Margot Bendheim lived in Berlin with her mother Auguste and brother Ralph. She began training as a dressmaker in 1937, but could not complete her apprenticeship, as a Jew. She later had to perform forced labor in a Berlin armaments factory.
All the family’s attempts to emigrate failed, so they planned to join relatives in Upper Silesia. However, on the day of their planned escape in January 1943, Ralph Bendheim was arrested in Berlin. The siblings’ mother then surrendered herself to the police. Both were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and murdered.
Margot Bendheim evaded arrest by chance and went underground. After changing quarters several times, she found refuge with the Camplair family. In April 1944, Bendheim’s papers were checked by Jewish informers to the Gestapo, known as “snatchers.” She was arrested and taken to an assembly camp. From there, she was deported to Theresienstadt on June 16, 1944. She survived.
After her liberation she married her fellow survivor Adolf Friedländer, emigrating to the United States in 1946. Following her husband’s death, Margot Friedländer began writing autobiographical material. She returned to Berlin in 2010 and has since been active as a witness to the National Socialist crimes.
Margot and Ralph Bendheim, Berlin, around 1927. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
Margot Bendheim (left) with her mother Auguste and brother Ralph, Berlin, 1937. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
Margot and Adolf Friedländer on the crossing to New York, summer 1946. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
