Latest news with #SusanPollack
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Life after Auschwitz
This episode was first broadcast on 27 January 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. On 27 January 1945, Soviet soldiers entered the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp in south-west Poland. The site had been evacuated by the Nazis just days earlier. Thus ended the largest mass murder in a single location in human history. Precise numbers are still debated but, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the German SS systematically killed at least 960,000 of the 1.1 million to 1.3 million Jews sent to the camp. Other victims included approximately 74,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and at least 10,000 from other nationalities. More people died at Auschwitz than at any other Nazi concentration camp. Susan Pollack and Ivor Perl were children when they were transported to the camp, two of an ever-decreasing number of survivors able to provide firsthand testimony of what happened to them. They speak to Anushka Asthana about their time at Auschwitz, and how they rebuilt their lives afterwards. With thanks to Arthur Cary. His documentary The Last Survivors features Susan and Ivor.
Sky News
27-01-2025
- Sky News
Holocaust Memorial Day latest: Survivors, royals and world leaders gather at Auschwitz to mark 80 years since liberation
'If you lost weight, you were sent to the gas chamber' An Auschwitz survivor who was just 13 when she arrived at the concentration camp says the recent rise in antisemitism is driven by "ignorance". Separated from her mother as she passed through the gates, Susan Pollack told Nazi guards she was 15 so they would keep her alive. "Somebody whispered to me, your mother will be gassed. How could I respond? I was just hopeless." Susan, now 94, shared her story with Sky News presenter Sarah-Jane Mee ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day. Born Zsuzsanna Blau in 1930 in Hungary, Susan became aware of antisemitism around her from a young age. Her uncle was murdered by fascists. His attacker was sentenced to just two years in prison. After Germany invaded Hungary in 1944, the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators organised the deportation of Hungarian Jews, under the supervision of high-ranking SS officer Adolf Eichmann. In May that year, Susan and her family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland by cattle truck. In less than two months, almost all of Hungary's Jewish population, some 825,000, was deported. "On arrival we scrambled out of the trucks, and men and women were separated immediately," Susan says, recalling her first moments at the concentration camp. "I was left on my own, surrounded by shouting. I felt pure terror and devastation." Inside Auschwitz, she says she was "dehumanised" and survived by behaving as a robot. She described having to stand in front of Dr Josef Mengele, the infamous camp physician, every morning, who would look at their naked bodies. Those who were deemed to be losing weight too quickly were sent to the gas chamber, Susan recalls. "You don't think that you live in a world which does those things." Amid the advance of Allied forces in 1944, Susan and others were put on a "death march" from Auschwitz, like tens of thousands of others. Prisoners were moved out of camps near the front and forced to walk long distances in the bitter cold, with little or no food, water or rest. Those who could not keep up were shot. Susan was taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, where she suffered from tuberculosis and typhoid. "I wanted to die. I had no energy anymore," she said. "When I was liberated in Bergen-Belsen I couldn't walk, I could hardly talk and I just crawled out to die," she continued. "I felt a gentle pair of hands, lifting me up. A gentle pair of hands. And he was a British soldier." She and others were then taken to Sweden, where she says they were given regular food. "And we had a Jewish man in his 20s, and he played music every night," she says. "The lights were turned off and he played classical music every night, and that is what saved my life as well, in terms of thinking and hope and understanding." Susan Pollack's full interview will be aired on The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee programme on Sky News at 8pm this evening.
BBC News
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Drama retells 13-year-old girl's Auschwitz survival
The story of a 13-year-old girl who escaped death at Auschwitz by lying about her age is being retold as a Keynes-based theatre company Voices of the Holocaust is depicting the life of Hungarian survivor Susan Pollack, who was sent to the notorious Nazi camp in 1944 in German-occupied Poland.A prisoner on the railway platform whispered to Susan that she should pretend to be 15, which meant she was chosen for labour instead of being sent to the gas years after Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, artistic director of Voices, Cate Hollis, said it was "apparent that survivor testimony was the strongest approach to help young people connect". More than 30,000 people, including thousands of school children, have watched the play - entitled Kindness - and learned about Susan's arriving at Auschwitz, she was separated from her family, with her mother being sent straight to the gas chambers."There were no hugs, no kisses, no embrace. My mum was just pushed away with the other women and children. The dehumanisation began immediately. I didn't cry, it was as though I'd lost all my emotions," Ms Pollack previously girl was moved to Guben in Germany to work as a slave in an armaments factory, before being freed by the British Army on 15 April World War Two ended, she discovered more than 50 of her relatives had been killed, with only her brother surviving. "The vast majority of pupils will never go to a place like Auschwitz to feel what the biggest graveyard on the planet is like, but this piece of theatre can bring that to every single young person," said Ms founded Voices of the Holocaust, external to create "best practise theatre designed as a springboard for Holocaust education".She said as Holocaust survivors grew older, "they're all acutely aware they don't have a great deal longer to ensure the Holocaust is learned about, and learned from". Susan's story is not the first to be retold by Voices, which has been dramatising the experiences of Holocaust survivors since company is working towards a new production featuring the life of Harry Olmer, 97, who survived concentration camps in Plaszow and was one of 732 children taken in by the UK after the war, since most of his family had been killed."One thousand were permitted entry, but so few children survived that they were unable to reach the quota," said Ms Hollis."Harry recuperated at Windermere until going on to make a life for himself in the UK. His story is critically important and must never be forgotten."'Kindness' is being performed at JFS Theatre in Kenton, Harrow, London on Monday at 19:30 GMT, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Millions 'face tax hike' and Trump set to visit UK
