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This
dreidel belonged to Esther Weissfield (formerly Alice Goldman), who
was born in Moravia in 1933. At the age of 7, she and her family
were forced to flee as a result of Nazi persecution in Slovakia.
They hid in various different places, and finally came to
Kezmarok, her father’s hometown.
At a certain point, the persecution desisted, and the Jewish
community attempted to lead a normal life.
There were less than 10 children, but they somehow succeeded
in studying, and as Hanukkah approached, one of the teachers made
the dreidel for Esther.
In November 1944, the Jews of Kezmarok were assembled and
deported to Auschwitz.
Esther’s mother packed the dreidel into a suitcase, which
remained with their non-Jewish neighbors. For reasons, which are
unknown, when the train carrying Esther’s family arrived at
Auschwitz, it changed direction, and went to Ravensbruck.
Esther’s mother died in Bergen Belsen after the war, and
Esther returned to Czechoslovakia alone, where she discovered that
her father and brother were in Kezmarok.
She traveled there, and found that her neighbors still had
the suitcase.
Esther kept the dreidel until she donated it to Yad Vashem in
1997, for display in the “No
Child’s Play” exhibition.
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