Nesse Godin

Lithuanian and American Holocaust survivor (1928–2024)

Nesse Godin (Galperin) (28 March 1928 – 5 March 2024) was a Lithuanian and American Holocaust survivor. Godin dedicated her life to informing and teaching others about the Holocaust.

Godin was born in Šiauliai, Lithuania on 28 March 1928.

Godin stated that her life before the war was normal, remarking: "My family was very religious and observed all the Jewish laws. I attended Hebrew school and was raised in a loving household where the values of community and caring were always stressed. After the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, we heard from relatives in Łódź that Jews there were being treated horribly. We could not believe it; how could your neighbors denounce you and not stand up to help you?" When asked why she did not pretend to be German, she recognized she could have, but her neighbor revealed her as a Jew.

From Stutthof, Godin was transported to several camps and was sent on a death camp in January 1945. Many prisoners died due to the cold winter weather and inadequate nourishment. On 10 March 1945, she was liberated by Soviet troops. As she was still a young child, she was assigned to a random guardian but soon reunited with her mother. Her mother did not recognize her, as it had been three years, and Godin's hair was shaved to treat lice. In 1950, after five years in a displaced person camp in Feldafing, Germany, Godin and her husband Jack (also a survivor), along with their two children, Pnina and Edward, moved to the United States and settled in Washington, D. C. metropolitan area.

In 1954 Godin and Jack gave birth to their last child, Rochelle. They supported their children and Godin's mother, Sara, with blue collar jobs. Godin had seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Jack died on 3 September 2015.