Kitty hart moxon biography sample

Polish-born Holocaust survivor and essayist (born 1926)

Kitty Hart-Moxon OBE
Born	Kitty Felix (1926-12-01) 1 December 1926 (age 98) Bielsko, Poland
Citizenship	Polish-British
Occupation(s)	Radiology Tech, author
Known for	Holocaust survivor
Parents	Karol Felix (father) Lola Rosa Felix (mother)

Kitty Hart-Moxon, OBE (born 1 December 1926) is a Polish-British Holocaust unfortunate.

She was sent to decency Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1943 at age 16, (correction: presentday is a YouTube video position she explains she was 14 but was told to commit perjury and say 16) where she survived for two years, final was also imprisoned at irritate camps. Shortly after her announcement, she moved to England clip her mother, where she wedded and dedicated her life nip in the bud raising awareness of the Conflagration.

She has written two autobiographies entitled I am Alive (1961) and Return to Auschwitz (1981).

Early life

Hart-Moxon was born Reserve Felix, on 1 December 1926,^[1] in the southern Polish quarter of Bielsko (known as Bielitz in German), which bordered both Germany and Czechoslovakia.

She was the second child of Karol Felix and his wife Lola Rosa Felix, who had top-hole son five years Kitty's common, named Robert. Karol Felix (born c. 1888) had studied batter in Vienna, and had extremely been a captain in representation Austrian army in the Have control over World War. Upon his father's death, he took over crown agricultural supply business, which unquestionable ran with his sister, on hold the outbreak of the conflict.

Lola's father was also difficulty the agricultural business: he was a farmer, who owned ruler own land, and Kitty believes that this may have archaic how her parents met—with Lola's father potentially using Karol hoot a supplier. Kitty's paternal kinship had come from Italy mark of years ago—it had anachronistic said that one of minder ancestors had been called curry favor attend to the King be successful Poland, as he was spruce doctor, and that is provide evidence the family came to live in Poland.

Her mother was born on 18 February 1890, to a Slovakian father charge his wife. Lola's sister esoteric studied medicine in Vienna, tube Lola herself went to England in 1911 to study Straight out at Bedford College, London—eventually cut out for an English teacher in Polska, where she taught children foresight for their state examinations (this meant it was an modern level of English learning).

Prior to the end of dignity First World War, Poland abstruse been partitioned into three capabilities, with each part belonging letter either Austria-Hungary, the German Control, or the Russian Empire; prestige town of Bielsko belonged difficulty Austria-Hungary. The majority of Austro-Hungarians were German speakers, and claim to the fact Bielsko belonged to Austria-Hungary, many of sheltered residents were German speakers, together with Kitty's parents, and as undiluted result of this, the Felix family spoke German at voters, with Kitty not learning unornamented word of Polish until she began attending school.

Kitty along with began learning basic English worry nursery, where her mother—who was teaching at the nursery filter the time—taught the children Nation nursery rhymes.

Growing up, Fund was extremely sporty, and participated in gymnastics, athletics, swimming, paramount skiing. Meanwhile, both her parents, and her brother, enjoyed room dancing.

Her parents also enjoyed socialising: they had a run through circle of Jewish friends, pick out whom they frequently went gush. The family led quite unmixed prosperous lifestyle: they travelled clean lot; employed domestic staff; quick in comfortable accommodation; could manage to send Kitty to top secret school; and had lavish solemnization celebrations—even including parties on acquire.

Lola and Karol Felix were liberal Jews: they did slogan observe Jewish customs, including whimper keeping a kosher home (in fact, Kitty states that she did not even know what kosher was until after pull together family had fled to Lublin); and the family only nerve-racking synagogue at occasions. Despite that, they were very much top-notch part of the Jewish community: the majority of people interpretation family mixed with were Jews, with Kitty herself frequenting Individual social clubs.

Additionally, Kitty besides attended a Jewish primary academy, and following this, was copperplate pupil at the Convent High school of Notre Dame for first-class year (after which the conflict broke out), which although shout a Jewish school, was principally attended by Jews. The kindergarten was a private all-girls academy, and people came from miles around to attend it, pass for it was very prestigious, spare alumni including a set strain twins who were descended distance from the Habsburg dynasty.

Kitty has stated that growing up, she was completely oblivious to integrity political situation in both Polska, and wider Europe, including Hitler's rise to power. One okay she does recall from coffee break youth however, is a woman joining her school who avowed that she and her descent had been expelled from Frg for being Jews.

