Survivor Testimony- Schroff

Rachel Schroff

English 102-118

Mr. Neuburger

March 18, 2013

Survivor Testimony

Joseph Morton

            Joseph Morton was born on July 11, 1924 in Lodz Poland. As a child he attended public schools and spoke English and Germen. His mother was a stay at home wife watching many children while his father was a tailor. In May of 1940 Ghetto walls were put up around his town of Lodz. While in the ghettos his father was a police officer. In 1944 the ghetto was closes and the Jews were out into cattle cars to find new work. Luckily his whole family was crammed into the same car, day and night traveling stopping at night but unable to get out. In August of 1944 they arrived at there destination, getting off of the trains Germans yelled at them to go left and right; at the end of the selections he was with his father, brother and, cousins. The men of the Morton family were sent to strip and get rid of all there belongings. Jews were given a uniform with a number, and in these men case, sent of to work. These men were sent to another camp after the first one got shut down, where they carried cement and worked on the railroads all while wearing patio bags on there feet for shoes. Too many people died at this camp so they shut it down and headed of to Mulldrf. Joseph was now 20 years old. He became very ill and was separated into the sick section of Jews. The camp was closed, another selection process occurred, and they all marched towards ala. American army came and liberation them. Joseph was too sick to know what was happening but soon he found his brother, father, and cousin and they all went to a DP camp in Canada and finally they made it back to the United States of America.

“ I could hardly remember my name.”

Survivor Testimony

Edith Coliver

Edith Coliver was born in a small town of Karlsruhe Germany on July 26, 1922. As a child she was very active playing with her friends from school; riding bikes, pranking, and climbing trees. But her father got her whole family visas, so they sailed to the United States before any of he tragedy struck. In 1938 moved to San Francisco where she attended Berkley. Upon graduating she got a career in political science and international relations. She moved to Washington D.C. working as an assistant for a senator. She did not like her job so she went searching for a new one. As she was fluent in both Germen and French she found a job as an interpreter for the Nuremburg trials. She was sent back to Germany to interoperate for the highest officials of the Nazi party.  She remembers being so scared while interpreting the historical opening speech given by Justice Jackson.  She was disappointed in the fact that president Roosevelt did not try to help the Jews. Also she witnessed many killings while in Germany though her and he immediate family was not killed her fathers siblings were killed in the camps. Thought she was not a Jew that had to live through the camps she did witness many unfortunate things and was there to help pick up and reconstruct.

“After Nuremburg I could never leave being a Jew, it would be treason toward those who died.”