Auschwitz Survivors Succumb to COVID-19
In Memoriam
COVID-19 may have taken the lives of Auschwitz survivors Henri Kichka and Margit Buchhalter Feldman, but their legacy of survival, in the face of atrocities, will always live on.
September 2nd 2020 marks the anniversary of 75 years since the ending of World War II, and in commemoration I attempt to recreate the experiences of one family of Auschwitz-Birkenau victims. This story is told from the perspective of a survivor, who did me the great honour of sharing it with me before they passed.
Everyone out
Rachel wraps her blanket around her baby doll, Iris, and reaches for her mother’s hand. They are being ordered out of their home and into the street. Down three flights of well-worn dark oak steps they hurry, black cast iron railings keeping them safe in their panic. It seems that everyone in their apartment block has been ordered onto the street. The shouting is deafening to small ears, and four-year old Rachel’s tears drip onto Iris’ blanket.
