Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nancy Fordonski - July 29, 1982

Were you ever assigned special duties?

Then was, was--in one of the barracks there were some people that they were kept in a separate place--women and on the other side there were men on the other side of the fence. I don't want any misunderstanding there were men on our side. But through the fence there were men and they were kept also in a special place. They were from Łódź, from ghetto. And they had with them there um, the men like in a factory you have the--not the boss uh, the foreman, their foreman from the Łódź ghetto, it was a, a resort, a metal resort, his name was Smovitch. So probably they promised him that they will be taken, after the liquidation of the Łódź ghetto, they will be taken to Dresden to a ammunition factory. So all those women were kept in a--that special place and the men on the other side, on other side of the fence in another place. And they were supposed to go to Dresden, to that ammunition factory. But somehow they were older people, younger people, they needed another fifty people, younger girls for that transport you know, that they could do more work than the other people. Because Smovitch was their foremen in Łódź, in their resor...resort, in their factory. And he was uh, there was one of the Germans, Biebow, that was one from the Gestapo in the Łódź ghetto and he was supposed to with Smovitch to Dresden. So they wanna have fifty more women. I'm not sure or they had some men too. From the men or they picked some younger, healthier men also. So they were picked fifty from us. And, I don't know, by pure luck or I was fortunate or uh, just my parents looked over me--because that what I always believed and I still do. My sister mentioned that she somehow overheard, they were talking in the night that a, a few people will be selected to go eh, next day for work to another camp, to another place. And she told me about it. So I mentioned to her, "You will see, don't worry. If you should be picked, you will be picked with you too because I have faith." And that's how it was. She was picked and I was. And they, they, they dressed us up in different clothes and they put us on a train and they send us to Dresden.