Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982
Witnessing Beatings
Um, did you ever see an occasion where a woman did steal something out of the Brezinka and was severely beaten for it?
Uh, the beating was going around there too. Uh, we was lucky we didn't get too uh, beating. But uh, a couple blocks down there was men working there too in the nightshift. And every night, the screaming the beating what they uh, got. I don't know why they did something wrong or they talk to the women. Because sometime we going out to get some water. And uh, there was a commanders, uh, the main commanders, some of 'em find their brothers. And they said, "In that place when I going to get some water you stay uh, be there at twelve o'clock or one o'clock." And then uh, I went with the Kapo get some water and he see his uh, brother there and they was talking—how are you and then—and then came the SS and they find the guy talking with the woman and uh you know already the beating he going to get. And sure enough they walked to that bathroom, the outside out there and we heard the screaming. So get a be...a very bad beating because the screaming was just uh, you never heard such a scream in your life. Just like somebody uh, they pulling the skin off from their body. So we know already he get caught the SS uh, seeing who he uh, was talking to.
Did you ever see any other kind of uh, treatment--ill treatment? Do you remember?
The uh, the treatment uh, was uh, sometime you heard the screaming and get beat up. And uh, one day uh, when they was uh, there was a C Lager and the German gypsies was in that uh, place and they're going to kill 'em off, the German gypsies, because they need the place for somebody else. And they said nobody should go out of the barracks at night because it's a special uh, transport or somebody gonna ???. And it's going to be uh, uh, some troubles. But we didn't know who they going to get. So sure enough uh, around three o'clock or two o'clock we heard uh, the gun was going off and the bullet was flying and screaming. And they pushing the German gypsies in the gas chamber. But I don't know how they get hold of the guns and they put up a fight. But the fight was about ten minutes and after there was quiet. And the next day we find it out they put the gypsies in there--the German gypsies in the gas chamber. So...
How did you find out?
Uh, the Kapo was telling us. He had uh, somebody was telling uh, him uh, some SS what they was doing.
A woman Kapo told you this?
Yes.
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