Life in the Concentration Camps
You will notice that this section of the exhibit is much shorter. The reason for this is because many children who entered the concentration camps never left. For the children who survived in the concentration camps, life was brutal. A very small percentage of children survived because most of the time, children were one of the first groups to be sent to the killing chambers. The children who survived were usually older, teenagers who were capable of working and had special skills that they were able to bring with them that was a benefit to the Nazis. These children during this time experienced horrible treatment. Starvation, disease, bad physical labor requirements are just a few things that these poor children encountered. Many children could not take this lifestyle and therefore committed suicide. Those who survived did so by living in overcrowding, unsanitary conditions while dealing with physical and sexual abuse (Heberer, 2011).
An interview was given to a survivor by the name of David Kaplin who was willing to share his story about how he was able to survive. He was originally living in the ghetto when he was arrested one night for being out after curfew. He was taken to a concentration camp and was able to survive by lying. He told the Nazis that he had experience making shoes. From there he had many different jobs during his time. He was not fed and was horrible treated and weighed a slim 70 pounds. He even ate the raw meat off of a dead horse to stay alive. Once he heard news that the Americans were coming, he hid in a barn and waited for their arrival. Thousands of others died while waiting but he was lucky enough to survive (Maldonado, May).