Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982

Travelling

Were you with your sisters all this time traveling around?

Just with one, the youngest one. The oldest one went home and get married and when she decide to come uh, out already, the border froze already. So she doesn't have a chance to uh, come out.

She remained there.

She remained there.

Is she there today?

No, three years ago the--finally the Russia let the Jews uh, from that place uh, immigrate to Israel. So now she has uh, three boys and two of them is married and three grandchildren and they live very happy, happily in Israel.

Mm-hm. And your other sister?

Mine other sister uh, uh, she didn't have an affidavit to come to America. And we have here aunts and uncles, but I don't know what happened with them. They said they didn't have the money to pay for her. So when we have the affidavit from my husband side and uh, pay ticket to come to the United States we decided if she go to Israel she has a better chance to come to America

Mm-hm.

than to send her back to my sister, uh...

Mm-hm.

to Russia. Because she was young. So uh, finally from Prague, from the Jewish organization uh, she went uh, she went to Germany. And from Germany there in '48 Israel had, had, had the war so they needed some, uh...

People.

people. So she ran off. She volunteered to go to the--in Germany, in the Israeli army. But there she find a guy who was transporting the people from uh, Germany to France and from France to Israel already who was uh, going to fight. Uh, he married her and she took her out, he took her out from the army. So when he was here already a year in the United States there was worried going the United States let in ten thousand uh, DPs from uh, Germany.

Mm-hm.

But you have to register their name. So right away I went with mine aunt and registered her name. But I wasn't sure uh, it's going to be something...

Mm-hm.

uh, of this one. But uh, six months later they said yes. They paid the transport and they let ten thousand and she came to the, with the first transport with the husband to the United States.


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