Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Lily Fenster - November 8 & 10, 1994

Come back and tell me about what the song was about.

Oh well, I don't know what it was about, but this was, shall I say it better. I don't know if I'm going to sing ???.

Just tell me the words.

It says: "In a klayn shtetl gantz free far a tog/ Hert men a nyumeh, gevein un a klug/ Mentschen meshuggeh, halb-naket un bloize"--naked, you know. "Hert men shtyeh "Yuden, Yuden shnell arois!/ Gendarmen, politzyeh, Ukreine fil/ Tzu farnechten dee Yiden, dos iz a yatzil/ Me shreit un me shlogt--a moireh, a shrek/ Me shikt dee Yiden tzu dee ban avek"--was the main transportation.. "Farshreiben kon dos nisht kafayder, vee es dryen zigh dee raider/ Vi vagonene zaynen fil/ Ot shikt men Yiden oif kiddush hashem/ Noch Treblinka, Noch Treblinka/ Nor undzereh breeder fun yeneh zeit yam/ Zay konen nisht feel'n undzer bitter'n tam/ Zay konen nisht feel'n undzer Shreklech'n noit/ Oz yayder minit vart oif undz der troit/ Dee milchomeh vet oychet amol nemen an end/ Dee velt vet derfeel'n a shreklach'n shmertz/ Un gefilt mit vaytik dos yiddisheh hartz/ Ver kon viss'n undzer bitter'n shmertz/ Kfall'n trer'n vel'n rinnen oz men vet amol gefinnen/ Dos gresteh kayver fun der velt/ Dort ree'en millionen Yiden shoin-in Treblinka, in Treblinka." They had another couple words to it, too. Oh Sidney, my heart is so full of pain. They had another one, is like ???. The Yiddish Polizei ??? but the police did a lot of harm, too--our Jewish police you heard about that maybe. The Yiddish ???. Look at those words. Do you understand, Sweetie? And look at fifty years and I remember. Would you believe it? I just don't know what's with me. I thought I'm a little anorex...not anorexia, then it is diet, I mean elec...you mean, people don't pre...apprehend. I'm very good in numbers. Rain Man, I don't have a little ??? Number, street times, I remember. In the spelling, I am, I am not bad, but I don't have confidence.

[interruption in interview]

So coming back to what, Sidney? The words, did you understand that words?

I understand most of it.

Yeah, but it shook you, but you could ask. I would explain it to you. You know it be this hearts did break, my heart aches, when the child talks to the mother, "Why do you leave me here? Why not go together?" Farshtayst?

Yeah.

How many mommy, went with the kids together.