The survival story of a Jewish girl in the bombed city of Dresden.
On 16 February 1945, Henny Brenner, who was 21 years old at the time, was due for deportation along with all the remaining Jews in Dresden. However, the air raids on Dresden between 13 and 15 February and the ensuing chaos saved her life.
Up until then, being the daughter of a Jewish mother and a protestant father, Henny Brenner had enjoyed a certain level of protection compared to others who were classified by the Nuremberg Laws as full-blooded Jews. Nevertheless, this young woman’s life was defined by exclusion, expulsion from school, forced labour and the constant fear of worse things to come. Finally, she received a deportation order from the Gestapo. Ironically, the bombing attacks on the city of Dresden saved her life, even though the Gestapo attempted to track down the last Jewish survivors after the total destruction of the city.
Henny Brenner, née Wolf, was born in Dresden in 1924, growing up in a loving family. Her carefree childhood ended abruptly when the National Socialists seized power. Her memoirs Das Lied ist aus [The Song is Over] were first published in 2001. Even today, Henny Brenner reads from her book – often in schools – making her one of the last remaining voices from the ranks of the contemporary witnesses.
