Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982

So where we was?

You were talking about when the transports were coming in.

Yeah, the transport was coming uh, full speed and they need the barrack to empty their clothes. So we have to work uh, fast. I don't know what they did with the clothing where, after that where they put it. They said they took it to Germany. I don't know if it's true or not.

Okay, let's um, stop for a minute. You came into the building and when you walk into this barrack, what, what did you see?

Clothes, all over clothes.

Who put the clothing in there, the men?

The men already.

The Sonderkommando?

Yes, the Sonderkommando. I don't know which transport, it could be before us was come in because I find uh, my mother uh, dress there in that barrack when we was working and the bedspread. I remember he took a bedspread with us to cover up the kids at night when we was coming with the train. And uh, I pull uh, the clothing and then I see from that transport that clothing is in our barrack. And we find some picture. I didn't find mine uh, parents' picture because I don't think we took some. But I could recognize the girls, some picture who took some picture with them. So uh, just, just the clothing, top of the hi...high was the barrack that high was that clothing there.

Piled up.

Piled up. And the SS was coming every hour to check on us if we're not sleeping or something, with everything they were going.

Mm-hm.

So uh, we was uh...

What did you do with the things you found from home?

Nothing, we just uh, push it aside and we was crying. And uh you know, the more you cry that's all you could do, cry. Nothing, uh... By that time already we know where our parents and uh, my brother and sister was. A long time they was in a gas chamber oven.

What were the dates that you worked in the Brezinka, do you remember?

We get there in Auschwitz in May 20, that's the day I never going to forget it because my mother's birthday was on a Saturday.

Hm.

And uh, June, end of June, July and August, that two months there we were... It could be end of June, but the June the 15th, or the 18th, something like this when we were going in Brezinka to uh, work.

And you worked there for six weeks.

For six weeks worked in one...

Just sorting clothing.

Sorting clothing.