Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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David Kahan - April 29, 1982

Let me, before I talk about the Liberation um, let me ask you just a couple of questions about the...First, do you, did you suffer any physical disability from the camps that you got...

Uh, no, nothing that uh, no physical disability. My--fortunately. Perhaps uh, emotional or mental disability. But uh, the beatings that I uh, had at the camps uh, I was uh, young and strong and I was never hurt bad enough to, to uh, cripple me in any shape or form.

W...were you beaten in Auschwitz?

Uh, not in Auschwitz. Just in the labor camps and uh, uh, by the guards. And the, the Germans who were supervising us in the labor camp. Not, not working fast enough or not moving fast enough and things like that.

W...were they systematic beatings or were you singled out for punishment?

Uh, if you, if you did something that they didn't like, or you didn't move fast enough at the job, or, or uh, the guy didn't like you for any particular reason, if he felt sadistic. Most, a lot of those people were sadistic and they beat you. But most of the time you were getting weak and you couldn't work fast enough for 'em and, and uh, and they would uh, beat you for that. But I have no uh, physical uh, uh, marks on me whatsoever.