17 Jewish and Roma women who resisted with all their might during the Holocaust
In a viral Twitter thread, user Zojacobi shared some of the most iconic figures of resistance from the Holocaust.
Unfortunately, throughout most of history, women from marginalized backgrounds are more often than not forgotten. In an effort to remember the powerful Jewish and Roman women who resisted during the Holocaust, one Twitter user created a thread dedicated to the figures of dissent. Since it was first posted, Zojacobi's Twitter thread has gone viral, gaining more than 12,500 likes and 5,900 retweets on the social media platform. "We did not go like animals to the slaughter, meek or willing," the user affirmed. "We fought with every breath. Every moment that of resistance." Many fellow users expressed their gratitude for her work, as they had never been taught about these icons in school. Here are 17 of the icons they highlighted.
Each of these stories have been whittled down to a mere 240 characters--but they each deserve to be read, heard, and honored.
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
I highly suggest that you take the time to go read up on each of these people & learn from their stories.
1. Niuta Teitelbaum
Niuta Teitelbaum (Little Wanda w/ the braids). She successfully killed 5 nazis in one day—& once snuck into Gestapo headquarters & killed an SS officer at his desk. She was killed at 25.
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
“I am a Jew. My place is in the struggle against the Nazis for the honor of my people” pic.twitter.com/SqJGa6Z3pp
2. Elisabeth Guttenberger
Elisabeth Guttenberger
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A student & baker, she was arrested & deported to Auschwitz at 17, where she was forced to register men, including her father. She outlived more than 30 of her relatives.
She testified during the first Auschwitz trial & was one of 6 Roma Sinti witnesses. pic.twitter.com/6a45RFdBd6
3. Eta Wrobel
Eta Wrobel
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
Helping organize an exclusively Jewish Partisan party of roughly 80 people, Eta forged papers, dug a bullet from her own leg, & set mines to blow up supply roots. She lived until 2008.
“The biggest resistance that we could have done to the Germans was to survive." pic.twitter.com/yVKEyATRm0
4. Hanna Dimitri
Hanna Dimitri
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
Polish-Swedish-Romani, Hanna was sent to Auschwitz at just 8. Lying abt her age, she survived for 6 yrs being transferred to other camps before being sent to a weapons factory. She helped lead the Swedish Roma Org Z*genarsamfundet & raised awareness for compensation pic.twitter.com/udxEvVC5XM
5. Gisella Perl
Gisella Perl
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
As a gynecologist, she saved the lives of hundreds of people in Auschwitz by performing abortions, preventing them from being experimented on by Mengele. She testified & wrote of her experiences.
Her husband & son did not survive, but was reunited with her daughter. pic.twitter.com/VtLiNCMXeZ
6. Lily van Angeren-Franz
Lily van Angeren-Franz
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A Sinti woman, she survived multiple concentration camps. Due to her literacy, she was forced into clerical work—during which time she documented every atrocity she saw. She testified at one of the last German National Socialist trials after escaping. pic.twitter.com/OUYSo22B6B
7. Regina Jonas
Regina Jonas
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
The first woman to be ordained a Rabbi in 1935, Rabbi Jonas continued her practicing even when the Nazis seized her belongings and forbid her from practicing.
Made to do forced labor, she continued to hold services & practice.
She was murdered in Aushwitz at 42. pic.twitter.com/Px4w2zMRY8
8. Alfreda Markowska
Alfreda Markowska
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A Polish-Romani woman, she worked tirelessly and saved an estimated 50 Roma & Jewish children by hiding them & providing them with false documents to ensure their safety.
She is the lone survivor of her family & she passed peacefully in 2021. pic.twitter.com/ngzvuN03YS
9. Faye Schulman
Faye Schulman
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A photographer forced by Nazis to capture photos of her own families massacre in 1942. She joined the resistance.
"I want people to know that there was resistance. Jews did not go like sheep to the slaughter. I was a photographer. I have pictures. I have proof." pic.twitter.com/x0MEjyl5VW
10. Selma Engel-Wijnberg
Selma Engel-Wijnberg
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
She was imprisoned in the Sobibor concentration camp.
she smuggled her to-be husband a knife & he stabbed a Nazi guard. they fled under gunfire & hid in the hayloft of a Polish family.
she is the only known Dutch survivor of the camp.
she died in 2018. pic.twitter.com/yyGwzR4mvQ
11. Masha Bruskina
Masha Bruskina
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
a Belarusian nurse and a member of the Minsk Resistance.
She provided false papers to wounded Soviet soldiers and helped smuggle them out in order to save their lives
when the Nazis found out, she was executed. pic.twitter.com/P4aIe7v3rx
12. Frumka Plotnika
Frumka Plotnika
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
She was known by her fellow resistance fighters as "Die Mameh" (the mother) due to her loyalty & drive.
She smuggled weapons through Nazi territory into Jewish Ghettos.
She was killed in a battle against Nazis in august of 1943 pic.twitter.com/5ESUhEPTOt
13. Judita Hruza
Judita Hruza
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
At 19, her parents were sent to Auschwitz, where they were murdered.
She survived two concentration camps, mass shootings of prisoners & typhus.
With only her brother left alive, she became physician & spoke out to tell her story of survival until her passing. pic.twitter.com/9rX3YSBd2C
14. Zofia Czajkowska
Zofia Czajkowska
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A talented musician, Zofia was picked by the Nazis to serve as leader of the orchestra in The Women's Orchestra of Aushwitz.
Using her position of meager power, she saved women with no musical ability by convincing the Nazis to let them join the orchestra. pic.twitter.com/55TRm9AXUV
15. Hannah Karminski
Hannah Karminski
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A secretary for the League of Jewish Women and a trained educator, Hannah became an organizer for the Kindertransport after Jewish organizations were banned in 1938.
She saved more than 10,000 lives through her work.
She was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. pic.twitter.com/hmGydytTTW
16. Franceska Mann
Franceska Mann
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A noted ballerina, Mann was forced into a ghetto before being sent to a concentration camp
Many stories are told of her courage, but it's suspected that she stole a gun, fatally shot a Nazi guard, which caused a riot by Jewish prisoners.
She died in the gunfire. pic.twitter.com/HWuvAGAyMN
17. Rita Prigmore
Rita Prigmore
— z (@zojacobi) January 27, 2022
A Roma twin, she was born under the eye of Nazi scientists. Her twin Rolanda was killed through experimentation while Rita survived experiments through the duration of the war. She survived & gives lectures all over Europe on the Nazi persecution of Roma. pic.twitter.com/dWo6JfWDTW
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