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Frida Herskovits
Frida Herskovits was born in Czechoslovakia in 1926. She lived in a
small town with her nine brothers and sisters and her parents. They
lived peacefully until 1939 when the Hungarians took over everything.
Frida was 17 years old when she was evacuated to her first concentration camp. During the Holocaust, she experienced three concentration
camps; Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Birkenau.
My name is Frida Herskovits. I was born in Czechoslovakia in 1926. I lived in a small town with different religions. We never had a problem. We lived like one family. We were ten children and my
mother and father. In 1939, the Hungarians came in and they started spreading hate. They took
over a lot. We werent allowed to go to school. There were certain things that we didnt have a
choice. We learned to live with it. In 1944, the Germans had a list of all the Jewish people who
lived in the town. The town was called **voliveca**. They came to the door and knocked and said
that they give us two hours. We should pack a few personal belongings and they would come to
pick us up. We couldnt ask any questions. They came with rifles and German Shepherds. They
took us to a **Munkach** by train. a brick factory. They took us into a ghetto. All the people in
the area gathered there. There was the railroad and the train. We were there for a few weeks and
then they started torturing and making fun of people, but we couldnt do anything. I dont remember exactly how many weeks my family and I were there.
Then they put us in rows of five in front of the cargo train for us go onto. There was one tiny window with wire. They closed our train up completely except for the tiny window. Anybody who didnt obey, they shot them on the spot. They put us in the train and we didnt know where we were
going. We didnt have any idea. In Czechoslovakia, at that time we didnt have newspaper or radio,
so they really did trick us. Before we left for the ghetto my next-door neighbors, who werent
Jewish, came in and told my mother that they were going to hide my older brother and me. My
mother said no, we are not dividing the family. We want to go all together. We figured that the
Germans will use us for labor and put us in a camp. We didnt have any idea what was waiting.
They took us on a train with no water or food. . We didnt know where we were going. My father
was a World War I veteran. He was in Poland. He fought with the Germans at that time. I didnt
even know because I was young and I didnt ask questions. He recognized the area through the
tiny window and he was aware of where we were going. When he said were going into that area,
we knew that Poland was no good. My mother was sitting on the floor with my youngest sister that
was six years old. My mother was crying, I think she had a feeling. My youngest sister at six years
old was hugging her and telling her she should stop crying. We arrived at a place we didnt have
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no idea where it was.

We were very religious in Europe. So my father built us a talice, a shawl in which you pray in... He
would put it on before he went down to the train he said in case they take everything else away; at
least you will be able to pray. As we were walking down they said left, right, loud and fast. We didnt have time to say goodbye, nothing. The people
who were young, who they felt that they could use
for labor they put on one side and the rest of the
people went straight to the crematorium. But no
one knew what the left meant. One woman had a
little baby in her arms; the SS took her baby,
threw it in the air and shot it. Another woman
was lying on the floor and was in labor. They
gave orders to the German Shepherds to tear out
the baby. They took us into the barracks. I was 17 years old. We had to undress naked surrounded by strange men. They shaved our hair and they took away everything that we had and gave us
just one dress to put on. We heard screams, and we asked the people who were working in there
with us there if they knew what went on. And we asked them from where did the screams come.
They said that the screams, theres a crematorium and all the people who they didnt choose for
labor, they burned them. That was the first time that we heard that the crematorium was there.
We didnt have any idea that something like that exists.

They took us into a barrack

and there were bunk beds.
They put five people on one
bunk bed. like sardines.