Several front pages carry images of holocaust survivors for Holocaust Memorial Day. One of them, Susan Pollack, tells the Daily Express: "You don't think you live in a world which does those things." British Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, 94, talks to the the Daily Mirror about it being "painful" to walk into the notorious camp - after having lost most of her relatives during the Holocaust. The Daily Telegraph says the King will be the first British monarch to set foot in Auschwitz. A source close to him has described the visit as a "deeply personal pilgrimage." A spokesman for the Auschwitz Museum tells the Guardian, there will not be any speeches by politicians today, and the focus will be on the survivors. In other news, the Times describes yesterday's phone call between Sir Keir Starmer and President Trump as "warm and personable" - but the paper says the PM will resist pressure to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, because of concerns about Britain's public finances. On its front page the Daily Mail says more than four million people in England face punishing council tax rises above 4.99% - which is the maximum normally allowed by law. The paper says eight struggling local authorities are asking the government to allow increases ranging from just under 10 to 25%. According to the i newspaper, A&E patients could be treated at home to avert what it describes as another winter "Armageddon". Finally, the Daily Star reports more torrential downpours and wind are expected to batter the country over the next 48 hours. The paper says the Met Office has placed yellow warnings in a "whopping" 58 areas throughout the United Kingdom. Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. Daily Express Daily Mail Daily Mirror Daily Star Daily Telegraph Financial Times Guardian Independent Metro Sun The i Times
Sky News
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
'If you lost weight, you were sent to the gas chamber': The Auschwitz ordeal of a 13-year-old girl separated from her family
An Auschwitz survivor who was just 13 when she arrived at the concentration camp says the recent rise in antisemitism is driven by "ignorance". Separated from her mother as she passed through the gates, Susan Pollack told Nazi guards she was 15 so they would keep her alive. "Somebody whispered to me, your mother will be gassed. How could I respond? I was just hopeless." Susan, now 94, shared her story with ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day. Born Zsuzsanna Blau in 1930 in Hungary, Susan became aware of antisemitism around her from a young age. Her uncle was murdered by fascists. His attacker was sentenced to just two years in prison. After Germany invaded Hungary in 1944, the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators organised the deportation of Hungarian Jews, under the supervision of high-ranking SS officer Adolf Eichmann. In May that year, Susan and her family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland by cattle truck. In less than two months, almost all of Hungary's Jewish population, some 825,000, was deported. "On arrival we scrambled out of the trucks, and men and women were separated immediately," Susan says, recalling her first moments at the concentration camp. "I was left on my own, surrounded by shouting. I felt pure terror and devastation." Inside Auschwitz, she says she was "dehumanised" and survived by behaving as a robot. She described having to stand in front of Dr Josef Mengele, the infamous camp physician, every morning, who would look at their naked bodies. Those who were deemed to be losing weight too quickly were sent to the gas chamber, Susan recalls. "You don't think that you live in a world which does those things." Amid the advance of Allied forces in 1944, Susan and others were put on a "death march" from Auschwitz, like tens of thousands of others. Prisoners were moved out of camps near the front and forced to walk long distances in the bitter cold, with little or no food, water or rest. Those who could not keep up were shot. Susan was taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, where she suffered from tuberculosis and typhoid. "I wanted to die. I had no energy anymore," she said. "When I was liberated in Bergen-Belsen I couldn't walk, I could hardly talk and I just crawled out to die," she continued. "I felt a gentle pair of hands, lifting me up. A gentle pair of hands. And he was a British soldier." She and others were then taken to Sweden, where she says they were given regular food. "And we had a Jewish man in his 20s, and he played music every night," she says. "The lights were turned off and he played classical music every night, and that is what saved my life as well, in terms of thinking and hope and understanding." It is estimated that 1.1 million people were killed at the Auschwitz extermination camp in the less than five years it existed. The majority, around a million, were Jews. Susan, who now lives in London, regularly talks about her experience and was made an OBE for services to Holocaust education and awareness in the 2023 New Year Honours. Asked about the recent rise in antisemitism, and how it makes her feel, she says she thinks it is down to "ignorance". But she said the "kindness and helpfulness" of individuals will make us "stronger".
