Dora Pešková

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Dora Pešková (born December 15, 1921 in Karlsbad / Czechoslovakia ) is a Holocaust survivor. She was interned in Terezín (Theresienstadt) , Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and Bergen-Belsen . Today Dora Pešková lives in the Jewish old people's home in Prague-Hagibor.

childhood

Dora Pešková, née Steinová, was born on December 15, 1921, the elder of two daughters in a Jewish family in Karlovy Vary. Her younger brother Wolfgang died of diphtheria at the age of two and a half . German was spoken at home and Pešková attended German-speaking schools: first the secondary school and later the grammar school in Karlovy Vary. Pešková's parents did not raise her to be Jewish Orthodox . However, her family visited the local synagogue, which Pešková describes as “glorious,” and the holiday was observed. Whenever possible, her father kept his shoe shop closed on Saturdays; However, this was no longer possible later for economic reasons. Pešková's mother was a housewife.

The economic crisis of the 1930s shaped the family's financial situation. In an interview in the magazine “Pamĕt 'a dschriftjiny”, Pešková pointed out another factor that weighed on this industry at the time: “Back then, shoes could withstand a bit, if you bought a pair, they lasted at least three years. Not like two months now. ” Pešková was already confronted with anti-Semitism in elementary school; her teacher gave her a lower grade because of her background.

Living in Czechoslovakia

In June 1938 the Nuremberg Laws were introduced in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . “They took everything away from us, starting with bicycles, music devices and so on. We were not allowed to use the sidewalk, in the tram we were only allowed to stand on the rear platform. We weren't allowed to go to parks or theaters, we weren't allowed anywhere. ”In September 1938 the family fled to the interior of the country due to the occupation of the Sudetenland by the National Socialists, until they finally settled in Prague and lived on aid from the Jewish community. Pešková took part in agricultural preparation courses for the emigration of young Zionists to Palestine , taught English and worked as a household helper. In Prague she met her future husband Egon Pick (Pešek).

When the Nazis marched into Prague, the family's situation worsened every day. The Nazis deported Pešková's parents and her sister Gita to Terezín in July 1942 . At that time Dora Pešková was still in Prague because, unlike her sister, she was over 18 years old and therefore had to work.

Terezín ghetto and Auschwitz

On September 4, 1942, the Nazi thugs abducted Dora Pešková to the Terezín ghetto. SS men and the Jewish ghetto guard accompanied the transport. Among them, Dora Pešková recognized a former friend from Prague. The train would have brought Pešková to Poland, but her boyfriend managed to send her to Terezín, which turned out to be life-saving.

On December 18, 1943, the entire family was deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz-Birkenau . Dora fell ill with typhus and pneumonia. “No, we didn't know anything. Some may have guessed it. They said to us we are going to work. ”When her father understood what was going on, he took his two daughters aside and said:“ We won't survive this, this is a concentration camp. Now you just have to stick together! ” Dora Pešková carried food in beer kegs to the various blocks in the concentration camp three times a day. The barrels were hauled with hooks and straps. “A barrel of beer, maybe a hectolitre, in there the so-called soup, or the so-called tea or coffee [...] Black water in the morning, rusty water at noon and black water again in the evening. That was the food. ”As a reward for the work you did, you got an extra soup. Her father's poor condition prompted Dora Pešková to give her sister the extra soup. Since her father could no longer eat soup, her sister again exchanged the soup for sugar cubes. In this way, the daughters managed to keep their father alive for two months. Ultimately, Dora Pešková fell ill and collapsed. She was lucky, she was taken to the hospital wing. At a certain point in time, however, she was no longer cared for because her health seemed hopeless. As if by a miracle, however, she recovered. After Pešková had regained strength, they were sent to be selected: the left side led to death, the right meant work. A Czechoslovakian doctor assisted the doctor responsible for the selection, Josef Mengele . She asked Pešková what had happened because her feet were still badly swollen. The doctor advised Pešková to tell Josef Mengele in German that she had fallen out of bed, dislocated her foot and that everything would be fine in two to three days. So Josef Mengele sent Pešková to the right side, which ensured her survival.

Pešková and her sister Gita were later transferred from Auschwitz to work in Hamburg and later to the Bergen-Belsen camp, where they and their sister were awaiting liberation in April 1945. When Pešková returned to Prague, she weighed 35 kilograms - and that after two and a half months of hospital care. Her parents were murdered in Auschwitz.

Life after the war

In July 1945 Pešková and her sister came back to Prague. Later Pešková moved back to Karlovy Vary. Since she did not get a national reliability certificate, she could not study medicine. After the war, she met again with her fiancé Kurt Egon Pick (Pešek), who had also survived Terezín and Auschwitz . After that she lived in Pardubice , where her husband got his gingerbread factory restituted. However, this was nationalized in 1948. Dora Pešková is a widow and has lived in the Jewish retirement home in Prague-Hagibor since 2008. There she is looked after by Austrian memorial servants.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with “Pamĕt 'a dĕjiny”: http://www.ustrcr.cz/data/pdf/pamet-dejiny/pad0903/083-089.pdf
  2. ↑ Interview with “Pamĕt 'a dĕjiny”: http://www.ustrcr.cz/data/pdf/pamet-dejiny/pad0903/083-089.pdf
  3. ↑ Interview with “Pamĕt 'a dĕjiny”: http://www.ustrcr.cz/data/pdf/pamet-dejiny/pad0903/083-089.pdf
personal data
SURNAME Pešková, Dora
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech Holocaust survivor
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Carlsbad