Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Helen Jutkevicz - November 10, 1982

Hearing Word of Family

And what happened at the end of the two weeks?

After we went to the two weeks, we was everybody sick and we have typhus, typhus--everybody.

The group that you arrived with.

All the group what I arrived.

Were you separated from them?

No, we was together in the same camp and then we was together in Bergen-Belsen uh, but then it's the typhus it just took away, you know? People--some look and see if they free, yeah? The American came and the first--the medical came and they look on them and they look on us and they ???.

Did you have any idea if any of your family was...

No...

...alive at that time?

...no. I never see, you know, we see soldiers--French--from all over Europe but we not see ???. Then we was--after the typhus we was feeling a little better and we sit outside and is came a friend--a good friend because we was living in the same street in Łódź and he came and he told us this my brother is alive. I been--and he was in a cemetery and he was sick tuberculosis. And we take--I'm with my sister and we not can walk. Have to--this was very hard and we say, "No, when he is alive, we have to go to him." And we went and we have a way the first time was so terrible. We was with the German soldiers in one--in the wagons, you know? And they told us then--the Americans say, "Don't go with them. This is prisoners, this is something." And I said, "No, we have to go." And one place was, how is to say? Um, a brick, you know? What underwater, you make something to go--something is water and they make special sloop so this can a train go...

Across--to cross the water...

...across and this was--a mine was on this. And they say, "No, the train will not go. This is dangers." And we say, "No, we will go." And we went this is more then we was listening and it fall down. We went over--it fall down.


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