They took us into a barrack and these were bunk beds. They put five people on a bunk bed, like
sardines. Every morning we had to get up and go to work. I built highways, worked in the fields.
If anybody got sick, they were dead. They put them straight in the crematorium. They didnt have
the right to live. When we were working a lot of times people got sick or something they put the
dogs on the people and tore them apart, and we had to look. The people who worked in the crematorium they were the people from the group that came in. They took the people who came in
and about 300 worked by the crematorium. A lot of time, the parents and the kids they would
come in separately. Their own parents would have to throw their own kids in the oven or the kids
have to put in their parents. They didnt have any choice. The camp was surrounded with electric
wire if anybody went close to the wire, they got burned or the SS sitting around the camp shot
them. When we went out to work, there was a gate and the music was playing before we left the
gate.
You know, I am getting older and a lot of things I dont have written down that I went through.
The people knew after a short time from the people who were working at the crematorium that
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they were going to burn them. So, outside people tried to cut open the electric wire and 300 people tried to run away. We were in the field working and we heard shooting so we were happy
because we figured maybe somebody came to help us. As we were walking home, 300 people were
dead on the floor, lined up like animals. They werent successful. They didnt run away. They didnt have a chance because they were all killed. Auschwitz and Birkenau happened in Poland and
they were very close, next to each other. Birkenau
was where the most burning happened, they had
four crematoriums burning people day and night.
In the middle of the four crematoriums was a pit.
If there wasnt enough gas to burn the people they
would add them to the pit and pour gasoline and
burn them alive. The screams were unbelievable.
There was a barrack where they did experiments.
Nobody was to stop them, they did anything they wanted. They took off the skin of people, and
make picture frames and lampshades. They cut up the people and they would bleed to death.
They took out different organs. They did all kinds of experiments and there was nobody who
came to help us.

300 people were put out,

were dead on the floor, were
lined up like animals.

In 1944, we came to the camp. In 1944 in December they took us on a death march from
Auschwitz because the Russians were close by Auschwitz and they didnt want us to get free. We
were walking and Auschwitz, Poland was very cold in the December snow. As we were walking
down the street in file with soldiers, with no food, no socks, no coat. Anybody who couldnt keep
up, they shot them. I still could hear the voice of people say Please dont kill me. They shot
them and left them on the street. I never knew what happened to them. I didnt know from one
minute to the next if Id be alive or dead. After a few days, I dont remember how long we were
walking, we stopped in a stable. They gave us some food. Next morning they put us on a train. It
was an open train, so in the daytime if it was raining, we got wet. And at night it got freezing, so a
lot of people died there. We arrived at Bergen-Belsen. Bergen-Belsen is in Germany.
Its very difficult because as I am talking its like its plugged in me like the electricity, because it
brings it all back, all the pictures, everything is still there. They put us in a room, no carpet, no
tiles, just four walls. They put so many people in that room on the floor that we didnt have
enough place to lay down, one almost on top of each other. Never a shower. Once in two days, we
got a little black coffee and a slice of bread. After a short time we werent human, we were skeletons. Every place you looked were dead people. Now when you go to the museum you will see a
lot of things there. Dead people. There were a pile of dead people at the building. There was no
crematorium and they were dying so fast from hunger and disease, they didnt know what to do.
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My younger sister, shes still alive. They killed seven of my sisters and brothers, and three of us
were alive. I had an older brother who passed away three years ago. I still have a younger sister in
Israel. My sister who is in Israel was in a working camp. My sister was working in a camp in SS
who happened to be a woman. She liked my sister very much and she gave her extra food. She
said, Nobody is alive so when we got free, she said, I am going to adopt you as my daughter. My
sister heard that I was in that I was there in BergenBelsen, so she was looking for me. She came in looking for me. I immediately recognized her but she didnt recognize me. I wasnt a human, I was a skeleton.
. I was on the floor and it was unbelievable, I wasnt
human, and I persuaded her that it was I, her sister.
It took me a little while because I didnt look like her sister. She took me out from there because
she was in good shape because she came from a working camp. She cleaned me up and brought
me to her barrack, in the fresh air, and she helped me out. In 1945, on December 15th, the British
freed us. After that my sister got typhoid I got a little stronger so they took her in to a room they
converted it into a hospital. I think it was an old school. I went in the hospital, and took a bed
next to my sister. I helped all of the sick people because I got a little bit stronger. When I was
growing up, I wanted to be in the medical field. Somebody asked me why and I said as a little
child, all the time I would feel like I wanted to do something nice and help people, but I never had
the chance. I got fluid in my lungs, and my sister got better. I went to Sweden.

i wasn t a human, i was

a skeleton.

