Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Abraham Asner - October 10, 1982

Uh, then I start to walk again. I start to walk again was uh, the little town Orany and the next town was on the Polish side it used to be the uh, uh, the, the station Orany, where the sta... the railroad station, they call Orany. It was a... another town, about five kilometers, one from the other one. On the bridge where I was going where it used to be the border, was a big German officer come to me and want to give me a kick in my behind. Why I'm going behind the army. And finally I turn around and I go away, I go on the other side. I came in the town Orany, I couldn't find nobody. I want to eat, I was hungry. Finally I, I walk away and I went to about thirty-two kilometers from Orany to that other town, Eišiškes. When, when I come down there, was already a Judenrat made up. And they used to take to work. I was hiding in the, in potatoes, laying for days in that potatoes uh, it was growed. They couldn't, they couldn't see me. Finally in a, a few days, maybe a coup... maybe a couple days uh, a couple weeks later, it's more quiet, I walk out. I walk out and I want to go to see a friend. I think it was on a Saturday. I went to go see a friend. It was not far already from my friend in that uh, town, in that Eišiškes, a German spot me. "Come here!" I went to him. He give me, he took me to the synagogue, to the synagogue was three synagogues, one close to the other one down there in that town Eišiškes and some people was down there before. It was very dirty from the people from the waste everything. And I go in, I was uh, dressed up in uh, in clean clothes, everything. And I start... And they told me to sweep it up, make it clean. And so many--'scuse me--fleas down there. I, I just was black from the fleas. When I finished that work, I couldn't go home down there. I have a uncle who used to live down there. I couldn't go home. I went straight to the river, and I washed my clothes and washed myself because it was so dirty. It was dirt and everything. I hear so, they kept some Gypsies down there or something. Anyway, I finished with that, I come home. They asked me where I been, I told 'em. They said, you're lucky you come home. Finally, they start to take us to work. They, the... I used to work on the highways. Everyday they used to come with trucks. And the highways was broken from the tanks and tractors, any kind. We used to fill up the highways with sand. And it was some groups--Polish too--used to work on the highways. And they used to take advantage on us and everything.