Survivors
Name | Prisoner number | Date of birth | Date of death | Age | Nationality | Faith | Arrival at camp | Departure from camp | Notability |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lewis, HelenHelen Lewis | 01916-06-22June 22, 1916 | 02009-12-31December 31, 2009 | 93 years | Czech | Jewish | 01944-05-01May 1944 | 01944-01-011944 | Dancer who trained in Prague. Was moved to Stutthof and evacuated from there in January 1945 to go on a forced march from which she escaped, being liberated by the Russian army. Emigrated in 1947 to Belfast, where she made her name as a dance teacher and choreographer. In her later years talked about her Holocaust experiences and wrote an autobiography, A Time to Speak. Her husband Paul Hermann died at Schwarzheide in April 1945; her mother, a distinguished pianist, died at Sobibór. | |
Bartoszewski, WładysławWładysław Bartoszewski | 4427 | 01922-02-19February 19, 1922 | alive | 700191000000000000091 years, 7002146000000000000146 days | Polish | Christian (Catholic) | 01940-09-22September 22, 1940 | 01941-04-08April 8, 1941 | Member of Armia Krajowa. Released from camp due to actions by Polish Red Cross. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (twice) after 1989. |
Borowski, TadeuszTadeusz Borowski | 01922-11-12November 12, 1922 | 01951-07-01July 1, 1951 | 700128000000000000028 years, 7002231000000000000231 days | Polish | 01943-01-011943 | late 01944-01-011944 | writer. Transferred to Natzweiler-Struthof, then to Dachau concentration camp; committed suicide after the war. | ||
Brady, GeorgeGeorge Brady | 01928-02-09February 9, 1928 | alive | 700185000000000000085 years, 7002156000000000000156 days | Czech | Jewish | 01944-10-23October 23, 1944 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | Plumber. Sent on the death march; escaped when a Soviet tank blew a hole in the building he was in. His mother, father and sister Hana were gassed at the camp. | |
Braun, BorisBoris Braun | 01928-02-09February 9, 1928 | alive | 700192000000000000092 years, 7002329000000000000329 days | Croat | Jewish | University professor. His mother and father were killed during the Holocaust. | |||
Bacon, YehudaYehuda Bacon | 01929-07-28July 28, 1929 | alive | 700183000000000000083 years, 7002352000000000000352 days | Czech | Jewish | 01943-12-01December 1943 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | Artist. Sent on the death march. His father was gassed in June 1944; his mother and his sister Hanna were deported to Stutthof concentration camp, where they died a few weeks before its liberation. | |
Gabbai, DarioDario Gabbai | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-04-01April 1944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | Part of the Sonderkommando. Family was killed at the camp. | ||||
Bielecki, JerzyJerzy Bielecki | Polish | Political prisoner. Suffered hanging torture (arms hung behind back). | |||||||
Paczyński, JózefJózef Paczyński | Polish | Political prisoner. About every 1 weeks, he was ordered to cut the hair of the camp's commanding officer, Rudolf Höss. Personally witnessed gassings from nearby. | |||||||
Piechowski, KazimierzKazimierz Piechowski | 918 | 01919-10-03October 3, 1919 | alive | 700193000000000000093 years, 7002285000000000000285 days | Polish | 01940-06-20June 20, 1940 | 01942-06-20June 20, 1942 | Imprisoned because the boy scouts were labeled a criminal organization. From Rajkowy. Deported to camp on second transport from Tarnów. On 01942-06-20June 20, 1942, he escaped from Auschwitz I along with 3 other prisoners, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, fully armed. They stole an SS staff car from the motor pool, a Steyr 220 belonging to Rudolf Höss, and drove out the main gate. The escape was facilitated by Piechowski's fluent command of German. As they drove toward the gate he told the guards to hurry up and open it. None of the four were recaptured. | |
Jaster, Stanisław GustawStanisław Gustaw Jaster | 6438 | 1921 | Polish | 01942-06-20June 20, 1942 | Veteran of Invasion of Poland in rank of first lieutenant, from Warsaw. On 01942-06-20June 20, 1942, he escaped from Auschwitz I along with 3 other prisoners, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, fully armed. They stole an SS staff car from the motor pool, a Steyr 220 belonging to Rudolf Höss, and drove out the main gate. | ||||
Lempart, JózefJózef Lempart | 3199 | 1916 | Polish | Christian | 01942-06-20June 20, 1942 | Priest, from Wadowice. On 01942-06-20June 20, 1942, he escaped from Auschwitz I along with 3 other prisoners, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, fully armed. They stole an SS staff car from the motor pool, a Steyr 220 belonging to Rudolf Höss, and drove out the main gate. | |||