In Sweden they were very nice, and they took us in a sanitarium. Strange people came to visit us
because we were younger teenagers all alone in the world, and we didnt have anybody. We were
there until 1947. In 1947, they organized a cargo ship to go to Palestine. At that time the British
were there and it was Palestine. We made papers that we were going to Cuba because we couldnt
say that we were going to Palestine because it was illegal, but we knew. We took a cargo ship and
we went in the cargo ship; it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We turned around and went
in the direction to Israel. We came close to Haifa and the British saw us so they came and blazed
the ship. We were trying to fight them but they threw tear bombs so we didnt have a choice and
they took us from cargo.
I am going to go back because I forgot first of all to tell you. First of all they killed 6 million Jews;
they killed gypsies, homosexuals, and priests. They killed a lot of people. I want to tell people hate
is a disease. Im working for 20 years to find a cure for hate. It doesnt matter what color, what religion, or what culture we are. We are all human beings and we should love each other and help
each other. Hate shouldnt exist. Just like we do research for diseases, this is another disease we
have to work hard against Im working very hard in the school. I dont get paid. I travel and I do all
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that because what I went through we cant change. But you, the future of the United States, it is
very important that no human being should go through what I went through. The most important
things are what we cant buy for money. Family is precious. A lot of times we take things for granted and we dont realize. God gave us brains to use. Before you do something, think about what
comes after. Youre very young, its very easy, just
dont jump into things. Second of all, in school,
people bullying around because they dont like the
way somebody dresses, or they dont like the way
they look. The individual, we look different, we
dress different, we have different religions, different color, but we are all human beings. Nobody has
the right to criticize and make fun of anybody.
Thats the worst thing that a person could do. We
have to accept everybody for what they are and
respect each other and help each other. And hate, make sure because Im not going to be around,
make sure anybody who hates shouldnt waste their time. Stop hating, start caring and helping,
and treasure your family because you cant get them back. They would give me the whole world; I
would give up everything just to have my family. Educators and parents are the most important
people in your life. They are working hard to protect you. As you grow up, you should have a good
future.

Stop hating. Start caring

and helping, and treasure
your family because you
can t get them back.

But you know what? Im thinking back, I said when I was young, with what I know now; I would
do a lot of things different. Certain things come with age. I just want to bring in that people who
deny the Holocaust never happened, Im here as living proof. I went back to Auschwitz in 1994
because I took pictures. There is a school out of town in New Jersey, and I brought back the pictures to the teacher. The teacher took the pictures and put it on a PowerPoint. She said, Frida, I
dont want just my school to benefit, all of the schools that that you go to should benefit. My
power point is very powerful because I took pictures. People who deny
that the Holocaust never happened. Im standing right by the crematorium that they didnt destroy, and that was in Auschwitz, the place is
there. So somebody asked me, Why did you go to Auschwitz,
Birkenau? I said, Its a cemetery. I know exactly where they killed my
seven sisters, my brother, and my mother and father. Theyre not
buried there, but thats like a cemetery. When I die, you need to pass
this message on. My message is going to be around and I hope that
you and the school will work hard at all of the good things, like people should live in peace, terrorists and war shouldnt exist, and we shouldnt waste money. The money that we spend should be
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spent to feed people all over the world who are hungry, who dont have food. Because people who
have everything in their life, they cant understand what it means to be hungry like them. I just
want to bring in that because I dont have it written down and Im a little bit older, my brain just
doesnt function like it used to.
I want to say that in 1947 they took us to Haifa.
Haifa was a military camp in Palestine. They put us
in the military camp and every month they allowed
a certain amount of people going in to Palestine,
and I came in 1948 when there was another war,
bombs were falling it was terrible. But after a short
time, we had independence. So, we were happy
that we now had a state and that nobody could
take us from there, but it was a new country I got
married in Israel. Then I had a son, and he was
five years old when we left Israel, where he was
born. My husband said that we should live in the
United States, so we came here in 1955. I have a daughter who was born in the United States. Now,
my son is sixty and my daughter is fifty-four, and I have a granddaughter who is thirty. They are
the most precious things in the whole world. When I saw September 11th in the United States, I
saw myself at the crematorium, because it doesnt matter how many years, what they saw and what
they went through never goes away. I have the pictures when I talk to you, everything comes alive
and its not easy, like sometimes when you plug in the electricity. But its so important to me. I am
here as a miracle. I cant explain how I was a skeleton, a disease on the floor and now I am here
speaking, there is no other explanation. I am here as a miracle, and Im here for a reason, to work
hard to make a better future for the young people. I hope I accomplish that because I have thousands of letters from students I see how much people who were hating changed and dont hate
anymore and accept everybody. To me, thats priceless, so I feel good when I do that.
Yes we do have a couple follow up questions to ask if that would be all right.
You could go on the computer and type in Frida, and I have schools that I spoke to, some of them
are even in the paper, you could get some information from there too. Somebody sent the
PowerPoint to your principal so youll have that and then you could go on the Internet to hear
some speeches I spoke to schools. I speak in different schools; sometimes I speak to 500 people
and other times to just a small group. I got all 500 of the people standing up, I got a standing ovation. I speak to other small groups; churches, synagogues, it doesnt matter. I want to get the message across to everybody, especially people who hate, that they should change because people who
hate are not happy people. People who help other people, they will live longer and be happier peo-

i want to get the message

across to everybody, especially people who hate, that
they should change because
people who hate are not
happy people.

