Gena Turgel Explained

Gena Turgel
Birth Name:Gena Goldfinger
Birth Date:1 February 1923
Birth Place:Kraków, Poland
Occupation:Author, educator
Language:English, Polish
Period:1987–2018
Genre:Memoir, essay
Notableworks:I Light a Candle
Spouse:[1]
Children:3
Relatives:Miriam Goldfinger, Janek Goldfinger, Hela Goldfinger, Willek Goldfinger

Gena Turgel (née Goldfinger; 1 February 1923[2] – 7 June 2018) was a Jewish Polish author, educator, and Holocaust survivor.

Early life and the Holocaust

Turgel was born in Kraków in 1923, the youngest of nine children of Samuel and Estera Goldfinger.[3] Her parents ran a small textile business.[3] After the death of her father, during her childhood, her mother carried on the family business.[3] When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, her family was ordered to give up all their belongings. Turgel, several siblings and her mother were forced to move to the Kraków ghetto in August 1941.[1] [4]

Her brother Willek was shot and killed by the SS through the window of their home while he stood on a chair beside the window to reach a suitcase on top of a wardrobe.[1] [4] Another brother, Janek, escaped and Turgel never saw him after that.[4] On 1 March 1942, Gena, her mother, and her sisters Miriam and Hela were sent to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. Turgel's sister Miriam and her husband were shot after being caught trying to smuggle food into the camp.[1]

Gena, Estela, and Hela were then part of the last forced march from Płaszów to Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944.[1] Months later she was part of the "death march" to Buchenwald before finally being sent to the Bergen-Belsen camp.[5]

She survived the bombing of Poland and the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she nursed a dying Anne Frank.[6]

Personal life

She married a British soldier, Norman Turgel, after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen and the British press called her "the Bride of Belsen."[7] The ceremony was officiated by Jewish British Army chaplain Padre Capt. Leslie Henry Hardman.[8] Her wedding dress, made from a British Army parachute, is an exhibit in the Imperial War Museum in London.[9] Norman held a party to celebrate his engagement to Gena at Belsen having been granted permission to do so by Major Leonard Berney, the commander of the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp (as it was then called). Norman Turgel died in 1995.[10]

Her memoir, I Light a Candle, was published in 1987. She spent much of her life educating British school pupils about the Holocaust.[11] [12]

Death

She died on 7 June 2018, at the age of 95 in England. Upon news of her death, Britain's chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, called her a "truly remarkable Holocaust Survivor," and said, "Her legacy is our responsibility now."[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: From out of the horror, a love story. Lambert . Angela . The Independent. independent.co.uk . 13 April 1995. 3 October 2018.
  2. Web site: Heartfelt tributes to Gena Turgel: 'A shining light has gone out and will never be replaced'.
  3. [Neil Genzlinger|Genzlinger, Neil]
  4. Web site: Gena Turgel MBE. https://web.archive.org/web/20170805143019/https://www.het.org.uk/survivors-gena-turgel . 5 August 2017 . Holocaust Educational Trust. het.org.uk .
  5. News: Holocaust survivor who treated Anne Frank in a concentration camp is dead at 95. Diaz. Andrea . 11 June 2018 . CNN. cnn.com. 12 June 2018.
  6. Web site: Gena Turgel, Holocaust survivor known as Bride of Belsen, dies. Harriet. Sherwood. 8 June 2018. The Guardian. theguardian.com.
  7. Web site: The Bride of Belsen: A love story born amidst the horror. 26 January 2015.
  8. News: Leslie Hardman was one of the first to enter Belsen concentration camp . Wales Online . 22 October 2008 . 3 October 2018.
  9. Web site: dress, wedding, parachute silk, Belsen. Imperial War Museums.
  10. Web site: In Memory of Gena Turgel, the 'Bride of Belsen' who cared for Anne Frank . 2024-02-21 . USC Shoah Foundation . en.
  11. Web site: Holocaust memorial: Gena Turgel tells Islington pupils 'it's my duty to tell survival story'. James. Morris. 30 January 2017. 8 June 2018. 17 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191217234153/https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/heritage/holocaust-memorial-gena-turgel-tells-islington-pupils-it-s-my-duty-to-tell-survival-story-1-4868674. dead.
  12. Web site: 2022-10-27 . Жінка, що пережила газову камеру, 3 концентраційні табори і стала натхненником для мільйонів людей – Гена Тургель - krakowchanka.eu . 2024-01-14 . uk.