Anna Greenberger - August 24, 1982
Arriving in Argentina
We went with the Vatican boat. We went to Argentina--Buenos Aires--four of us, and we didn't know nothing that somebody will wait for us. And when they called, "Alexander Greenberger, Anna Greenberger, Lenka Klein...Greenberger, Erica," we thought that that the police and they take us to concentration camp. And the PAC organization sended the men, they should wait for us and they should wait for us and they should put us in hotel. Imagine. They didn't know that we are Jewish. And they should give us everything what we need. My mother was very sick. We wanted to remain in Argentina. Luckily that we didn't because Argentina at that time was with United States in a very bad political situation. But we thought there at least we will have what to eat. In Paraguay, we starve. Matter of fact a Yugoslavian man was coming with us on a boat and he said if--he, he didn't know that we are Jewish. He said uh, some Yugoslavian uh, the Tito people were beat the Jews. But the anti-Tito were also against Jews. It was like the Hlinka Guard. You know what the Hlinka Guard was. So he said we should stay in Argentina and he will help us, that Yugoslavian. He lives in Rosario, in Argentina, a very wealthy man. He said he will take a ho...will rent a room for us or a house. He will find job for us. He took a taxi, he took us all over in Rio--Copacabana--in restaurant, all over. So we didn't tell him nothing. He didn't ask what religion we are. I was never ashamed that I am a Jew. Never. Especially now. But uh, he didn't ask and we didn't tell. But when that man who waited for us in--on the dock, he took us down in a hotel and he said we can eat whatever we want, they pay, and he wants to talk with us. We should meet him in the restaurant. And we went with him to a cafeteria and he was asking us what religion we are, and we said we are Jewish. And he said--he was very nice and polite--he said he's very sorry. He said, that they paid for us 'til now, but now it's the JOINT's responsibility, they should--you know who the JOINT organization was? Jewish American uh, whatever...
Mm-hm.
...organization. HIAS or JOINT. So he said he give us some money, we should have to travel to Paraguay and we should help for a hotel, but that's all that they, they can do for us. Now we got stuck in the world with nobody. We didn't know nobody, we didn't have nobody. And they told us we go to Paraguay we'll starve. We arrived to Paraguay before Rosh Hashanah.
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