Overview
- Interview Summary
- Ana Čeplak, born in 1924 in Bocna in the former Yugoslavia, describes the beginning of the war and the German occupation of Yugoslavia; her family’s involvement with the Partisans; the arrest and execution of her three brothers in 1942; caring for the children of her half-brother; the arrest of the citizens of Bocna by Germans in 1942; her transfer to Celje where she was separated from her younger sister; her transfer to Birkenau where she was registered and received a prisoner’s uniform and number; working in fields digging trenches for the military; prisoner deaths from fatigue; her time in the camp hospital; a pregnant woman whose baby was put to death shortly after its birth; male prisoners who were part of the Sonderkommando; suicides in the camp; conditions in Birkenau, including the treatment of prisoners by the guards; how Jewish prisoners faced harsher conditions than others; the presence of Romani prisoners in the camp; the procession of Jews to gas chambers and the crematorium; seeing black ash and the remains of bones on her way to labor; working in a barrack where she went through the clothing and personal items from the transport; her release from Birkenau in 1944; her forced labor in Germany where she watched children in Baad; her liberation in 1945; and the effects of the Holocaust on her family and village.
- Interviewee
- Ana Čeplak
- Date
-
interview:
2009 February 04
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, courtesy of the Jeff and Toby Herr Foundation
Physical Details
- Language
- Slovenian
- Extent
-
3 videocassettes (DVCAM) : sound, color ; 1/4 in..
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Slovenian. Childbirth. Concentration camp inmates--Medical care--Poland. Concentration camp inmates--Suicidal behavior. Crematoriums--Poland. Forced labor--Germany. Gas chambers. Guerrillas--Slovenia. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Yugoslavia. Infanticide--Poland. Mass burials--Germany. Mass murder--Germany. Massacres--Germany. Romanies. Sonderkommandos. Suicide--Slovenia. Women concentration camp inmates. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities--Slovenia. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Slovenia. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Slovenia. World War, 1939-1945--Destruction and pillage. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Slovenian. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Slovenia. Women--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Bočna (Slovenia) Celje (Slovenia) Germany. Gornji Grad (Slovenia) Poland. Slovenia--History--1918-1945. Slovenia--History--Axis occupation, 1941-1945. Slovenia. Yugoslavia--History--Axis occupation, 1941-1945.
- Personal Name
- Čeplak, Ana.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- This is a witness interview of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Witnesses: The Jeff and Toby Herr Testimony Initiative, a multi-year project to record the testimonies of non-Jewish witnesses to the Holocaust. Nathan Beyrak, Project Director for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Oral History Branch, coordinated the interview with Ana Čeplak on February 4, 2009 as part of the Museum's Former Yugoslavia Witnesses Documentation Project in Slovenia.
- Funding Note
- The production of this interview was made possible by Jeff and Toby Herr.
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 09:17:28
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn45157
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Also in Oral history interviews of the Former Yugoslavia Witnesses Documentation Project, Slovenia
Oral history interviews of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Former Yugoslavia Witnesses Documentation Project in Slovenia.
Date: 2009
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Oral History
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Oral history interview with Stanislav Kotnik
Oral History
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Oral history interview with Albin Vipotnik
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Oral history interview with Jože Hlebanja
Oral History
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Oral history interview with France Gradišek
Oral History
France Gradišek, born in 1931 in Litija in the former Yugoslavia, describes the deportation of several families from Senozeti in 1941 and 1942 following the German occupation; many young Slovenian men joining the Partisans in 1943 following the organization of forced mobilization into the German army; his work for the Partisans; the burning of villages by Domobrans, Russians, and Germans; incidents in which German forces defended peasants from robbing by members of the White Guard; hiding weapons abandoned by partisans in his home; the order from German authorities for students in Senozeti to burn Slovenian books; the arrest of Slovenian teachers and their replacement with German teachers; arrests and executions enacted by German forces; and the burning of villages and killing of people by Domobrans and Ukrainian soldiers in 1944.
Oral history interview with Vinko Gabršek
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Oral history interview with Helena Žnidarćić
Oral History
Helena Žnidarćić, born in 1938 in Letus in the former Yugoslavia, describes learning about the arrest of her father, uncle, and brother in June of 1942; her arrest with her sisters, mother, and grandmother in July of 1942 by German forces; her transfer to a school in Celje where she was separated from her mother and grandmother; her transfer to Frohnleiten with her sisters; Germans and nuns of the Red Cross on guard there; her transfer to the concentration camp at Kassel with her sisters; receiving new clothes and finding gold rings sewn into them; her understanding that the clothes were taken from Jews; her transfer to Meinburg where she learned the German language; her transfer to Neuschift, then Saltenberg, and then Bamugarten without her sisters; finding her grandmother in Bamugarten; reuniting with her sisters in Bamugarten in 1944 and returning to Slovenia; her brother volunteering for the German army under the condition that his sisters would be released; living with cousins in Slovenia until the end of the war; reuniting with her grandmother in Letus before liberation; the flight of German and Ustaša forces during liberation; partisans taking Germans to Hudova Jama; and the long-term effects of the Holocaust on her family.
