Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Louis Kaye - May 9, 1983

Okay, what was your... What was the, what was the date of your birth?

It's... The date of birth is, is like this. When I... I was born in 1925, they went berserks.

Okay.

When I—oh, I'll just tell you later—when I come out of concentration camp, I didn't know how old I was. I changed my age. So, I picked up a new date and then years later my wife found out when I was really born. When I come out I didn't know when I was born, what's happened with me, nothing. So, I picked up a date, March 15, 1928.

Is that your made-up date?

On the citizen I'm March 15, 1928.

How did uh, how did you find out, uh?

Wife: We did it as a lark. I had a neighbor across the street who was Polish. And she, she, she, you know, she was from Cz?stochowa. So, it... This is a lark. She wrote to uh, Chica... in Chicago there was a uh, Polish consulate. Eight dollars and three weeks later, everything came, which we got.

The records of everything?

Yeah.

Wife: We've got it in a safe deposit box.

Even, when all this is over you can take the map, from the map you can see...

Wife: Yeah, in the, uh... I'll show it to you. It's on the, we have books.

So you, so you have a copy of it.

Wife: Mm-hm, it's in...

Yeah.

Wife: ...in the vault.

That's amazing.

When I come out, I didn't know when I was born, how old I was, so I was mixed up. I didn't know nothing.

Uh, what do you mean you were mixed up?

Pardon me?

What do you mean that you were mixed up?

I... When I come out from concentration, I didn't know what's happened with me. I didn't know where am I going. There was a time I was going back to Poland. I thought, maybe I'll find somebody. Then I found, found nobody. But, uh...