Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Anne Eisenberg - May 11, 1982

I was bashful, I was... I wouldn't even undress in front of my mother and here I find myself to get undressed in front of all these strange men. But little by little by no choice, we found ourselves naked. The pushing keeps going, then we saw men giving out water. I tried to cover myself with my hands, but by being thirsty I really didn't know which hand to remove. And the men with such comfort, with such relaxed voices put us at ease. They gave us the water. We drank. We kept going. Then we found ourselves in a room and we got shaven bald. But by seeing all the bald heads I kept pulling back. That's how I lost myself from my sister. Again, I was fifteen and all by myself. I was in sheer panic. Then I saw a girl that I met in the ghetto and I figured I have nobody else, I'll have her. So we stuck together. Then it--the, the bathing and everything was over and they gave us that long gown. Again we were lined up in sixes and we were taken to unknown place again. And then we found out we were taken to barracks. That was our living quarters. [pause] But it was such a strange place, that tiny little hole with straw all over it and twelve girls, twelve to fourteen girls were shoved in. We couldn't sleep because if one turns everybody else had to turn. And we didn't--it was quite hard to get used to a place, especially for the first time. But being so tired we were out like a light. But hardly did we fell asleep when we hear the shouts again. How strange it was. We all got up because no sooner if you were late the beatings were starting. And it didn't take long to realize in what place we are. We got, got up. Most of the girls couldn't even find their shoes anymore because that was taken away from them. I got my first beating. We had to find the toilet and if you got to that toilet it was a horrible mess. Because there was just one big barrack with big holes, no paper, no nothing. It felt more like a animal than a human being. When it came to water I ??? on my back and again we were running. It was all push, push, you pull. Found ourselves back into the bar...into the barracks. But outside the sun just started to rise. They would make you stay in line being in, in sixes. We--the counting started. We stayed in line every morning from then on and every night. The counting never ceased. If they didn't like your looks, that was the end. I'm going a little too fast. The following day that I was in the barrack, somebody came and told me they saw my sister. It was the happiest moment. From that moment on we were like the Siamese twins. We never went to the toilet separately. We never parted for, for a second. If thou goeth, I goeth. And she told me that night that she saw one of our brothers and she asked him where our father was and our other brother. And he pointed. And during the whole year we were with that knowledge that they are alive. But it was all hope actually. Because in Auschwitz itself the following day that we were there, the people tell us, 'You see that smoke? That's where your parents are." That's where your lost ones are. It was so hard to believe that such a thing could happen. It was just impossible for something like that to happen. It was just beyond our belief. But as time went on, and we realized that the beatings, the cruelties that were taking place, the hangings. It was too obvious not to believe. In Auschwitz, in front of our camp there was another camp, there was another camp. Only thing you see there is little children, mostly twins. That's where Eich...Dr. Mengele experimented on those beautiful, beautiful children. And I was in Auschwitz six weeks.