Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Samuel Biegun - February 15, 1983

And how did you finally make arrangements to leave there? You said from there you went to France.

Yeah, to France we had to go, take the boat.

Okay, because now you had your papers, you were able to go to Israel.

Yes, I was legal.

So how did you get from Frankfurt to Marseilles?

It was uh, I think Israel paid for it.

Train?

The train and the boat.

A lot of people from the camp went?

Yes. Well, a few families went to United States or to different--to South American, but most of them went to Israel.

Do you remember the boat trip to Israel?

Yes.

How long was it from Marseilles to uh, Israel.

Five days, five or six days.

What kind of a boat was it?

It was a pretty good size. It was the Negba.

Negba. Comfortable boat?

Yes.

What port did you land in in Israel?

Haifa.

What were your feelings when you came to Israel?

A very good feeling, like you're free, free person--own land. I felt very free.

Had you felt that before?

No.

Describe to me what it was like that day when you went--people, what it was like...

We landed in a big camp, like uh, uh, that's the main camp, you know, when you're landing. You couldn't go anywhere, we had to be quarantined, you know, because they were fearing a sickness or something. And from there we were transferred to a different place, you know, like in tent, ??? tent. And the country was young, we just, we just started so, but at least we had freedom. We had food. Until, we stayed about uh, almost a year and then we had--we bought a house. We made enough money to put a down payment.

And you were still together with your family.

Yes.

And your father did what in Israel?

Carpenter, carpenter.

Okay, and then you?

I was working with my father. At first I tried to do anything to make a few dollars. But uh, I was a carpenter.