Gitel Grilches
- Born on 7 January 1907 in Vilnius/Lithuania as Gitel Friedberg; widowed Nison, died on 7 July 1984
- 1926 she marries the mechanic Lejb Nison
- She has three children: Meier (1 May 1927), Doba (26 June 1934), Aron (26 June 1939)
- 1941 Forced labour (A: railway station),
- 1943 Vaivara I concentration camp
- Spring 1944 Vaivara/Kivioli II concentration camp,
- Late summer 1944 Stutthof,
- August 1944 Stutthof concentration camp/Masuriczyk/Danzig,
- 11/1944-10 March 1945 Stutthof concentration camp/Chinow (liberation)
- At the end of 1945 she marries the hairdresser Towia-Towyv Grilches
- 1946 Stay in DP Heidenheim,
- 1948 Emigration to Israel
Her husband and three children were killed during the persecution by the Nazis.
Before the War
In 1926 I married the mechanic Lejb Josef NISON in Wilno. He was killed in July 1941.
Before the war I lived in Vilnius with my husband and children at Stefanastr.21.
Source: Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü30577, affidavit dated 29 April 1954
I lived in Wilno before the war and from there I know Mrs GRILICHES Gitel. She lived in Wilno with her husband NISON Lebel, who died during the war, and 3 children, MEIR, DOBAS and ARON, in a nicely furnished 4-room flat, where a maid was always employed. As the Nison family lived near me and I was friends with them, I know that Mr NISON Lebel owned a large mechanical locksmith's shop in Pilsudskiego Street in Wilno. There were several machines in it, which were operated by 5 and often more workers. As he was a good craftsman and also very popular, he had a large clientele and earned very well.
The family had a nice house and Mrs Gitel had a nice and secure life.
The Nison family gave all the children the best upbringing and education. The two older children were already attending primary school when the Germans occupied WILNO in June 1941.
Source: Testimony of Sara Horn, née Stamler, born on 12 December 1927 in Wilno, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
Overview of her persecution story
With the German invasion in July 1941, our lives changed fundamentally. Just two weeks before the ghetto was set up, my husband was arrested by the Gestapo and deported. I haven't heard from him since then. I myself was sent to the ghetto with my small children, where I had to do hard forced labour. My three children were left to fend for themselves and we lived in inhumane conditions. My daughter was killed in the ghetto in 1941 and my son, who was born in 1939 and was with my sister, was killed during the liquidation of the ghetto. I was deported together with my older son MEIR and taken to WAIWARA. My son was separated from me here and I have never seen him again since then. After the war I learnt that he was in ZAL(i.e. slvae labour camp) Klooga at the end of 1944 and was killed there by the Germans.
Meier NISON, born on 26 June 1927 (killed by the Germans in Kloga at the end of 1944).
Doba NISON born on 26 June 1934 (killed in August 1941 in the Wilno ghetto)
Aron NISON born on 2 June 1939 (also murdered in the Wilno ghetto in August 1943)
Source: Affidavit of Gitel Grilches, 1957, Schaden am Leben, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 32574
I was in the WILNO GHETTO with Mrs Gitel and her 3 children, where we lived in inhumane conditions. During our stay in the ghetto, Mrs Gitel lost her 2 children Doba and Aron. [She was deported with her son Meir in August 1943 and so we parted ways.
It was only after the war that I met Mrs Gitel again in Germany in HEIDENHEIM. She was alone and I learnt then that she had also lost her last child during the war.
Testimony of Sara Horn, née Stamler 12.12.1922 Wilno/Poland. Testimony 1957, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
Wilna Ghetto
Shortly after the Germans marched into Vilnius in July 1941, my husband was dragged out of the flat by the Gestapo and I haven't seen him since then - I myself had to leave my flat in July 1941 and move to the Vilnius ghetto, where I had to live in a room with many other people at Osmianskastr. 8 - The ghetto consisted of only a few streets fenced in with barbed wire, strictly guarded by Germans and Lithuanians. -I had to wear the yellow Star of David on my chest and back as a Jewish badge and was subject to a Jewish council appointed by the Germans, whose chairman was called Gens. When the ghetto was liquidated in August 1943, I lost two children who were taken away from me and never returned.
Source: Gitel Grilches, affidavit dated 29 April 1954, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
Vaivara
I myself was put on railway wagons and taken to ZAL WAIWARA - the camp was fenced in with barbed wire and guarded by Estonian and German Schupo. - I lived in a wooden barrack together with 75 other women, was given prisoner's clothing with the number 1369 and had to do the hardest forced labour in the forest (cutting down trees, sawing and preparing them for transport).- In the spring of 1944 I was transferred to ZAL KIWIJOLE, where I had to do the same work in the forest under duress under the same conditions as in the previous camp.
