Hannah Fisk - January 24, 1983
Learning of Family's Fate
Did you hear anything while you were uh, there about the rest of your family--what had happened to them or anything?
No. No. They took me away in 1940 and I came back in 1945, and I went looking for family. I already met my husband. I wasn't married or nothing, just a boyfriend. I went over there to Poland, to Sosnowiec. I saw the furniture from my sister, where I was with her and I saw the furniture from my sister-in-law. An old woman laying there, and I ask her in Polish--you know, I speak Polish. I speak six languages--and I ask her, I says, "Is anybody left here? Can you tell me? My name is ???." Didn't find nobody. As a matter of fact, twice, twice I, I fainted on those steps there. They had to pick me up. They wouldn't let me go anymore. No, I didn't find nobody. Nineteen forty, I saw them last time. I saw my father in 1939. He came to my sister's wedding and I never saw him again.
Did anybody have any idea in 1939 what was going to happen?
No.
Did anybody...
No. We didn't dream about it. Not like that. A war is a war, you know, you fight with the people, with your enemies. But what kind of enemies are we? What did I understand from politics? I was fourteen years old. What did I know? Little I know what's happened, little I know what's going to be...
Mm-hm.
...barbarish. You know what's barbarish? That's what they were, the Germans.
Yeah.
That's all.
Yeah. Hm. Um, can you describe the, the train transport for me, when you were taken to Gabersdorf...
From Sosnowiec?
Yeah.
We were uh, on the train about two nights and three days. Uh, it was terrible, was terrible. Uh, sometimes if they were in a good mood, the Germans--the men took us over there, they let us out. And if not, we couldn't do it in the train, either. There was no facil...
[interruption in interview]
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