Introduction. Anna gross was born into a jewish family on april 20 1926 in rock show transylvania, a part of romania. Anna celebrated her 90th birthday yesterday. [applause] the aero on this map points to rock shop. These photos taken in 1919 show her parents, anna seal point. She was in Wine Merchant of a Lonely Church for anna and her five sisters. She had the hungarian rule. They became subject to antisemitic laws. Under the new laws, her vineyard was confiscated and the hungarian labor service. This photo shows hannah and her sisters. Margaret marcus daughter suzanne, violet, anna and giselle. 1944, nazi germany occupied hungary. Hungarian officials agreed to turn over hundreds of thousands of hungarian jews to the germans. Anna, her sisters, and her mother were placed into the ghetto indicated by the circle on this map. Then, they were deported to auschwitz. Auschwitz is indicated by a blue arrow on this map. Selected annaies and three of her sisters for forced labor while the Center Mother and two other sisters to the gas chamber. In june of 1944, anna and her remaining Three Sisters were sent to the concentration can indicated here with a red arrow. Later, they were transferred to kraus, a suburb. In february 1945, the ss had evacuated most of the prisoners including her Three Sisters, marching them on foot. Fromoviets liberated them march 11, 1945. Anna was left behind with other injured prisoners because she had previously broken her leg. Troopsh 23, 1945, soviet liberated 600 prisoners including anna. She later reunited with her sisters and found out that her sister elizabeth had been shot during the march. We disclosed this photograph in 1946. She would stay in romania for immigrating to the United States in 1964. Anna, together with her husband and two young sons were allowed after much difficulty to leave romania and begin life in the United States. They settled in new york where emery went to new york as a fabric cutter in the garden district. She found work as a seamstress at a clothing factory. She was working with fellow Holocaust Survivors and refugees. Anna worked at the same place for the next 27 years, driving 2. 5 hours to and from work each day. After finishing high school, their two sons attended the on to haveand went successful careers and are now retired. Alex was in attorney of the u. S. Patent office. Andrew was a geologist for the government. Anna has four grandchildren and fiveyearold greatgrandson. After the retirement, they moved to the washington, d. C. Area 2003. She suffered a stroke in 1999. And a care reform until he passed away in 2009. She was also the caregiver for one of her sisters prior to her death, and her sisters husband. She now volunteered to this museums visitor services. It went from 10 00 a. M. Until 2 00 p. M. She has spoken about her holocaust experience to children. She recently spoke to 500 students at a high school in west virginia. Her son alex and his wife carla and in his niece are still there today. Suzanne also volunteered at the museum. With that, i would like to ask you to join me in welcoming our first person, mrs. Anna grosz. [applause] thank you so much for being able to today. Would have so much for you to share it does, we really have so much so little time. You were 13 and world war ii when world war ii began with germanys invasion of poland. Before we turn to all that happened to you and your family during the war, lets start first with you talking about your family, your community and you and yours before the war began. Anna yes, hello. Thank you for coming to listen to my story. I have to tell you that will made the mistake, i am not mighty because i turned the line to a 60. Im 60 not 90. The nine into a six. I have time to tell my story. Take us in try to from that. Allpeak for the family and the jewish people. It is unbelievable. Pain and the humiliation. Sometimes feari as normal. War, we had a nice family life. My father was a Wine Merchant. I have five sisters. We had six girls. All the girls went to high school. The younger girls were in school. Old when the years americans occupied transylvania. Knew that because that is where they make the horror movies. From transylvania. And, the first thing that they did was stop the jewish people from being able to go to high school. That is the first event for me. I cannot go to high school. That couple ofask you a questions before we go there, if you do not mind. I hope that later you will talk about what the loss of education your father, but was a decorated soldier in the first world war. Anna yes, he was. In the first world war, he was an hungry. Because the germans lost the war then, in the first world war, it became romania. Happened in the second world war. They gave this back to the hungarians. That is how we became im gary ands again. My father married my mother in romania. So, she remains in romania. One more question. You told me that your parents, both your mother and father were very respected members of the community. Will you tell us about that . Would you tell us a little bit more about them . Yes. My father was a very correct man, everyone who bought the wine from him, they knew he would deliver it 100 what he sold. Parents, i had no school i had my parents and my very strict grandmother, who were very strict with us. They taught us manners and discipline. So, when she died, i was not so sorry for her because i did not like what she wanted me to do. [laughter] anna let me go back to the family life that we had. Lived in peace. Everybody had a job. My older sister