Bendera, EugeniuszEugeniusz Bendera | 8502 | 1906 | Ukrainian | 01942-06-20June 20, 1942 | Auto mechanic, from Chortkiv. On 01942-06-20June 20, 1942, he escaped from Auschwitz I along with 3 other prisoners, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, fully armed. They stole an SS staff car from the motor pool, a Steyr 220 belonging to Rudolf Höss, and drove out the main gate. | ||||
Smoleń, KazimierzKazimierz Smoleń | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Kowalczyk, AugustAugust Kowalczyk | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Stenkin, PavelPavel Stenkin | Soviet | Prisoner of war. | |||||||
Mikusz, JózefJózef Mikusz | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Veselá, SilviaSilvia Veselá | Slovak | Jewish | 01942-01-011942 | Deported from holding camp near Bratislava. | |||||
Votavová, EvaEva Votavová | Slovak | Jewish | 01942-07-01July 1942 | ||||||
Pressburger, OttoOtto Pressburger | Slovak | Jewish | From Trnava. Forced to dig mass graves and exhume corpses. His mother and father were killed at the camp. | ||||||
Breder, LibušaLibuša Breder | Jewish | Worked in the "Canada" sector of the camp. Witnessed rapes of women by the camp's officers. | |||||||
Citrónová, HelenaHelena Citrónová | Jewish | Worked in the "Canada" sector of the camp. An SS officer, Franz Wunch, fell in love with her. As a result, Wunch would later save Helena's sister from the gas chambers, although her sister's son and daughter could not be saved. | |||||||
Rybacki, TadeuszTadeusz Rybacki | Polish | Political prisoner. Served as a waiter at the SS canteen in the camp. | |||||||
Alexander, VeraVera Alexander | Jewish | Witnessed crimes committed by Irma Grese. | |||||||
Mozes Kor, EvaEva Mozes Kor | 87063 | 01934-01-30January 30, 1934 | alive | 700179000000000000079 years, 7002166000000000000166 days | Romanian | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Both of her parents and two older sisters were killed at the camp; only Miriam and herself survived. Founder of CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center. |
Mozes, MiriamMiriam Mozes | 87064 | 01934-01-30January 30, 1934 | 01993-06-06June 6, 1993 | 700159000000000000059 years, 7002127000000000000127 days | Romanian | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | Eva's twin sister. One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Mengele injected Miriam with a chemical that stopped the growth of her kidneys; later, Eva donated one of her kidneys. |
Laks, JonaJona Laks | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. | ||||||||
Kriegel, VeraVera Kriegel | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. | ||||||||
Pufeles, PearlPearl Pufeles | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. | ||||||||
Rappaport, HelenHelen Rappaport | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. | ||||||||
Reichenberg, EphraimEphraim Reichenberg | Hungarian | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. | |||||||
Frankfurter, GyurGyur Frankfurter | Hungarian | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. From Berettyóújfalu. Emigrated to United States in 1947, name changed to "George". | |||||||
Frankfurter, LaciLaci Frankfurter | Hungarian | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. From Berettyóújfalu. Emigrated to United States in 1947, name changed to "Leslie". | |||||||
Greenfeld, PeterPeter Greenfeld | A-2459 | 01940-01-011940 | Czech | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Known at the camp as "Josef "Peipchek" Klineman". Born in Prague. | ||
Klineman, MarthaMartha Klineman | A-4931 | 01940-01-011940 | Czech | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | Peter's twin. One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Born in Prague. | ||
Salomon, LipotLipot Salomon | A-5723 | 1923 or 1924 | 01965-04-19April 19, 1965 | 40 years | Romanian | 01944-05-28May 28, 1944 | 01945-01-01January 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Born in Turţ. First deported to Vynohradiv ghetto on 01944-04-14April 14, 1944. | |
Salomon, DezoDezo Salomon | A-5724 | 1923 or 1924 | 01996-04-22April 22, 1996 | 71 years | Romanian | 01944-05-28May 28, 1944 | 01945-01-01January 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Born in Turţ. First deported to Vynohradiv ghetto on 01944-04-14April 14, 1944. | |
Somogyi, PeterPeter Somogyi | A-17454 | April 14, 1933 | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-07-09July 9, 1944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. From Pécs. Their mother and older sister (14 years) were gassed at Auschwitz at arrival. | ||
