Brutal Nazi Torture of Jewish Girl & Her Revenge - Auschwitz & Bergen-Belsen - Dita Kraus - Part 1
Brutal Nazi Torture of Jewish Girl & Her Revenge - Auschwitz & Bergen-Belsen - Dita Kraus - Part 1
Brutal Nazi Torture of Jewish Girl \u0026 Her Revenge - Auschwitz \u0026 Bergen-Belsen - Dita Kraus - Part 1. Edith Polachová was born on the 12th of July 1929 in Prague, then Czechoslovakia. Edith was the only child of Elisabeth and who nicknamed her “ Dita”. Dita’s grandfather, Johann Polach, was a member of Social Democratic party and became a senator of Czechoslovak National Parliament. When on the 30th of January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany by the German President Paul von Hindenburg, Dita was only 3 years old. Things changed for the worse in Czechoslovakia in late summer 1938, when Adolf Hitler annexed the Sudetenland where ethnic German population of Czechoslovakia lived. This border area of Czechoslovakia also contained the Czechoslovak Army’s defensive positions in the event of a war with Germany. Dita’s parents started to think about emigration but very few countries accepted Jewish immigrants and emigration became even more difficult when on the 15th of March 1939, less than 6 months after the annexation of the Sudetenland, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the remaining Czech parts of Czechoslovakia establishing the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Immediately after the Nazis started to occupy the whole country, they passed new anti-Jewish laws which were designed to exclude Jewish people from society and restrict their livelihood. From November 1940, new laws, decrees, guidelines, and regulations increasingly restricted the civil and human rights of Jews in the protectorate. However, there was still an oasis of fun and hope in a desert of oppression, where Jewish children of Prague could meet - Hagibor. All was organized by Fredy Hirsch - a German-Jewish athlete, sports teacher, and Zionist youth movement leader. In November 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi architect of the Holocaust, established the Theresienstadt Ghetto which was located in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Dita along with her parents were deported to Theresienstadt in November 1942. When Dita and her parents arrived in the Ghetto, it was so overcrowded they had to sleep on the floor inside the ramparts. Conditions in the camp were harsh. Lack of water and electricity, overcrowding, bedbugs, fleas and lice, and above all no privacy. Men and women lived in separate barracks. They slept in three-tired wooden bunks. There were also several separate Homes for girls and boys. The prisoners spent their waking hours either at work, queuing for their meal, or on the bunk. All prisoners aged 14 to 60 or 65 had to work. Those who did not work, mostly the elderly people, received 60% less food than heavy laborers. The Ghetto was administered by the Jewish Elders, among them Fredy Hirsch, who was Head of the Children and Youth Department. On the 26th of October 1942, less than 48 hours after the arrival of the last transport from Theresienstadt to Treblinka, the SS dispatched the first transport to Auschwitz, carrying 1,866 persons. Upon arrival, SS officials selected 247 people, mostly men, to be registered as prisoners. The remaining 1,619 were killed in the gas chambers. In order to convince the German population that the deportees were bound for resettlement, most Jews from the German Reich itself were dispatched to the east by passenger trains. Jews in the German-occupied east fared far worse. German authorities generally did not give the deportees food or water, even when the journey was long. Packed into sealed cattle cars and suffering from overcrowding, they endured intense heat during the summer and freezing temperatures in the winter.
The Polachs were selected for deportation “ to the working camp in the East “ as they had been told, in December 1943. The transport was so overcrowded that man, women, children and elderly people could not sit and had to stand for about two days until they reached their destination - Auschwitz. Aside from a bucket, which was overflowing within a few hours, there was no sanitary facility. The stench of urine and excrement added to the humiliation and suffering of the deportees. Lacking food and water and proper ventilation, many of the deportees also died before the trains reached their destinations. Armed police guards accompanied the transport and they had orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape.
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Content
0.48 -> September 1938, Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler,
the chancellor of Germany, threatens to unleash
8.58 -> a European war unless the Sudetenland, a border
area of Czechoslovakia on which the ethnic German
13.92 -> population lives, is ceded to Germany. The leaders
of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany hold a
21.06 -> conference in Munich between the 29th and 30th of
September 1938 and agree to the German annexation
27.6 -> of the Sudetenland in exchange for a pledge of
peace from Hitler. The Czechoslovaks are not even
33.18 -> invited to this conference and less than 6 months
later on the 15th of March 1939, in violation of
39.9 -> the Munich Agreement, Nazi Germany invades and
occupies the Czech provinces of Bohemia and
45.54 -> Moravia. Adolf Hitler himself arrives in Prague
and on the 16th of March 1939, by a proclamation
52.8 -> from Prague Castle, establishes the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia. More than 118 000 Jews
59.7 -> living in the protectorate find themselves under
Nazi domination. One of them is Edith Polachová.
65.932 -> Edith Polachová was born on the 12th of July
1929 in Prague, then Czechoslovakia. Edith was
74.52 -> the only child of Elisabeth and Hanuš Polach
and who nicknamed her “ Dita”. The family,
79.14 -> who spoke both German and Czech, lived in a
rented apartment in Prague together with a maid.
84.24 -> While Dita’s mother Elisabeth was a housewife,
her father was a lawyer working for the State
89.76 -> pension institute. His work included traveling
to the courts in many cities of Czechoslovakia,
94.98 -> where he represented workers‘ interests.
Dita’s grandfather, Johann Polach,
99.42 -> was a member of Social Democratic party and became
a senator of Czechoslovak National Parliament.
104.7 -> Dita had a happy childhood.
She enjoyed going to school,
108.06 -> walking in the park as well
as playing with her friends.
111.84 -> When on the 30th of January 1933, Adolf Hitler
was appointed chancellor of Germany by the German
117.96 -> President Paul von Hindenburg, Dita was only
3 years old. The Nazi regime quickly began to
124.02 -> restrict the civil and human rights of the Jewish
people and less than 2 months after Hitler became
129.06 -> a chancellor, the first concentration camp
– Dachau – was established in March 1933.
134.82 -> Thousands of Jews fled from Germany. Among
them were friends of Dita’s parents who came
140.1 -> to Prague and told the Polachs about what was
happening to the Jews in Germany. Until then,
145.2 -> Dita did not know that she and her parents were
Jews as her family was secular and not religious.
151.14 -> Dita could see how worried her parents
became and she could often hear them
155.28 -> saying words such as “Nazism”, “Adolf Hitler
“, “ Persecution of Jews “ or the “ Nuremberg
160.68 -> Laws “ which became the legal basis for
the racist anti-Jewish policy in Germany.
164.88 -> Things changed for the worse in
Czechoslovakia in late summer 1938,
169.5 -> when Hitler annexed the Sudetenland where ethnic
German population of Czechoslovakia lived.
174.9 -> This border area of Czechoslovakia
also contained the Czechoslovak
178.68 -> Army's defensive positions in
the event of a war with Germany.
182.46 -> Dita’s parents started to think about
emigration as they feared that Adolf Hitler
186.66 -> was not interested only in the Sudetenland.
However, very few countries accepted Jewish
192 -> immigrants and emigration became even more
difficult when on the 15th of March 1939,
197.1 -> less than 6 months after the annexation
of the Sudetenland, Nazi Germany invaded
202.44 -> and occupied the remaining Czech parts of
Czechoslovakia establishing the Protectorate
207.18 -> of Bohemia and Moravia which by contrast to the
Sudetenland, consisted mostly of ethnic Czechs.
213.84 -> Immediately after the Nazis started to occupy the
whole country, they passed new anti-Jewish laws
219.12 -> which were designed to exclude Jewish people
from society and restrict their livelihood.
223.44 -> Their accounts were frozen, and they were
forbidden to sell companies and real estate
227.82 -> which were confiscated and taken over by the
Germans. In all, the Germans seized about a
233.64 -> half-billion dollars’ worth of Jewish property
in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
238.02 -> The Polachs were not an exception. 2 German
officers came to their home situated in
243.66 -> a modern building in Prague and ordered
them to move out. Another blow for Dita’s
248.34 -> family was when her father, a lawyer, was
dismissed from work as Jewish teachers,
253.14 -> lecturers, army officers and doctors
were dismissed from government jobs.