Oral history interview with Anton Šercer
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Oral history interview with Vilma Ofak
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Oral history interview with Julijana Mancek
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Oral history interview with Leon Bratina
Oral History
Leon Bratina, born in 1932 in the former Yugoslavia, describes the forced relocation of his family in 1941 by German forces; their transfer to Celje, then the camp at Brestanica, and then to Slavonska Pozega where the Ustaša took over command; the conditions at Slavonska Pozega, including the poor food and brutal treatment by the Ustaša; their transfer to the camp at Osijek and then the village of Belo Brdo; Ustaša removing Serbs from their homes and offering the homes to Slovenians; Slovenians refusing the homes; Slovenian families living with Serbs in Serb houses; Ustaša forcing Serbs to convert to Catholicism under the threat of deportation; moving with his family to Borovac in 1943; the family’s work for a Slovenian in Borovac; their move to the village of Petrovci; witnessing the capture and execution of a black paratrooper by German soldiers; his work in the Serb village of Krmez; hiding when Germans took all males to the prison in Vinkovci; fleeing at the sight of Ustaša murdering Serbs; moving to the village of Bogdanovci where he worked for a Croat; the sight of dead bodies in the Drava river; finding the Romani quarter of Bogdanovci empty; remaining with his family in Croatia after liberation; a camp for German soldiers guarded by partisans in 1945; and returning with his family to Slovenia.
Oral history interview with Jernej Borovnik-Bartolj
Oral History
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Oral history interview with Tatjana F. Maslo
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Oral history interview with Sonja Vrščaj
Oral History
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Oral history interview with Zdravko Petrič
Oral History
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Oral history interview with Cvetko Kobal
Oral History
Cvetko Kobal, born in 1921 in Skofija Loka, discusses his involvement in the resistance movement; his arrest by the Gestapo in January 1942; his incarceration in Begunje; being tortured by German guards; his transfer to Auschwitz; brutal treatment of prisoners by German, Polish, and Romani kapos; his work clearing the yard of dead bodies; physical abuse while working on the sewage team; the hanging of Polish prisoners in the main square at roll call; Jewish prisoners in the camp; the frequent arrival of prisoner transports at night; the gassing of prisoners upon arrival; his transfer by cattle wagon to Mauthausen; being marched to Gusen concentration camp; working in a quarry; carrying dead bodies from the barracks to roll call; witnessing Jewish kapos kill Jewish prisoners in October 1943; widespread death as a result of starvation; the killing of sick prisoners by camp hospital staff; working on the construction of barracks for Russians prisoners; his transfer to a camp in Linz; and escaping the camp and joining the partisans.
Oral history interview with Albina Vogrin
Oral History
Albina Vogrin, born in 1930 in Novi Kot, Slovenia, discusses the burning of her village and arrest of all the men by Italian forces in July 1942; hiding with her family in the forest; her family’s capture and transport to Italian headquarters in Prizid; her father’s execution; her transfer to Rab concentration camp near; the death of prisoners, many of whom children, from malnutrition and dysentery; the sea flooding the camp; the transfer of women and children to Gonars concentration camp in December 1943; better living conditions and more food at Gonars; her grandmother’s death in the camp; the suicide of a female prisoner; the release of prisoners after Italy’s capitulation in September 1943; her family’s arrest by the Germans and imprisonment in Gorica; their release after her mother persuaded a guard to let them go home; and living in Draga until the end of the war.
Oral history interview with Štefanija Kogoj
Oral History
Stefanija Kogoj, born in 1925 in Papezi, Slovenia, discusses the looting and destruction of her village by Italians forces in July 1942; the removal of all village men following the conflict with partisans; being taken with her family to Rab concentration camp on the Italian occupied island; her father’s report that almost all of the village men were executed; many deaths, predominately among children, on Rab as a result of harsh living conditions and malnutrition; the death of her mother and uncle; rescuing her grandmother when the camp was flooded; being transferred with other women to Gonars concentration camp; dehumanizing behavior from Italian guards; improved living conditions in barracks and access to water; widespread death among elderly prisoners due to disease and starvation; her release after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943; returning to Papezi to discover a burned down village; and living in Croatia postwar.
