Letter from Gita Hojtasova (b. 1932) to her mother, Gertrude Hojtasova, 1942
Pencil on paper
Gift of the sisters; Gita and Milton Kaufman and Sue and Howard Pinsky
In the fall of 1942, Gita Hojtasova (b. 1932) was hospitalized. Suffering from illness and separated from her mother and sister at Terezin concentration camp/ghetto, Gita was still able to write letters—in pencil, on whatever paper was available. She wrote to her mother with updates on her symptoms, what she was eating, her feelings and fears, the clothes and things she did (and did not) need her mother to send her, and other details from her days. She often asked her “Golden Mommy” to come to the window so she could see her from afar.
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In July 1942, Gita (10 years old), Zuzana (7 years old), and their mother Gertrude were deported from their native Prague to the Terezin concentration camp/ghetto. They were liberated in 1945.