Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Erna Blitzer Gorman - April 26, 1984

Am I taking too much time?

Oh no.

Uh, boy, I'm surprised at myself, I'm talking so much. Uh, anyway, so um. Oh yes, my hands, I... That was one of... That's how I can remember and feel is the pain in my hands and um, anyhow after you... We saw people, nobody cared whether you needed something or you didn't, you know. That, the first, the first jeep I remember just drove by and we were sitting on the road and I remember them throwing bread at us, you know. And it was really, um--oh God I remember that--um, okay. Then after that, I don't know how much time spent, but we were, I think we were beginning to sort of hobble already by then. Um, then...

What do you remember about that? The Russian soldiers, they threw, they threw bread to you?

That's the first jeep that I remember, yeah.

And they threw bread where you were on the road.

Right, it, I, they were, I... Huh?

How did you... Did you speak to each other about this? Did anybody say?

No. I never spoke then. I had, um... they knew it.

Not even about your hands.

You know, like I told my children, you had pain, but it was an additional pain. It was not something that you went around and you say, "Oh my God, you know, I hurt, I, this and I that." You, you become after awhile numb. It was an addition. It was painful. I still... I feel the pain now. But you just... It was not a priority. The other priorities first were to uh, uh, to survive still. We were still... The war was still there. It was not a priority. So, so anyhow, to go on the next then, then one time this, the, the uh, the, the Russian... A truck came by and they took us in the truck. And um, and, and there they, they, they did wrap my hands and, and the feet and, and they gave us some clothing, I remember that. Before, we're still before but... I remember the Russians walking, their feet were bandaged with, with rags. You know, I, I see this, so. And maybe, maybe just because I brushed it away for so long that it's so clear in my mind now, I don't know. Okay, so th... I had, whether it was a week, we were going back and forth with the Russians. As the war was progressing or, or digressing, whatever, we were always behind. But after awhile you didn't see the shooting so much. We saw the ??? you know. You could see in the sky you know, "ssss" the kind of... But it was a distance away maybe, it was a few kilometers away or, or whatever. I, I can't judge the, this, the space. But you didn't, it wasn't as, as deafening around you anymore, it was further away.