Regina Cohen - April 18, 1982
Deportation to Ghetto
What--you're talking about at the time you were being deported.
When we were, when we taken from our--from the ghetto.
Can you tell me what happened at that time?
Yes, it was a gorgeous, gorgeous morning. Warm. Early spring. Uh, it was a crime to go anywhere. The whole city was almost like a standstill. Didn't see no church people, no nobody. None of the streets we had to be taken through towards the um, railroad station.
Now that you all evacuated from your homes.
From the ghetto.
Who pulled you out of your homes?
Oh we were given--they had um, Gestapos and Hungarian police that worked in unison together with--and military people would give the order the night before if they so chose and say "Within twenty-four hours Jews..."or they would have um, um, what do they call them? Placards um, notes put out on, on certain areas of the city that you'd have to go and read, and see what the rules are for the Jews of that city. Uh, every so many places, the rules and the conditions were written out. The Jews, you have to uh, within twenty-four hours gather up so much only what you can carry on your back or in your two hands, no more than that. No monies, no this, no that, you'll be uh, frisked or uh, searched and you're to leave your home and show up at point so and so.
Designated...
Area. And we all showed up there and they herd us in there and they locked the gates and, and they make sure they built some fencing high enough so you don't see out and very tightly woven so you don't see through because the, the public walks those street. And we were just told, "This is where you're going to stay." Of course there's a lot of fighting amongst the people too. This family and this family. Nobody knows anybody ha...hardly, you know. Some come from different neighboring small towns. Uh, those people, I would assume, they were brought in by um, horse and a, horse and cart or, or whatever means of transportation. We were not too far from there. Our home was only, I'd say, a half hour walk from the ghetto--designated area where they established the ghetto.
Was this a building you were sent to, or was it just an open area?
No, it was buildings, buildings in one particular street of Chust. And there were houses, so many houses.
And you're talking about the ghetto now.
This is the ghetto.
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