Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Lola Greenspan - April 25, 1983

Getting Help from a German

And I said to the girls--what I know--later on we haved a little in the mind we don't have it here good maybe the people want to kill us. And I said, I said, "I'm going to write a letter to my mother and maybe my mother gonna send me package." You don't could nothing, I didn't now about this. And the girls said, "Don't talk to the mother, don't send nothing, you don't can se...do nothing," the girls--all girls. I said, "What I have to do should girls? I been tired, I'm hungry." And she make me trouble. I been in the factory, she looked at the hands I'm working--I couldn't work, I'm shaked...

Uh-huh.

...she looked at the hands. And she, "Fast, fast working work, work, work, work." And I said--I don't know--I said, "You know when I have a gun I'm wanna kill myself." The girls, "Oh don't say--you gonna see gonna be nice. Later gonna be finish the work, work not going to be forever." I said, "No, no. Nothing gonna be ever--I gonna be old maid, I gonna never married never, I'm gonna died here." Died is okay because maybe they gonna kill us. And then later we gotted the one men--is were a German--Czech German. He's, he's, he's working outside in a garden. He's maked the carrots, onions and this were a good, good man. The man--he's, he's got a lit...he's got a, um, um, to us--how you say? Is were very, is very um, is not so happy was happened to us. He don't wanna be--he wanted good. He said to us, "Girls, don't worry, you gonna see pretty soon gonna be the war the end. And I been German, too," he said. "Now I don't like the Germans," he said. And the name--I remember the name, Mr. Rice, Mr. Rice. And I said, "Mr. Rice, you know, maybe you can cut a little thin something vegetables bring to us." And he said, "Listen, I going to do this. ??? Nobody know this then the Germans will know they wanna kill me." I said, "Nobody will know." He tooked in the night, he maked me the carrots, the onions he bring me to the house and I got couples and I get many girls together and the girls kiss me the hand. "Oh Lola, mm, is so good. The carrots are so good, so nice." And the ??? were so bad, you see got ??? we not got vitamins, nothing. And then um, the, the German said, "When the end--going with the end the war you gonna see the England is a good mens. He wanna kill all Germans." I said, "Oh my gosh." I wanted this, I wanted see mine eyes.


© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn