Debra Barnes ✡️
@debra_author
Followers
3,290
Following
1,134
Media
964
Statuses
6,012
🇮🇱 Jew ✡️ Author of The Young Survivors. Next Gens Manager for @TheAJR_ @Gen2GenUK speaker. I tell my mother's Holocaust story
London
Joined January 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
#ElectionsResults
• 704284 Tweets
Modi
• 543762 Tweets
Hindus
• 203697 Tweets
उत्तर प्रदेश
• 129990 Tweets
Ayodhya
• 127305 Tweets
#すとぷり8周年
• 118883 Tweets
Ram Mandir
• 90739 Tweets
#लोकसभा_आमचुनाव_2024
• 84603 Tweets
Naidu
• 68617 Tweets
Yogi
• 64191 Tweets
Nitish Kumar
• 62614 Tweets
Erden Timur
• 62132 Tweets
नीतीश कुमार
• 50884 Tweets
राम मंदिर
• 50673 Tweets
Smriti Irani
• 49820 Tweets
バレーボール
• 32302 Tweets
Pradeep Gupta
• 23604 Tweets
楽天スーパーセール
• 11777 Tweets
ジュンブラ
• 11639 Tweets
#すとぷりxSimeji
• 10825 Tweets
#dursunözbekistifa
• 10785 Tweets
いちご検定
• 10118 Tweets
Thank you
@AuschwitzMuseum
for remembering my mother and aunt. I will never stop to tell their story
#NeverForget
9 April 1938 | Jewish twin girls Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born in
#Metz
.
On 31 July 1944 Annette was deported from
#Drancy
to
#Auschwitz
& murdered in a gas chamber. Paulette was in the hospital with measles & survived hidden by doctors.
Paulette is
@debra_author
mother.
141
2K
8K
79
1K
11K
This is my grandfather. His memory is honoured today by
@AuschwitzMuseum
. His story and that of my mother (one of the twins on his lap) and the rest of the family, is written in my book, The Young Survivors.
7 September 1902 | A Polish Jew, Trajtel Szklarz, was born in Siedlce. He emigrated to France.
He arrived at
#Auschwitz
on 23 July 1942 in a transport of 827 Jews deported from Angers.
He perished in the camp on 26 August 1942.
85
711
5K
67
702
6K
The first great-great-grandchild of my grandparents, Cecile & Traitel Szklarz (both murdered at Auschwitz in 1942) has just been safely born in New York
#NeverForget
#NeverAgain
@AuschwitzMuseum
67
246
4K
On our way home. 105,000 people in solidarity with British Jews against antisemitism. Bear in mind there are 290,000 Jews in Britain, an incredible turnout!
#MarchAgainstAntisemitism
106
536
4K
My mother & her twin sister were arrested by French police and Nazi soldiers on 8 October 1942. They were 4 years old. Incredibly their brother managed to negotiate with the Gestapo for their release from the internment camp in Poitiers. Read more in The Young Survivors.
39
429
3K
Thank you
@AuschwitzMuseum
for honouring, the memory of my mother and her sister
#NeverForget
9 April 1938 | Jewish twin girls Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born in
#Metz
.
On 31 July 1944 Annette was deported from
#Drancy
to
#Auschwitz
& murdered in a gas chamber. Paulette was in the hospital with measles & survived hidden by doctors.
Paulette is
@debra_author
mother.
226
3K
13K
31
228
3K
Happy birthday to my uncle Jean, 93 today! Jean is on the right of this photograph taken in 1938 in Metz. My mum is one of the baby twins. Only Jean, Mum and eldest brother Jacques (back row) survived the Holocaust and only Jean is still with us.
#NeverForget
37
314
2K
31 July 1944, the last train left Drancy for Auschwitz. Convoy 77 with 324 children. My mother's twin sister Annette (aged 6) and brother Nathan Szklarz (aged 12) were sent straight to the gas chambers. 3 weeks later Paris was liberated by the Allies.
74
489
2K
It's been an emotional week.
9 April 1938 | Jewish twin girls Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born in
#Metz
.
On 31 July 1944 Annette was deported from
#Drancy
to
#Auschwitz
& murdered in a gas chamber. Paulette was in the hospital with measles & survived hidden by doctors.
Paulette is
@debra_author
mother.
84
739
3K
17
150
2K
We remember you, Paulette. My mother shared your name 🕯️
22 April 1932 | A Belgian Jewish girl, Paulette Liliane, Buschel, was born in Antwerp.
In 1943 she was deported to
#Auschwitz
and murdered in a gas chamber.
