Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Abraham Holcman - September 14, 1983

And what happened when, when the train got to Auschwitz? What's the first thing you remember?

The first thing uh, we saw people shaved their heads, talk in different languages on the, on the track when the train pulled in slowly. Uh, later on I found out they were asking for some food. And they were Hungarian Jews and we didn't, they just talked Hungarian and not Jewish, we didn't understand.

Okay. And then what happened as you got off the train? Was any of your family with you on the train?

Yeah, we uh, I had my, I had my brother, my mother, my, another brother, two brothers, an uncle, aunts.

Okay, then what happened when you got off the train? What, what happened then?

When we got off the train, I was uh, I was terrified because uh, it was rushing and pushing and shoving and everything. Got separated with everybody.

Were... So, you got separated from your family?

Yeah, except my brother. Somehow we got stuck together. I was separated from my mother. I didn't even see her going to the wrong side.

Now you say that there was a right side and a wrong side. Do you recall who told you which side to go?

No.

Do you remember anybody in a uniform or anything?

Yeah, there were a lot of people in uniform. There was a lot of, lot of Germans there in uniform, but, uh...

How did you know to go one way? Did somebody tell you?

Yeah. There, there were, soon as we walked off the train they were rushing. Rushing this way, rushing that way and we rushed this way. And uh, you know, I heard about, you know, some, you know, some, some Jews saying going this way and that way. I don't remember. I just know that I been rushed off the train and rushed into this side and I went this way.

Okay.

Not particular, you know, this man goes this way. I never seen that.

Okay.