Holocaust Survivor 1st Transport to Auschwitz - pt II

Ladies and Gentlemen, Rena Gelissen.

Here she is. The dynamic little powerhouse who outwit Nazis with nothing but her wits and determination and survived 3 years and 41 days in Nazi death camps but remained a lively and loving human being to the day she died.

This section is her introduction to Auschwitz I, where the first transports of women were kept until the Russian POWs had all been executed in Block Eleven (also known as Block Smeirchi, or the Block of Death) Rena witnessed those POWs being executed at night, peering through the slats in the boarded up window by her bunk bed.

In Part II, she will talk about her sister arriving in Auschwitz, two days after Rena. In Part III, she will tell the spine chilling account of witnessing one of the SS murder one of the girls.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Holocaust survivor
• Holocaust
• Pope
• Jewish History
• Women's History
• World War II
• Auschwitz
• Birkenau
• Jew
• Bishop Williamson
• yadvashem

[anjelicaleigh]

aw... Heather, you and John are so incredibly lucky to have had such a wonderful woman in your lives. I'm glad that YouTube and Myspace are allowing Rena to reach a broader audience than she might have otherwise. The world needs more people like Rena, who can go through the worst that humanity has to offer and come out still kind, caring and compassionate.

[renaspromise]

TODAY is John's 91 Birthday! And he's the youngest in his family.

[merseywhogirl]

I'm currently reacing Rena's Promise. It is exceptionally well written and I am drawn to Rena and her sister Danka's experience at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Rena's story is one of exceptional courage, family love and survival. Remember!!

[anjelicaleigh]

I expect a detailed report on his reaction to my paper... And Happy Birthday, John!