Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Lily Fenster - November 8 & 10, 1994

When the war begin, was your father involved with politics in any way?

I don't think so.

He wasn't a Zionist or Bundist?

I don't even know what--he use to like, he, he was for Judaism very much. He stick with you know, with his people who cared for him. But politics, I don't even know. You know, it was so much poverty that you didn't have the kop to be involved in a better Poland or something because we were surrounded in a bunch of anti-Semites. You walked to school in the winter, okay they didn't recognize me because I was blue eyes and blond hair. You know, blue eyes and blond hair, they use to take snow and put a stone in it and hit the Jews. We use to always go in groups. You know, the anti-Semitism was terrible. 'Cause Steffa didn't talk much about it, she talked about her little incidents, the way the Goyim you know, took care of her mother and the way she was kosher and she was having a little potatoes you know, she didn't want them with chazer. First time I went to the Polacks they cooked potatoes and, and they put in pork. I mean you know, squawky, how you say, squawky a, a, cracklings from pigs, the skin. And I moved it away and I was afraid she was going to see it because to everybody it was a luxury. I couldn't digest it. I wasn't use to that. So I was so hungry then I use to go work in the fields dig the potatoes, take the corns and everything you needed strength to power and to do those things. A child of fourteen or fourteen and a half was at that time. You know, until I see I don't have strength anymore say God forgive me, I need a piece of meat, I need some strength. And I start eating it and it tastes quite good. You know that's how stupid I was and then I was afraid she should see it, it's gone. I'm just suppose to be gentile. Gentile's love pork chops and all those things and I didn't eat it, that upbringing from us. Which they--kosher, not kosher, it's not kosher, it's not good for us. Our religion don't believe in it. When I went to Israel, they eat pork. I went in Haifa. They have chazer like nobody's business. You know the two of you what when--I'm going to Israel by the way, the 2nd of April, for a wedding, my cousin. Another story with that cousin.

Well, let's, let's stay with one story.

Yes. Stay on the subject. I'm jumping, I'm just...