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ple.
Okay, what were the names of all of the camps that you were taken to?
Okay, I went to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Auschwitz and Birkenau are very close to each other and
are both important. The most burning was at Birkenau. At Auschwitz, they still have the crematorium that you will see in the PowerPoint. In
Birkenau, all of the crematoriums were destroyed
because they didnt want to leave and have people
see what they did.
What are your childrens and grandchildrens names?

in Birkenau, all of the crematoriums were destroyed

because they didn t want to
leave and have people see
what they did.

Hannah is my daughter. My daughter is named

after my husbands mother. I also have a son,
Maurice, and he is named after my father. My
granddaughters name is Stacy; I think it has to do
with her family, not my side. I go to New York and
talk with high schools. I speak for 9 years about
the war in the state of New York. I have a lifetime of achievement in colleges; I spoke last year in
college. The students and the professor got the PowerPoint and they loved it. They said it was very
powerful because Im right there on the picture and Im standing next to the oven, so when somebody said that it didnt exist, its not just the crematorium, its not just the date, Im standing right
there.
What happened to non-Jewish prisoners at the camps- for example political prisoners, prisoners of war,
gypsies, and homosexuals?
The Prisoners suffered a lot, they were tortured and killed. They did anything they wanted. When
the Red Cross came to visit, they closed everything up. They were very smart and had a plan.
Everything was planned. When we would know that we were going to be thrown in the oven and
burned, I would rather fight and die on the spot and not give them a chance to burn me. But we
didnt know. Now, the people who deny, now that the Germans were back, took a list of all of the
people they killed. They just opened it up in Germany and they gave it to the museum in
Washington. If anybody has a chance to go the Washington Holocaust museum, there is a lot to
see. I dont know how far you are from there but people come from all over and you can see or listen to a bunch of tapes. Theres just a lot to see.
Ok, we just wanted to say that you should be very proud that you are sending the message out all around to
schools and everything, and that is just really awesome.
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I do so because of the things I see. First of all, people bully around, in the schools. Years ago I didnt do it, but now what goes on. Its so sad that people do that to each other. When we look, each
one of us has a different face, different religion, we look different, and we do things different.
Then I want to go to school, and I want to dress up and not worry that people dont like what Im
wearing. Nobody has the right to criticize, but as individuals we have the right. First of all, God
gave us faces, we look different, we have different color, it doesnt matter. We have different religion but we should look at each other as human beings. Any places you see hate, dont turn
around and just ignore it.
When you see something going on and you dont think it right, let someone know that this person
needs help, and that this person is in trouble. Dont just, look away, and think why should I bother.
I go out of my way when I see something. You have to let people know so they can do something
to make things better.
You have family? You have sisters and brothers?
Yes. Treasure your family because a lot of things we dont realize we take for granted. We dont
realize it until we lose things that are so precious. A lot of times kids get angry at parents, my kids
too used to get angry. I said you can hate me as much as you want; Im trying to protect you thats
what parents do. Im trying to make sure that you grow up and you have a good future, thats what
teachers and parents do.
We want to thank you so much for taking time to do this interview with us, we really appreciated it.
Youre welcome. In case you have any questions or any student has any questions, feel free to call
me at anytime.
After the Holocaust ended, Frida moved to America and currently
lives in New Jersey. She has since then married, but her husband,
Herman, is deceased. She has two children, a daughter and a
son. She also has a daughter-in-law and one granddaughter. In
the 1990s, she decided to revisit concentration camps that she was
in. Horrible thoughts and memories came back to her. Two of
Firdas siblings survived the Holocaust as well. Her sister is still
alive, however, her brother recently deceased. Frida speaks at
schools, synogages, churches and other organizations. She shares
her experience of the Holocaust, hoping her story will impact others. She wishes that she will motivate others to stop hate and to
stop the spread of hate. She is inspiring others to make our world
a better place for everyone.
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