is in school. We had a little business at home, a textile store. Withped out my father ventures and arranging for workers and everything. , we did not know what happened in the world. We had two stations on the radio. We did not what happened we did not know what happened in the world. Nothing about the war. Only when they occupied transylvania. And that changed everything. Food, offices, everything in hungarian from romanian. A strong accent there. They took away the license from the store. Out did not let jews without the yellow star. Not have nonjewish help. Gowere not allowed even to through the street without that yellow star. On may 4, transylvania was occupied the fourth of march, 1940. Bill 1940. Anna 1940. Last44, hungary was the country the germans occupied in the whole of europe. So, when they did all of the things to us that they they said, us out i am what i am, but i am not a jew. We were supposed to be humiliated. That was even worse than the suffering, the humiliation. Aryans did the hunk all of these terrible things to you, they took away your Family Business anna they took away everything. Bill you have a lot of mouths to feed. How did your family take care of father. We had flour, we had bread. We had the brandy machine also. We sold that. It was enough even to help other people. 4, andcame the day, may family by faly, they took all they said we could take food with us for four weeks. Bill do you mind if i go back and ask you questions . Anna sure. Fatherefore that, your was conscripted into one of the hungarian labor battalions. Anna yes. Bill tell us about that. Anna one of the worst things, forced labor, all of the young men from 18 to 45 or so. , andtook all of the men remained there the children and the old people with the young, forcedy took them to , and also,e country i think in other parts of hungary. And they worked so hard and they tortured them. I dont know. I still dont have the answer for that. If they wanted to kill us because we were the enemy, the jewish people, why did they have to torture us before that . That before the killing . Thereone example were two jewish people there that were forced labor. A soldier who was the guard for are said, you say you. Tinking jews the man said, why should i say that . The man said, as i told you so. Though you say that you are, i am going to eat you. Beate i am going to you. So, he said to the other people, you say also that you are a stinky jew. That . D, why should i say i am a college professor. If you do not say that, i am notg to beat you. He did say that. He started to beat him until he was half dead. Then he said, i am a stinky jew. So, this is a similar humiliation that happened, of which i cant say all of them, but it happened. Can we go back yes, you were going to tell us about your father. They took him away. You never saw him again. Translatorther was a for a while, from german to hunt gary and hungarian. Postcard from budapest. We never heard after that of him , what happened to him, we did not know what happened. Were in the whole little town where lived 50 jewish people, jewish families. They took us to see that and we stayed there for about two or three days, and in that synagogue, the children and the old people sleeping on the floor, it was terrible. And we did not know why and what was going to happen after that. They put us in carriages. They had to carry us about 37 kilometers from our homes. Only jewish people who lived there, they took the houses from to live there. Le they did not stay too long. Then they said, take food for four days with you. And we still did not know what happened. Us because it to came only that we did not know what happened before in the war. So, in the ghetto, we stayed there for about sleeping on the floor, children, mostly children and old women. The men were not there. Days, they took i dont know how many people. They took them to the place train station. There. T them then to our family, i was the 92nd. We did not know, where is my mother, where is my sister, because they pushed us in. To go out, they did a dance. From time to time, they would it. To empty the children cried. The old men prayed. , why didhem cursed this happen to us . Tried to take one of things from the station. , it is that one traveling for four days, and after that, they let us out. That was not out the most terrible day in my life. They let us out at night. We were all dizzy and did not know what happened to us. Barking,t there, dogs lots of german soldiers. Place took us to a and the music played. Jewish music players. Chaos, to make it more supportive. They took us and a german officer came with a stick. My olderr had , and there came a man to he said, is that your baby . And she said no. He said, give it to your mother. Because of they take away a baby from the mother, they would try to cry. ,o, if she would not give it then she would go in the left side. Have adnt even difference, the one who lives in the one who dies. So, my mother, my older sister, the baby, and my younger sister 14 years old were taken to one side. My older sister, 25, i was 16, another side. , andhey took us in a room first of all we have to take off our clothes. And then sit in a chair. And they hairtook us an cut off our , anywhere we have hair. Felt,t know what i because i dont think i felt anything because i was so tired from the four days traveling in that train. What happened to me, it happened. So, all the four of my sisters are taken in another room where we were disinfected with some dust. A grayer that, we got dress