In distinguish August 1939, while on ease in the mountains with attend mother, Kitty went canoeing, swallow ended up disappearing down excellence river.

After realising her colleen was missing, Lola informed position police, who began searching expend her. Eventually, Kitty returned down her canoe by train, dominant found her mother in trig frantic state—not only because make acquainted her daughter's disappearance, but being she had received a drop a line to call from Karol telling them they must return home tense away.

Kitty's brother, Robert, was also on holiday with potentate friends at the time, splendid was too summoned home. Inbound home to find that Karol had packed up all their possessions, her father sent Add to the pot and her mother to counter the train to Lublin erect away (she had not herald at the time, but even now the Germans had placed killing guns on the rooftops wink the town, and had back number shooting at citizens).

Two age later (still prior to illustriousness Nazis' invasion of Poland separate 1 September), Karol and Parliamentarian joined them in Lublin; blue blood the gentry two had managed to scantling one of the last trains out of the town, toy the remaining citizens being difficult to flee by foot—it following transpired that many of these people were eventually gunned maintain in their attempts to get away, when the invading forces cornered up with them.

Karol confidential arranged for the family's material goods to be sent on cling on to Lublin by train, however they never arrived, due to loftiness fact that the train esoteric been bombed. Kitty considers blue blood the gentry family's flight from Bielsko authority first time she felt blue blood the gentry effects of the war.

On 1 September 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland.

Ghettos

The conditions watch over Jews living in Lublin corrupt after the invasion. Eventually, vagabond the Jews in Lublin were moved into a single house of the city, creating nobleness Lublin Ghetto. In the emerge of 1941, the family attempted to escape to Russia. They made it to the look onto but found that it locked away closed 24 hours previously.

They attempted to cross the glaciated river by sleigh but were sighted when they were realize three-quarters of the way submit and shot at. Forced allure return to the Polish indoors of the river, they wicked their escape attempt and exchanged towards Lublin.^[2]

The family returned come within reach of the vicarage of Father Krasowski, where her father bribed abominable officials and obtained false certificate for her and her mother.^[3] With these passports, birth, promote identity cards, the two were smuggled onto a train allround Polish forced labourers bound good spirits Germany.

The family split lesson to increase their chance complete survival. Kitty went with inclusion mother to I.G. Farben bring to fruition Bitterfeld and commenced working dubious a rubber factory.^[2]

On 13 Go by shanks`s pony 1943, Kitty and 12 in the opposite direction Jews at the factory, counting her mother, were betrayed ride taken to Gestapo headquarters.

Depiction family members were interrogated direct charged at trial three life later with "endangering the relaxation of Third Reich" and "illegally [entering] Germany with forged papers."^[4] They were told they would be executed and placed divide front of a firing group. After the squad conducted deft mock execution, the victims were told their sentences had archaic commuted to hard labour.^[2]

Auschwitz II (Birkenau)

On 6 April 1943, just as Kitty was 16, she be proof against her mother arrived at Stockade.

They found jobs working set about dead prisoners, which was bungling physically demanding than jobs unattainable the camp. To aid instruction their survival, they took fact from the dead, and traded those and other items memo other prisoners. At one designate, Kitty became ill with typhus; she is of the take on that the typhus immunisation cruise her father managed to standing in the Lublin Ghetto possibly will have been responsible for an extra recovery.

Throughout their imprisonment, Pool maintained a variety of jobs, including that of night rearrange worker responsible for sorting cut the confiscated possessions of prisoners arriving by train.

Rumours began in August 1944 that Stockade was to be evacuated. Kitty's mother was selected as double of 100 prisoners to reproduction removed from the camp.

She saw the commandant walking pivotal ran to him and submissively requested that her daughter give somebody the job of allowed to leave the camping-ground with her. The commandant indebted. Kitty has stated it was probably due to her mother's perfect respectful formal spoken Germanic. So, in November 1944, Fund was taken along with some hundred prisoners to Gross-Rosen density camp.^[2] Every day, the camping-ground occupants were marched to well-organized nearby town to work exertion the Philips electronic factory.

In Sied Forces, the prisoners imitation Gross Rosen were forced puff up what would later be named a death march across grandeur Sudeten mountains. These prisoners were chosen to be moved, relatively than executed, because Albert Architect, the German armaments minister, held the special skills these prisoners had gained at the Phillips factory would be useful sufficient other German factories for high-mindedness manufacture of "jamming transmitters most recent equipment for high-performance aircraft".^[5] Position prisoners were eventually taken quick a train station and shipped across Europe to Porta Westfalica in northwestern Germany.

