Elly Berkovits Gross (February 14, 1929 – October 24, 2022) was a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

and author of several Holocaust related books of poetry and prose. In the 1960s, Elly emigrated to the United States, where she was a frequent invited speaker at museums and schools around the country. Gross died on October 24, 2022, at the age of 93

Biography

Elly born in Șimleu Silvaniei,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to Eugene and Irina Berkovits. In 1944, her father was inducted by the invading Hungarian forces into a forced labor camp, where he perished on the Russian front. Elly and her remaining family, her mother and younger brother Adalbert, were taken to Cehei ghetto 'the day after Pesach' in 1944 along with most other Jews in

Sălaj County Sălaj County (; ) (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of ...

. Six weeks later, her family, along with thousands of other Jews were transported via cattle cars to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

. She was separated from her mother and brother, and never saw either again. Elly credits her survival of the camp to 'miracles', noting that few others of her age group survived the ordeal. Elly was transferred to Fallersleben, a part of the

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and List of subcamps of Neuengamme, more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme, Hamburg, N ...

, where she performed slave labor for Volkswagen until she was liberated at

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the Ger ...

by the Allies on April 14, 1945. Elly returned to her home town, where she soon married family friend Ernest Gross. They have two children and five grandchildren, who also reside in the United States. Elly graduated from

LaGuardia Community College LaGuardia Community College is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia i ...

with an associate degree in Fine Arts in 1993 at the age of 64.

Works

*'Poems of Elly Gross: Memories of a Holocaust Survivor.' *'Storm against the Innocents and other stories' *'Elka's Growing Up in a Changing World' (Book and DVD) *'Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust' *'Of Miseries and Miracles: The Holocaust Testimonial of Elly Berkovits Gross' (DVD only) *'Vanished World: A Memoir of Ernest' Several of these works have been translated into Spanish and Romanian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Elly Berkovits 1929 births 2022 deaths American women non-fiction writers Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers People from Șimleu Silvaniei American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Jewish Romanian writers Romanian emigrants to the United States Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Neuengamme concentration camp survivors Nazi-era ghetto inmates 21st-century American Jews