Ware, Ann (Levin)

Survivor/Camps
Germany, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen

Mrs. Ann Levin Ware is interviewed in the Timeline television show in honor of Yom HaShoah.

Part I begins with Cantor Michael Loring singing, “Song of the Partisans”, a song composed by Hirsh Glick, a composer who was in the camps. It is a Yiddish song, a song of resistance, a song of hope that was sung by the Jews in the concentration camps.

The television host then introduces the four guests on the show to discuss the subject of Yom HaShoah and why remember the Holocaust.  The guests are:
Cantor Michael Loring, retired Cantor of Temple Beth Israel, Fresno, California
Ann Levin Ware, Holocaust survivor
Inga Kaufman, Holocaust survivor
Phil Kator, son of a Holocaust survivor

Mrs. Ann Levin Ware states, “If we remember things like that, we’ll prevent them from occurring again.”

Mrs. Ware arrived from Germany in 1946 to the United States.  Her New York relatives that brought her to America told her that she should never speak of what happened and forget about it so that she could make the best adjustment to her new life.  Mrs. Ware never told her children about her ordeal.  Her children respected her privacy and she always felt that this part of her life she would like to forget.

Mrs. Ware was in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen two times.  She said that Auschwitz was a nightmare, especially when she was sent directly to the gas chamber upon arrival.

The first time in Bergen-Belsen, Mrs. Ware was imprisoned as an inmate and it was more lenient.  While there, during a roundup in Bergen-Belsen she was sent to Auschwitz.

Mrs. Ware arrived at the train station with a small group of Hungarians.  From the train station they had to walk to Birkenau which was a few miles away.  On arrival, they were all put in a small auxiliary gas chamber.  There was a small blue light, a drain on the floor and a pipe extending from the ceiling.  Men and women were separated and brought back into the small room and stood naked together.  At the last moment, the door opened and the group of twenty one Hungarians that had arrived from Bergen-Belsen were led out of the locked room and placed in another small room.  They heard screaming and then quiet.  They were told by the Germans, “You have heard and seen nothing.”  Mrs. Ware was one of the twenty one whose life was spared and she was shipped back to Bergen-Belsen.  The Germans kept very thorough records of them.

Next Mrs. Inga Kaufman, a Holocaust survivor, began to speak but the tape cuts her off.

The remainder of the video recording is all in Italian.

First there is music, animations and voiceover.

Next there is a woman describing artwork, architecture and a tour of an Italian town.
There are images of Milan, Basillicas, Frescos and interviews of two men.
Shown is an archway with Hebrew letters.  An image of The Gande Synagogue.  The sign says “Via Umberto Norsa, Linguista, 1866-1943.
Views of cemetery, gravestones, some with Jewish stars.
A walkthrough of a synagogue interior showing menorah, Kiddush cups, ceiling, carvings and overall architecture.

Part I ends with additional music, animation and voiceover.

Part II is the Jewish Mantova and Sabbiometa (Italian Production) 1989.

Interview information:
Date: 1998
Interviewer: Timeline Television Show
Length: 40 minutes
Format: Video Recording