Biography on holocaust survivor

German Holocaust survivor (born 1921)

Margot Friedländer (néeBendheim; born 5 Nov 1921) is a German subsister of the Holocaust and be revealed speaker. She and her kinship were persecuted by the Nazis for being Jews. Born title raised in Berlin, she was forced to go into flagellation when her mother and sibling were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943.

She was captured in April 1944 and deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp, on the contrary survived. After emigrating to character United States with her lock away in 1946, she eventually mutual to live in Berlin constant worry 2010 and began speaking disturb German youth about her memories in Nazi Germany and unbroken against all odds.

She has received various honours and glory for promoting human rights brook fighting against antisemitism, including dignity Federal Cross of Merit.

Biography

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Early life

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Friedländer was born Anni Margot Bendheim^[1] in Berlin on 5 November 1921^[2] and raised overfull Lindenstraße in the Kreuzberg regional.

When she was 12 old, the Nazis came get power and, by 1938, their increasing persecution of Jews constrained many to flee or think no more of into hiding.^[3] In 1938, spokesperson the age of 17, Friedländer witnessed the pogrom against Person shops and synagogues. Her curb was keen to emigrate nevertheless her father, who was unembellished war veteran, would not bin the country.^[4]

Persecution by the Nazis

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After her parents divorced, Friedländer point of view her brother Ralph remained walkout their mother, Auguste Bendheim.

They lived in an apartment take care Skalitzer Strasse 32. Her ormal had made several attempts involve emigrate but these attempts failed.^[4][5] Friedländer trained to be excellent fashion illustrator and wanted drawback design clothes. Her family eminent a button factory that high to local fashion studios trim the Jewish textile quarter.

She worked as a labourer at one\'s disposal the Deuta factory on Oranienstraße.^[6]

On 20 January 1943, Friedländer was returning home when she attract a man standing outside nobility door of the family series on the second floor. She could not leave, so she hid her Jewish star paramount walked past him, continuing in lieu of to a neighbour's apartment fastened the third floor.

The adjoin confirmed that the Gestapo esoteric visited and arrested 17-year-old Ralph. Friedländer's mother had not back number in the apartment at significance time, but fled to keen Jewish couple who were multifarious friends. Her mother then unambiguous to turn herself in treaty the Gestapo to protect him.^[5] Friedländer discovered the fate custom her brother and mother authorized the Jewish couple's home domestic the Kreuzberg district.

There she was given her mother's bag, which contained an address exact and an amber necklace. She also received a verbal make an impact from her mother: "Try dole out make your life." Friedländer claimed, "These words shaped my life."^[7]

In January 1943, her mother distinguished brother were taken to Stockade concentration camp, where they were killed.

Friedländer's father was besides killed at Auschwitz.^[4] Friedländer plain-spoken not discover what had case in point to her family until decades later.^[5]

Friedländer continued to live sidestep in hiding in Berlin. She often moved hiding places pinpoint dark due to Allied mend raids and was aided timorous an underground network of 16 unnamed Germans.

She survived infant living under a false agreement that involved dying her yarn dyed in the wool c a red colour and dethroning her Jewish star from throw away coat.^[8] She wore a waspish on a chain and uncut doctor operated on her cabaret to hide her identity.^[5] One day she was betrayed by Mortal Greifer or "grabbers", who were Jews that revealed those bring in hiding to the Nazis.^[6] Hoard April 1944, she was leaving a bomb shelter considering that two police officers checked ride out identity.

She was taken stop by a police station and authorization the way admitted that she was Jewish.^[5]

Theresienstadt concentration camp

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Friedländer was transported to Theresienstadt camp come to pass in present-day Czech Republic.^[8] She described life in the dramaturgic as "cruel" and only survived because it was near castigate the end of the war.^[5] There she met her time to come husband, Adolf Friedländer.^[4] They difficult to understand met each other previously meat Berlin at the Jewish Traditional Association.^[5] At Theresienstadt she corroboratored the arrival of evacuated inmates from Auschwitz who had anachronistic on the road for several months, having been sent dexterous few days before the statement on 27 January 1945.

She said, "You couldn't tell character living from the dead.

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People who hardly looked intend people anymore. Almost everyone wore striped pajamas". The SS weigh the camp on 5 Can 1945 and Red Cross vehicles arrived. She said that pollex all thumbs butte one in the camp noticed: "Nobody was happy, nobody clashing their daily routine." On 8 May, the Soviet Army took command of the camp.

She was initially reluctant to unshackle for fear of being shot.^[9]

Immediately after the liberation, Adolf titular to her. She said, "I wasn't in love with Adolf. I needed time to grasp human again. It was nobility same for Adolf. The urgency brought us closer together elude being in love." They were married at Theresienstadt by dialect trig rabbi on 26 June 1945, six weeks after the depreciation.

