Marsha Kreuzman's tale - survived 5 concentration camps, was hung upside down for 7 hours

[Note: As this is taken from an archived site, some links and videos below may not be working.]

Holocaust Survivor Speaks at Oratory Prep School
By ORATORY PREP

PublishedAugust 24, 2010 at 3:59 PM

To Springfield resident and teacher at Oratory Prep School Susan Preston, she's known as "Aunt Marsha." To the students at that school in Summit, she's known as the woman who spoke recently at an assembly program, telling them of the horrors she faced being a teenager in five different concentration camps during Hitler's reign.

Marsha Kreuzman, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Livingston, NJ, has made it her duty to see that the story of the liquidation of six million Jews and five million people whom the Nazis deemed as "undesirables" is told today so that the atrocities will never happen again.

At the beginning of an April assembly program for the all-boys, Roman Catholic school, Ms. Kreuzman asked the 7 -12th grade boys to stand as she lit a yellow candle to commemorate the lost souls. Then the woman, who is of Polish/ Jewish descent, launched into her story of terror and abuse while she was a mere teenager.

"Hitler didn't know tolerance," she told the hushed audience. "In 1942, he wanted to make Krakow free of Jews, and only blonde haired/blue eyed people were acceptable," she explained. She went on to tell her incredible story which included walking to a concentration camp where they had shootings with mass graves. There was an audible gasp from the audience when she told of witnessing a mother with a child in her arms being shot. "The woman fell dead into the open grave, but the child was still moving. This open grave pit was moving with people who were not yet dead."

Mrs. Kreuzman recalled being hung upside down by her feet for seven hours. "I wanted to be shot: I wanted to be dead," she said. This feeling of despair was especially pervasive after seeing her own father shot dead in front of her on the Holy Day of Yom Kippur. "We were treated worse than dogs," she told the audience of 250 students and teachers.

At the conclusion of the moving presentation, 2009 Student Council President Billy Crum and 2009-10 Student Council President Nick Luther presented the speaker with floral bouquets to show the school's appreciation. Director of Student Activities, Bill Martin, thanked not only Mrs. Kreuzman for her "memorable, inspiring presentation", but also to Mrs. Susan Preston for introducing her honorary "Aunt Marsha" to the school.

Article: "Holocaust Survivor Speaks at Oratory Prep School"

Note: use http://www.archive.org/ to find article if original link no longer works

Marsha Kreuzman's tale - survived 5 concentration camps, was hung upside down for 7 hours

Holocaust Survivor Speaks at Oratory Prep School

"When a Jew, in America or in South Africa, talks to his Jewish companions about 'our' government, he means the government of Israel."

- David Ben-Gurion, Israeli Prime Minister