Joseph Gringlas - January 14 & 22, March 18, 1993
Liquidation of Buna
How long were you at Buna?
In Buna, I--it must have been already in, in, I still have to think--remember back. We were uh, about, I don't know, maybe about three quarter of a year there. And...
So we're now into...
Yeah, now, then we...
1944.
...yeah and then it was sometime, we, we knew, had a feeling the Ger...the Russians going to close into Auschwitz at Buna. They bombed--it was bombed from--by the Russians in the factory. Bom...bombard...it was bombarded by the Russians in the factory, Buna.
With artillery guns.
From the planes.
Airplanes?
Airplanes coming in. So we, we knew that--at least we had--see, we know--had a good feeling when we saw they're going to suffer, we, they, it was getting close. But how are you getting out of there we don't know. [pause] So eh, so we know, then uh, few, after the bombardment, a few weeks or a few mon...a month, a couple months, they started liquidating Buna in Monowitz, because the Russians were closing, closing up on them. So they, so they took us out of getting liquidating in Buna. They took us to Gleiwitz. Gleiwitz, I looked on the map and it was just close to Buna. I don't know but we--in--what happened to me, I don't know what happened. That morn...that morning we, they liquidated Buna to, to march us all to Gleiwitz, my eyes closed up and I couldn't, couldn't see. Suddenly closed up, the lids from my eyes closed up and I couldn't see where I'm going, like a blind man. I don't know what happened to me. But my brother and another boy from, from my hometown was in, in Buna when--while they, they, I was hold by hands and...
They...
...marching at, all night.
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