Gathering The Voices Scotland

Testimonies of Holocaust survivors who settled in Scotland

The Holocaust Timeline

From 1941 to 1945

Go back to January 1940

June 1941

German Army invades Russia Mass murders of Jews begin in Soviet territories


When the Germans came in they made him head of the Judenrat and then of course he was supposed to choose the usual thing, 50 people to go and do some work, dig trenches basically intended for the graves of the people.

…..He apparently said to the officer “You want to do the dirty job do it yourself”. So the man took out a pistol and shot him. So my father was in fact the first man to be shot in our town by the Germans.

Extract from Moniek Garber

September 1941

Mass Extermination

The First mass extermination at Auschwitz takes place. 900 inmates killed by gas.

December 1941

United States Enters the War

Japanese navy attacks US base in Pearl Harbour; The United States enters the war

January 1942

The Wannsee Conference

The Final Solution to the Jewish question is decided. The Jews of German-occupied Europe are to be deported to Poland and exterminated.

March 1942

Deportation Starts

Train loads of Jews arrive at concentration camps from all over Nazi occupied Europe and Russia

Now, the train was roughly, it was a train for cattle to be transported.

It was from the last lot of cattle, there was an awful lot of dirt around and you had very little room. It was just about as much room as to sit down in, the family to sit together. And there were roughly 70-80 people. I remember this just, whether it was so or not I don’t know but somebody must have said it, per carriage.

Extract from Judith Rosenberg

February 1943

First Big defeat of Germany army

The German Army suffers its first big defeat, surrending to the Russian Army at Stalingrad,

May 1943

Judenfrei (free of Jews)

Nazis declare Berlin to be Judenfrei ( free of Jews)

August 1943

Treblinka

Murder by gassing ceases at Treblinka after about 870,000 deaths

March 1944

Germany Army occupies Hungary

Soon after the Nazis start sending Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz

So they occupied Hungary on 15th March 1944 and it shows you for instance in the Warsaw Ghetto if you think about it, it took years for people to be sent to Auschwitz or any other of the death camps, but in Hungary from 15th March the Germans came in and by 17th or 18th June I was in Auschwitz so three months and three days, you know the speed of it.

Extract from Susan Singerman

January 1945

Russian Army liberates Auschwitz

About 960,000 Jewish men, women and children were killed there.

And, because this was, we all seen, all the 500. So we were liberated, all the 500 of us. And I think it was one of the very few camps who were liberated without anybody dying

Extract from Judith Rosenberg

May 1945

Germany surrenders unconditionally


And I suddenly felt I can shout it from the rooftops, “I am Jewish!” And if I were in a room that was full of people and somebody said, “Any Jews stand!” I would not even hesitate because I am so proud of my Jewish birth and that I had a Jewish mother that bore me.

Extract from Edith Forrester

Holocaust Statistics
Pre War

Pre War 1938

Pre-War (1938) Jewish Population of Germany and the territories later conquered in Euripe and Russia number 8,861,800 people

Post War

Post War 1945

67% of European jews had been Killed – 5,933,900 victims

There were a lot of people shot and unfortunately I have nowhere to go to know where my parents actually were murdered.

Extract from John Subak-Sharpe

Back to Start of timeline