Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Eva Ackermann - December 6, 1982

Let me uh, go back a little bit now. Um, you were marching from Budapest to the border...

To the border, Austrian border.

To--what was the name of the town again?

Zurndorf.

Zurndorf.

Yeah.

Then what happened?

Then we got shoved into cattle cars and uh, the SS took over. I can't recall if it was the SS or the Wehrmacht, but I'm pretty sure the SS uh, took over and somehow uh, it was just a little bit easier by the, by the physical way of doing things, by not having to walk.

What was it like in the car?

It was crowded, but uh, it still was a relief and somehow their tone of voice was a little--we couldn't detect the same hatred uh, uh, as we heard, maybe because of the--I spoke German, so it was no barrier to me, the...

Your mother was fluent you said?

Yes, my mother was fluent and I was fluent. Not any more, but I was, so--and they were somehow, I don't know uh, I don't know why but, uh in a very, very curious way, it was impressive. Uh, the difference between the Hungarians, that's why I hate them so uh, it was--maybe we dealt with a very low class of people in Hungary, although uh, anti-Semitism isn't uh, has no barrier when it comes to classes, but the low class will uh, let you know in a much simpler language that you understand and uh, but when we got uh, and I traveled, I think we traveled about two days and, uh...

Was there any food or water?

I honestly don't remember. I don't--I couldn't remember.

Any toilet facilities?

Toilet facility was uh, uh, I, I, I think it was something uh, it was--there were a lot of people and uh, it was, there was something, I don't, I really don't reca...there was something in that cattle car that you were able to go to, maybe just on the floor, but that I don't remember. What stands out in my mind going back, the streets, actually we went in the street uh, in Budapest where you were uh, you wouldn't uh, be caught dead shown uh, that's right, we went on the street on the bathroom, I mean to the bathroom. Over here I don't remember, I uh, I, it was probably by then we were conditioned and uh, it was, it was not much uh, no surprises that there was no place to go. I mean it didn't come as a surprise.