Luba Elbaum - January 20, 1982
Sharing Experience
Did you talk about your experiences in the, in the camps to people?
Yeah. To my kids, most to my kids. First time when I just came here, I was not sleeping nights. Not nights, you know. Always I was in the, in the camps and I was always in the trains. When they put us in, in the trains we were eighty, ninety people in a train. They closed up the train. And I always see the train, I always see the Krematories and I always see the work and I always see--I don't, I don't work too much in Auschwitz, you know. I am not too much. In Auschwitz I don't work too much, I don't see nothing in Ausch...because I was there a survivor, but not too long, 'cause--some are, but they were for a long time there. And I was not for--like I say, I was maybe for six weeks there. Was always Blocksperre and I don't saw over there too much. I saw the Krematoriums, like I say with everything. Really, I don't work there. I work in Płaszów. I suffered down in Płaszów--to the people--they threw them in a grave--just brand them like, I mean. They hanged--they give twenty-five, they, they, they took out--they tooked our clothes off the body, you know, when we went our clothes in--they came in the German--we, we only, you know, no...nothing. We're only going to have a little shirt to cover ourself. They came and threw away from us everything. And uh, they give us cold water, give us hot water. They, they done--but they have nothing to do with us. I have some experience but they ne...but the Germans didn't take me. But somehow I got out. Somehow got out. And if somehow you go out, that's it. I was a real good worker. One thing what I bet helped. I was a real, real good worker. They had not against me when I went to scrub a floor, when I went to wash for them clothes, when I went to do for them something. And when I was working in a factory, when I was working in a kitchen, I was working hard, real hard. When I came in their room make them a good--I wish I would have now the strength that I have this time. We have no strength, we have to do. We ha...we don't want to--we went out in the cold and took some, some uh, cold snow and wash up, because if not we would have all the, all the disease from the skin. We have to keep us clean. And I used to have friends mine what I used to help them out. If they helped me out, I helped them out if sometimes like there--we don't have no time to go out wash some clothes I asked some woman when they were washing clothes. So they washed me out some because I was working something else. So that's what I uh, got.
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