New Zealand Holocaust Centre Display - Auschwitz and Buchenwald Female Prisoner

[CARL]

Within the permanent exhibition at the Wellington Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, a fascinating and patently historically important collection of items related to a former female prisoner of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The highlight piece is undoubtedly the smock which fortunately remains in outstanding condition.

The work dress belonged to Clare (Klari) Galambos Winter, a Hungarian Jewess who was arrested along with the rest of her family and sent to Auschwitz, then later, the munitions facility attached to the Buchenwald satellite camp at Allendorf.

Before the war, she lived between Budapest and the Hungarian town of Szombathely. A talented violinist, she would later play with the NZ Symphony Orchestra for many years. Following her arrest, she spent time in the ghetto in Szombathely then was transferred to Auschwitz where - according to her biography - "I was given the remnants of clothes of murdered Jews." After several months, she, along with other Hungarian women, applied for labour detail away from Auschwitz. She was successful and was given the very dress we can see in Wellington now. Quote: "I was issued wooden clogs, no socks or underwear and a new clean grey tunic of rough fibre. A tunic with a number on it that no one else had worn before. I was overjoyed." Clare was now identified as 23297. Although she was issued the smock in Auschwitz, within a couple of hours she was on her way to the Buchenwald satellite camp at Allendorf.

She spent seven months filling bombs with TNT in the labour camp and this was the dress she wore during that time. The initials KG she attached herself in camp. The "K" is for Klari - as she was then known. When the allies approached, the prisoners and guards fled together. One German female SS guard Clare knew only as Marta had shown kindness to her and when a bunch of prisoners separated from the main group, Marta accompanied them and Clare helped her burn her SS uniform. Marta gave her guards whistle to Clare which we see in the attachments below. The Komandant marked armband displaying Hungarian colours was worn by Clare at a DP camp. She served as an interpreter for the allies as she knew both German and English. The Buchenwald marked insignia and number was issued during her time at the Allendorf satellite camp.

Carl