Joseph Klaiman - May 4, 1982
Life After Liberation
And you didn't believe that anybody...
No, I didn't believe...
...that anybody in Auschwitz could be alive.
...no could be alive. Nobody in Auschwitz could be alive. And I was--and then, I was in this camp I'd say about three months. And I didn't know that I was living just, and they help me, they give me food. And I was a little stronger. So the Polish people went to, you know, they tried to, to do to the Germans...
Do you, do you remember the year, the month?
That's was in--that's was in 1945...
Oh.
...in--after the war, about...
Okay.
...a three months after the war.
Three months after.
This was eight June or July was. And I didn't know still about Jews or Jewish people are alive. Oh...
You didn't know about your family?
Nobody. I didn't know nothing. I was living there on the tent. And, and one day when I was strong enough and I could walk already and I was laying all the time in bed, and I was walking, they went to--from one city to the other city and they tried to he...to help the Germans. I wanted to go with them because I want to see maybe I can find somebody. I didn't want to be in a camp. I went on a train and I saw two Jewish boy. I recognize them. I didn't believe it that they are Jewish people, because I know this was two kids from my city. I was sitting and I wanted to listen at what they talking and they didn't talk for a half hour. They were sitting the same way on the--and waiting for the train to come, because they didn't--the train didn't came original like was supposed to come. After the war it was, you have to wait something, three, four hours 'til the train come and maybe a...all night. And one day one guy said to, to the other guy, he said, "Moishe...' When he said, "Moishe,' I just show what, what happened, I said, "Are you a--some Jewish people alive?' He--the boy said, "Yes.' He said, "Not far from here'--this was Hanover--"not far from here is about two, two thousand Jewish girls and are we going.' I went to the Polish--to my--to the friend, and I said, "Listen, I find my brothers and my sisters and I'm going to go right now with them. And then later a couple days I going to come back and see what happen.' I left the, I left the...
Camp.
...in the camp, I left the, the boys--the Polish people--I went in the camp and I went in over there in Bergen-Belsen. And I found over there some friends from mine town and a little friends I--from the Łódź uh, ghetto. And then I find a couple girls. I was a--I start to be over there in, in Bergen-Belsen. And then I said, "I want to go back to, to the camp, because they was really very nice to me there, the Polish people.' I went back over there uh, a couple friends. And over there I found a, a, a butcher who was really nice, you know. I knew how to speak a little bit German because of the Jewish accent. And they--he give me a lot of uh, salami and meat. And I took some this camp to the Bergen-Belsen. I help a lot of Jewish girls because they were still hunger--already didn't have enough food. And after that I went out, I found a friend. Then I went out with a girl and then I find my, my sweet little wife. Uh...
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