The following is a synopsis of Susan Pollack’s book which recounts her life before, during and after the Holocaust.
Susan Pollack was born Zsuzsanna Blau on 9 September 1930 to an orthodox family in Felsogöd, a village near the Danube in Hungary. Susan, her brother Laci and parents lived a simple, happy life in their one-storey house, growing their own vegetables and listening to Hungarian music. But her happy childhood ended soon after May 1938 when Hungary started issuing anti-Jewish legislation. Antisemitism grew and locals would call out, ‘You dirty Jew’ or ‘Go to Palestine.’
In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied Hungary and Susan’s father was taken away, never to be seen again. Within weeks, Susan, her mother and brother were forced to leave their home and they eventually ended up in Auschwitz. Susan’s mother was taken away with the elderly women, although only in her 40s. Susan survived numerous selections by Mengele, living in constant fear and hunger. Her only motivation was to survive.
From Auschwitz, Susan was sent to work in a factory in Guben, before being forced to march to Bergen-Belsen. By the time Bergen-Belsen was liberated in April 1945, Susan crawled into a gutter and waited to die. She had tuberculosis and was suffering from malnutrition, and was soon evacuated to Sweden, where her long period of recovery began.
In 1948, Susan travelled to Canada, where she met her future husband, Al, a fellow survivor. Together, they had three daughters and eventually moved to England. In 1965, Susan was able to visit Hungary, where she was reunited with her brother Laci, who had also survived Auschwitz, although with severe emotional trauma. Eventually, Susan managed to take up her interrupted education at night classes, going on to earn a degree at the age of 59. Susan has six grandchildren and a great granddaughter. In 2023, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to Holocaust education.
