Here is a small gold pendant, which remarkably survived Auschwitz-Birkenau with my great Grandma, Lily Ebert.
It looks quite ordinary, similar to any other necklace, but it has its own remarkable story.
Thread:
It looks quite ordinary, similar to any other necklace, but it has its own remarkable story.
Thread:
When my great Grandma was a young girl, in Bonyhad Hungary, her mother gave her this small gold pendant as a present.
When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, they were made to hand in all their gold and jewellery.
When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, they were made to hand in all their gold and jewellery.
My great Grandma’s brother knew how important the jewellery was, so he hid it (and some other gold jewellery) in the heel of their mother’s shoe - hoping that the jewellery would survive this way.
On 9 July 1944, the Nazis deported my great Grandma and her family to Auschwitz.
On 9 July 1944, the Nazis deported my great Grandma and her family to Auschwitz.
She, her mother Nina, brother (Bela) & 3 sisters (Berta, Renee and Piri) were transported to Auschwitz.
My great Grandma and her mother were the same shoe size & on the last day of the transport my great Grandmas mother asked them to swap shoes. So, they did.
My great Grandma and her mother were the same shoe size & on the last day of the transport my great Grandmas mother asked them to swap shoes. So, they did.
When they arrived at #Auschwitz they were rushed out of the train and ordered to stand together - five in a row.
As my great grandma and her family got off the train, they saw a man ordering people right and left - It was Dr Mengele, the Angel of Death.
As my great grandma and her family got off the train, they saw a man ordering people right and left - It was Dr Mengele, the Angel of Death.
With one movement of his hand Dr Mengele sealed the fate of the people before him. He sent people right or left — to life or to death.
The people who were sent to the left were taken immediately to the gas chambers & crematorium.
The people who were sent to the left were taken immediately to the gas chambers & crematorium.
Her mother Nina, brother Bela and sister Berta were sent left.
She never saw them again.
My great Grandma and her two sisters were sent right and were ordered to take a shower. Their hair was cut and their belongings stolen.
She never saw them again.
My great Grandma and her two sisters were sent right and were ordered to take a shower. Their hair was cut and their belongings stolen.
But, miraculously the Nazis had run out of wooden shoes and left their own shoes for them to wear.
In the heel of her shoe lay the tiny pendant. It was her only remaining possession and a reminder of her happy childhood.
It was her only remaining link to her murdered family.
In the heel of her shoe lay the tiny pendant. It was her only remaining possession and a reminder of her happy childhood.
It was her only remaining link to her murdered family.
After a few months in Auschwitz, the heel of the shoe wore out so she placed the pendant in her daily ration of bread.
After nearly 4 months in Auschwitz, on 29 October 1944, my great Grandma and her two surviving sisters were transferred to an ammunition factory in Altenburg.
After nearly 4 months in Auschwitz, on 29 October 1944, my great Grandma and her two surviving sisters were transferred to an ammunition factory in Altenburg.
The pendant went with them & survived.
She has worn the pendant every day since, in memory of her murdered family.
(You can see the dent in the pendant from where it was nailed in to the shoe in the photo.)
She has worn the pendant every day since, in memory of her murdered family.
(You can see the dent in the pendant from where it was nailed in to the shoe in the photo.)
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