Dora Langsam was born near Lodz, Poland [Annotator's Note: Łódź, Poland] in January 1925. Her childhood was beautiful even though she was persecuted as a Jew. Her father was in the shoe business. She remembers a sign being placed over her father's business name saying that people should not buy from Jews because they were the enemy. She has no good memories of Poland, only of her childhood and her home. She was called a "dirty Jew" while growing up. The government did nothing about the mistreatment. As soon as the war broke out on 1 September 1939, the Jewish children could no longer attend school. The family shoe store was robbed by their neighbors. Shelves were emptied quickly. Her father got white [Annotator's Note: his hair turned white] overnight. All his lifetime of hard work was wiped out that quickly. No one said anything to stop the thieves. Her father tried to slow the thieves, but they disregarded him. From that point, life was hell. Her father got quiet and disinterested in anything. He was like in a coma. He knew what was coming next. Langsam was a child and understood little of what the events foretold.

Dora Langsam was assigned to a ghetto in her town [Annotator's Note: name uncertain but it was near Łódź, Poland] and afterward her family was moved to a larger ghetto in Lodz [Annotator's Note: Litzmannstadt Ghetto]. Ration cards were limited as was the food. Her family home was contained within the first ghetto, but her family was limited to only one room in the building. There were seven people in that one room. There was hunger, dirt and cold in the ghetto. They did not care if the inhabitants lived or died. In the morning, wagons would be used to carry away the dead. Langsam and her family were moved from the small ghetto to the much larger one in nearby Lodz. It was really a concentration camp with no food or anything. Travel to Lodz was by cattle car. The car was so full of people that passengers could only stand and not sit. A bucket was provided for human needs. The transport to Lodz was only an hour and a half. Upon arrival at Lodz, assignments were made for where the passengers were to stay. It was still seven people to a room. They killed Langsam's sister and brothers. When her mother was taken away, her last words to Langsam was for her to take care of her little sister. Her sister was four years younger than Langsam. Langsam is pleased that she managed to rescue her sister from multiple selection processes. Langsam was 16 and her sister was 12 years old at the time [Annotator's Note: in 1941]. Her little sister was undernourished and looked horrible. She looked more like eight years of age instead of her actual age. The German Nazi officer signaled left or right to the prisoners. Friends told Langsam to grab her sister which she did. One of the Nazi women guarding the prisoners shouted to the officer that one of the prisoners had run away. The officer came to Langsam with two revolvers and threatened to kill every fifth person if the runaway was not given up. Langsam's legs could not move. She saw open train cars 100 feet away. It was for people assigned to go to work. The rest of the people were going to the crematoria. Langsam knew the options. A miracle was needed to survive. Just at that time, an air raid commenced, and bombs fell. Langsam ran to the open train door with her sister. A Nazi tramp called out for Langsam's sister to come out of the car. She said the little girl did not belong there. Langsam found the strength to turn around with her sister and hold on to the little girl. When the bombing started, the train got underway and took the girls to Germany and Ravensbruck [Annotator's Note: Ravensbrück concentration camp; the largest concentration camp for women in the German Reich, second in size only to the women's camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau; Ravensbrück, Germany].

Dora Langsam arrived at the camp [Annotator's Note: Ravensbrück concentration camp; the largest concentration camp for women in the German Reich, second in size only to the women's camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau; Ravensbrück, Germany] where she was assigned to make parts for airplanes. They had straw mattresses. Her main thing was that she was with her sister which is normally not allowed. Comments were made about her sister being too little to work. The girls made small parts in the factory for nine months. Conditions were livable. Langsam's sister was an attractive blond, blue-eyed girl. The Nazi boss had feelings for her. He would take a bite of an apple and then throw it under the little girl's chair. A lady would let the little girl know that most of her sandwich was wrapped up in the trash for her to have. Langsam would manage to get some of the sandwich, too. When the girls arrived at Ravensbruck, they were initially kept in a stable for the night. American bombings were nearby. The Red Cross came into the camp and wanted to take 500 inmates with them to Sweden. It was Folke Bernadotte [Annotator's Note: Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, Swedish nobleman and diplomat]. She and her sister were taken to Sweden. The Red Cross and a Jewish organization paid a lot of money or trucks for the inmates to be released. Prior to her rescue, Langsam knew about the Jewish persecution. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] had declared that he wanted to clean out the Jews from the world. The inmates knew what was going on. Langsam lost her immediate family except for her little sister. The rescue of her younger sister was the highlight of Langsam's existence. There was no special selection process for the two girls to be part of the 500 removed from Ravensbruck. They were just part of a herd of people pushed to freedom. Langsam made sure her little sister stayed with her. The end of the war was special. Eight days before the end, Bernadotte took the 500 people away from the camp. Langsam was numb because of losing everything except her little sister. The two girls did not know where they were going since they had no parents or relatives. Langsam was reassuring to her little sister even though she did not know any answers. It was hell on Earth.

