Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Anna Greenberger - August 24, 1982

And they always, uh, I went a couple times uh, but most of the time I cleaned that uh, the rooms where they slept and they did--so in uh, Shavuout they, they took everyday the transports to Auschwitz. We didn't know. We didn't know why, where they taking us and we didn't know nothing because they--nobody--they were telling us always that they are taking us to work. So we didn't--we knew that uh, they are going to kill us because nobody was so stupid. And especially they took men and uh, we heard already rumors that was going on in Poland and in Slovak uh, you know uh, occupation, that's how they killing and shooting and everything. But we didn't believe it, you know. It was unbelievable thing because for no reason, for what? So we went to uh, from there they took us all. We were very careful always we should be always together the five of us, because you have to watch very, very careful. Just one mistake and they separated you. They did especially. They didn't want sisters and mothers to be together. So my sister who is in Czechoslovakia--Judy--she's a ye...year younger and she was very, very smart. She was a all A student, excellent. Not just--she was a very bright girl. She always kept us together. She always said, "'Til they don't call us all the five, we shouldn't answer." Because they didn't know who we are, there were thousands of people from all over. So we came--arrived to Auschwitz. We were--this too I have to tell you uh, we were in uh, animal wagons. You heard that already.

Cattle cars.

Yeah, I don't know how many. And they picked always--they made themselves queued. They picked one man who is the wagon master. I don't know from what reason. And, you know, it wasn't bathrooms, nothing. I really don't even remember where we went in the bathroom. I know that we urinated in shoes and whatever we had...

In shoes?

Yeah. And a lady--she passed away after liberation--she had a, a--some pot, I don't know and uh, there were, I don't know. Listen, it's a human--that's what she used for a toilet. And through the window--it wasn't even window because we had just small from uh, you know, steel, uh, it's like for cows, for animals. So it wasn't regular trains. It was uh, and she spilled all of--and she spilled off a policeman on accidentally. She didn't know that he--and he came in and he got up that wa...that wagon master and he beat him with that rubber this. I don't remember if he killed him or not because it was so many of us in one wagon that uh, we couldn't move. We were just sitting next to each other. You can imagine how my mother felt--a mother uh, you know when you're a mother, you imagine.