You'll meet soon anyway, Mengele told her

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In 1944, Jana Dubová and her mother were sent to Auschwitz under the false pretense of meeting with her father and boyfriend. In September of that year, they had received forged postcards from them in Theresienstadt, which informed them that the two men were fine in Auschwitz: "But as soon as we climbed into the train, we knew immediately this was bad." After the arrival in Auschwitz, most people were in a desolate condition and could barely keep standing on their feet. They were all immediately sent to the Auschwitz selection. Dr. Mengele decided who should live and who should die on the same day. The Jana's mother, who was 48 years old, was sent to the left, which meant death in the gas chamber. Jana found the courage to ask if she could go with her. Mengele replied: "You'll meet soon anyway." On that day, she saw her mother for the last time. Already one day after her arrival, Jana learned what was happening in Auschwitz. She met an electrician, an acquaintance from Theresienstadt, who told her: "This black smoke, that's those who arrived yesterday."

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Jana Dubová

Jana Dubová, née Heller, was born on August 30, 1926, in Prague. She came from a Czech Jewish family. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia, her father wanted Jana to take part in the rescue operation of Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized the departure of Jewish children to safety in England. Unfortunately, it was already too late for Jana to leave as the war broke out. She thus had to stay in the Protectorate and in April 1942, she and her family were deported to Theresienstadt. Jana remained in Theresienstadt until the fall of 1944, when she was placed in a transport headed to Auschwitz. Immediately following their arrival, her mother was sent to the gas chambers. After about three weeks in Auschwitz, Jana was selected to work with other women in Merzdorf, where they worked in a factory for flax processing. There she had to live and work under tough conditions, with very little food. By the end of the war, an epidemic of typhus broke out in the factory. Right after the liberation of the camp by the Russians, Jana and a few girlfriends set out on foot on a journey back home, on the tail of the receding front lines. The return to Prague was difficult. Out of the whole family that counted 30 people, only her and her sister survived the Holocaust. After the war, she married her boyfriend, whom she knew from Theresienstadt and who was also a survivor of the Holocaust. She graduated from the State School of Graphic Arts and made a living with applied graphics. Jana Dubová created a series of paintings called the "Dreams of the Dead," in which she depicted her memories.

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Auschwitz II-Birkenau

Available in: English | Česky

Construction on the second of the three Auschwitz concentration camps began in October 1941 at the village of Birkenau (Březinka). Hundreds of thousands of prisoners from all over Europe passed through these places. On 7 October 1944, Jewish prisoners of the so-called Sonderkommando revolted – although the uprising was stopped with brutal force, they managed to destroy one of the crematories. Over a million people, mostly of Jewish descent, were killed in the gas chambers of the three Auschwitz concentration camps. In 1947, a museum was established on the premises of the camp in honour of its victims.