Dora Langsam was sent to Sweden by the Red Cross. She was provided shelter and help as well as clothing and other things. They did the best they could. They no longer had to shave their heads [Annotator's Note: Langsam and her younger sister had been inmates at the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Ravensbrück, Germany where they were forced to shave their hair]. It was terrible what had been done previously to them. Men and women were brought to the same location in Sweden. They shared duties even though quarters were kept separate. Langsam always wanted to be a nurse. She trained for the profession at night and worked in a sanatorium during the day. There was a dance every Saturday for the male and female inhabitants. Soon the marriages started, and life began to have some normalcy. Sweden was a beautiful country and it provided very well for the former inmates. Jewish organizations from all over the world also contributed to the aid of the past prisoners. Langsam had two uncles in the United States. She sought them out and contacted them. She was married and had a son. One uncle was filing paperwork for her to enter the United States. Shortly thereafter, she had another child. Her uncle refused to accept her because she had a second child. The HIAS, or Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, made papers for Langsam and her family to come to America. Her husband was so ready to come to America that he said he would be willing to sleep in a park just to get there. She was not ready to sleep in a park, but she came to the land of opportunity with two small children. Her family received good educations and prospered in the United States. She is very proud of her children and their children. In this land of opportunity, if you are willing to work and be honest, you can achieve everything that you want. When she first arrived in Philadelphia [Annotator's Note: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania], she met her uncle who lived there. She was very happy. The Jewish organizations helped them tremendously.

Dora Langsam wanted to be an American after her experiences in the Holocaust [Annotator's Note: also called the Shoah; the genocide of European Jews during World War 2]. The United States is the land of opportunity. Her husband was willing to sleep in a park just as long as he could come to America. She had to follow her husband even though she would not want to sleep in a park. It is very important to teach the Holocaust to younger generations. The main lesson is that it was the end of humanity. Six million Jews were killed by the Germans just because they were Jews. That must not be forgotten. Langsam has only photographs of her sister and brother who were killed. Her older sister and her young baby were taken to the gas chamber. Her older brother was a veteran of the Polish Army and was captured. He was shot trying to escape a train he was being transported on. Her younger brother was protecting their father from being shot when he was beaten with a revolver. His damaged intestines required that he be taken to a hospital for surgery. He died on the table the same week he turned 20 years of age. Langsam has had to live with those memories that cannot be erased. [Annotator's Note: Langsam is noticeably overcome with emotion.] On the positive side, she has raised her family of successful individuals in the United States. This country is the land of opportunity, and she is grateful for that. Her highest accomplishment is the rescue of her sister. As the Germans carried her mother away, she told Langsam to take care of her younger sister. That sister did not come to the United States but remained in Sweden. She has multiple children's clothing stores and is very well off. Langsam lived in Sweden for eight years. She was married there and had two children. She lost her husband after coming to America. Her children have taken care of her. She cannot complain. God has given her everything. Langsam is grateful to live here where you can achieve everything you want. She has never returned to Poland. She will not set foot in Poland again. She has gone to Israel 15 times to visit old friends. The visits were delightful, but she has everything she needs in the United States. She is satisfied to see her grandchildren grow up as decent people.