Holocaust Survivor Shares Her Story

Holocaust survivor Nesse Godin talks to RHS students during the Portraits of Life assembly. In 1941, Godin was taken from her home, put in a concentration camp and separated from her parents. --Adam Bensimhon
Holocaust survivor Nesse Godin talks to RHS students during the Portraits of Life assembly. In 1941, Godin was taken from her home, put in a concentration camp and separated from her parents. –Adam Bensimhon

Holocaust survivor Nesse Godin came to RHS Feb. 20 to share her inspirational story of growing up during the Holocaust. She spoke as part of Montgomery College’s Portraits of Life exhibit, which has provided displays and guest speakers at RHS for the past five years.

Godin now volunteers at the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. to educate others on the tragedies that occurred during the Holocaust. “I’m here for one reason only: to share memories. It’s in our hands to make sure something like the Holocaust never happens again,” Godin said.

Godin lived a normal life as a Jewish girl in Lithuania, experiencing no prejudice until 1941, when she was 13 years old. It began with Nazis marching through her town. At first, she and her family hid in their basement until the armies departed.

Then, Godin’s family was forced to move into a ghetto, a living community surrounded by barbed wire. Nazis came into the ghetto to take away strong men and boys, including Godin’s father. They were taken to camp Aushwitz where the men, including Godin’s father, were killed.

In 1944, Godin was sent to Stutthof concentration camp where she was separated from her mother. Godin recalls horrors in the camp such as being beaten, stripped and starved. “If you found a potato peel, you were lucky” Godin said.

In 1945, the Soviets got involved. “One day, we didn’t see the guards, so the women began to run. The Russian army told us we were free a�� I cried.”

Godin arrived at a relief shelter where she reunited with her mother and met her husband. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 and now lives with her husband of 68 years.