Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Eugene Feldman - July 15, 1991

Conditions in Ghetto

So when you got to Stolin what did it look like? What was, did you know people there?

There were, the ghetto was there already and there were thousands of people there already. The city, I guess from the city itself. There were a lot of Jews in the c...in the town. It's a pretty decent town. I have no idea how many Jews there, but I remember we may even have some relatives there too. There was a lot of Jewish people there.

Did you look for the relatives?

We had a house. We lived in a house. But I don't remember whose house it was. I have no idea whose house it is.

How may of you...

Except the only thing is that the reason I guess I don't remember I, I would say, what did I stay in the ghetto. A few days? I didn't stay in the ghetto. Because I went back to work.

When you first came to the ghetto though, were...

I, I went down there about three days.

Your three sisters your mother and father.

Right.

Aunts, uncles. Did you all stay together in this one house?

In one, in one little house.

Were there other people too?

I think there were other people there because it was very crowded. A little tiny house, it was very crowded.

Was the ghetto fenced in?

Yeah. Oh yeah.

Barbed...

Barbed wires. It's not electric.

What did you think of when you saw the barbed wires surrounding you? Anything?

I didn't panic for some reason. I don't know, it's just blank like. I don't know why I didn't panic or anything. But I, I knew I didn't like to stay there because when I--they offered me, when dad went to work back to show 'em that we didn't want to be in the ghetto. We were hoping we'll be able to send some food to my mother and, and the kids. So I--my dad says that I was sixteen or seventeen, I guess I looked older. And I passed. They let me go to work with dad. I don't know if we got paid for the work or not. I doubt it. I don't know. All I know we were building a bridge and digging uh, and, and digging turf. Those two things.


© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn