Dr. Bella Guterman

Jews in the Service of Organisation Todt in the Occupied Soviet Territories, October 1941– March 1942

The sealed cars of German trains have become a hair-raising symbol of the Holocaust era. The clattering of their wheels still reverberates in survivors’ ears, and the sight of sealed freight cars speeding toward the extermination camps in the East remains engraved in the collective memory. However, German trains were also among the main causes in the difficulties involved in conducting Operation Barbarossa. And, much to their misfortune, a small group of young Jews became involved in attempts... Continue reading

Holocaust Survivors in Israel: 60 Years Since the Establishment of the State

“I came to Israel on the Tel Chai. We were caught and sent to the Atlit detention camp. Because of my young age - 17 - I was released… I decided to join the Palmach… In March 1948, when Jerusalem was beseiged, my company was sent to join up with the city. We passed Sha’ar Hagai and managed to make it to Ma’ale Hahamisha without being attacked… I remember the battle on Har Adar as one of the fiercest. We bonded under fire…”So related Holocaust... Continue reading

Bearing Witness

“There is much talk about keeping a journal. Everyone believes there is a great deal that needs to be documented, things that don’t happen in normal life... I sometimes want to take a pencil and do something with it, record some of what lies in the depths of my heart, a relentless force deep within my soul which lays beneath my consciousness.” Extract from a diary by a young female prisoner in a forced labor camp during WWII Long before liberation, the Jews who experienced the Holocaust... Continue reading