Memories of a Former Inmate
Object numberM2012/043:027
TitleMemories of a Former Inmate
DescriptionHandwritten testimony by Holocaust Survivor Olga Horak recorded in Sydney in 1981. It is written in memory of her parents and sister and is dedicated to her special friend, nurse Muriel Knox Doherty. Olga writes about the deportation of her sister and the effect on the family, the family’s betrayal and arrival at Auschwitz, life in the camps as a slave labourer. Titled: Memories of a former inmate Gross Rosen, Auschwitz, Kurzbach and Bergen Belsen 1942-1945.
It begins, “I carefully apply my eye make-up every morning. Nobody should ever see sadness or sorrow in my eyes. Still – life goes on yet I cannot help but think about the past, the dark, black years…”
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Aged 17 when deported to Sered. From there deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Kurzbach and Gross Rosen. She was on the Death march to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. In 1942, Olga’s older sister, Judith, was rounded up with other 16-year-old Jewish children and transported to Auschwitz. Olga never saw her again. Fearing for their younger daughter, the family crossed the border illegally into Hungary, but finding the situation there just as precarious, they returned to Bratislava. Soon after, they were hidden, denounced, and transported to Auschwitz. Her father and grandmother were taken directly to the gas chambers. Olga and her mother survived to see Bergen-Belsen’s liberation in April 1945. Inmates were required to register for an ID card, but for Olga’s mother, it was too late. Waiting in the queue, she collapsed and died. Olga was taken to a German hospital to recuperate; she weighed 29 kilos. Two years later, Olga met her future husband, John Horak, in Bratislava, and the couple eventually obtained landing permits for Australia. Arriving in September 1949, they established a manufacturing business, Hibodress, and had two children. She received an OAM in 2014 for service to community.
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in August 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to Hugo and Piroschka Rosenberger. She was 17 when first deported to Sered, then Auschwitz- Birkenau, Kurzbach, Gross Rosen and Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. She immigrated to Australia in 1949. Olga received an OAM in 2014 for service to her community.
Olga witnessed the Nazi Regime turn Czechoslovakia into a 'puppet republic'. The government agreed to laws that restricted the lives of Jews. They weren't allowed to go to school, be out after dark, go to the movies or sit on a park bench.
In 1942, Olga's sister Judith was taken in a roundup of 16-year-old Jewish boys and girls to Auschwitz. She never saw her sister again. Out of fear, her parents made plans to escape; they illegally crossed the border into Hungary, but Budapest wasn't easy because they didn't have papers or a home. When bombings began in 1944, Olga and her parents couldn't take refuge in the shelters without being caught. They returned to Bratislava, crossing illegally over the border again.
Back home, Olga's family had false papers. But a cousin was found out and these documents were no longer secure. The family went into hiding with the help of a family friend, but the same friend denounced them two weeks later. The family was taken to a collection camp in Sered before being put in cattle cars to Auschwitz. During the selection process, her father, grandmother, aunts and cousins were taken away and murdered. Olga and her mother were stripped, shaven, registered, and sent to Germany into a camp where they had to carry logs and dig trenches. One morning, the women were evacuated on a Death March, walking through the snow until reaching Gross Rosen. After three days, they marched again until they arrived in Dresden, eventually ending up in Bergen-Belsen. On 15 April 1945, they were liberated by British and Canadian troops. Inmates were registered as survivors, but just as her mother received her card, she collapsed and died. A day that was supposed to be celebratory turned out to be one of the saddest of Olga's life.
Olga was taken to a German hospital where she was left to die. A Catholic Padre from the British Army came to give her last rites. Instead she asked for a Rabbi who arranged for her to be returned back to the sick bay at the camp. She stayed there until late August and was then transported to a hospital in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, weighing 29 kilos. She was placed next to a Catholic woman named Bozena. When Olga was discharged, Bozena took her home with her. Soon, Olga found distant relatives in Bratislava who survived and she lived with them for two years before she met her husband, John Horak, a survivor who had trained as a textile engineer in Brno.
