Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Steve Collins - May 10, 1982

Conclusion

Um, tell me something about this Ramick and Levine and Gritz?

Yeah he send me, he send me away to ???. He did send me away person...

???

???.

???

???, this in Prussia, what was over there. He send me personal away, but over there I was too tall, didn't bend to work, I didn't obey them, you know. I was not a guy, but uh, to help the German or the work with them in his way to the, to exploit the Jews, you know.

Were they cruel?

S... very cruel, yes. Some absolutely, the police...

Tell me, tell me some of the things they did.

...very cruel, beat...

The Jewish...

Once, oh was beating sometimes in those, see I know...

The Jewish police themselves beat...

Oh sure.

Other Jews?

Oh sure, Jews in the prison, in Auschwitz would be killed, the ??? killed the Jews, lots of Jews killed Jews, oh sure. I mean, like over there one incident, what I got myself...

In Płońsk?

I ne...yeah. I never got hit from the police. So one time was crossing one side street to the other, like ??? I wouldn't know it. Crossing the ??? was going, they was going the armament, the tanks to the Russian front, we not too far from Russia, you know.

Mm-hm.

To the Russian front. It was going, prepared to take Russia then. Was going through they didn't let you in the police, was Jewish police, watching the gates, you know. Not to cross from one street to the other, was a main street we have to cross. So I say to my friend and he was in the war too, he's now in London, England. Jacob ???, he was coming to my sister, she did, she didn't survive, three years younger than me.

Oh.

He was coming, he was in the war coming back--I mean really a man, I mean, typical. I mean, not Jewish, I mean ??? very young boy, he volunteered too. The war, come home and was friends with him. We was crossing the street both together. They didn't say if you cannot go just hit him, you know, me and like the guy would grab me, you know...

The Jewish police grabbed you?

Yeah, yeah, not me. He hit him in the, in the chest, you know. Came up to him like this and he want to fight him. I hold him back, I says it's not the time, don't, don't hit him. I know the ??? police would beat him up, cripple him, you know, beat him up--I says uh, it's not the time yet. Was better off, some was not from out of the town the war time, came from other towns, some policemen. Some, a few, was from our town went with me to, to school, the same guy. Well they took, went to take something from the ??? school and we was fighting who would be the strongest, like bully, have the always was physical strong ???. And on the police, they got you they hold you and they beat you, you know. They hold the hand and they hit you. So, nobody would be, hit you straight, would never let me. And I says, his name was Jacob Kleinberg, says oh, done, this you not recording this. No, I don't want you to recording this, no. So I says to, to Jacob...

The recorders on.

Yeah, cut off this what I did to ???, want to see if she remember...


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