Elza Goldberg was born in Włocławek, Poland, on March 31, 1930. Her parents, Jadzia and Lova, were Jewish, and the family lived in Toruń.

Elza was nine years old when the Nazis invaded in September 1939. During their occupation, the Nazis killed thousands of Catholic, Jewish, and other Poles. During the war, Elza and her family were forced to live in the Tarnów ghetto, which was about five hours from their home in Toruń. It is unclear why they were moved so far away.

The Tarnów ghetto was set up in June 1941. A year later, the first major action against the Jews began. Everyone had to fill out registration papers. Some people were marked with a K and others with SD. At the time, they did not know it, but the K meant “unable to work,” which often meant death.

On June 12, 1942, local SS officers, drunk from extra alcohol rations, went into the ghetto with axes and guns. They went from house to house killing and arresting those marked with a K. Elza, being a child, had a K on her papers and was arrested.

Three days later, she and her mother were killed at the Bełżec extermination camp. Elza was twelve, and Jadzia was thirty-eight. Elza’s father is believed to have survived the war... Clink here on the link to complete the story in full 

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