Holocaust Survivors Oral History Project
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Interviewer
Tori Chambers Lockler
Publication Date
1-4-2011
Date
2010-04-08
Abstract
Oral history interview with Holocaust survivor Sara Hannah Matuson Rigler. Rigler was born in Lithuania in 1928 and lived with her parents and sister in Siauliai. Her father was jailed for several months and died not long after being released. In June 1941 the Germans invaded and occupied their city, creating two ghettos. Rigler and her mother and sister were in the ghetto until July 1944, at which point they were taken to Stutthof. They were at five different Stutthof sub-camps, and in November, as the Russians approached, they were taken on a death march towards Germany. Rigler escaped from the march, leaving her mother and sister behind, and, while hiding, met some British prisoners of war from Stalag XX B, who hid her for two weeks. She gradually made her way back to Poland, arriving in Bialystok in April 1945. From there she went to a displaced persons camp in Germany. Rigler married a rabbinic student to speed up the visa process, divorcing him after they arrived in America in 1947. She was eventually reunited with the British POWs and continues to be in contact with them. In this interview, Rigler discussesher experiences during the Holocaust and her life in America.
Keywords
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Lithuania--Personal narratives, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives, Jewish women in the Holocaust, World War, 1939-1945--Lithuania--Personal narratives, World War, 1939-1945--Poland--Personal narratives, World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue, Holocaust survivors--Florida, Holocaust survivors--Interviews, Genocide, Crimes against humanity
Extent
02:57:52; 50 page transcript
Subject: geographic
Šiauliai (Lithuania); Tel Aviv (Israel); Hamburg (Germany); Stutthof (Poland) (Poland); Danzig (Germany)
Language
English
Digital Date
2022
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
Digital Only
Identifier
F60-00024
Recommended Citation
Rigler, Sara Hannah Matuson, "Sara Hannah Matuson Rigler Oral History Interview" (2011). Holocaust Survivors Oral History Project. 6.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/holocaust_OH/6
Rights Statement
