Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Lily Fenster - November 8 & 10, 1994

Children

...all sort of things, and I told Raymond, I say, "You could write a story." He has a story to tell about the German Jews, too, about his family, but you know what? They suppressed it to some degree. Nobody wanted to talk about--there was some, yes, that had been and became so popular. Nobody wanted to talk about it. We were ashamed. They called us rats like you seen in Schindler's List. The rats are in the sewers and the Jews put in--in the sausages rats. How could you hear such exaggeration and such filth and where could you go to correct it. Who's going to give you apology say no. Like today, I watched it on television. The blacks. They extended species. Why they calling them species? They live in a free country. They could do things. But that's another story. It's not my concern. It is, yes and no. I'm American citizen. I would like to help those people too, but they have to help themselves. The excuse which they give about the crack cocaine. My God. What kind of excuse do you have. You forget about it. Not everybody can be in luxury. But you have the opportunity to be anything you want. Isn't that so? You don't have to live that. Okay, to be poor in America is not ??? see too much. But again, you have to be content and do what you can afford. Believe me, before we moved here, I was so proud of church, house. Whenever I have a chance, I pass by. They were magnificent memories. School, Jewish atmosphere. Everybody knows you. The kids had beautiful company. Everybody helped everybody. Now it became a disaster. Beautiful America. It's still the greatest country on earth, I mean, if you're gonna agree with me. But you don't any other country. You agree with me? Farshtayst? But people are making their own problems. They make you scared, they make you. Look at that news with the two children. If she would give them to me, I would take care of them. We are from stock that we are survivors, an we are a strong, emotional people. I think so. Look at me what I went through. And there is people, they went through worse. But I was alone. Alone, alone like a stone. Do you know what it means to get up, "Hi, how are you?" Just a little word to you. Kindness to say, you became so--not hard. It's the outside that's hard, inside is soft. 'Cause you had to fight for survival, like a little animal in the wilderness, don't you think so? So, you want to know about the camp? The camp wasn't bad. When I tell other people, we used to go to Frankfurt. I mean you can make a little money. I went to see opera, I started to get educated a little bit. I spoke the German good and the writing wasn't good, but the talk. It was--I didn't have a bad life. I had a little shelter and somebody that cared. For me that was enough. Look it, I'm with p...I love people. I could get acquainted with anybody you know, I just, I love people. I was flying to Boston a couple of months ago. I got to know a professor from U of M and he knew my son-in-law, Mr. Kurzweil when my husband used to be alive. He was quiet. He always says, "Why do you talk so much?" I say, so, when he came, I called him a word--I don't want to say. I say "Our kids are not going to talk." I say, "David, I cannot be like you. I love to talk. But maybe people don't." I say. I get my message. If they are not interested, I move out. I say I'm sorry to bother you and I can sit for two or three hours and not to say a word, take a magazine and that's it, but some people find it very interesting, especially on the plane. Time moves fast. So, what else my darling?


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