Object numberM2012/043:028
DescriptionLetter written by Olga Rosenberger when she arrived back in Bratislava from Bergen-Belsen, to her family in Tel Aviv, 20 November 1945. She writes that she is anxious for letters and that she has written them often. Things are very difficult for her being alone and she is surviving on money provided by the Joint Distribution Committee. She writes about the plans of her cousin Tomy. She intends to go to her grandmothers property and is disappointed that no laws have been enacted to reclaim her family’s possessions. She visited the cemetery with her Aunt Frida to visit grandpa’s grave, "... and prayed for my parents and also for a better future. I hope that the almighty will listen to my prayers and help me."
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.
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.
Production placeBratislava, Slovakia
Production date 1945-11-20
Subjectcommunication activities, liberation, survivors, post-liberation recovery, postwar family interactions
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- length: 185.00 mm
width: 160.00 mm
Language
- German Bratislava November 1945
Dearest aunt Irene, uncle Karl and children,
I’m very impatient because I expect a letter from you but in vain. I’ve written often to you but have not received a reply until now. Only two letters arrived from you. I am very anxious to see you and would love to be with you soon but I can’t imagine how difficult it is. Because I have been on my own I am in a very difficult situation. In many things I’m not well informed. The properties and the land is not yet being returned to the owners and no law has been enacted accordingly. The tenants and people living there pay dues to the government and the people in charge of the assets get paid 1000 crown. It is not enough to live on. I myself get a monthly 500-800 crowns repatriation support from the American Joint. Today I had to undergo a medical examination and have it certified that I am unable to work because those who work are not eligible for the Joint payment. Tomy (cousin) plans different things regarding his studies. He has no intention to immigrate to Eretz. His fixed idea is to go to Vienna to further his studies there because he knows he has money in Leuder Bank. Naturally I wouldn’t like him to go. He surely misses his strict parental hands to keep him safe. I intend to travel to Sala (this is where Olga’s grandmother’s property was) in the next few days. As I heard, a carpenter now lives in her house and the house is in awful condition. With Aunt Freda I visited the cemetery and visited grandpa’s grave and prayed for my parents and also for a better future. I hope that the almighty will listen to my prayers and help me. Towards the end of the week we are expecting Alexander (a cousin) from Paris. He is married to a Gentile lady who saved his life. I will be able to write about him more in my next letter. Until then I send many kisses, Olly (Olga)
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Olga Horak