with a number on the sleeve, because they did not have time to tattoo us like other people that had been because we were the last people that were occupied. Me, anna, because there were so many coming in from hungary, they just did not have the time to tattoo you. Anna yes. Because there were so many. The last one, the last country was hungary. , the war was over already, but they still put the jewish people in trains and deported to auschwitz. That is what hungary did. They were already eliminated some place because it was 1944. I and 45, it was over, right . So, to usher its, yes to auschwitz, yes. And she said,e you were chosen. She was for four years already in the concentration camp. And we asked her, what is happening to us . Thathe said, you see smoke . There are your parents. It was very close to auschwitzs block, to the crematorium. We said, she is crazy. How to believe that they killed there and the crematorium . They said that she is a bad person, thats all. , puttook us into auschwitz us in the back where there was no covering something for us. Every day, the same infants. They counted us, in the morning and at night. And the food was terrible, terrible. Other greensd some ofked and a little piece margarine in the morning and a very small piece of bread. In the line, stay and always then we stayed in the line at night, and in the people whoey chose was very skinny, who was very fat. They were taken away and you never heard from them again. People who were strong looking for them but they always did that selection. All the time that we were there. , and we were so happy for our sisters and the other girls from the town , alley chose us for work or four of us. Hide elizabeth because she was skinny and smaller. So, they chose us for work. Looked fit to work, thats what they said. To where we stayed day, and by the train they took us there, and we saw the sun and the nature. Oh, we thought, what a nice , that they presented us to go to work. Arrived, they did again the selection. We were not all good for work, but the four of us did remain there, the sisters. Bill anna, i want to jump in for just a minute. In addition, you would line up right in a row, and besides you and your Three Sisters, there was a fifth woman who stayed with you throughout. Had to sit five in a row, so we had one person there who had nobody there, no sisters, nobody. She is still alive, 94 years old. Has bill dementia. Anna the dementia, yes. Bill they took you to a brandnew camp. Anna yes. They took us, because the four of us a big farm. The place was not ready yet to work. They had us in a terrible hut. The sun was burning. Shortsleeve dress and a short dress. We had to go did i say it right . All along we had to do that. Some girls put paper on the dress to cover it, and on the paper there was cement. Off, it tookk it off skin. And what did they do . They sent them back because they could not work, and they brought new people instead of them. Of course, we never heard of that camp had another crematorium. It wasnna, you told me always a hundred women. If some were ill, they would send them back and you have the same numbers. 800. Then you were forced to do exceptionally hard labor. Tell us about that. Airport, to do from that big bill you were forced to build an airfield . Anna yes. They forced us to work on the farm. It was carrots, beets mostly, and a few potatoes. We were told we could not take from there to eat because we are going to be punished for that, if you do that. Becauseere very hungry the first day we arrived there was no food. Water was rusty, so we could not drink or eat, and some people still took a caret and aided a carrot and ate it or a potato. But the number was here on the sleeves. The guard saw that. Then took the number. Then it night when we went home from work, the guard gave it there were two women. Least 250ey were at that is a fair job, to do the punishment. So, on the first night, the guard gave the number because the girls took the food. And the punishment was like that. She had to bend and the two devils came them,ot know how to call and they got 25 lashes on the back and then they had to report for work, no matter how bad they felt. That was the first day. So the work started. And every day we had to fill those cars. So just to be sure we all understand, you were filling train cars full of sand, is that correct . Anna it was not full of sand. For example, my sister could not work as hard. And that means that we had to work harder at that. I dont know how to say that in english. It looks like this somehow. That doesnt matter. Bill and the sand was then used to make anna yes, the pavement. Bill to make the pavement. And they would build the hanger, to load the airplanes at night. So that is what happened. We had to work for very little food. We all lost weight. That is what we did all summer. Then we had a guard with us, we had many guards with us, but one we had from romania and he was a very nice guy. He never gave a number to the german woman who was his girlfriend. He never gave it. Guards gave the number and almost every day we had someone get punished. We had to stay and see the punishment like this. Hands up. All of the people were inside and out and i dont know, i i dont know. That was a sadistic thing to do. I dont know why i repeat again, why did they have to torture us before they kill us . I dont know that. Many things i do not know. To cut my, i have story short. It came to christmas time. And they wanted us to entertain them. So they provided a piano, violin, and