349
3K
13K
38
257
2K
This
#antisemitism
on the streets of
#London
is having a positive effect on me. I stand up straight with my shoulders back so that my Star of David necklace is in full view. I’ve struggled with bad posture all my life and now it’s better than ever before.
144
159
2K
On
#YomHashoah
I will light a
#yellowcandle
in memory of my grandparents, uncle and aunt, all murdered at
#Auschwitz
39
205
2K
Thank you
@AuschwitzMuseum
for remembering my uncle Nathan. One of 4 members of the family murdered at Auschwitz.
12 April 1932 | A French Jewish boy, Nathan Szklarz, was born in Metz. Uncle of
@debra_author
.
One of 241 children from UGIF orphanages deported to Auschwitz on 31 July 1944 (3 weeks before liberation of Paris).
He was murdered on 3 August 1944 after selection in a gas chamber.
184
1K
6K
21
140
2K
My grandparents were deported to Auschwitz, leaving their five children alone to fend for themselves. My mother and her twin were 4-yrs-old. Their eldest brother Jacques (back row) was now head of the family. Read their incredible story in The Young Survivors.
8
177
999
Just a reminder that my family were murdered for being Jewish. And that’s why I support
#StandsWithIsrael
#NeverAgainIsNow
46
225
783
Phoenix Cinema. We got your back (& front) (for miles!) where are the pro-Palestine protesters? 🔎👀🤷🏻♀️
84
94
763
@timjudah1
My grandmother Cecile Szklarz, deported from Drancy on convoy no. 42 arriving in Auschwitz 6 November, 1942. Murdered at Auschwitz.
#NeverForget
14
66
727
Yesterday was my grandfather's 120th birthday. In the Jewish faith, 120 marks a full lifetime and is what religious Jews aspire to. My grandfather was murdered at Auschwitz when he was 40 years old, but I have kept his memory alive until 120 - and I won't stop now. His name was..
4
129
713
Thank you for honouring the memory of my mother and her twin sister on their birthday 💔
9 April 1938 | Jewish twin girls Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born in
#Metz
.
On 31 July 1944 Annette was deported from
#Drancy
to
#Auschwitz
& murdered in a gas chamber. Paulette was in the hospital with measles & survived hidden by doctors.
Paulette is
@debra_author
mother.
116
2K
6K
12
80
680
#OTD
9 April 1938, twins were born in Metz. Annette & Paulette. Cute names, aren't they? Paulette was my mum. She was orphaned at 4, her twin sister murdered at Auschwitz at 6. All alone she was sent to England at 9. My novel, The Young Survivors is based on her story.
8
97
672
Only about 150,000 of 1,350,000 Jewish children in Europe survived the
#Holocaust
. Each survivor, like my mother, had an incredible story. We must keep telling their stories.
@JewishChron
8
155
589
This evening at
@yomhashoahuk
I will light a candle in memory of my grandparents, uncle & aunt, and all 76,000 Jews from France murdered during the Holocaust
#YomHaShoah
19
121
604
Thank you for honouring the memory of my aunt today.
Most of the names we post come from different archives. The one below however was submitted by the relative.
We have created an online form thanks to which you can submit names of Auschwitz victims/survivors that we will be able to share in our tweets.
13
191
1K
2
22
589
My grandparents were murdered at Auschwitz in 1942. This weekend one of their great-grandchildren was married in NY. I wasn’t able to go but that’s ok because another great-grandchild is getting married in June in London
#WeSurvived
9
54
473
The second great-great-grandchild of my grandparents, Cecile & Traitel Szklarz (both murdered at Auschwitz in 1942) has just been safely born in London. We’re not going anywhere!
#NeverForget
#NeverAgain
@AuschwitzMuseum
10
61
477
Mum died 13 years today, on her 72nd birthday. Some say it's a blessing to die on your birthday. I think she waited for the day she could have a birthday party with her twin who she hadn't seen in over 65 years. Happy birthday Annette and Paulette!
9
16
356
Time is running out for the hostages, and the silence from the media is deafening. Today in central London.
@FleurHassanN
#AmYisraelChai
#BringThemBackHomeNow
26
125
352
My uncle, a Holocaust survivor, carving the
#thanksgiving2023
turkey. He’s the kid on the right, my mum one of the babies, their eldest brother at the back. The other four all murdered at Auschwitz
#NeverAgainIsNow
9
46
334
On
#HMD2023
I remember my grandparents, my uncle Nathan aged 12 and my mother's twin sister Annette aged 6, all murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. You can read their story in The Young Survivors.
