• Contents
• Map
• Audio

Emerich Grinbaum - January 8, 2001

What did you, what did you think? Did you think at all about,about your mother and the rest of your family at that point?

Okay, that's a good question. So going back. I told you aboutAuschwitz how they-we were departed.

Separated.

Separated. At that time, the old Häftlingen, Häftlingwas a, a prisoner.

Prisoner.

Hätfling, that's the common name. All the Polish and someother, French and all the-they told us that you, you cannot uh, expect the,the parents or children or, to, to be, be alive. But we you know, we didn'twant to believe. We didn't want to believe, you know. We didn't want to believe,all the time we were, you know uh, we didn't want to believe this. But sooneror later we had to believe. But, the, the first several months we were very,very, very ambiguous about what might have happened with the other people.Later on, we saw uh, in the when in February- March some uh, they came fromother camps and ladies, women came also. So part of the camp become women-beforethat only men. A lot of women came. So we thought that maybe, we are alwayslooking. Maybe I can find my mother or someone. Matter of fact-you wouldn'tbelieve and that's not important-I f...found an aunt there.

That's important too.

I found an aunt. You know, because through the fence we're talkingyou know, "Who is this, who is this, you came from the city," you know, city-wise,in a different countries, different. So we found from-the, she uh, she wasnot from Munkacs but from Beregszasz which is another city close. And shecame. And she was there, you know. And she was put also in that train andwe were liberated at the same time. So after, after the-they took we, we gotthrough all the, all the areas, we got home together with her, with the aunt.I didn't want to, to complicate the whole story.

Let me take you back for just a second. Um, a couple things-Ididn't want to stop you. You said that when the, the uh, Americans come theygave out food and some people overindulged.

Especially overindulged uh, with the, with the package from the...