Kestenberg Archive

SS was born in Zawalow, Poland in 1931, to a religious family. SS had one younger sister. After the area was conquered by the Germans in 1941, SS's home was attacked by Ukrainian villagers. During the attack SS's head was cracked open. SS began to suffer from headaches 10-15 years later, which she assumes was caused by this injury. SS and her family moved into the ghetto in Podhajce. When the men of the ghetto were ordered to bury the dead after an aktion, SS and her mother disguised themselves as men and escaped to the forest, where they hid in a bunker that her father had constructed. They were later joined by others, until 23 people were hiding in the bunker. An attempt to bring SS's sister and grandparents out of the ghetto failed. SS and the others were helped a Ukrainian friend of her father's and his son who brought them food and with whom SS is still in contact. When the hiding place was discovered by hunters they were forced to move on. Their only source of food became wild mushrooms, which for SS remain a symbol of survival. In total SS spent one year underground. In 1944, as the Russians approached, SS and the others crossed into the Russian zone, travelling to Stanislav. With the Russian advance the family returned to Podhajce. Later they illegally crossed the border into Czechoslovakia and advanced to Linz by train. They lived in the Bindermichel DP camp, where SS learned Hebrew and Yiddish. There she made friends with whom she is still close today. Although SS and her father wanted to go to Israel, they eventually joined her mother's relatives in America. ; SS' baby sister was born in America when SS was 15 years old. SS did not finish high school but started to work and took evening classes. She then married and has one son and one daughter. Both of SS's children are interested in her past but she does not talk to them about it very much. SS feels that she has blocked out many of her pre-war memories. She saves things and keeps stocks of food. She also has nightmares of being of chased and suffers from headaches when nervous. SS tried to compensate for what she had lost in raising her children. She is healthy and feels lucky to be alive. She remains very close to her mother, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.