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Lenci is Born
Lenci is born in Kiralyhaza, a village in former Czechoslovakia. -
Final Passover with Family
At 21 years old, Lenci celebrated Passover for the last time with her complete family. According to Lenci, it was sad because they knew something bad was coming and feared the unknown. -
The Family is Forced Out of Their Home.
High ranking police came to the family's door and told the family to pack and leave. That night, the family stayed in the local s
synagogue, without access to an outhouse throughout the duration of their night. -
Lenci and Her Family are Taken to the Ghetto.
The family rode on an ox and cart to the ghetto. The ghetto did not have much food and also lacked beds. While in the ghetto, the police took Lenci's father to the station and beat him, knowing that he was a former business owner and had saved money. By this point, though, the family had gone through much of their savings. -
Lenci Receives Half a Loaf of Bread.
Lenci's boyfriend, who was selected to work outside of the ghetto, returned on her 22nd birthday and gifted her half a loaf of bread, the best gift she had received. Lenci shared that gift with the other inhabitants of the ghetto. -
The Family is Taken for Transport.
On the train, Lenci ate her first non-kosher food. Once they arrived at their destination, women and men were separated, and Lenci never had the opportunity to say goodbye to her father and brother. Lenci's older sister, Isabel, clung onto their mother as the women were separated. Dr. Mengele selected Lenci's mother to go to the side of death, as Lenci and Isabel were transported to Auschwitz. Actual date unknown -
Lenci Arrives at Auschwitz.
Upon arrival, the women were sent to barracks and forced tot strip and get sheared. The family stuck together as they got assigned a barrack. The members of the barrack asked the "elder of the block" where their families went. In response, she pointed to a chimney with smoke coming out stating that was where their families went. They were in disbelief for awhile. Prisoners were served "coffee" and a piece of bread for breakfast and a mystery soup for dinner. DATES UNKNOWN -
Lenci Begins Working.
Lenci's cousin was chosen to rummage through blankets brought during transport and was able to select other prisoners to work with her, mostly her family and friends. The girls tore blankets and smuggled them out, trading them for rations. DATE UNKNOWN -
Lenci Receives a Potato.
Male prisoners began to rummage through the blankets with females and one of the men Lenci befriended gave her a raw potato. After appel, Lenci decided to roast it, but a female officer saw the fire. This officer is now known as a very cruel and unforgiving woman. When taken to the office, Lenci responds to the officer's threats by being honest, and stating that she believed the officer was too beautiful to hurt her. Being very vain, the officer allowed Lenci to leave, unharmed. DATE UNKNOWN -
Lenci is Taken to Auschwitz II.
At the camp, Lenci contracted Scarlet fever, but could not tell anyone but her family, or she would surely have been killed. A few days after recovering, a new type of selection where women stood naked in front of two male officers took place inside the barracks. Though the skin on her stomach was peeling as a result of her recovery, the officer did not notice and Lenci returned to her barrack. DATES UNKNOWN -
The Second Transport.
Lenci was sent to a workplace and lived in horrible conditions, sleeping with straw on the floor and only a single blanket per person, despite the frigid winter temperatures. As part of her work, Lenci dug ditches called tank traps that were meant to prevent Russian forces from advancing. On New Year's Day, Lenci wished for paper and pencil to write 1945 on. DATES UNKNOWN -
The Death March.
Lenci began the death march with thousands of others. The conditions were horrible. At night, the prisoners were put in silos and hardly given food. One day, they passed a field of unharvested sugar beets. Chaos unfolded as people ran to the fields to gather food. In order to control the prisoners, the guards began hitting, and Isabel was hit. Isabel grew very weak, and wanted to hide and be left behind, but Lenci and her cousin helped her carry on. DATES UNKNOWN -
Lenci Escapes the Death March.
One night, while passing an empty German village, Isabel, Lenci and their cousin ran into one of the backyards, discovering another girl hiding as well. By the end of the night, 7 girls were hiding together, including Lenci, Isabel and their cousin. They were so hungry, they ate out of a pig sty, but later the girls went into abandoned houses and ate the food they could find. The girls also put on any clothes they saw. The girls were shocked to see that beds still existed. -
The Girls Work at a Farm.
The girls decided to split up and explore the village, and were seen by a man that kept one of the village farms. The girls began to work on the farm the man kept in exchange for food, but a day later, the Germans returned to the village and the girls hid in a straw pile overnight. When they woke, they saw a German soldier standing by them. Although they feared for their lives,the women were told that they could continue working in exchange for food. DATES UNKNOWN -
Lenci is Liberated by the Russians
The 7 girls were forced to work for the Russians until May 8, when they were truly free.