11
50
340
On 6 November 1942 my grandmother, Cecile Szklarz, was sent on convoy 42 from
#Drancy
, Paris to
#Auschwitz
. I honour her memory in my novel, The Young Survivors
#NeverForget
#KeepTellingTheirStories
7
57
311
On the anniversary of the birth and death of my mum, yesterday I went to the cemetery. As is the Jewish custom, I put a stone on her grave and another on the memorial to the 6 million Jewish victims of the
#Holocaust
.
6
16
307
My grandparents were married 98 years ago today, on 26 August 1924 in Boulay-Moselle. I only have this photo of them together (taken in 1938 after my mum & her twin were born), along with their marriage certificate. They were both murdered at Auschwitz.
10
58
291
@KateOsamor
I’ve told my mother’s Holocaust story to 1,000 young people this week, leaving me exhausted and emotional. Shame on you, sitting at a desk and comparing Israel’s response to terrorist attacks to the genocide of 6 million Jews.
2
24
261
My Seder table. 4 generations plus 3 empty places for the hostages. The Bibas boys had the best seat, next to my dad. Chag Sameach ✡️
9
14
246
Tomorrow I will tell my mother’s Holocaust story to Year 8 at
@stjameschbarnet
in the first of ten presentations l will give for
#HMD2024
@Gen2GenUK
4
21
242
My mother survived thanks to luck and the kindness of strangers. She was hidden in a convent. Two older brothers survived and found her in 1945. The rest of the family were all murdered. Read their incredible story in The Young Survivors.
#NeverForget
4
34
230
Huge thanks to
@shannara77
for bringing to life the only photo I have of my grandparents with their 5 children, taken in 1938. My mum was one of the baby twins. Four of this family of 7 were murdered at
#Auschwitz
. I wrote their story in The Young Survivors.
3
24
223
Tonight the Jewish community light yellow candles to remember the 6 million victims of the
#Shoah
. My friend was given my mother's twin sister. That's a 1 in 6,000,000 chance. Her name was Annette Szklarz but she was registered in error as Danielle on arrival at Drancy.
5
24
223
Mum and her twin sister brought back to life. Paulette and Annette. I reckon this was taken around 1942, when they were 4, after their parents had been sent to
#Auschwitz
. Thanks to
@ErbakPeter
&
@shannara77
. If you want to know their story, please read The Young Survivors.
2
23
197
Twins Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born on 9 April 1938 in Metz, France. One was murdered in the Holocaust, the other survived. Paulette was my mother and her incredible story inspired my novel, The Young Survivors.
2
47
195
Today I went to visit my mother’s grave with my dad and sister, and we stopped- as always- to put a stone by the Holocaust memorial ✡️
3
5
191
6
30
175
@AuschwitzMuseum
I honour the memories of Annette and my other family members murdered at Auschwitz in my book The Young Survivors
1
24
175
My mum was a refugee from France. She came to the UK in 1947 aged 9, completely alone and not speaking a word of English. Her parents and siblings had been murdered in the
#Holocaust
.
#WorldRefugeeDay
5
26
161
Here's the note which the Gestapo gave my uncle, allowing him to take the girls out of the camp.
4
17
154
@KosherCockney
@RobertJenrick
As much as I thank
@RobertJenrick
and Andrew Percy MP for speaking up for British Jews, I say SHAME ON YOU to
@metpoliceuk
, commissioner Mark Rowley and
@MayorofLondon
for allowing antisemitism to thrive in London.
#NeverAgainIsNow
2
27
156
We don’t know the exact date but it is likely that on 5 August 1944 my mother’s twin sister Annette (left) and brother Nathan (centre) were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Mum (right) survived. Read their incredible story in The Young Survivors.
4
32
153
Thanks to
@shannara77
for colouring my favourite photo of my mum with her twin sister. They were 4 when their mother was sent to Auschwitz so I’m not sure if this was taken before or after. Read their story in
#TheYoungSurvivors
7
13
152
My family in 1938. Only 3 of them survived the Holocaust. My grandparents and two of the children were murdered at
#Auschwitz
Read their story in my book
#TheYoungSurvivors
#HolocaustMemorialDay
#HMD2022
6
34
149
When I tell my mother’s holocaust story to young people I always end by explaining that I do so in the hope that history will not repeat itself and there will be no more genocide. When I see the pictures from Ukraine my heart almost can’t cope. What can I do to help?
