Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center
Survivor Testimonies
Henri Suyderhoud
Henri Suyderhoud was born in 1930 on the island of Borneo in the Dutch colony of Indonesia. Both his parents were Dutch citizens. His mother was a Protestant and his father was a Freemason. Henri’s […]
Read MoreHenny Porter
Henny was born in 1926 in Stuttgart, Germany to Rose and Morris Katz. Before the war, Henny had a happy childhood. Hitler’s rise to power changed everything. In 1933 laws and restrictions against Jews set […]
Read MoreHella Wartski
Date of Birth: 1929 Hella Wartski and her family were arrested by the Hungarian and German soldiers in April of 1944 in her hometown of Uzshorod, Hungary. They were then sent on a terrifying transport […]
Read MoreHeinz Wartski
Date of Birth: 1929 Heinz Wartski grew up in Danzig with his parents and two siblings. In the 1930’s, the Nazis gained control of the Danzig government and systematically targeted the Jewish people. “We were […]
Read MoreGerda Friedman
Gerda Friedman was born in Muenster, Germany in 1914 to the Waideck family. Her father, a World War I veteran, was a prosperous businessman and patriotic German. Prior to Hitler’s rise to power, she experienced […]
Read MoreFred Flatau
Fred Flatau was born in Berlin in 1931 to an affluent Jewish family. His family was very assimilated and not religious. His father was an entertainment lawyer who fought for Germany in World War I. During […]
Read MoreFani Weingarten
Fani was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia. She was the only child of David and Rachel Davidowitz. In 1943, Fani’s family was moved to the ghetto in Brno. She was there for 2 ½ months before […]
Read MoreErna Rosner
Erna Rosner was born in 1935 into a conservative Jewish family in Krakow, Poland as Erna Zuckerman. In 1939 the Germans occupied Krakow. Almost immediately, the persecution of the Jews began. For the first time […]
Read MoreEric Pachner
Eric Pachner was born in 1928 in Vienna, Austria. His, mother Elsa, and father, Robert both lacked a high school education, but they had a comfortable, middle class life. His family was not very religious, […]
Read MoreElena Rosner
Elena was born in Pisa, Italy in 1924. Elena was from a Jewish family. She had two sisters and a brother. After attending public school in Pisa, Elena and her family moved to Rome when […]
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