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"It Was Relief, Not Joy" – Reflections on Liberation and Postwar Life
Six Holocaust survivors share their experiences of liberation and significant milestones in their lives, with most speaking in their native languages.
The film is geared for educators and learners abroad.
For more information about the photographs in this film.
Holocaust survivors who appear in this film:
Gitta Koppel
Born in 1936 in Vienna, Gitta grew up in Budapest. During World War II, her father was taken to forced labor and never returned. She and her mother survived the Budapest Ghetto until liberation. In 1946, they immigrated to the U.S. where she married and started a family. Later in life, Gitta moved to Israel with her family.
Peter Gaspar OAM
Born in 1937 in Bratislava, Peter and his family went into hiding during the war until he fell ill.. Soon after, Peter and his mother were deported to Theresienstadt, where they remained until liberation. After the war, the family immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where Peter married and started his own family. Peter shares his story with groups of students and learners. He works with the Melbourne Holocaust Museum in teaching future generations and also published a memoir titled “Lucky to be Here: Of All Other Possibilities”.
Peter, and his wife Lesley, were honored with the Medal of Order of Australia for their service to the Jewish community of Victoria
Hannah Gofrit
Born in 1935 in Biała Rawska, Hannah and her mother found refuge with the Skowroneks, a local Polish family. Towards the end of the war they were caught with their rescuers and sent to a labor camp in Germany. Hannah’s father had not survived and her mother eventually remarried. The family immigrated to Israel in 1949. Hannah married Yitzhak and has a son and three grandchildren. Hannah’s memoir, “I Wanted to Fly Like a Butterfly” was translated into various languages and is taught and read by pupils around the world. Hannah regularly receives letters from her readers.
Dr. Leon Weintraub
Born in 1926 in Łódź, Leon and his family were imprisoned in the Łódź Ghetto. In 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz where Leon was separated from his mother and sisters. Leon was sent to Gross-Rosen concentration camp and was later transferred to other labor camps in Germany. He escaped the forced evacuation of the camp’s inmates and was finally liberated by French forces. After liberation, Leon discovered that three of his sisters survived the camps. After the war, he studied medicine in Germany and then returned to Poland. In 1969, Leon and his family were forced to leave Poland and settled in Stockholm, Sweden. Leon shares his testimony with various audiences in Germany and Poland. His memoirs were published in English, Polish and German.
Dita Kraus
Born in 1929 in Prague, Dita, an only child, and her parents were deported to Theresienstadt. In 1943 the family was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where her father died. Dita served as the librarian in the children’s block of the family camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. She and her mother were later sent to labor camps in Germany until their transport to Bergen-Belsen where they were liberated. Dita’s mother, Elisabeth, died in Bergen-Belsen and Dita returned to Prague alone. She married Otto Kraus and immigrated to Israel where the couple raised three children.
Dita’s memoirs “”A Delayed Life” were published in English, Czech and German. In addition, Antonio Iturbe wrote “The Librarian of Auschwitz” based on Dita’s experiences in Auschwitz.
Dita lives in Israel and in Prague.
Zipora Faiwlowicz
Born in 1927 in Valea lui Mihai (Érmihályfalva). Zipora had four siblings. During the war Zipora and her family were imprisoned in the Ghetto in Oradea Mare and were later deported to Auschwitz. 17-year old Zipora, and her 15-year-old sister, were taken to forced labor until being liberated by the US army. Zipora and her sister returned to their home town to discover that their brothers, Josef and Mordechai, had also survived. Zipora met her future husband Pinchas while making her way to pre-state Israel. They settled there in 1947 and had a son and two daughters. Zipora and her husband were active in commemorating the Holocaust until his passing. Zipora continues to share her testimony with audiences in Israel and abroad. Her memoirs were published in Hebrew and German.