Francine Denerstein shares the Holocaust experiences of her parents, Rachel Turgel Spitzman and Meyer Spitzman, as well as her own unique story of being born in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp after the Holocaust. Through her family’s journey, students learn about Jewish life in prewar Lithuania and Poland, the Vilna Ghetto, Ponar, concentration camps including Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Bergen-Belsen, displaced persons camps, immigration to the United States, and the challenges of rebuilding a life after unimaginable loss. Francine also explores resilience, the lasting impact of the Holocaust across generations, and the responsibility to preserve survivors’ stories by speaking out against antisemitism, prejudice, and hatred.
About Francine
Francine Denerstein is Chair of the Board of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center and a longtime member of its Speakers’ Bureau. Born in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp in Germany in 1948, she has dedicated her life to preserving her parents’ legacy by sharing their story with thousands of students and community members throughout Rhode Island.
Before retiring, Francine spent 30 years in higher education, serving as Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, where she focused on supporting adult learners pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and a master’s degree from Lesley University.
As the mother of four and grandmother of eight, she remains committed to her promise to “never be silent again,” ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust continue to inspire courage, compassion, and moral responsibility in future generations. Francine’s presentations often center on her birth in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp and her family’s journey to America, using their story of survival and rebuilding to illustrate the resilience of Holocaust survivors.
Parents: Rachel Spitzman (née Turgel) and Meyer Spitzman
Before the War
Rachel Turgel was born in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania), on November 17, 1922, into a religious Jewish family. Meyer Spitzman was born in 1916 in Niwka, near Sosnowiec, Poland. Both grew up in vibrant Jewish communities before the rise of Nazism.
Their Holocaust Story
During the Holocaust, Rachel was imprisoned in the Vilna Ghetto, where she and her family survived in hiding places known as malinas. Her mother was murdered at Ponar, and Rachel was later deported to the Kaiserwald and Stutthof concentration camps. Meyer served in the Polish Army, was captured as a prisoner of war, escaped, was recaptured, and was forced into labor before being imprisoned at Bergen-Belsen. After liberation, Rachel and Meyer met in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, where they began rebuilding their lives.
After the War
Francine was born in 1948 in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp in Germany. The family later immigrated to the United States with the sponsorship of the Berry family and settled in Providence, Rhode Island. Meyer worked as a carpenter, and Rachel worked in the jewelry industry while they built a new life and raised their family.