Synopsis
This play brings to life Elizabeth Ehrlich Roth's actual words to the stage. Elizabeth Ehrlich Roth (March 26, 1926 - December 28, 2023), was born in Mukachevo, Czechoslovakia. In 1938 her hometown became Hungarian. Her father, Leopold, was a religious man and was the foreman in a candle factory. Elizabeth’s mother, Feiga, was a home maker. Her parents had five children, two daughters and three sons. Rella was the elder daughter, born in 1923. She and Elizabeth survived the Holocaust.
Elizabeth and her family were imprisoned in a ghetto in April 1944. Five families lived together in two and one-half rooms. The family was deported near the end of April 1944 to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Elizabeth’s mother and young brothers, Fischel and Yur were murdered upon entering Birkenau in 1944. Her Father and older brother also died during the Holocaust. While in Birkenau, Dr. Mengele selected Elizabeth for the gas chambers but she managed to escape that fate and ended up in a group with her sister and cousin for transport to Stutthof concentration camp, where she endured hard labor and torture. Her cousin, sister and Elizabeth were later transferred to Bydgoszcz concentration camp. They stayed there until March 1945, when they were forced on a death march in deep snow.
Elizabeth said, “How I account for my survival is luck, hard work, and again luck because so many did not survive. Maybe being with my sister and cousin was helpful. We had each other all the time.” Elizabeth tells her story because, “I hope this will help future generations to learn a lesson about what happened. It should never happen again, this horrible thing.” It is an honor to be able to tell Elizabeth’s story in an effort to keep people aware of the dangers of hate.
Content Warning: Description of trauma, violence, and death.
About the Performer
Natalie Mullanaphy graduated from Rowan University College of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre in May 2022. She is from Fredericksburg, Virginia where she teaches at Stafford County High School. She first performed Rella, Rose, and I on Yom HaShoah in 2022. She performed the play at Vineland High School in April 2022, and at Stockton University in July 2022. Elizabeth Roth attended all three of those performances. She performed the play again in Malvern, PA in September 2023. Natalie most recently performed Rella, Rosa, and I at the Mid-Island YJCC in Plainview, New York on Yom HaShoah 2025.
Natalie had this to say about her experience with Elizabeth Roth: “During my senior year of college I auditioned for a play telling the stories of holocaust survivors in the NJ area. Of course, I knew the work was important, but I did not know just how life-changing the experience would truly be. After getting cast as Elizabeth, learning her story, and meeting her and her beautiful family, I have not gone a day without thinking of her and the life that she led. Elizabeth has become the greatest influence in my life, inspiring me to go on at every twist and turn I face. I would not be the person I am today without her, and I am truly so grateful to have been a part of her life, and her a part of mine. I am now a teacher, and my students are all extremely aware of the impact Elizabeth has had on my life, and they ask me to tell them her story. She has been a beacon of strength in my life since I met her in 2021 and has now become an inspiration to my students as well. I will always continue to tell her story and to perform her play, Rella, Rose, and I whenever and wherever I can. Elizabeth, I love you with all of my heart and I thank you for everything you have done for me and for countless others. I am eternally grateful to both Elizabeth and her incredible family.”