Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Erna Blitzer Gorman - April 26, 1984

The war.

Oh, well, couldn't walk and, um... We crawled for several days because during the day we wouldn't, we didn't, we didn't cra... we didn't crawl during the day because I think the feeling was that, what if, if it's not clear yet. What if, you know, it's not that we weren't able to. Even, even a, a non-German had he spotted us... They didn't like the Jews. You know, they um, to, to think that another person there beside the German, another Ukrainian would help, they wouldn't. They would just turn you in or shoot you or whatever. So that feeling was there that uh, there's such anti-Jews you know, they really... I think they must been worse than the Ger... the Germans. Anyway, so um, we, we were hiding during the day like in a, I don't know, ditch type of thing. And my father, I think he used to steal potatoes, from, from where I don't know again. I don't see houses or anything. All I see is fields. So I, I don't know where. But we, he... Raw potatoes as I remember we used to eat at that... Yeah.

Still the four of you.

Just the four of us, yeah. Um, then finally we, you know, we came to this road and there were people walking on the road. And, and they must have been refugees too. I don't know whether they, who they were, or whether they were Jews or whether they were other refugees, I don't know. I... At, at that time I, I see that it seemed like a great deal of people to me. But my better sense tells me it probably wasn't. But I, I was just um, you know, my, my mind was imagining. Anyhow, so we see these people and then you could see a truck go by every so often because, with soldiers. I mean, at that point we already began to see soldiers, Russian soldiers. They weren't stopping for anybody then yet. Um...

You were still crawling ???

Well, we crawled for a long time, you know. At least it feels to me like it was forever. Um, we couldn't walk. There was no ways about it. We just couldn't wa... And, and my, at that, and you know, and I, my hands froze at that time and they swelled up and um, and then they crack like each finger open, you know. It's, it, it... I, I remember that before...

[interruption in interview]