Ruth Kopečková

* 1923  †︎ 2022

  • “I came there after the war, me in clogs, my shoes in front of the door, she opened the door wearing my blouse, our curtains at the windows… And she was surprised: “You came back?! And where is your mother…?” It was clear enough where my mother was… That’s a sort of my neuralgic point.”

  • “(Which concentration camp was the worst?) Bergen-Belsen. It was terrible there. There was no food. We didn’t eat or drink for ten days. And that’s the worst – not drinking. You can go without food, but without water… Thousands of corpses in a pile, and you couldn’t tell whether they’re dead or alive, if they’re cold, or what it is. No food. When the English liberated us, they were giving out canned food in good faith, and those who ate that were done. Generally, the atmosphere in Bergen-Belsen was terrible.”

  • “Imagine coming to military quarters, equipped with bunk beds and your suitcase under your head. So I had to console my mother: “Mum, it won’t be so horrible. We’ll put your scarf here, put some photo on that, and that’s all.” But when a person is helpless and in that worst moment no one helps them… that’s something unimaginable.”

  • Full recordings
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    Praha 10, Hagibor, 23.01.2017

    (audio)
    duration: 02:48:53
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
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I survived eight concentration camps but when I came back to Dolní Kounice no one even asked me if I was hungry or where I was going to sleep

Ruth Kopeckova 2017
Ruth Kopeckova 2017
photo: Petra Verzichová

Ruth Kopečková, née Morgensternová, was born on 1st August 1923 in Doulní Kounice into a Jewish family. Her parents, Filip Morgenstern and Ema Morgensternová owned and managed the quarry. After her father’s death caused by pneumonia in 1933 her mother took care of the quarry alone. Ruth was preparing to leave for Palestine from the late 1930s but unlike her friend, Truda Friedlová, she didn’t make it in time. After the German occupation of 1939 she was not allowed to travel anymore. During that time her mother had to sell the quarry at a ridiculous price. On 14th March 1942 Ruth Kopečková and her mother were transported to Terezín, and from there they were sent to work in a camp in Karlova Ves in the Křivoklát area for six weeks. On 1st September 1942 they were transported again, this time to Jägala, Estonia, which was the last time Ruth and her mother saw each other. Ruth spent time in Estonian concentration camps - Reval, Ereda, Kivioli, Lagedi - and then she was taken to Germany through Stutthof and Hamburg, ending up in Bergen-Belsen. Liberation by the British army on 15th April 1945 was the only thing that saved her from death by starvation. After coming back to Dolní Kounice in May 1945 she was no longer welcome in the village and her house was occupied by other families. Ruth Kopečková died on June 20th, 2022.