Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Abraham Asner - October 10, 1982

And one time when we was in uh, in Radun, in ghetto, they sent us to work in uh, one, they used to make turpentine. Uh, it was before that little factory, a Jewish factory. They used to make turpentine. Naturally we was waiting for, for something, for orders, for final orders, because was waiting for that work. Then all of a sudden, one German comes to us. The German was dressed half German, half German uniform, half and half uh, civilian. He was wearing a sheepskin and then German uh, from the uniform pants. He have a pistol. In the beginning, we was afraid for him. And then that girl--what we been down there from that factory--uh, was, she used to speak French. And he start to talk to her in French. From the beginning we were afraid. Then we find out, he's talking ??? run away anyplace. He said... From the beginning he asked who are we. And we told him we are Jewish. He said, "Go away." We said, "Where?" "Any, any place you can 'cause it's going to be bad." And I thought... Finally some kind of Gestapo find out about him, from, not the Germans, from the Polish was working for the Gestapo. And they uh, told the, the Gestapo. And they come, they pick him up. The next day I hear the shot. Of course, he was a deserter from the front. From the beginning we thought, we used to make uh, some, when we run away from the ghetto. Uh, I told you that ??? Used to make some hiding places. Used to dig out a hole, cover up with uh, logs and then on top put some dirt to cover up, nothing. And then where we go in, cut up uh, tree, like a Christmas tree or, or bigger than a Christmas tree, and put 'em in that hook. We were sitting all day down there, no ??? or nothing. And then one time uh, a boy was uh, brought cattle two feet down there. There uh, was lots of grass down around there. When that cow comes to that hole, it start to smell. We were afraid that boy going to discover us. Next day we said it's no, it's no place over here, we left down there. Find another place to hide. We didn't have no experience or nothing. We thought mostly the population used to say, oh it's going to take a couple months and the Russian is going to be back. And that couple months was, I don't know, four years. From the beginning, when uh, we don't know how we're going uh, survive winter, winter because every day you go out, you want for food, your tracks. And split out uh, uh, put up some posts and guards and every... all over. After we find out winter's better than summer. Along you prepare some food. And where you make the tracks, you put a guard down there and you put a guard far away where they can see far away. Where you can see if the Germans coming over or somebody else is coming over you can uh, easy to let them know the rest of the group to take cover or something to, to run away.