Somogyi, ThomasThomas Somogyi | A-17455 | April 14, 1933 | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-07-09July 9, 1944 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. From Pécs. | ||
Helbrun, StephanieStephanie Helbrun | 01924-02-04February 4, 1924 | Czech | Jewish | 01943-12-01December 1943 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Born in Subotica, lived in Prague until 1939. Escaped on the death march. Their parents and sister were killed in various camps. | |||
Helbrun, AnnettaAnnetta Helbrun | 01924-02-04February 4, 1924 | Czech | Jewish | 01943-12-01December 1943 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | One of the "Mengele twins" who was selected and used for involuntary medical experiments. Born in Subotica, lived in Prague until 1939. Escaped on the death march. | |||
Able, GeorgeGeorge Able | Met Annetta Helbrun when both were assigned to a commando loading corpses. Later married Annetta in 1948. | ||||||||
Spiegel, Zvi ErnstZvi Ernst Spiegel | 1913 or 1914 | 01945-01-27January 27, 1945 | Assigned to supervise twins used in the medical experiments of Josef Mengele. Saved children from the gas chamber on several occasions. After the camp's liberation, he took 157 Mengele twins and homeless children to safety in Hungary. 29 years old in 1944. | ||||||
Nyiszli, MiklósMiklós Nyiszli | 01901-06-17June 17, 1901 | 01956-05-05May 5, 1956 | 700154000000000000054 years, 7002323000000000000323 days | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-06-01June 1944 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | Prisoner, and doctor (pathologist) who served Josef Mengele. Sent on the death march. | |
Dacko, RyszardRyszard Dacko | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Hantz, StanislawStanislaw Hantz | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Einsenschmidt, EliezerEliezer Einsenschmidt | Jewish | ||||||||
Cahana, Alice LokAlice Lok Cahana | 01929-01-011929 | alive | 81 or 82 | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | Deported from Sárvár. | ||
Venezia, MorrisMorris Venezia | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-04-01April 1944 | Part of the Sonderkommando. | |||||
Rosenbach, FranzFranz Rosenbach | Gypsy | Survived because he was transferred to another camp. His mother was killed at the camp. | |||||||
Szmyt, WładysławWładysław Szmyt | Polish | Political prisoner. | |||||||
Mandelbaum, HenrykHenryk Mandelbaum | 181970 | 01922-12-15December 15, 1922 | 02008-06-17June 17, 2008 | 700185000000000000085 years, 7002185000000000000185 days | Polish | Jewish | 01944-04-22April 22, 1944 | 01945-01-18January 18, 1945 | Part of Sonderkommando. Fled on a death march. |
Mann, IbiIbi Mann | Jewish | ||||||||
Eichengreen, LucilleLucille Eichengreen | 01925-02-01February 1, 1925 | alive | 700188000000000000088 years, 7002164000000000000164 days | German | Jewish | 01944-08-01August 1944 | 01944-10-01October 1944 | From Hamburg. Deported to Łódź Ghetto on 01941-10-26October 26, 1941, where she was molested by Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski and remained for four years until deported to Auschwitz. Tranferred to Neuengamme concentration camp. | |
Pilecki, WitoldWitold Pilecki | 4859 | 01901-05-13May 13, 1901 | 01948-05-25May 25, 1948 | 700147000000000000047 years, 700112000000000000012 days | Polish | Christian (Catholic) | 01940-09-22September 22, 1940 | 01943-04-26April 26, 1943 | Soldier and secret agent ("Tomasz Serafiński"). He volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz (the only person known to do so) for a Polish resistance operation in order to gather intelligence and escape. As the author of the Witold's report, the first intelligence report on Auschwitz, his operation enabled the Polish government-in-exile to convince the Allies that the Holocaust was taking place. Later executed by Polish communists. |
Wiesel, ElieElie Wiesel | A-7713 | 01928-09-30September 30, 1928 | alive | 700184000000000000084 years, 7002288000000000000288 days | Romanian | Jewish | 01944-05-17May 17, 1944 | 01945-01-01January 1945 | Writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1986). His mother and younger sister are gassed immediately. Transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp, where Wiesel's father, Shlomo, was beaten and killed. Two older sisters, Hilda and Beatrice, survive. |
Firestone, RenéeRenée Firestone | Hungarian | Jewish | Her sister was killed at the camp during medical experiments. | ||||||
