Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982
Spreading Ashes
Then you went to...
Uh, then when we finished that one then they find us uh, other work in the field. When they uh, uh, took out the ashes from the crematorium. And we have to, uh...
Scatter.
scatter all around in that field. And after we scattered it, we have a shovel and shoveled the dirt.
Turned the dirt.
Turned the dirt on it. They said it's fertilizer.
How did you know it was the ashes?
Uh, the ashes because that kind of uh, the Kapo was telling you know what kinda...
Fertilizer.
fertilizer this is? He said, "That's your mother and your father."
And you were throwing all ???.
And we were throwing it all away. And sure, the big bones which couldn't be burned...
You found bones in the pile.
Bones, big ones. And you could see a feet, a leg bones uh, you could see a, a half an arm bone. So we see big bones, so it's couldn't be from animal, it just was a human uh, bones which it couldn't be turned to ashes.
They didn't let it burn long enough.
Or it didn't burn long enough. They was in a hurry to take it out. So it came 'bout three or four trucks with that uh, fine ashes. And after that when we finished that one then we move on uh, to the other and, to the other field to uh, pick some vegetables, some carrots, clean it and put 'em to, uh...
[interruption in interview]
Do you remember what you did after you were picking vegetables. What did you do with the vegetables?
I was picking uh, vegetable not uh, too long, 'bout two weeks there. And after when we finished that one uh, they find us...then from the big camp we move with--to the sick end where the gypsies was. So always we was moving. So now they put us there and that time was already September or October. And uh, that time they took us to the Vistula. I don't know some uh, water, uh... It's look like, like a lake...
Mm-hm.
and they going fill it uh, up that one too.
Oh.
With dirt.
Dirt.
They should make it a little bit uh, s...smaller...
Mm-hm.
than it's uh, was before. So then they give us some shovels. And shoveling up the dirt in that uh, container and take it there and uh, throw it in there. And that uh, place was the worst thing that was working in uh, Birkenau. That we have to march and that time you know what happened. Uh, we didn't know when we're going to finish uh, in Brezinka the work and they ch...we changed the shoes and we stocked with the best shoes.
Oh.
Because that night before we couldn't change it anymore.
Oh.
didn't fit. So we stocked with the best shoes. So when we was going in that uh, place to uh, work we didn't have no shoes on.
Oh.
So we have to get some uh, wooden shoes. They was giving us some wooden shoe. And to walk, walk with a wooden shoe, I think about uh, thirty miles we have to go in that place. So 'til we get there we couldn't feel we have uh, toes or anything on our feet, just was numb. So we worked there uh, 'bout uh, six uh, weeks in that place. And then...
What was that called?
I don't know, the, the lake called Vistula. So.
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