LEARN & REMEMBER ISOLATION
LOSS
Jewish women and children walk towards the gas chambers after being selected for death in May of 1944.
Victims of the Holocaust experienced ever increasing loss while living under Nazi control.
After suffering the loss of their rights and property, many then suffered the loss of family members to the harsh conditions of ghetto life. Overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, disease, and limited food and medical services killed thousands in the ghettos. While Jewish leaders attempted to provide a sense of community, this proved difficult as the Nazis continued to target Jews for persecution. This loss of community further isolated and demoralized the victims.
As the war continued, the Nazis began to liquidate ghettos throughout Europe, sending the occupants to killing centers in Poland. Those who survived the ghettos and transport were sorted at arrival, men from women, and then further into those who could work and those to be killed immediately. The Nazis deceived their victims into thinking that they would be reunited after the selection and a “shower.” The survivors did not realize until later, sometimes being told by prisoners already in the camp, that they would never see their loved ones again.
(pictured right) Original boxcar used for transports during the Holocaust. Upwards of 100 people were forced into these boxcars as they were deported
to work and concentration camps. Many would not survive the journey which could take days.
Selections taking place at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The victim’s feelings of loss were compounded by isolation.
Those in the camps were unable to mourn the loss of friends and families, as any sign of weakness in the camps was a death sentence.
Depression was common, but those who survived quickly learned to bottle up their emotions.
Jacob (Jack) Hirsh Wysoki
Jack and the others were led off the train and lined up. The Germans asked for carpenters. Jack stepped forward. His father was assigned to get water for the camp from a big water tank pulled by a tractor. The driver deliberately sped up while Jack’s father was walking in front of the tractor and ran over him. After learning of his father’s death, Jack retrieved his father’s body and got permission to bury him. He placed a rock over the grave and visited it often while he was in the camp. Jack was now alone.
Anna Rado
When Anna and her family arrived at the concentration camp, her parents were separated from her and her sister. Her father was sent off immediately, and there was no chance to say goodbye. When the girls and their mother stood before the German officer who would decide their fate, Anna and Susanne physically supported their mother. She was weak and debilitated by the long and difficult train ride. Although she was still young, their mother was pulled out of their hands and, like their father, sent to her death.
Ruth Fuks Reif
In June 1944, the Lodz ghetto was liquidated. Ruth, her mother, and sister were taken in a cattle car train to Auschwitz. They immediately went through a selection process. Ruth’s mother and sister were taken to the gas chambers. Her mother screamed out for her. Ruth did not find out what happened to them until later.
David Scharff
When David arrived at Auschwitz, he received a uniform and was tattooed #140635. He was no longer a person but a number. The Nazis did not use names. They called out numbers for work assignments, for punishment, and for selection to the gas chambers. Shortly after arrival he was sent to a labor camp nearby. That was the last time he saw any of his family.
Young women chosen for forced labor at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Women from Subcarpathian Rus who were selected for forced labor at Auschwitz-Birkenau. These women have had their heads shaved and have gone through disinfection. The shaved hair would be used to help the war effort by being sold to German companies at 20 pfennig per kilogram.
Jews who were chosen for forced labor at Auschwitz-Birkenau were marched to another sector of the camp. Personal property of the prisoners can be seen in the background. Those who were deported from the ghetto were unaware of where they were headed and brought along personal items. Once the trains arrived at the death camps, their possessions would be abandoned in the boxcars and retrieved later by prisoners.
In this video, survivors Rose Williams and George Fodor discuss the loss of some of their family members.
Learn more about the psychological effects of loss from our partners at Jewish Family Services.
Was there ever a time that you were not able to grieve or express how you felt?
Exhibit Panels Navigation | Introduction // Intimidation // Exclusion // Separation // Loss // Survival // Aftermath
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