6
21
140
My uncle Nathan Szklarz was born 12 April 1932. Here he is with his twin sisters (my mum on the right). Nathan and my aunt Annette (on the left) were sent to Auschwitz in July 1944 & murdered in a gas chamber. Their story inspired my novel, The Young Survivors.
6
22
138
#MothersDay2023
As I learn more about my mother’s life during the
#Holocaust
I am more in awe of her ability to overcome the tragedy and to be a mother herself. Orphaned at 4. A hidden child at 6. She is the inspiration behind my novel, The Young Survivors.
5
12
140
25 August 1944, Paris was liberated from the Nazis. 3 weeks earlier the last convoy left Drancy for Auschwitz sending Mum’s twin sister Annette and their brother Nathan to their deaths. I wrote their story in The Young Survivors
#NeverForget
8
20
136
8
13
121
She did have a haunted life. She died on her 72nd birthday. I think she waited to reunite with her sister on their birthday and to have a party together. The day they were separated at 6 years old was the first time they were apart. I wrote their story in The Young Survivors
4
15
118
I am sure that
@Twitter
aren’t worried about me boycotting them but there’s strength in numbers so please join us
#NoSafeSpaceForJewHate
#NeverForget
2
31
114
Traitel Szklarz. He was born on 7 September 1902 in Siedlce, Poland. He moved to Metz, France around 1920 to escape antisemitic persecution. In the photo, taken in 1938, he is proudly holding his new-born twin daughters. One of the babies was my mother, Paulette. I wrote ...
4
6
113
@antisemitism
@UniversityLeeds
@leedsucu
So the email I received yesterday from The University of Leeds on behalf of the Interim Vice-Chancellor and President ensuring that Jewish students would be safe on campus, was basically a load of lies
6
19
112
On
#HistoryWritersDay22
I remember why I wrote The Young Survivors: to keep alive the memory of my family members murdered in the Holocaust and to keep alive the incredible stories of survival of my mother and her two brothers.
#NeverAgain
#NeverForget
2
52
108
In June 1943 my mother and her siblings were ordered to the children's home in Rue Lamarck,
#Montmartre
. Years later I identified her, her twin, their brother and friend Denise Holstein in this photo. Mum & Denise were of the few here who survived the
#Holocaust
5
18
110
Thank you
@AuschwitzMuseum
for honouring the memory of my uncle Nathan, murdered in the gas chambers along with his 6 year old sister, Mum’s twin Annette. Read their story in The Young Survivors so they are never forgotten 💔
12 April 1932 | A French Jewish boy, Nathan Szklarz, was born in Metz. Uncle of
@debra_author
.
One of 241 children from UGIF orphanages deported to Auschwitz on 31 July 1944 (3 weeks before liberation of Paris).
He was murdered on 3 August 1944 after selection in a gas chamber.
130
773
3K
6
16
112
On
#InternationalWomensDay
and in support of today’s
#Refugees
, here is my mum, a Holocaust survivor, a hidden child, an orphan who came to the UK as a refugee in 1947. Here she is 20 years later with me & my sister.
4
9
107
I am horrified by the killing of innocent children. My mother’s twin sister was murdered when she was six years old… for being a Jew. That is why I stand with Israel’s right to defend itself and do whatever it needs to do to bring home the innocent hostages
#Istandwithisreal
10
23
104
@MortChristenson
My cousins are going from NY. Our grandparents were murdered at Auschwitz. I’m so proud of them 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
0
4
96
Black cab drivers and passengers call for boycott of Evening Standard
@standardnews
Londoners call for boycott of black cabs after Uber ban
213
199
320
18
77
93
@IanAustinMP
@Uber
Maybe think about why they are demonstrating & not just think about your own convenience - seeing as you are an MP?
10
90
92
Drancy was the transit camp in Paris from where the majority of Jews left France for the camps, primarily Auschwitz, including members of my family. The site of the first high-rise apartment blocks built in France, it's shocking to see a modern building used as a Nazi camp.
4
21
94
Such a lovely response to our family news. If you would like to find out more about what happened to my family during the
#Holocaust
, please read my novel
#TheYoungSurvivors
3
3
92
Last night my OH & I hosted 29 for the
#Passover
Seder. All sides of our families represented except no-one from my mother’s side. That’s what happens after a
#genocide
#HolocaustSurvivor
#NeverForget
3
1
90
Roofers found a massive
#honeycomb
in our (unused for probably 70 years?) chimney. No idea how long it’s BEEn there. Husband is happily eating the
#honey
. I’m a little concerned…. Should I be?
