Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982

That must have been devastating when he had to close the store.

Oh sure, five uh you know, six kids and uh, then he didn't know what he going to do. But that's the, that's not too long uh, the Hungarian took the people uh, to a forced labor camp and he was young enough that time to go in. So uh, he went and have to leave the family and we was uh, two oldest girl who have to go to uh, work and leave the school to help out mother out 'til he was coming back.

Do you know where he went?

I don't know, he went uh, far away. You see, he wrote a couple letters you know, he's okay and we shou...we shouldn't worry about it and uh, keep the family together and telling us to uh, help out until he come back.

Was he sent to forced labor because he was Jewish?

Uh, I don't know if uh, yeah, because he was Jewish they took here fifty-five away the men that time.

To the age of fifty-five.

A...age of fifty-five.

Uh-huh. And they just randomly selected him?

I don't know how the age was coming up...

Yeah.

but they had a quota or something you know. And uh, just you know, we were so...

That was the Hungarians that took him?

Yes.

What year was that?

Uh, in '39 I think.