Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982
Work Outside of Auschwitz
Vistula.
Yeah. So I don't know, uh. It was outside, way outside from uh, Birkenau, about thirty miles. And uh, that place was the worst place because there we was beat up.
It wasn't called Budy was it?
No.
You were beat up by whom?
With the SS. Because if they see, we didn't uh, if you use the shovel the Jew...the Jewish girl couldn't use the shovel. Just the Ukrainians.
Oh you were working with the...
With the Ukrainians. They was in a camp too, but they was Ukraine--from Ukraine and from uh, Poland, some political, uh...
Prisoners.
prisoners. So they have to have the sho...they have to have the shovel because the shovel was easier than the pick uh, how you call it?
The pick.
The pick. So one day uh, I didn't look uh, Jewish because I was a blonde uh, hair and my sister said you just go pick a shovel, let's see you how you uh, get away with it.
Mm-hm.
So I didn't went 'bout three or four uh, steps, then I see somebody's running after me, and who it was, the SS. I should have more brains because I had the uh, the start there...
Mm-hm.
but I didn't realize it that time. So he was hitting mein head. I get a slap here and then he hit me right in the bone--in the neck bone. I--and sure enough, I fell down in the floor, I mean on the dirt there. I was thinking I never going to get up. But uh, from scariness I get up and sure enough I went back and put down the shovel and take the pick. And uh, that one we have to work the whole day uh, hitting that dirt. And uh, that time already start to be...
[interruption in interview]
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