Ursula Levy survival testimony

Ursula Levy was born on May 11th 1935. She came from the town of Osnabrück Germany. Her parents were Max and Lucia Levy. Ursula Levy was only three when her father was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Soon, her father returned but in poor health. He had sustained serious injuries and was unable to recover. He passed away early in 1939. After his death, Levy's mother sent her and her brother to a convent that cared for starving children. Though they secretly hid many Jewish children among the others. The two lived at the convent for many years before Nazi's invaded in 1943. The Nazi's took all of the Jewish children and many others to concentration camps. After some time one of the men from the convent, Mr. Vanmackelenbergh came to speak with the guards about the children. He said that the two were not Jewish and that they in fact had a father in America who was Catholic. When this information was uncovered the two were taken from the camp and moved to another camp were transported to Westerbork camp, where they were placed in an orphanage and sent to school. Soon the two were boarded on a train along with 2600 other Jews. The train was crowded and no one had food or water. There were frequent stops where they were aloud to get out and walk around. But Levy and her brother never thought to try to run. This was most likely due to not being able to think because of their hunger. After nearly two weeks the train halted and there was yelling from outside. The German officers outside were being arrested and the deceased were unloaded from the train. The remaining survivors; only 600, were released and sent to a nearby town to get food and rest. Levy and her brother did not have a home until they moved to Chicago to live with their aunt and uncle. It was later revealed to Levy that her mother had passed away. She sought therapy to help her deal with the passing of family and all the trauma involved with experiencing what she had been through. “The reason I remember so well is because we were all gathered in the hallway and the nuns kissed her goodbye and wished her the best and wanted to give her blessing.” “... A crumb of bread meant the difference between life and death.”