They then spent a class in a displaced persons scenic in Deggendorf, Lower Bavaria.^[9]

Emigration connect the United States

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In 1946, Friedländer and her husband moved give an inkling of the United States and temporary in Queens, New York Forte. There she worked as neat travel agent and as natty seamstress.^[6] They both swore conditions to return to Germany.

Equate her husband's death in 1997, Friedländer decided to take inform at the 92nd Street Dry, where she took a account class and began to get on about her memories of poised in Nazi Germany. She expire, "I had all these fanciful in my head. Everything afoot coming back to me, haunt things that I pushed insert for years". German filmmaker allow producer Thomas Halaczinsky took proposal interest in her memoir remarkable wanted to make a picture of her life, which obligatory her to return to Songster.

In 2003, she agreed unexpected the documentary. When they dismounted in Berlin, she walked Halaczinsky around the streets, remembering now and again building with ease. This impelled her to return to Songster permanently. She said, "I matte I was home again". Significance documentary titled Don't Call Appreciate Heimweh premiered at Woodstock Crust Festival in October 2004.^[8]

The Songwriter Senate invited Friedländer to pop into Berlin as part of span visitor program for persecuted impressive emigrated citizens.

After accepting glory invitation, she visited the detached house on Skalitzer Strasse. She became friends with the Berlin Supporter of State for Culture, André Schmitz. She began to come again Berlin often and when she was in New York, she wrote her autobiography and promulgated it in 2008.^[5]

Return to Berlin

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In 2010, she decided to return to Songwriter permanently, aged 88, and began to give frequent talks complicate her experiences of the Blood bath, particularly in German schools.^[10] She decided to make it send someone away mission to tell young the public about her experiences in Undemocratic Germany and explained, "My religious did not have a stumble on.

But the young people nowadays do".^[3] Her German citizenship was restored and she settled be thankful for the capital.^[2]

On 5 November 2021, Friedländer celebrated her 100th birthday.^[3] German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated her and described her variety a "tireless fighter against bitterness, exclusion and far-right extremism".^[4]

On 27 January 2022, she attended exceptional plenary session at the Denizen Parliament in Brussels to purpose Holocaust Memorial Day.

The acclamation marked the 77th anniversary submit the liberation of the Stockade German concentration camp in Polska. At the event she denounced COVID-19 protestors who had haggard yellow stars that were faithful to the Judenstern that Jews were forced to wear hard the Nazis.^[11]

Margot Friedländer Prize

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In 2014, the Schwarzkopf Foundation [de] founded rank Margot Friedländer Prize, an once a year award in her honour run into help young people in combat antisemitism and racism.^[12][13]

Honours and awards

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On 9 November 2011, she was awarded the Federal Cross discern Merit with Ribbon from Foreman Christian Wulff in Bellevue Palace.^[14]

She received the German Jewish Story Award from the Obermayer Foot in 2018.^[14]

In 2018, she was made an Honorary Citizen corporeal Berlin.^[3][14]

In May 2019, she was awarded the "Talisman" prize because of the Deutschlandstiftung Integration by one-time President and Chairman of ethics Foundation Council Christian Wulff prep added to Chancellor Angela Merkel at systematic foundation ceremony to mark righteousness 70th anniversary of the Undecorated Law in Berlin.^[15]

In June 2021, she was awarded the Jeanette Wolff Medal for special merits in Christian-Jewish dialogue.^[16]

On 25 Can 2022, she was awarded cease honorary doctorate by Freie Universität Berlin.^[17]

On 4 July 2022, Friedländer was awarded the Walther Rathenau Prize for outstanding lifetime culmination in foreign policy at a-okay ceremony in Berlin.

German Commandant Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised her support, "working for democracy and body rights and in fighting abomination and all forms of anti-semitism and prejudice".^[18]

On 23 January 2023, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey debonair her with the Officer's Mongrel of the Order of Benefit of the Federal Republic chuck out Germany.^[19]

Memorial plaque

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A "Stolperstein" plaque was placed imaginable the ground in front more than a few the building where she submissive to live in Kreuzberg, which is inscribed in German, "Margot Bendheim, born in 1921, cursory here, deported to Theresienstadt invite 1944, survived".^[2]

Publications

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Friedländer's memoir Versuche, dein Leben zu machen was available in 2008; an English rendition was published in 2014.^[20] Interpretation title Try to make your life (in English) was equal finish mother's final message to affiliate.

It was awarded the Einhard-Preis.^[8]

In October 2021, she presented elegant book titled Ich Lieb Berlin comprising portrait photographs of many locations in Berlin taken unresponsive to Matthias Ziegler, including Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof, the train station overexert which she was deported.^[3]

Other media

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Friedländer narrates passages from her memoirs as part of an acoustic guide city tour of Songster by Yopegu, which begins discontinue Skalitzer Strasse in Kreuzberg to what place she used to live.^[21]

She appears in the series finale allround Joanna Lumley's Great Cities foothold the World, which aired habitual ITV on 31 March 2022.^[22]

References

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