Pisar, SamuelSamuel Pisar | 01929-03-18March 18, 1929 | alive | 700184000000000000084 years, 7002119000000000000119 days | Polish | Jewish | Lawyer, writer. His parents and younger sister Frieda were killed during the war. Transferred to Dachau concentration camp. Escaped during a death march. | |||
Ančerl, KarelKarel Ančerl | 01908-04-11April 11, 1908 | 01973-07-03July 3, 1973 | 700165000000000000065 years, 700183000000000000083 days | Czech | Jewish | 01944-10-15October 15, 1944 | Conductor. Josef Mengele was about to send Ančerl to the gas chamber, but a weakened Pavel Haas, who stood next to him, began to cough and the death sentence was therefore chosen for him instead. Helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp. | ||
Perl, GisellaGisella Perl | 01907-01-011907 | 01988-01-011988 | 80 or 81 years | Hungarian | Jewish | 01944-01-011944 | Gynecologist. Forced to be an inmate doctor. Saved the lives of hundreds of pregnant women by aborting their pregnancies (pregnant women were often killed for experiments by Josef Mengele). | ||
Vrba, RudolfRudolf Vrba | 44070 | 01924-09-11September 11, 1924 | 02006-03-27March 27, 2006 | 700181000000000000081 years, 7002197000000000000197 days | Slovak | Jewish | 01943-01-15January 15, 1943 | 01944-04-07April 7, 1944 | Scientist. Escaped from the camp. Co-author of the Vrba-Wetzler report, delivered to the Allies, which saved the lives of an estimated 120 to 200 thousand Jews. Testified against Adolf Eichmann at Eichmann's trial. |
Wetzler, AlfrédAlfréd Wetzler | 29162 | 01918-05-10May 10, 1918 | 01988-02-08February 8, 1988 | 700169000000000000069 years, 7002274000000000000274 days | Slovak | Jewish | 01942-01-011942 | 01944-04-07April 7, 1944 | Escaped from the camp. Co-author of the Vrba-Wetzler report, delivered to the Allies, which saved the lives of an estimated 120 to 200 thousand Jews. |
Dekel, AlexAlex Dekel | Served under Josef Mengele as his subject, witnessing many of Mengele's human medical experiments. | ||||||||
Kielar, WieslawWieslaw Kielar | Author of autobiographical novel 5 Years in Auschwitz |
- Rebbe Menachem Mendel Taub of Kaliv
- Leo Bretholz, Austrian who escaped from train en route; author of Leap into Darkness.
- Eva Brewster, German-Jewish (born in Berlin), Author of Vanished in Darkness – An Auschwitz Memoir, survived.
- Thomas Buergenthal Czech Jew, human rights champion, former judge of the International Court of Justice, author of A Lucky Child, interned at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, survived.
- Józef Cyrankiewicz, later Prime Minister of Poland and Chairman of the Polish Council of State
- Yehiel De-Nur, Polish-Jewish writer, in Auschwitz for two years, survived, died July 17, 2001.
- Robert Desnos, French poet. Died of typhoid after the camp's liberation.
- Laure Diebold, French resistant, Compagnon de la Libération
- Xawery Dunikowski, Polish sculptor and artist, best known for his Neo-Romantic sculptures and Auschwitz-inspired art. Survived.
- Kurt Epstein, Czech Jewish Olympic water polo competitor
- Anne Frank, teenage diarist from Amsterdam, held 7 weeks at Auschwitz, transferred to Bergen-Belsen where she died of Typhus.
- Hans Frankenthal, German-Jewish author, survived.
- Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, survived.
- Franciszek Gajowniczek, Polish Army Sergeant whose life was spared when Maximilian Kolbe took his place. Survived and died in 1995.
- Józef Garliński, Polish best selling writer who wrote numerous books in both English and Polish on Auschwitz and World War II, including the best selling 'Fighting Auschwitz'. Survived and died in 2005.
- Leon Greenman, British anti-fascism campaigner. Survived and died in 2008.
- Nicholas (Miklós) Hammer, Hungarian born Jew, who was placed in Auschwitz I block 6 and worked in the Kanada I section. Subject of the biography Sacred Games by Gerald Jacobs. Unusual as he was in labour, concentration and death camps before being liberated.
- Magda Herzberger, Romanian-Jewish author and poet, survived.
- Ruth Huppert Elias, Czech-Jewish (from Ostrava), Author of Triumph of Hope - From Theresienstadt and Auschwitz to Israel, survived.
- Stefan Jaracz, Polish actor and theater director who survived camp but died of Tuberculosis in 1945.
- Isabella Katz Leitner Hungarian-Jewish (from Kisvárda), author of Isabella – From Auschwitz to Freedom, survived.
- Imre Kertesz, Hungarian writer, Nobel Laureate in Literature for 2002.
- Stanisław Kętrzyński, Polish historian and diplomat
- Gertrude "Traute" Kleinová, Czech 3-time table tennis world champion
- Antoni Kocjan, Polish glider constructor and a contributor to the intelligence services of the Polish Home Army. Murdered by Gestapo in 1944.
- Abram Korn, Polish-Jewish (from Lipno), author of Abe’s Story: A Holocaust Memoir, survived.
- Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Polish-Jewish (born in Tyliczi), author of Rena’s Promise - A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz, survived.
- Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter, co-founder the wartime Polish organization Żegota. Released through the efforts of the Polish underground.
- Henri Landwirth, Belgian philanthropist and founder of Give Kids the World (survived).
- Joel Lebowitz, Mathematical Physicist. Survived. Honors include the Boltzmann Medal, Henri Poincaré Prize, and Max Planck Medal.
- Olga Lengyel, Romanian author of Five Chimneys, survived.
- Stepan Lenkavsky, Ukrainian nationalist ideologist
- Primo Levi, Italian-Jewish chemist and author, survived.
- Curt Lowens, German-Jewish actor and resistant, survived.
- Arnošt Lustig, Czech-Jewish writer and novelist, the Holocaust is his lifelong theme, survived.
- Filip Müller, Inmate# 29236; Survivor and author of "Eyewitness Auschwitz – Three Years in the Gas Chambers" 1979
- Alfred "Artem" Nakache, French swimmer, world record (200-m breaststroke), one-third of French 2x world record (3x100 relay team); imprisoned in Auschwitz, where his wife and daughter were killed
- Igor Newerly – Polish novelist and educator.
- Henry Oertelt, German-Jewish author of An Unbroken Chain incarcerated at Theresienstadt, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Golleschau and Flossenburg, survived.
- Bernard Offen, Polish documentary filmmaker working in Poland and the United States to create Second Generation Witnesses.
- Harry Osers (born 1929) Czech engineer, currently living in Caracas, Venezuela.
- Ignacy Oziewicz, Polish army officer, first commandant of Narodowe Sily Zbrojne
- Lev Rebet, Ukrainian nationalist ideologist.
- Bernat Rosner Hungarian-Jewish lawyer, co-author of An uncommon friendship. Survived.
- Mira Ryczke Kimmelman German-Jewish (from Danzig), author of Echoes from the Holocaust – a Memoir, survived.
- Vladek and Anja Spiegelman, parents of Art Spiegelman, author of Maus. Vladek Spiegelmann was the central character in Maus.
- Józef Szajna Polish scenery designer, stage director, playwright, theoretician of the theatre, painter and graphic artist.
- Leon Schiller, Polish theater and film director, critic and theoretician. He was also a composer and wrote theater and radio screenplays.
- Sigmund Sobolewski, known as "Prisoner 88". Was in Auschwitz from June 14, 1940 to November 7, 1944. Non-Jewish prisoner number 88, immortalized in the book "Prisoner 88: The Man in Stripes."
- Paul Steinberg German-Jewish (born in Berlin), author of Speak You Also - A Survivor’s Reckoning, survived.
- Hedi Szmuk Fried, Hungarian-Jewish (from Sighet), author of The Road to Auschwitz – Fragments of a Life, survived.
- Jack Tramiel, born 1928. Polish-born businessman. Rescued by the U.S. Army in April 1945. Currently living in Monte Sereno, California, USA.
- Rose Van Thyn (1921–2010), Auschwitz and Ravensbrueck survivor who directed Holocaust education activities in her adopted city of Shreveport, Louisiana
- Simone Veil, née Simone Annie Jacob (July 13, 1927–), French politician, survived.
- Shlomo Venezia Greek-Jewish (born in Thessaloniki), author of Inside the Gas Chambers – Eight Months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz, survived.
- Rose Warfman (née Gluck), a French nurse, member of the French Resistance
- Stanislaw Wygodzki, Polish-Jewish author, survived.
- Lowy Adolf - Lang Andras, Hungarian (Miskolc)
- Lowy Dezso, Hungarian (Miskolc) - Jewish accountant
- Lowy Sandor, Hungarian (Miskolc) – Jewish lawyer
- Strasser Julianna Zsuzsanna – Lang Andrasne, Hungarian (Paks)
Read more about this topic: List Of Victims And Survivors Of Auschwitz
Famous quotes containing the word survivors:
“I believe that all the survivors are mad. One time or another their madness will explode. You cannot absorb that much madness and not be influenced by it. That is why the children of survivors are so tragic. I see them in school. They dont know how to handle their parents. They see that their parents are traumatized: they scream and dont react normally.”
—Elie Wiesel (b. 1928)
“I want to celebrate these elms which have been spared by the plague, these survivors of a once flourishing tribe commemorated by all the Elm Streets in America. But to celebrate them is to be silent about the people who sit and sleep underneath them, the homeless poor who are hauled away by the city like trash, except it has no place to dump them. To speak of one thing is to suppress another.”
—Lisel Mueller (b. 1924)