Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Esther Praw - May 22, 1983

Contents

Esther Praw was born in Opatów, Poland. After a period of time, she and friends fled Opatów for Starachowice, assuming it was their only hope for survival. She worked in an ammunition factory in Starachowice before being transported to Auschwitz, and later, Bergen-Belsen before finally being liberated by English troops. Praw married her first husband in Germany in 1946. The couple moved to the United States in 1947, living in New York before settling in the Detroit. Praw had two daughters before her husband died. At the time of the interview, she was remarried to another survivor.

Link to Portraits of Honor Project

  1. Introduction
  2. Life in Opatów Before the War
  3. Life in Opatów Ghetto
  4. Fate of Family and Friends
  5. Life in Starachowice
  6. Transport to Auschwitz
  7. Arrival at Auschwitz
  8. Conditions at Auschwitz
  9. Arrival at Bergen-Belsen
  10. Conditions at Bergen-Belsen
  11. Liberation
  12. Marriages and Family
  13. Thoughts on Visiting Opatów and Camps
  14. Anti-Semitism Before the War
  15. Remembering Life with Mother and Grandmother
  16. Becoming Americanized
  17. Arrival in the U.S.
  18. Children and Grandchildren
  19. Talking About Experiences
  20. Lasting Mental Effects and Anger
  21. Recollections of Others in Camps
  22. Conclusion

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