Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Salvatore and Lili Katan - August 18, 1981

Life in Auschwitz

Now, do you remember what, what your first reaction was when you--when the doors opened on the train and you saw where you were?

LK: You could not forget.

SK: I knew right away we are in a place where we're to die. This was--when we saw the wires around surrounding, the electric wires and the guards with the German Shepherds, we knew we are in a place where we come to die. But I was lucky because I was young and strong and they put me to work in a canalization--open canalizations for the water to go through, you know, like a dam. And I work over there in the muck and everybody knows the suits we used to have was ??? suits with the stripes and uh, wood shoes, that way you can't run. And uh, I was working over there for awhile. Then when they took me, the first one they took me there and they asked me, "What you are? What is your job you done in Greece?" I said, "Mechanic." And they look at the application there, they say, well--one night they come there, says, "We could use you in the factory." And I work in Union Factory, munitions factory build up bombs for the area.


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