Oral history interview with Ivana Zamida
Oral History
Ivana Zamida, born in 1929 in Papezi, Slovenia, discusses her time in Rab and Gonars concentration camps; surviving a flood in the camp on the island of Rab; many deaths as a result of starvation and harsh living conditions; witnessing a female prisoner’s suicide; receiving extra food from a male prisoner; receiving parcels from Ljubljana; and returning to Slovenia after the capitulation of Italy in 1943.
Oral history interview with Kristina Kverh
Oral History
Kristina Kverh, born in 1931 in Novi Kot, Slovenia, discusses the destruction of her village by Italian soldiers; the deportation of all villagers in July 1942 to Rab concentration camp; many deaths in Rab as a result of starvation and harsh living conditions; her father’s execution; her transfer to Gonars concentration camp in December 1942; her grandmother’s death at the camp in Rab; better living conditions in Gonars; having appendix surgery at a hospital in Udine, Italy; returning to Slovenia after the capitulation of Italy; and living with her aunt close to Kocevje until the end of the war.
Oral history interview with Marija Poje
Oral History
Marija Poje, born in 1922 in Novi Kot, Slovenia, discusses the arrest of her family by Italian soldiers in Stari Kot in July 1942; Italian soldiers burning down the village; her transfer to camp Kampor on the island of Rab; many deaths in the camp as a result of malnutrition and disease; the flooding of the camp; giving birth on the island of Rab; her transfer to Gonars concentration camp; difficult living conditions in the barracks; the death of her baby; the capitulation of Italy; returning to Stari Kot to find a burned down village; moving to Podpreska; her husband being forced to serve in the German offensive in 1943; and the death of her older child from malnutrition and exhaustion in December 1943.
Oral history interview with Franc Pantar
Oral History
Franc Pantar, born in 1929 in Novi Kot in the former Yugoslavia, describes the arrival of Italian forces in Novi Kot in 1942; the arrest of his family and village, and their deportation to Rab concentration camp; the harsh conditions in the camp, resulting in the deaths of his sister and grandfather; his transfer to Gonars concentration camp; the camp's poor food and hygiene; an incident in which he participated in the removal of corpses from the camp to the cemetery; his return home after the capitulation of Italy; and his family moving to the village of Podpreska.
Oral history interview with Julijana Janeš
Oral History
Julijana Janeš, born in 1933 in the former Yugoslavia, describes her brothers joining a partisan unit in 1942; the arrest of her village in 1942 by Italian forces and their transfer to Rab concentration camp in Kampor; the harsh conditions in the camp, resulting in the deaths of her grandparents; her transfer to Gonars concentration camp; conditions in the camp, resulting in the death of her neice; returning home after the capitulation of Italy; moving to the village of Podpreska; and the sight of Chetnicks withdrawing from Serbia and Croatia at the end of the war.
Oral history interview with Dana V. Klanjšček
Oral History
Dana V. Klanjšček, born in 1922 in the former Yugoslavia, describes her participation in the resistance movement; her arrest by Italian police in 1942 and imprisonment in Venice and then Padova; her return to Slovenia in 1943 after the capitulation of Italy; her arrest and interrogation by the Bela Garda; her transfer to Ravensbrück and then Grünberg labor camp; a forced march in 1945 in which the guards deserted the group of prisoners; Soviet soldiers informing them of the end of the war; her return to Slovenia; and the death of her brother after the war as a result off his treatment in concentration camps.
Oral history interview with Alojz S. Kunej
Oral History
Alojz S. Kunej, born in 1923 in the former Yugoslavia, describes the German occupation of Krsko; the banning of the Slovenian language; Slovenian Germans moving to Krsko; his examination to determine if he could be granted German citizenship; the deportation of his family to the concentration camp in Reichenberg (Liberec, Czech Republic) in 1941; his forced labor in a neighboring factory; and returning home after liberation to find his home looted.
Oral history interview with Janez Štiglic
Oral History
Janez Štiglic, born in 1938 in the former Yugoslavia, describes his deportation to the concentration camp at Celje in 1942; mass shootings in Celje, which resulted in the death of his father; the death of his mother in Auschwitz; his transfer between different concentration camps; being a subject to medical experimentation; his liberation in 1945 by American forces; his return to Slovenia with his neighbor and brother; and the long-term effects of his experiences during the war on his life.
Oral history interview with Miloš Poljanšek
Oral History
Miloš Poljanšek, born in 1923 in the former Yugoslavia, describes his deportation to Somobor and then Ljubljana in 1941; joining the resistance movement; his arrest and interrogation by Italian police in 1943; two Jewish prisoners in his cell in the prison in Ljubljana; his transfer to a prison in Kopar; his transfer to Hamburg Neuengamme concentration camp in 1943 by German fores; conditions in the concentration camp; his release in 1944 and return to Slovenia; and his time in a working brigade until the end of the war.