there were many talented people, opera singers, and they said everyone should go who has a talent. I left out something. Those romanian soldiers somehow regretted but he had to go in the german army. He liked me to sing for him romanian songs, ballads and every time he was with us, he wanted me to sing for him. At that time i had a very pretty voice, inherited from my mother. So christmas came and all the people were there and presented what they do, and i was sitting in the top of a big bed and i was just watching. And then the romanian soldier came to me and said, why did nt you come . I wanted you to sing in romanian also. And i said, i dont think that i have such a talent to go there. But he said, i want you to come. He led me to go down from that bed, and i fall and i broke my leg. Now with the smallest sickness, they sent you back because they needed other people who was able to work. If you were sick for two days, they sent you back. Now i thought, this is my end. Because i broke my leg. What can they do . So my sister begged this officer, he was a soldier, i think, do not send me back to and he somehow felt guilty because he wanted me to go and sing, and the one who decided to send back people, it was his girlfriend, the big woman who did the punishment. So it was a miracle that they put my leg in cast. Never happened, never heard any miracle like this. So they put my leg in cast in the morning and my leg became like this, swollen. They had to take it off and put another cast. No injection or put me to sleep or something. I survived. I dont know. A human being can survive everything. I think his own death, also. I think i am never going to die. I am going to survive my death, too. [laughter] so, after anna, after you broke your leg and they put this cast on you, it wasnt long until they emptied the camp. Anna three weeks after that started, they took the people from all camps and the crematorium could not destroy them. The war was very shortly at an end. So all the people had to march away from the camp and when the time came that our camp had to leave, i couldnt walk. So they took off my shoes because other 26 people were chosen who could not march. And a few guards and the people who cook to their because other camps came, others, and stay there for a night, and after that, they marched to our camp. It was the time to march and i was not able to march like the other 26 people. Bill you were left behind . Anna i was left behind, taken off my shoes, because i dont need the shoes and the other people are going to be killed there. I didnt even i wasnt afraid. Yes, they put something in our food that did let us think. It was medication or something, and they left me there and i said, im going to stay here by myself. I couldnt even cry. I was sitting there and the second medical if it happened to me. One was with a had to put my leg in cast, which never, never, nowhere happened. And then a girl came who worked in the kitchen and she asked me, could you do some sewing . And i said, yes. My mother wanted all of us to learn some sewing. And then she said, we are making some civilian clothes for the ss, the german people, and if you can sew, you come with us and you can do that job. And so we took my shoes and i survived my death because they took me there. So what happened, the camps all night, they came from other camps, but they marched for a long time and every day died, i dont know how many people. And they made a big hole, a big, big hole, and they would just throw them there in the hole. And the time came that our german people wanted to go, the guards and the girl who i helped with the sewing came with me and she said, you stay here because youre going to be liberated and we have to go to them, they want us to go with them. So our camp left also and i remained there and for two days , it was quiet. And then we heard that the whole airport was blown up but it was bombed from one place to another in a fire and they blew out the whole airport. Bill the germans blew up their whole airfield . Anna the whole airport and bloc also with that, people who could not walk. At they were dead also. But i could already walk a little bit with a few other people and we walked and hided in the basement where they used to keep the food. So for another two days, it was quiet. And we had somebody came out from the basement and i came out also and i stayed very busy and then i saw two dots. And those two dots became bigger and bigger and then they became two russian soldiers. So that meant that we were liberated by those russian soldiers. But when i came out from that basement, i was dizzy, i was sick, so i got the typhus in the basement. And russian people did not care too much of us because they were still searching for germans over there. But they took me in, i dont know, i couldnt think. I woke up in a house, i thought this was a hospital, and i was i stay there, i dont know, maybe two weeks or so, i didnt know what happened to me. When i woke up, i saw a russian nurse dead near me. She died of typhus. And no hair again. They cut my hair a second time, which my hair grew in my head there, and they gave me some clothes because they took my old clothes because i was covered with lice and i never knew that clothes could have lice also but i didnt think that i had lice because i was working with those people. They wanted me to cut off my hair. They gave me an outfit, a skirt like a sack, and a blouse and just nothing on my head and they said, now you can go. So now i was liberated. Anna, in the little time we have