Eighty years after the events of World War II, the pain and trauma of the Holocaust are still fresh for Renee Salt, who was just a child when she saw Nazi soldiers marching through her hometown in Poland.

The horrors that Renee witnessed — the ghettos, the mass murders, and the torment she endured — are now captured in her memoir, A Mother’s Promise.

Through her story, she hopes to remind the world of the unimaginable suffering that many, including herself, experienced.

A Childhood Lost in the Shadow of War

Renee Salt, born Rywka Ruchla Berkowicz in 1929, recalls her idyllic childhood in Zdunska Wola, Poland, before the German invasion.

Her memories are filled with warmth, her large, loving family celebrating Jewish festivals and coming together for weekly Sabbath rituals.

However, everything changed on September 1, 1939, when Nazi soldiers marched into Poland, forcing Renee and her family out of their home on the first day of the war. Their life would never be the same.

Renee recounts how life in Poland grew harder with each passing day as the Nazis began implementing new, brutal rules for Jewish people.

Soon, they were forced to wear yellow stars of David and were confined to the ghetto, where food was scarce, and living conditions were unbearable.

Despite these hardships, Renee and her family stuck together, always trying to survive the relentless persecution.

The Heartbreaking Loss of Her Sister and Family

In 1942, things took a tragic turn when the ghetto was liquidated.

Renee, her younger sister Stenia, and their mother were forced to leave their home and join a crowd of terrified people.

Renee vividly remembers the horror of that day, particularly when the Nazis demanded that all children under 18 be handed over.

In a desperate attempt to protect her children, Renee’s mother hid both of them, but tragically, an SS officer singled out Stenia.

Renee’s sister tried to protect her mother by lying, claiming the woman wasn’t her mother, and courageously ran off with the officer.

That was the last time Renee would ever see her sister.

Renee’s heart aches as she recalls the pain of losing Stenia.

Although decades have passed, the guilt of surviving when so many of her family members did not is something Renee still grapples with.

Tragically, Stenia and hundreds of other children were sent to the Chelmno extermination camp and murdered.

Surviving Auschwitz and the Struggles That Followed

Renee and her mother were eventually sent to the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they witnessed unimaginable horrors.

They faced selection by Dr. Josef Mengele, known as the “Angel of Death,” who determined who would live and who would die with a mere flick of his finger.

Renee and her mother were lucky enough to be spared and sent to another part of the camp, but the brutality they faced continued.

Life in Auschwitz was hellish. Renee and her mother were starved, shivering in cold, overcrowded barracks.

The daily grind of roll calls in freezing temperatures, lack of food, and constant fear took a heavy toll on them.

Despite all of this, Renee’s mother remained her rock, providing strength for her daughter when everything else seemed lost.

The Final Years of the War and Renee’s Survival

As the war dragged on, Renee and her mother were moved to the town of Hamburg, Germany, where they were forced to work in inhumane conditions.

Here, Renee witnessed the depths of suffering, with many dying from hunger, disease, or the cold.

But despite the agony, they somehow managed to survive.

In 1945, as the war neared its end, Renee and her mother were taken to Bergen-Belsen, where conditions were even worse.

The camp was overcrowded, and there was no food or water, leading to the death of countless prisoners.

Renee’s mother, though incredibly ill, continued to encourage her daughter to survive, even though she knew her time was running out.

Liberation and Tragic Loss

On April 15, 1945, Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British soldiers.

However, the victory came too late for Renee’s mother, who passed away just 12 days after the liberation.

Renee, now an orphan at just 15 years old, was left devastated but also determined to keep her mother’s memory alive.

After the war, Renee found a new family in Paris, where she was reunited with an aunt.

In a twist of fate, she later met Charles Salt, a British soldier who had helped liberate Bergen-Belsen.

They soon learned that they had shared the same tragic experience, and Charles, who had been a military policeman at the camp, and Renee married in 1949.

A Life of Remembrance and Warnings for the Future

Now 95 years old, Renee has spent many years sharing her story, which serves as a warning to future generations.

As she reflects on the past, she remains haunted by the horrific events of the Holocaust, determined to ensure the world never forgets.

“We should learn to live in peace with one another, so perhaps the world will be a better place,” she says.

Renee’s memoir, A Mother’s Promise, published 80 years after the events she recounts, is available now.

It is not just a testament to her survival but a powerful reminder that the atrocities of the past must never be repeated.

This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!

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