Pauline Gerstl
"If they hear some rumors, they should believe it and take all the precautions that they can or able to take. Rumors, we never believed it was so very bad in Germany. Do something; help yourself before it’s too late."
Name at birth
Pauline Bender
Date of birth
04/29/1909
Where did you grow up?
Vienna, Austria
Name of father, occupation
Sigmund Bender,
Businessman
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Hermina Baeck,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, Wilhemina (Leah), Max, Theresa and me
Who survived the Holocaust?
Theresa and I
Theresa went to England in 1939 and died on November 23, 2000. Wilhemina died of heart attack at beginning of war. My mother and brother Max were deported to Riga, Latvia in November, 1940 and were later shot there. My father died in 1926. I lost my entire extended family.
My husband and I left illegally for Belgium in 1938, then to a refugee camp, Camp Vallon en Sully bei Montlucon. I was pregnant with my daughter and had little nourishment. We journeyed to Nice until Germans occupied it. My husband and I went into hiding in Vanc (pronounced Vonse), France. Our daughter, Jeanette was born October 19, 1940. We were hidden in an attic by French people for one year. My daughter was hidden elsewhere. We stayed in a cellar, with rats. We sewed to help support ourselves.
To learn more about this survivor, please visit
The Holocaust Memorial Center Oral History Collection
Where were you in hiding?
An attic and a cellar in Vanc, France
Occupation after the war
Dressmaker, alterations, learned in while in hiding
When and where were you married?
1935 in Vienna
Spouse
Wilhelm Gerstl
Children
Jeanette Olson, born in 1940, language teacher
What do you think helped you to survive?
My daughter, I wanted to live for my daughter.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
If they hear some rumors, they should believe it and take all the precautions that they can or able to take. Rumors, we never believed it was so very bad in Germany. Do something; help yourself before it’s too late.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
06/23/2003
Experiences
Survivor's map
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