GISELE WARSHAWSKY
Birth: April 9, 1934 - Leipzig, Germany
Survived: In Catholic Convent
Date of Arrival in United States: December 4, 1947
Occupation: College Admissions Administrator
Avocation: Docent and Eyewitness
Testimony on Holocaust
Personal: Widowed, two children, three grandchildren
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GISELE WARSHAWSKY – MY STORY
I was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1934 after Hitler came to power. The youngest of three siblings, our family was a very close knit one and of fairly comfortable means, since my parents were linen merchants.
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis attacked Jewish neighborhoods throughout Germany, burning books, synagogues and smashing windows of Jewish-owned stores. My father left for Belgium early 1939, where he was caught and thrown into prison. In March 1939, he died of pneumonia. Shortly after, my mother sent for my sister and I. My brother had joined my mother earlier.
The Germans invaded Belgium in May, 1940. We tried to escape to England but all routes were barred to us. The family managed to remain together until July, 1942, when my brother and sister were put on a death train to Auschwitz and never returned.
Shortly after, I was hidden by the Belgium Resistance in a convent under an assumed name and posed as a Catholic child for three years. We were forbidden to reveal our true identities. Many
hidden children became confused about their culture and faith created by this dual childhood. We suffered from separation, abandonment, fear of being betrayed and never knowing whether our parents would ever find us if they remained alive.
After the Allied troops drove the Germans out of Belgium in 1945, I was finally reunited with my mother. In order to have a better life, my mother once more was separated from me when she sent me to the US to live with my father’s sister at the end of 1947.
My mother finally arrived in the U.S. in 1950 and we shared a tiny apartment. At fourteen I started high school and graduated three and a half years later.
I proceeded to build a life in America, met my wonderful husband, Joe
and spent forty-three idyllic years raising two great children. I went
back to school where I earned Bachelors and Masters degrees. I retired
as Assistant Director of Admissions of Queens College and now devote
part of my life to teaching and lecturing students on the evils of the
Shoah, prejudice and bigotry. Every time I bear witness and testify before
a group I pay tribute to my family and to all those who perished in the
Holocaust.
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