They were determined to leave Czechoslovakia. Eventually they got a tourist visa for Switzerland and then landing permits for Australia. They arrived on the TSS Cyrenia on 16 September 1949 where they established a business manufacturing blouses, Hibodress, within two weeks after arriving.
It begins, “I carefully apply my eye make-up every morning. Nobody should ever see sadness or sorrow in my eyes. Still – life goes on yet I cannot help but think about the past, the dark, black years…”
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Aged 17 when deported to Sered. From there deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Kurzbach and Gross Rosen. She was on the Death march to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. In 1942, Olga’s older sister, Judith, was rounded up with other 16-year-old Jewish children and transported to Auschwitz. Olga never saw her again. Fearing for their younger daughter, the family crossed the border illegally into Hungary, but finding the situation there just as precarious, they returned to Bratislava. Soon after, they were hidden, denounced, and transported to Auschwitz. Her father and grandmother were taken directly to the gas chambers. Olga and her mother survived to see Bergen-Belsen’s liberation in April 1945. Inmates were required to register for an ID card, but for Olga’s mother, it was too late. Waiting in the queue, she collapsed and died. Olga was taken to a German hospital to recuperate; she weighed 29 kilos. Two years later, Olga met her future husband, John Horak, in Bratislava, and the couple eventually obtained landing permits for Australia. Arriving in September 1949, they established a manufacturing business, Hibodress, and had two children. She received an OAM in 2014 for service to community.
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in August 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to Hugo and Piroschka Rosenberger. She was 17 when first deported to Sered, then Auschwitz- Birkenau, Kurzbach, Gross Rosen and Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. She immigrated to Australia in 1949. Olga received an OAM in 2014 for service to her community.
Olga witnessed the Nazi Regime turn Czechoslovakia into a 'puppet republic'. The government agreed to laws that restricted the lives of Jews. They weren't allowed to go to school, be out after dark, go to the movies or sit on a park bench.
In 1942, Olga's sister Judith was taken in a roundup of 16-year-old Jewish boys and girls to Auschwitz. She never saw her sister again. Out of fear, her parents made plans to escape; they illegally crossed the border into Hungary, but Budapest wasn't easy because they didn't have papers or a home. When bombings began in 1944, Olga and her parents couldn't take refuge in the shelters without being caught. They returned to Bratislava, crossing illegally over the border again.
Back home, Olga's family had false papers. But a cousin was found out and these documents were no longer secure. The family went into hiding with the help of a family friend, but the same friend denounced them two weeks later. The family was taken to a collection camp in Sered before being put in cattle cars to Auschwitz. During the selection process, her father, grandmother, aunts and cousins were taken away and murdered. Olga and her mother were stripped, shaven, registered, and sent to Germany into a camp where they had to carry logs and dig trenches. One morning, the women were evacuated on a Death March, walking through the snow until reaching Gross Rosen. After three days, they marched again until they arrived in Dresden, eventually ending up in Bergen-Belsen. On 15 April 1945, they were liberated by British and Canadian troops. Inmates were registered as survivors, but just as her mother received her card, she collapsed and died. A day that was supposed to be celebratory turned out to be one of the saddest of Olga's life.
Olga was taken to a German hospital where she was left to die. A Catholic Padre from the British Army came to give her last rites. Instead she asked for a Rabbi who arranged for her to be returned back to the sick bay at the camp. She stayed there until late August and was then transported to a hospital in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, weighing 29 kilos. She was placed next to a Catholic woman named Bozena. When Olga was discharged, Bozena took her home with her. Soon, Olga found distant relatives in Bratislava who survived and she lived with them for two years before she met her husband, John Horak, a survivor who had trained as a textile engineer in Brno.
They were determined to leave Czechoslovakia. Eventually they got a tourist visa for Switzerland and then landing permits for Australia. They arrived on the TSS Cyrenia on 16 September 1949 where they established a business manufacturing blouses, Hibodress, within two weeks after arriving.
Subjectcommunication activities, liberation, memoirs, survivors
Object nametestimonies
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- length: 185.00 mm
width: 165.00 mm
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Olga Horak