VOA慢速英语2015 Woman Survives Nazi Death Camp by Mistake

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-31 Woman Survives Nazi¹ Death Camp by Mistake

Dagmar Lieblova was 14 years old when she arrived at the Auschwitz death camp in  December 1943. Everyone in her family was with her. They were Jews from Czechoslovakia. All of them but Dagmar were to die at Auschwitz, some almost immediately. But she was able to leave the camp after several months because of a mistake. That mistake saved her life.

Dagmar Lieblova is now 85 years old. She has three children and six grandchildren. She says she has a feeling of victory.

The Auschwitz death camp was, and still is, a frightening place. It was built for mass murder. More than one million people died there. Among them were Dagmar Lieblova’s mother and sister.

“Well I was almost 15, and I couldn’t just imagine that everything would be over, that I would never see anything else than the blocks and then the wire, and I would never in my life see a tree or (a) piece of grass.”

Ms. Lieblova believed she would be murdered at Auschwitz. Shortly after she and her family arrived, three of her relatives were killed. They died in the camp’s gas chambers².  

In the camp, Dagmar worked with her mother. They cleaned restrooms. They had little to eat.

“And the food was very simple...it was in the morning there was what they called coffee -- just a sort of warm liquid. And then during the day there was a portion of soup. And then a piece of bread in the evening.”

She would soon be saved by a simple mistake. German officials made a list of workers aged³ 16 to 40. They wanted these workers to help Germany and its allies⁴ win the war.

Dagmar Lieblova’s name was on the list, although it should not have been. Her name was listed because a clerk noted⁵ her year of birth as 1925 instead of 1929, her true year of birth. Because of this error, camp officials believed she was over 16 and that she could work for them in factories.

“But because (of) this mistake -- that somebody wrote a ‘5’ instead of a ‘9’ -- it saved my life. Well there was a train standing⁶ and, and when we stepped in, the train, and then the train moved, so we didn’t believe it that we are leaving. We couldn’t believe it that we are really leaving Auschwitz.”

Everyone in Dagmar Lieblova’s family died at Auschwitz. She spent the rest of the war working in the German city of Hamburg.

She has returned to Auschwitz just once -- 20 years ago. But she has no plans to return again.

“Auschwitz is a cemetery⁷ of all my, my parents, my sister, almost all my relatives. Everything comes back again. And, no, I wouldn’t go there anymore. It’s too hard.”

At home, with her books and her pictures of her family, she is not bitter. She believes she has won.

“Now when I see my children and grandchildren I always have the feeling it’s a victory…because I, I was not supposed to be here.”

Auschwitz is now a museum. It tells of the cruelty of Nazi Germany. But Dagmar Lieblova’s life tells an even more powerful story: the power of the human spirit.

Words in This Story

grandchildren – n. the children of your son or daughter

mass murder – n. the murder of a large number of people at the same time or over a short period of time

blocks – n. solid pieces of material that have flat sides and are usually square or rectangular⁸ in shape; usually made from cement

wire – n. a thin, flexible thread of metal; may be barbed or electrified⁹ and used to imprison¹⁰ or control

gas chambers – n. an airtight room that can be filled with poisonous gas as a means of execution¹¹

liquid – n. a substance that is able to flow freely

portion – n. the amount of food that is served to a person at one time

clerk – n. a person whose job is to keep track of records and documents for a business or office

cemetery – n. a place where dead people are buried

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

8 rectangular   

adj.矩形的，成直角的

参考例句：

• He put a rectangular box on the table.他把一个长方形的箱子放在桌子上。
• The equations are written in rectangular coordinates.这些方程是在直角座标系中写出的。

9 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

11 execution   

n.死刑，实行，执行，履行，演奏，表演

参考例句：

• The musician's execution was perfect,but he played without feeling.演奏者的技巧完美，但他演奏得毫无感情。
• His original idea was good,but his execution of the scheme was disastrous.他的设想很好，但实行起来却糟糕透顶。