Draft:Rebecca Tennenbaum Bau

• Comment: All of the sources primarily talk about him and the article is still very promotional Moritoriko (talk) 05:02, 16 May 2025 (UTC)

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Rebecca Tennenbaum Bau
רבקה באו
Born	(1918-12-11)December 11, 1918 Budilov, Poland
Died	(1997-04-28)April 28, 1997 Tel Aviv, Israel
Occupation(s)	Nurse, cosmetologist, humanitarian
Known for	Holocaust survivor, marriage portrayed in films Schindler's List and "Bau, Artist at War".
Spouse	Joseph Bau
Children	2 daughters, Clila and Hadasa Bau
Website	https://www.josephbau.org/en/home/

Rebecca Tennenbaum Bau (Hebrew: רבקה באו; December 11, 1918 – April 28, 1997) was a Polish-born Israeli nurse, cosmetologist, and Holocaust survivor. She survived the Kraków Ghetto, the Plaszów concentration camp, Auschwitz concentration camp, and the Lichtewerden subcamp. She is known for her humanitarian acts during the Holocaust, her clandestine marriage to artist Joseph Bau (a scene portrayed in Schindler’s List) and Bau, Artist at War, and her postwar work helping fellow survivors.

Early life

Rebecca Bau was born in 1918 in Budilov, Poland (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), to Binyamin Tennenbaum, a doctor and naturopath, and Leah Greenhut. After her mother’s death when Rebecca was seven, she was raised by an aunt. Though she aspired to study medicine, antisemitic restrictions in Poland prevented her from enrolling. She instead studied chemistry and cosmetology in Kraków.

World War II and Holocaust

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Bau was forced into the Kraków Ghetto. There, she trained and worked as a nurse. In 1943, she was deported to Plaszów concentration camp. As a licensed beautician, she helped save fellow inmates by treating their feet and disguising signs of weakness that could lead to execution.

She treated Amon Göth, the brutal camp commander, and used her position to gather intelligence and warn others of imminent dangers. Fluent in nine languages, she was a valuable resource to fellow prisoners.

At Plaszów, she met artist Joseph Bau. The two were secretly married inside the women's barracks, with Joseph disguising himself as a woman to attend. This moment is depicted in Schindler’s List and in the 2025 film Bau, Artist at War.

When Mietek Pemper, whose mother Rebecca had helped, assembled names for Schindler’s list, she ensured that Joseph’s name appeared instead of hers. Rebecca was later deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was tattooed with the number A-27541. She survived Auschwitz and the Lichtewerden subcamp in Czechoslovakia.

Postwar life

After liberation, Rebecca and Joseph were reunited in Kraków. Rebecca opened a cosmetology school, while Joseph resumed his art studies. They married legally and immigrated to Israel in 1950 with their daughter Hadasa. Their second daughter, Clila, was born in 1956.

In Israel, Rebecca ran a successful cosmetology practice and mentored Holocaust survivors, often offering emotional support and a place to talk. She became one of the first survivors in Israel to speak publicly about her Holocaust experiences.

Advocacy and legacy

Rebecca testified in six war crimes trials and spent years searching for surviving relatives. In 1975, she located her brother Oscar—the only other known survivor from her family.

She died in 1997 and is buried at Nachlat Yitzhak Cemetery in Tel Aviv.

In 2020, she and her husband were posthumously awarded the Jewish Rescuers Citation by B’nai B’rith International for their efforts to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

Philosophy and writings

Rebecca's wartime diary was published posthumously under the title In the Name of God (Hebrew: בשם השם). Known for her deep faith and wisdom, she left behind several well-known sayings:

• “When they throw stones at you—throw bread.”
• “Choose the kind of society you want to create.”
• “I do not help in order to receive something in return.”
• “Men and women, don’t do foolish things. Remember, life isn’t eternal.”
• “When you are parents, remember your children didn’t ask to come into the world. Give them solid foundations, not shaky ones.”
• “Anyone who has ever been in a hospital or endured war and suffering sees life differently.”

In popular culture

Rebecca Bau appears in the 1993 film Schindler’s List, which depicts her secret wedding. She is also portrayed in the 2025 biographical film Bau, Artist at War, directed by Sean McNamara, which is set to premiere across the U.S. and Canada on September 26, 2025.

Joseph Bau House Museum

Rebecca and Joseph Bau's legacy is preserved at the Joseph Bau House Museum in Tel Aviv, originally Joseph's art studio founded in 1960 and now run as a museum by the couple's daughters, Clila and Hadasa Bau. The museum displays Joseph’s artwork, as well as Holocaust documentation, espionage artifacts, and personal effects from their lives. It has received top ratings on TripAdvisor.

See also

• Joseph Bau
• Schindlerjuden
• Plaszów concentration camp
• Auschwitz concentration camp
• Holocaust survivors
• Women in the Holocaust

External links

• Joseph Bau House Museum
• Bau, Artist at War, Blackstone Publishing, January 2025
• Bau, Artist at War, the movie IMDB,
• Podcast: The Incredible Story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau – B’nai B’rith International