258.12 -> Dita’s life changed completely, too as the
Jews were banned from entering certain streets,
262.86 -> squares, parks, woods and other public places.
266.28 -> From the 1st of September 1939
when the Second World War began,
271.32 -> the Jews were not allowed to stay outdoors
after eight o'clock in the evening.
274.98 -> From August 1940 onwards, Jewish children were
banned from attending public and private schools.
281.46 -> Because Jewish parents wanted their children
to continue studying, they created private
286.2 -> study groups of 5 -7 children, who were
taught clandestinely by a Jewish teacher.
290.64 -> Since being evicted from their home, the Polachs
lived in one room of a two-room apartment,
295.74 -> which they had to share with another family.
297.72 -> From November 1940, new laws, decrees, guidelines,
302.82 -> and regulations increasingly restricted the civil
and human rights of Jews in the protectorate.
307.86 -> Jews were not allowed to leave their
municipalities, even temporarily, without
312.36 -> special permission. They were not allowed to visit
libraries, theatres and cinemas, pubs or cafés,
318.3 -> swimming pools, and other sporting
and entertainment facilities.
321.9 -> Jews had their radio sets taken away
and were not allowed to keep pets.
326.46 -> When travelling by city public transport or
trains, they were confined to standing in the
331.44 -> last carriage. The Jews were even limited
in their choice of food and shopping times
335.64 -> for them were limited to two hours twice
a day and later two hours once per day.
341.04 -> However, there was still an oasis of
fun and hope in a desert of oppression,
345.42 -> where Jewish children of
Prague could meet - Hagibor.
349.14 -> It was a playground which consisted
of tennis courts, volleyball courts
353.22 -> or running track where Jewish children could
play games and participate in competitions.
358.38 -> All was organized by Fredy Hirsch - a
German-Jewish athlete, sports teacher, and Zionist
363.78 -> youth movement leader. Because by the time that
Hagibor was functioning the Nazis had forbidden
368.82 -> the Jews from travelling by public transport,
Dita had to walk for an hour to Hagibor and back.
374.28 -> The systematic deportation of Jews from the
territory of the Protectorate started in October
379.62 -> 1941 with the transports to the Lodz Ghetto which
was located in German-occupied Poland. By the
386.16 -> 3rd of November the same year, 5000 Jews were
deported to the ghetto. One of them was Dita’s
391.92 -> beloved uncle Ludwig. Soon after his deportation,
the family received a card announcing his death.
398.28 -> Only 277 out of 5000 Jews deported
to the Lodz Ghetto survived.
403.92 -> Uncle Ludwig’s widow, aunt Máňa, who was not a
Jew, did not obey the law forbidding non-Jews to
410.22 -> have contact with Jews and kept helping Dita and
her parents, bringing food and other necessities.
415.68 -> In November 1941, Reinhard Heydrich,
the Nazi architect of the Holocaust,
421.14 -> established the Theresienstadt Ghetto which
was located in the fortress town of Terezín,
426.24 -> in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
The first transport of Czech Jews arrived in
431.88 -> the same month. At that time Dita’s father was
employed as a clerk in one of the departments
437.46 -> of the Jewish Community Center. Another
department had the task, ordered by the Nazis,
442.08 -> to make up lists of people to be deported. Thanks
to Dita‘s father’s job, their own deportation
447.78 -> was delayed for a few months. However, their
grandparents were deported to Theresienstadt
453.06 -> in July 1942. Dita along with her parents
followed them in November the same year.
458.76 -> Because the Nazis had taken everything from
them, the Polachs came to Theresienstadt with
464.16 -> some clothes, a blanket, a pillow, metal
dishes and some non-perishable food.
469.14 -> When Dita and her parents arrived in the Ghetto,
it was so overcrowded they had to sleep on
474.9 -> the floor inside the ramparts. Grandmother
Polach found them there. She had sad news,
480.36 -> the grandfather Johann Polach had
passed away only 3 weeks before.
