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Oral history interview with Zdenka Erlich

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1995.A.1285.51 | RG Number: RG-50.149.0051

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    Oral history interview with Zdenka Erlich

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Erlich Zdenka (née Fantl), born in 1922 in Czechoslovakia, describes her family moving when she was two years old to Rokycany Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic); her family and educations; being expelled from school for being Jewish; the degree to which Jews were assimilated into society; mobilization during the Munich crisis in 1938; being in contact with refugees; the German invasion in March 1939; the registration of Jewish population; the increasing restrictions; attending the English Institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic); the arrest of her father by the Gestapo in the fall of 1940 and his imprisonment in Buchenwald and Bayreuth; her aunt going to England; the degree of collaboration and resistance within the Czech population; being transported to Theresienstadt in 1942; their treatment during the journey to the camp; conditions in the camp; the contrast between Czech and German inmates; the organization of the camp; working in the kitchens; Jewish inmates being hanged for smuggling cigarettes; cultural life in camp and participation in plays; the importance of satire; her memories of Karel Svenk; selections in the camp; a visit by Adolf Eichmann and the Red Cross in 1943; being transported to Auschwitz in October 1944; arriving in the camp, experiencing the selections, hiding a ring, and having her head shaved; adjusting to camp rules and its effect on survival; the barracks; being told her mother’s fate; daily routine including roll calls and food; camp rumors; treatment by Kapos; having to give blood for German soldiers; building fortifications in East Prussia from November 1944 to January 1945; coping with working conditions; carrying tree trunks to a sawmill; the state of prisoners’ health; marching westwards in January 21, 1945; supporting each other when sleeping and walking; the shooting of prisoners who fell by wayside; crossing River Oder; staying in Gross-Rosen in February 1945; the sight of male prisoners; the journey to Mauthausen in early 1945; working in the quarry; a composer’s wife committing suicide in the camp; the train ride to Bergen-Belsen and writing a message as the train passed her hometown; receiving aid from Czech workers in Pilsen; daily life in Bergen-Belsen; rations; finding a knife that was then discovered by the warden, Irma Grese; the outbreak of typhus; the removal of corpses; the lack of water and having to drink from puddles; the state of health in the camp; liberation by British troops; collapsing in front of the Red Cross hut; her hospitalization in Sweden; the contrast in men and women inmates’ survival rates; mental states in the camp; cooperation between inmates; stealing in camps; hearing how her brother had been shot trying to escape; the lack of religion in camps except Theresienstadt; the role of fantasy in the survival process and importance of human relationships; and what she gained from her experience as a survivor.
    Interviewee
    Zdenka Erlich
    Date
    interview:  1985 August 08

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    4 sound cassettes (90 min.).

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Topical Term
    Concentration camp guards. Concentration camp inmates--Intellectual life. Concentration camp inmates--Medical care. Concentration camp inmates--Religious life. Concentration camp inmates--Selection process. Concentration camp inmates--Suicidal behavior. Concentration camp theater. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Death march survivors. Death marches. Forced labor. Hanging--Czech Republic. Head shaving--Poland--Oswiecim. Holocaust survivors. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czechoslovakia--Personal narratives. Jewish women in the Holocaust. Jews--Czech Republic--Rokycany. Jews--Legal status, laws, etc.--Czechoslovakia. Jews--Persecutions--Czechoslovakia. Kapos. Prison theater. Quarries and quarrying. Roll calls. Shooting (Execution) Typhus fever. Women concentration camp guards. Women concentration camp inmates. Women--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Czechoslovakia.

    Administrative Notes

    Holder of Originals
    Imperial War Museum
    Provenance
    The interview was conducted by the Imperial War Museum as part of their retrospective oral history interview program. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Zdenka Erlich from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:17:32
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn510856

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