‘The last time I saw my parents’
"I was separated from my parents and grandmother. They went to the left and I went to the right. And that was the last time I've seen my parents."
Shoah survivor Yvonne Engelman of Sydney – who was torn away from her parents by Nazi physician Josef Mengele, never to see them again – will be the keynote speaker at next Thursday’s national community event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD).
Born in Czechoslovakia in 1927, Engelman and her family were moved to a ghetto and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Speaking to The AJN this week, Engelman, 94, recounted, “When we got out of the wagons, we were standing in a row and Dr Mengele came to our row. I was separated from my parents and grandmother. They went to the left and I went to the right. And that was the last time I’ve seen my parents.”
At Auschwitz, she was among prisoners forced to search the garments stripped from other prisoners to find any valuables the Nazis could lay their hands on.
Sent on a death march near the end of the war, the young woman suffered from lice and scurvy when she was among those liberated by the Soviet army in May 1945.
From Prague, Engelman was able to secure a passage to Australia, arriving in Sydney in 1948. Penniless but relieved to be free, she met her future husband John Engelman.
At the commemoration, held on January 27, the anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, survivors from across Australia will take part in a candle-lighting ceremony to signify that the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust will never be forgotten.
In addition, Nina Bassat, a child survivor, and a former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry will preface a segment about the key findings from the landmark Gandel Holocaust and Awareness in Australia Survey, conducted by Deakin University and the Gandel Foundation.
The event will also feature a performance by the Sydney Children’s Choir, while other notable speakers include refugee advocate Deng Adut, former Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Jayne Josem, director and CEO of the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne, stated, “At a time when the number of living survivors continues to dwindle, this event will illuminate the stories of the survivors, alongside the voices of leaders within the wider community. They will share their messages to combat racism and discrimination in order to ensure that the lessons from the Holocaust continue to be passed on to future generations.”
The 2022 IHRD commemoration is a free online event, to be held on January 27 at 7.30pm. For more information and to book tickets, visit ihrd.org.au
comments