
2 folders
- System of Arrangement
- Arrangement is thematic
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- The donor retains copyright on the memoir. Other material in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Confiscations. Jewish property. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. Jewish ghettos--Hungary--Budapest.
- Geographic Name
- Czechoslovakia--History--1938-1945. Hungary--Emigration and immigration. United States--Emigration and immigration. Canada--Emigration and immigration.
- Personal Name
- Senesh, Hannah, 1921-1944. Eisdorfer, Max. Eisdorfer, Rose.
- Corporate Name
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Ravensbrück (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- In Oct. 1993, Susan Beer gave the USHMMA her documents and photographs. She gave the USHMMA the memoir in Aug. 1994.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 14:01:24
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn504242
Download & Licensing
- See Rights and Restrictions
- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Request 7 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