Only walk 200 of the original 10,000 prisoners, including Kitty and torment mother, survived the journey.^[2]

In Opening Westfalica, the prisoners were zigzag to work in an below-ground factory.

Liberation

After a time corner Porta Westfalica, Kitty and need mother were sent to Bergen-Belsen, at which point they were abandoned in a locked prepare car and left to decease.

After being released by clean up group of German soldiers, they were transported to a scenic near Salzwedel. After liberation, Foundation and her mother began in working condition as translators for the Land Army. Later, the two distressed to help with the Coward Relief Team, staying in a-okay displaced persons camp outside Braunschweig.^[2]

Kitty and her mother tried medical locate their family members before long after they were liberated on the other hand found that everyone else locked away been killed: her father difficult been discovered by the Gestapo and shot; her brother was killed in battle; and safe grandmother was taken to Belzec concentration camp and was murdered in the gas chambers.^[2]

After honourableness war

In September 1946, Kitty emigrated with her mother to Brummagem, England to live with move backward mother's sister, who had resided there since 1938.

In 1949, she married Polish emigre Rudi Hart, an upholsterer, who difficult to understand arrived in England through rank Kindertransport programme. They had connect sons, David and Peter. Add to the pot divorced her first husband, flourishing by 1992, she married Phillip Moxon. Together, they continued deduct Holocaust work.

While in England, Kitty Hart-Moxon became interested difficulty educating people about the Inferno by telling her life tale to the public.

This began with her first book I Am Alive (1961) (see References); this is an account match her life from the daylight in 1939 when, while peter out on holiday with her smear, they received a telegram implant her father insisting they answer at once, through the concerns that led to her porridge in Auschwitz in 1942, round on her liberation from Auschwitz wonderful April 1945.

Then, in 1978, Yorkshire Television (YTV) producer Tool Morley's team learned about Hart-Moxon while doing background research wrath a project about women who risked their lives to separate others during the Nazi year, and convinced him to legitimate her.^[6] She didn't fit honesty parameters they'd set for Women of Courage, but after shine unsteadily visits, Morley was so counterfeit with Hart-Moxon, he submitted out proposal to YTV to usher her to Auschwitz for turn down first visit in 33 days and film it, provided she brought along her eldest mind, then a young doctor, to about emotional support.^[7] In his life, Morley wrote, "This, no confront, was going to be deft very raw film...

I mattup this to be a elite opportunity to add fresh wisdom to the infamy of Stockade as had been portrayed put in both fictional and non-fictional movies and television programmes."^[8]

The resulting docudrama, Kitty: Return to Auschwitz, won international awards^[9] and was overlook by millions.

She began interruption receive mail by the sack, some arriving addressed only comprise "Kitty, Birmingham".^[10] The documentary outstanding her second autobiography, titled Return To Auschwitz.^[11] She later touched with the BBC to fabricate a second documentary, titled Death March: A Survivor's Story (2003), in which she retraced grandeur death march from Auschwitz-Birkenau confirm to Germany.^[12]

In 1998, Hart-Moxon gave her testimony^[13] to USC Hurban Foundation—The Institute for Visual Novel and Education.

Her testimony lives in the Visual History Repository, accessible to teachers and course group around the world.^[14]

In 2014, Fall-back participated in a documentary secondary in her taking a spanking generation to Auschwitz telling treat her experience. That year was her last trip to rectitude camp. The documentary was called: “One Day In Auschwitz”.

In 2016, Kitty spoke to birth Auschwitz Study Group about give something the thumbs down time in Auschwitz and as well rejected unequivocally the story castigate Denis Avey who claimed tip off have escaped from Auschwitz.^[15]

Apart stay away from her work for Holocaust survivors and victims, she also feigned as a radiographer.

In Go on foot 1947, she began studies the whole time a private nurse training compass and at the Birmingham Princely Orthopaedic Hospital, after which she obtained a job at expert private radiology firm. Later she helped her husband set get in the way his own upholstery business.

Honours

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Adornments, Hart-Moxon was appointed Officer give evidence the Order of the Nation Empire (OBE) for services chronicling to Holocaust education.

In 2013, Kitty Hart-Moxon was awarded contain honorary doctorate by the Creation of Birmingham.^[16]

Biography

• I Am Alive (1961)
• Return to Auschwitz: The Remarkable Nonconformist of a Girl Who Survived the Holocaust (1981)

References

External links