Tauba Biterman (September 10, 1917, sometimes listed as 1918 – November 11, 2019) was a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivor from

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. She dedicated her life to teaching and sharing memories of the Holocaust. Her speeches painted a realistic portrait of what a Jewish girl from Poland went through between 1939 and 1945. Biterman's story differs from the stories of other

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

because she was forced to abandon her identity during the war years, live an underground existence, and never was in a

Concentration Camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

. She was in the

Dubno Dubno ( uk, Ду́бно) is a city and municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Dubno Raion (district). The city is located on intersection of two major ...

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

, but managed to escape with the help of a non-Jewish man she knew. During the period of 1939–1945, she was separated from her family and entirely removed from

life.

Biography

1917–1939

Biterman was born and raised in

, the oldest daughter of a cap maker. When she was 18, she, her parents and her five younger siblings fled their home for what is now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, thinking life under the Russians would be better for Jews.

1939–1945

Believing they would be able to continue to see her, Biterman’s family left her in what is now Ukraine because she had a job. Meanwhile, they went to a different part of the former Soviet Union. "But it didn’t work out ... because ubsequentlyGermany started the war and then I was on my own. I was very naïve, but God gave me so much strength and so much courage."Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, ''The burden and responsibility of retelling'' http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=6123, 2007. Biterman was first hidden, then passed as a German from the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. She survived by staying on the move, working when she could get work, and staying alert to the suspicions and accusations of

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

who "always looked for Jews and hunted us out."

ne of NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...

her many harrowing experiences included having guns held to her head to coerce her into confessing that she was a Jew. "I was very strong and life was precious. I didn’t want to die from a bullet."

1948–2019

In 1948 Biterman and her husband Judah (also a Holocaust survivor) emigrated to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. There they came to learn the American way of life, raise their children, and earn a living.

Speaking and Volunteering

Biterman spoke about her experience to a variety of groups including numerous schools, universities, synagogues, and civic groups in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the time of her death in 2019, she was one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors in the entire state of Wisconsin. She never refused a request to talk about her personal Holocaust experience because "it’s important for young people to know about the Holocaust so it shouldn’t happen again."

Advocacy and Awareness

Biterman believed the Holocaust would never have happened if the Jewish people had their own space. "A people without a home is not respected and ther nationsdo with you what they want." She was a strong and vocal advocate for Holocaust education and a steadfast supporter of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Notes

References

* Waxman, Andrea, ''The burden and responsibility of retelling.'' Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, 25 May 2007. Online

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biterman, Tauba 1910s births 2019 deaths People from Zamość People from Milwaukee Polish emigrants to the United States American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish concentration camp survivors Women in World War II Polish people of World War II Polish centenarians American centenarians Women centenarians