Elly Berkovits Gross (born February 14, 1929) is a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

and author of several Holocaust related books of poetry and prose. She currently resides in the United States, where she is a frequent invited speaker at museums and schools around the country.

Biography

Elly born in

Șimleu Silvaniei Șimleu Silvaniei (; hu, Szilágysomlyó, german: Schomlenmarkt) is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania with a population of 14,436 people (2011 census). It is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava. Three villages are adminis ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

to Eugene and Irina Berkovits. In 1944, her father was inducted by the invading Hungarian forces into a forced labor camp, where he perished on the Russian front. Elly and her remaining family, her mother and younger brother Adalbert, were taken to Cehei ghetto 'the day after Pesach' in 1944 along with most other Jews in

Sălaj County Sălaj County () (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Cr ...

. Six weeks later, her family, along with thousands of other Jews were transported via cattle cars to Auschwitz concentration camp. She was separated from her mother and brother, and never saw either again. Elly credits her survival of the camp to 'miracles', noting that few others of her age group survived the ordeal. Elly was transferred to Fallersleben, a part of the

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

, where she performed slave labor for Volkswagen until she was liberated at

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salz ...

by the Allies on April 14, 1945. Elly returned to her home town, where she soon married family friend Ernest Gross. They have two children and five grandchildren, who also reside in the United States. Elly graduated from

LaGuardia Community College LaGuardia Community College is a public community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia is named after former congressman and New York City mayo ...

with an associate degree in Fine Arts in 1993 at the age of 64.

Works

*'Poems of Elly Gross: Memories of a Holocaust Survivor.' *'Storm against the Innocents and other stories' *'Elka's Growing Up in a Changing World' (Book and DVD) *'Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust' *'Of Miseries and Miracles: The Holocaust Testimonial of Elly Berkovits Gross' (DVD only) *'Vanished World: A Memoir of Ernest' Several of these works have been translated into Spanish and Romanian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Elly Berkovits 1929 births Living people Jewish American writers People from Șimleu Silvaniei American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian Jews Romanian emigrants to the United States Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Neuengamme concentration camp survivors Nazi-era ghetto inmates 21st-century American Jews