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

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

from

Zamość Zamość (; ; ) 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. Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. 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 (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

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

Concentration Camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

. She was in the

Dubno Dubno (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the capital city, administrative center of Dubno Raion ...

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

, 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 is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, 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 ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, 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 th ...

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

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

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 A ...

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 is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. 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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 women in World War II Jewish concentration camp survivors Polish Holocaust survivors Polish emigrants to the United States American people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish women centenarians American women centenarians Jewish centenarians