Anna Mettbach

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Anna Mettbach (born January 1926 in Ulfa (Nidda) ; † November 23, 2015 in Gießen , née Anna Kreuz ) was a German Sintezza and Holocaust survivor. As a contemporary witness, she wrote memoirs that were published in 1999. She received several awards for her commitment. She worked closely with the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg.

Live and act

At the age of 16 she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau , "where she witnessed the mass extermination in the gas chambers up close". Since she was classified as “fit for work” by the SS , she was sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp at the beginning of August 1944 and finally to a camp in Wolkenburg (Saxony), where she had to work as a forced laborer at Siemens . She was liberated by American troops on a death march to Dachau . She married Ignatz Mettbach from Gießen, who had survived the Buchenwald concentration camp .

In 1999, her memoirs Who Will Be Next? of the persecutions suffered. She often appeared in front of school classes and at events as a contemporary witness. She also took part in numerous events organized by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and spoke on March 25, 2003 at the inauguration of the memorial for Sinti and Roma in Leipzig. Because of their work, an official memorial event on March 16 has been held every year since 2012 to commemorate all Gießen Sinti who were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in 1943.

Awards

Publications

  • “Who will be next?”: The story of suffering of a Sintezza who survived Auschwitz . Frankfurt a. M .: Brandes and Apsel 1999, second edition 2005, ISBN 3-86099-163-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ So the obituary of the Documentation Center of German Sinti and Roma, Heidelberg
  2. ^ Heidrun Helwig: Late recognition for a warning contemporary witness. In: giessener-anzeiger.de. November 25, 2015, archived from the original on January 25, 2016 ; Retrieved January 25, 2016 .
  3. ^ Report on the award of the Federal Cross of Merit on sintiundroma.de
  4. ^ City of Gießen: Obituary Anna Mettbach , November 27, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Mettbach, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kreuz, Anna (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Sintezza and Holocaust survivors
DATE OF BIRTH January 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Ulfa (Nidda)
DATE OF DEATH 23rd November 2015
Place of death to water