Nesse Godin

Nesse Godin (Galperin) (born March 28, 1928 in Šiauliai, Lithuania) is a Holocaust survivor. She has dedicated her adult life to teaching and sharing memories of the Holocaust. Nesse has the ability to translate the Holocaust into a personal glimpse of this enormous and horrifying history.

Early years

1933-1939

"My family was very religious and observed all the Jewish laws. I attended Hebrew school and was raised in a loving household, where the values of community and caring always were stressed. After the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, we heard from relatives in Łódź that Jews there were being treated horribly. We could not believe it; how could your neighbors denounce you and not stand up to help you?"

1940-1944

These were the years of German occupation in Lithuania, as well as numerous other places and regions throughout Europe.

"On June 26, 1941, the Germans occupied our city, just four days after the invasion of the USSR. In the weeks that followed, SS killing units and Lithuanian collaborators shot about 1,000 Jews in the nearby Kuziai forest. In August, we were forced to move into a ghetto, where we lived in constant hunger and fear. There I witnessed many “selections,” during which men, women, and children were taken to their deaths. My father was among them. In 1944 as the Soviet army approached, the remaining Jews were deported to the Stutthof concentration camp. There I was given the number 54015."

1945-1950

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