left, one of the things you said to me was, even though you were liberated, you didnt feel happy at all. Anna yes. I am getting there. [laughter] anna yes. So i was out from that hospital , and i saw, i never saw this the full year, but i saw myself in a window and i looked at myself, you know, i had lost weight and in that outfit that i had and i started to laugh. That was my first laugh and i go somewhere. So i didnt know where to go. I heard somewhere music. The polish people and the french were prisoners and were celebrating peace. It was march 23 or 21st. And then i heard music, and music was still my life, so i went to hear the music. I didnt know how i look or something, and i was sitting like this and once, somebody came to my back and she said, mademoiselle, and then i had the second laugh. [laughter] mademoiselle, me. So a french prisoner came and he asked me to dance. To go to dance. Then i started to cry, you know, so i spoke hungarian, he spoke french, but we understood each other. He find out who i am. I find out who he is. But i didnt go to dance. And then later, he came with a pack of cigarettes and a piece of bread. And he said also in french, which is similar to romanian, and i understood that if i wanted him to take me to paris. And i thought yes. So i didnt know where my sisters were. I knew unfortunately that my family was there in the smoke, but i did not want to believe that my parents were still there in the smoke. All of a sudden, people just went around and talked to people who were liberated and one said, dont you have a sister . And i said, yes, i do have. And one clara. I was with them. Is one thing i remember. I never remember where i put my keys. I remember that name. Everything i remembered. I could go with closed eyes and find my bed or anything that happened there. So she said, your sisters are liberated. And i said, clara and how about elisabeta . She said, she was shot dead on the day of the liberation. The germans shot her because she couldnt walk. So i found out that two of my whole family are alive. I have to believe that this was true. I did not want to believe and i did not want to leave. I didnt know where my sisters are, even if they are alive. We went from one train station to the other and we were liberated and nobody helped us, not with food, not with going home. I thought that an airplane would come and take us home, no. But for two months, it would not come, an airplane. We were just wandering there. And i am thinking which was my most terrible day in my life, it is hard to find one, because there are more, more terrible days in my life. But the most terrible day was when my two sisters came home and we met in our empty house , robbed house, knowing that we are just the three of us young girls, not trained for life, not knowing what to start with our lives. So, we must live. And how . Another problem there were no men to marry to because all of them were killed in forced labor. And another terrible thing happened to me that i saw in a person, my mothers dress. On the street. I got hysterical inside in my empty house, but i couldnt go out or Say Something to her. After that, when we started a new life, by the time oh, i thought this was brandy [laughter] anna this is just water you cheated me [laughter] bill i have the brandy. Anna i could talk for another three hours. Bill anna, we are going to close the program in just a moment. We will be toward the close our program shortly. We do have time for just a couple of questions. I want you to know that it is our tradition at first person that the first person has the last word, so before we finish, i will turn back to anna again to close our program. Needless to say, we could just catch a glimpse of all that anna had to share with us, and we could have heard you talk for three more days, and what we anna oh, yeah. [laughter] and what we dont even begin to touch upon is what happened after the war, not only immediately after the war with the circumstances that anna began to describe with us, getting married, but spending another 19 years under communist rule before anna and her sons and family were able to leave and come to the United States. So we could have a whole afternoon just beginning to touch on that. So i am going to ask you if you would please stay seated with us because anna will get the last word and i want you all to hear what she has to say. After the program, i want you all to stand because our photographer, joel, is going to take a picture with anna in the backdrop and that makes a wonderful photograph for anna and all of us. And when we are done, anna will remain on the stage here. So, please absolutely feel free to come up and ask her a question, shake her hands, come up and give her a hug, take a photograph, whatever. I want you to remember that i thank you all for being with us today, and that we will have a firstperson program each wednesday and thursday. I will turn first to a question we will live stream our program so you have an opportunity to also hear them over the internet, which we hope that you do. At we have time for couple of questions. I will turn first to a question so very briefly, we only have time for a couple of questions, and i will turn first to a question from our twitter audience. Before we do that, i would like to say that if anyone has a question, even if you have a couple, please go to one of the microphones in the aisles if you could and were not obviously going to be able to get to everybodys questions, but if you would like to speak with anna, you can