Renee Salt, now 95, is one of the last remaining survivors of the Holocaust, reflecting on her harrowing experiences at two of the most infamous Nazi concentration camps: Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in 1929, her life was turned upside down when Germany invaded Poland, forcing her family from their comfortable home to the confines of a ghetto.
After the Nazi occupation began on September 1, 1939, Salt's once prosperous family had their lives shattered, losing their home and possessions. By 1942, the family, living under severe restrictions, was crammed together in one small room of the Zduńska Wola ghetto. Renee and several family members attempted to evade capture by hiding Renee’s grandparents and her four-year-old cousin, only to lose them forever as they were taken away.
Eventually, they too were ordered to move to the Łódź ghetto, where conditions rapidly deteriorated. Looking back, Salt recalls, "Life became very, very difficult right from the beginning. We weren’t allowed to walk on the pavements. We had to walk in the gutters." With time, the family's fears escalated, stoked by rumors of mass murders of Jews across Poland. She said, "We had heard rumours... but they were only rumours. We had no communication with the outside world at all. No newspapers, no letters, all the radios were confiscated."
By 1944, the ghetto faced imminent closure as the Nazis processed residents for removal. Salt, who was just 12, recalls the panic: “Someone found a lipstick... to make me look older.” Despite desperate attempts to appear over 18, the SS officers recognized her true age but allowed her to remain seated, much to her family’s relief.
Eventually, her family was herded onto cattle trucks—packed tightly with no food or water for the harrowing overnight ride. When they arrived at Auschwitz, they were met with the terrifying figure of Josef Mengele, the infamous SS officer known for his death selections. Salt recounted, "When we arrived at Auschwitz... A selection was being conducted by 'Angel of Death' Josef Mengele we learned later." The sheer horror of what lay ahead was made starkly clear.
Life inside Auschwitz was marked by constant fear and brutality. Salt recounted, "The huts were all the same, really meant for horse stables... There was always arguments going on, people said, ‘you had two sips…I only had one sip.’ There were no spoons." The daily grind included harsh roll calls, and the threat of death always loomed over the prisoners, turning them against each other for survival. "If they saw there was one person missing... sometimes people collapsed on these roll calls from weakness. Occasionally someone would drop dead," she recalled, painting a vivid picture of despair and hopelessness.
By March 1945, as the war was nearing its end, Salt and her mother were carted off to Bergen-Belsen, where they were faced with even worse horrors. The extreme overcrowding and lack of resources meant many left the camp alive only in body but starving and emaciated. Salt stated, "There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink – the water had been cut off already when I got to Bergen-Belsen. We didn't have the strength to talk any more but her presence alone kept me going." The daily death toll was staggering; Salt explained, "The daily counting of the people stopped already because there was no point counting anyone. For every thousand people alive... there would only be 700 or 800 people alive by afternoon."
On April 15, 1945, the British Army liberated Bergen-Belsen. Salt, still traumatized, recounted the moment: "They started giving speeches over the microphones. They said, 'You are free now. We are the British Army. Food and medical care is on the way.'" Unfortunately, the trauma didn’t end with liberation. Salt’s mother fell ill shortly thereafter, dying just 12 days post-liberation.
The aftermath of the war posed new challenges as Salt returned to her hometown searching for any surviving relatives. Her return was met with hostility and antisemitism, leading her to leave Poland, eventually making her way to England. There she married Charles Salt, one of the soldiers who helped liberate Bergen-Belsen. "Hitler didn't think I'd still be here at 95. I'm still here," she said defiantly.
Today, Renee Salt shares her story widely through the Holocaust Educational Trust, emphasizing the importance of recounting harrowing histories to prevent future atrocities. "Because perhaps we can avert another holocaust from coming," she asserts. Her voice is now more than just testimony; it is a reminder of the fragility of life and the resilience of the human spirit.