Source: Gitel Grilches, affidavit dated 29 April 1954, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
August 1943-Spring 1944 ZAL WAIWARA: Housed in wooden barracks with 75 women, heavy forestry work under duress. Often mistreated because I was not up to the hard labour. Spring 1944-September 1944: ZAL KIVIOLI: Also forced labour in the forest, inadequate food, one day I was punished by being whipped while lying on a table, then thrown off the table and received a severe head injury. I was bloodied and taken unconscious to the sick barracks, where I stayed for a few days. As soon as I was able to stand on my feet, I returned to work, as the sick were threatened with annihilation.
Source: Gitel Grilches, affidavit dated 29 April 1954, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
| Concentration camp Vaivara | |
|---|---|
| Location | Vaivara / Waiwara |
| Name | |
| Territory | General District of Estonia, Reichskommissariat Ostland (1941-1944) |
| Opening | 15 September 1943 |
| Closing | 03 October 1944 (last mention) / 29 February 1944 |
| Deportations | |
| Prisons | |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkmal.de | |
| Kiviõli / Kiviöli | |
|---|---|
| Subcamp of the Vaivara concentration camp | |
| Place | Kiviõli / Kiviöli |
| Territory | General District Estonia, Reichskommissariat Ostland (1941-1944) |
| Opening | September 1943 (first mention) / 15/09/1943 |
| Closure | The prisoners were "evacuated" to Gdansk via Reval in August 1944. / 31/08/1944 |
| Prisoners | |
| Gender | Men |
| Employment of prisoners at | Baltic Oil Company |
| Type of labour | Quarry and road construction work : |
| Source: deutschland-ein-denkmal.de | |
After about 2 weeks, her son was taken away. After that she became weaker and weaker and she couldn't do her forced labour fast enough. She was often beaten because of this. After a short time I lost sight of her and only met her again in 1944 in the KIWIOLI camp. She felt very bad and was emaciated to a skeleton. A few days after my arrival Mrs Gitel felt very weak, she could hardly move. She was beaten several times at work that day. Then she was dragged to a high table by 2 German guards. She had to lie down on the table and was beaten in a brutal manner by 2 Germans. She almost bled to death when she received 40 beatings and was then thrown off the table. She was unconscious and was taken to the infirmary. After a few days she had to start forced labour despite her exhausted condition. I was also with her later in the Stutthof concentration camp and she always complained of severe headaches and head dizziness, she couldn't keep her balance and often fell over.
Her condition got worse and worse and in the end she was completely exhausted.
Source: Witness statement by Sara Brud, 23 December 1923, undated, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
Stutthof
From there I was taken by ship to the Stutthof concentration camp in the late summer of 1944, where I stayed for only three weeks in the transit camp and was then transferred to the LANGFUHR b/Danzig camp in closed cattle wagons at the end of January 1945. My camp commandant was SS woman Margarete.- I worked under duress at the railway station with the transport.- At the beginning of March 1945 I was evacuated from the camp on foot to an unspecified destination.- On the way I was liberated by the Russians near Chinow in March 1945.
Source: Gittl Grilches, affidavit, 29 April 1954, Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
We met in autumn 1944 in Stutthof concentration camp STUTTHOF, where I was sent from EREDA around this time - here we lived in a transit camp behind barbed wire and SS guards and after about 3 weeks we were transferred to ZAL RUSSOSCHIN b/Danzig. This was a women's camp in which about 300 Jewish women were imprisoned.- It was fenced in with barbed wire and the guards consisted of 7 "Blitz girls", some of whom were called Wanda, Gertrud and Martha.- We had an SS camp leader, whom we called Margarethe.- We all had to do hard forced labour at the station and while I worked in the Zirkau work detachment, Mrs Grilches had to do forced labour in the Langfuhr detachment. We were always taken to the workplaces under "Blitzmädel" guard on special trains and then always met after work in the Russoschin camp, where we all slept.- After about 6 weeks, Mrs Grilches was transferred to the same Zirkau work detachment so that we were together at work.- We had to do hard forced labour together on railway sleepers called "Koffern".- Our daily food consisted only of soup and a piece of bread.
In February 1945 we were evacuated from the camp on foot.- We marched for some time under Blitzmädel and SS camp guards.- At night we slept in barns on the bare ground.- We were given nothing to eat.- On 9 March 1945 we reached CHINOW completely exhausted, where we were liberated by Soviet troops on 10 March 1945.
Source: Testimony of Bella Weiser, 11 February 1955,Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
Notes
Further Sources
- Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30577
- Landesarchiv-Baden-Württemberg, Abt. Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 350 I Bü 30574
Office for Compensation
Stuttgart
Notes
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Picture Credits
- Karte REICHSGAU DANZIG-WESTPREUSSEN, 1942 (mapster)
- "Übersichtskarte Baltische Länder Interessengrenze", Zusammendruck Maßstab 1:1 000 000, 1941, "Hergestellt im Auftrage Gen St de H Abt f Kart u Verm W", Quelle: mapster