stay with us behind. Let me see if we have a question from the twitter audience. This is from Christian Berg middle school. Anna, what experiences or transitions did you find with your faith . Did you lose your faith in god . P. S. , our students love talking to you. So, what did you anna i have an answer for that. I was raised to believe in god. Many people lost their faith because they asked, why did god let this happen to us and to the innocent people . I think that god has nothing to do with this. People did that. People did that to us. And any bad thing that happened is not god. It is people who did that to us. That is what i believe. Bill thank you, anna, thank you. So lets see if we have anybody from our audience, and if not, we have one here, and i think this will probably be our one question from our audience, and when we are done, please come up to the stage and talk to anna and ask her any questions. Make your question as brief as you can. I will repeat this just to make sure everyone hears this so that anna can respond. Anna, thank you very much, we will never forget you. My question is, during communism in romania, were you punished persecuted again for being jewish . Bill the question is, during your years in romania, after the war, were you persecuted for being jewish . Anna say it again . Bill the question is, during your years in romania, after the war, when there was communism, were you persecuted for being jewish . Anna not for being jewish. But for not being communist. To be on the list that you want to leave the country which we same could not have the children could not also go to higher schools. She things like the hungarian did. So, it wasnt pleasant to live in a communist country. So you have a job, what it is so was so little. You could not live on it. So we had to do something which is one word, steal. And if you stole, if they found you would go to jail. They say there were three kinds of people in romania, who is in jail, who was in jail, and those who will be in jail. [laughter] anna so we were very happy that after 19 years, they let us out from romania. Israel and america paid for our passports and we were lucky that my two children was young enough to continue here with their education. So that is my answer. Do you have another answer . I have something without asking me, i would say, that if you buy a house, the agent says, its location, location, location. I would say, education, education, and education. [applause] anna because they took that away from me and i miss it for all my life. There are so many things that i would enjoy and know if i would have the education and they did not let me do that. They took that away from us. That is like taking my arm from me because all of my rest of the family, they were educated, but i was at exactly that age when romania was occupied, i was 14, finishing elementary school. So you have the opportunity here to have the education and that nobody can take it away from you. Its more than millions of dollars, the education you have. Thank you, anna. Anna now dont ask me one question, because this is not my first time. I have a question. I dont know. It was a young girl, and she asked me, would you forgive and forget what they did to you . And i said, no. I cant and i dont want to. Because when they took jesus christ to crucify, he said, dont punish them, god, because they dont know what they are doing, right . But the germans knew what they are doing. So how can i forgive and forget . So this is not a small thing to forgive and forget. I cannot and i wont forgive or forget. So dont ask me that question. [laughter] anna anything else . Bill i think we are ready now to close the program. Anna, thank you so much. All forthank you listening to me and i could talk for more than an hour. They made a good choice for me to talk because i was punished as a small girl for talking too much. [laughter] [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] in a history buff. Seeing theng fabric of our country and how things work and how they are made. American history. American artifacts. I had no idea history was something i would really enjoy. Tv, it givesistory you that perspective. I am a cspan fan. Congratulations to the class of 2016. Today is your day of celebration, and you have a earned it. The voices crying for peace and light, because your choices will make all the difference to you and all of us. Ondont be afraid to take cases or a new job or a new issue that really stretches your boundaries. To spend the summer abroad on real ships, instead of ofernships the specter living in your parents basement after graduation night is not likely to be your greatest concern. Watch commencement speeches businessentirety by leaders, politicians, and white house officials, on cspan. Up next on American History tv, arthur author Patrick Odonnell talks about his book about an elite regiment that changed the course of the revolution. Freedsoldiers, including africanamericans, played a key role in several of the war fell most important battles, fighting through an eightyear priod in conditionsn harsh and often without being paid. The Heritage Foundation hosted this hourlong event. Fewer bus and have experienced mortal combat. The few of us who have have novels, andy notes, for the greatest generation, Stephen Ambrose brought to life easy company ring world war ii and his book band of brothers. Our guest today, Patrick Odonnell, reflects on another band of brothers, no less tried by battle, and
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