485.04 -> Conditions in the camp were harsh. Lack
of water and electricity, overcrowding,
490.26 -> bedbugs, fleas and lice, and above all no privacy.
494.34 -> Food was distributed to all the inmates from
the central kitchens. It consisted of a portion
499.68 -> of soup, usually made of lentil powder, and some
potatoes or a dumpling. Never fruit or vegetables.
505.44 -> A quarter loaf of bread for two days and a
spoonful of jam were distributed in the rooms.
510.84 -> The prisoners were hungry, many were sick. 200
inmates were dying daily, diseases were rampant.
518.4 -> Men and women lived in separate
barracks. They slept in three-tired
522.24 -> wooden bunks. There were also several
separate Homes for girls and boys. In
526.44 -> their rooms there were usually a table
and a bench in addition to the bunks.
530.7 -> The prisoners spent their waking hours
either at work, queuing for their meal,
534.96 -> or on the bunk. All prisoners aged 14 to 60 or 65
had to work. Most were involved in war production
542.16 -> for Germany or in the vegetable gardens. However,
the vegetables they produced were not for the
546.9 -> prisoners but for the Nazi personnel. Dita was
one of those that worked in vegetable gardens.
552.78 -> Those who did not work, mostly the elderly people,
received 60% less food than heavy laborers.
558.84 -> 92% of deaths were among those over sixty,
and almost all elderly prisoners who were
564.96 -> not deported to other extermination camps
such as Auschwitz, died at Theresienstadt.
570.3 -> Younger people did not face starvation,
although many lost weight and were often sick.
576.18 -> The Ghetto was administered by the
Jewish Elders, among them Fredy Hirsch,
581.04 -> who was Head of the Children and Youth Department.
His intention was to keep the children somewhat
585.96 -> insulated from the harsh conditions in the
ghetto, so that they would not „succumb
589.86 -> to demoralization”. It was he who managed to
find for them better housing in the so-called
595.08 -> Heims. Although education was forbidden, the
prisoners, many of them former professors,
600.12 -> scientists and artists, continued to
clandestinely teach the children in the Heims.
605.16 -> While in the beginning, Theresienstadt served
as a ghetto for the Czech Jews, in June 1942 the
611.16 -> first German and Austrian Jews arrived. Dutch and
Danish Jews came later in the beginning of 1943.
617.58 -> On the 26th of October 1942, less than
48 hours after the arrival of the last
623.64 -> transport from Theresienstadt to Treblinka, the
SS dispatched the first transport to Auschwitz,
628.86 -> carrying 1,866 persons. Upon arrival, SS
officials selected 247 people, mostly men,
637.38 -> to be registered as prisoners. The remaining
1,619 were killed in the gas chambers.
644.22 -> In order to convince the German population
that the deportees were bound for resettlement,
648.66 -> most Jews from the German Reich itself were
dispatched to the east by passenger trains.
653.46 -> Jews in the German-occupied east fared far worse.
German authorities generally did not give the
659.76 -> deportees food or water, even when the journey
was long. The hapless victims had to wait for
665.1 -> days on railroad spurs for other trains to pass.
Packed into sealed cattle cars and suffering from
670.98 -> overcrowding, they endured intense heat during the
summer and freezing temperatures in the winter.
676.56 -> The Polachs were selected for deportation “ to the
working camp in the East “ as they had been told,
681.54 -> in December 1943. The transport was so overcrowded
that man, women, children and elderly people could
689.52 -> not sit and had to stand for about two days until
they reached their destination - Auschwitz. Aside
696.06 -> from a bucket, which was overflowing within
a few hours, there was no sanitary facility.
701.46 -> The stench of urine and excrement added
to the humiliation and suffering of the
705.96 -> deportees. Lacking food and
water and proper ventilation,
709.68 -> many of the deportees also died before the
trains reached their destinations. Armed
715.38 -> police guards accompanied the transport and they
had orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape.
721.08 -> When they reached Auschwitz, they did
not know that the worst was yet to come.
733.86 -> thanks for watching the World History
Channel please help us to create more
739.26 -> videos by clicking on the donation link thank
you and see you next time on the channel
