Vera Schiff

Who is named on the stones?

There were rumours but nobody would believe that 20th century Germany would do something like that. So it was thought of a kind of horror propaganda. So Theresienstadt was a transit camp for us, for my family, it became more than that because my father had a friend there. So when we had arrived, we contacted Mr. Bleha, the friend of my father and we stayed. And I think I must've been one of the very few who was there from 1942 to 1945...

Unfortunately, all my family perished there but I don't know why I found it a comfort that they were not choked by zylcone b, that they didn't go through poisoning by carbon monoxide, that they were not shot. That they died in horrible conditions in terrible situations in those bunks, but at least I was able to be there. I don't know why still today I find it so horrible to think that you kill people, by gas, and the worst of it was sister became so early ill with the strep throat. And because we had all try to offer her something that she could be getting out of it. And we have, of course, exchanged everything we had. And from then on, it went downhill because my parents and myself denied ourselves of everything but unfortunately all the efforts to help my sister in vain and nothing helped, no matter what we did. It was an emotional disaster for my parents to see a healthy teenager, dying and withering away in front of the eyes. But also we have denied ourselves even the sustenance of the rations, which is more run down because they did not use even that little bit that they got. I'll say after that, my sister passed away, it was a downhill for my parents very quickly...