#asktwitter
@LondonBeeKeeper
🐝
20
7
92
@AuschwitzMuseum
Thank you all for your kind comments. Mum (Paulette) died on this day in 2010, her 72nd birthday. Reunited with her twin Annette, at last. I wrote their story in my novel, The Young Survivors.
7
9
88
19 July 1901. My grandmother, Cecile Lea Rychner was born. She was arrested on 8 October 1942 with her 4-year-old twin daughters, Annette & Paulette. Her eldest son managed to secure the release of the twins but Cecile was sent to her death in Auschwitz.
5
17
86
@maxjohnporter
No ducks in my park but someone made a comfy corner unit complete with coffee table and puppy!
0
0
81
@DiannaWilson99
@AuschwitzMuseum
The boy on the right is the great-grandfather of the new baby - my uncle Jean. The boy at the back is my uncle Jacques (died around 1990). One of the twin babies is my mum, Paulette. Her twin Annette and the boy in front of his mum, Nathan, were murdered at Auschwitz in 1944.
4
0
80
In Jan 1940 my family moved from Metz, away from the German border, to settle near Poitiers. I recently discovered this photo of my grandma with her 5 children. I think my mum is the twin on the left. 3 of them were murdered at Auschwitz. Read their story in The Young Survivors.
3
8
78
A moving peaceful vigil held in Parliament Square this morning for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
#BringThemBack
#NoCeasefire
until they are all home 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
1
19
75
the family story in my novel, The Young Survivors, and my research is documented in my blog
3
4
70
It was quite an honour to be one of the candle lighters at the
#YomHaShoah2024
ceremony yesterday. (Difficult to smile on such an occasion…)
Our Candelabra is lit by our community representatives, our survivors, and our 2nd or 3rd generation relatives of survivors. Watch the ceremony here:
#YomHaShoah
0
3
6
0
8
75
Today is
#HolocaustSurvivorDay
. It feels good to honour the survivors as well as the memory of the victims. The survivors, like my mum, were left with crippling guilt and trauma, in her case to be the surviving twin, sister and daughter. Read their story in The Young Survivors.
1
12
72
I have a few new followers here, so let me introduce you to my family
2
12
69
I’m following
@YisraelChaiAdam
for winning today. Mazeltov, Adam (incidentally, meet my husband
@adamsoller
!)
4
4
71
Today in Louveciennes, outside the orphanage where my mother and her siblings were sent in 1943, a ceremony honouring the children who were deported. May they never be forgotten. My uncle Nathan and my aunt Annette.
Cérémonie Commémorative de la Journée Nationale du Souvenir - Hommage aux victimes et héros de la déportation en présence de Marie-Dominique Parisot, maire de Louveciennes,
Marie Lebec, députée des Yvelines, des conseillers municipaux, du CMJL et des membres de l’UNC.
0
1
5
1
12
68
@AuschwitzMuseum
@timjudah1
Ok will do. And for all the other family members. How should I send it?
5
0
69
@forbestonow
@AuschwitzMuseum
I am happy to report that they were able to find each other. I am Paulette’s daughter and I’ve written their story in my book, The Young Survivors
3
2
66
An early start for me this morning, telling my mother’s Holocaust story to 480 students from
@edenboysbford
I hope they found it interesting and meaningful
@Gen2GenUK
1
7
68
I dedicate
#InternationalWomensDay2022
to my mum,
#Holocaust
survivor, trauma victim who kept her pain hidden to protect her daughters.
#TheYoungSurvivors
is rightfully dedicated to her
0
3
65
My mum only remembered one thing from the year spent hidden by the nuns. She remembered taking holy communion and said it was nice because she got something to eat and drink. Read her story in The Young Survivors
#hiddenchild
#Holocaustsurvivor
0
7
63
@AuschwitzMuseum
My uncle Nathan was sent on convoy 77, the last train from Paris to Auschwitz on the orders of SS Alois Brunner to exterminate ‘future terrorists’. My mother’s twin age 6 was with him. My mother was hidden & saved. I wrote their story in The Young Survivors.
0
11
63
I’m in Harwich with
@TheAJR_
for the unveiling of the
#KindertransportMemorial
. For some of the Kind who are here with us it’s their first time back to Harwich since they first arrived in 1938/9
3
9
59
My family story is the inspiration behind The Young Survivors
1
14
62
My mother and her twin - the inspiration for
#TheYoungSurvivors
- were born on 9 April 1938. Her twin was murdered in
#Auschwitz
in 1944. Mum died on 9 April 2010. And two days ago this happened... One in six million
#OnThisDay
#YellowCandle
#YomHaShoah
2
31
63