Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Pauline Kleinberg - October 28, 1982

And it was already too bad because my sister--we couldn't work in the same shift. One was working day and the other night so we just seen each other by go--marching in and marching out. And there were a lot of incidents. But yet, we still wouldn't die if it wouldn't be for something worse than this. Because as long--I heard this before from others--from other camps--as long they, they wanted you to work, they'll give you enough to keep you going, you know. God forbid if you get sick, a toothache or some this. You better not. But as long you can produce and you make your quotas--you know, we were assigned to make quotas. As long you can meet this, you have a chance to go on. So it happened. My sister did. But we were very hungry. There we were extremely hungry. So one time, from another camp--also probably a smaller one like this Neustadt, they also concentrated in, in here. And there were--was a lady from Czechoslovakia--she was the head of the kitchen. And everyday she could give you a privilege to come in to help out the kitchen. So it was after work or before work. For this you get an extra few potatoes. I was the smallest from all the girls. So I made myself look big and pretty and I looked like a mo...like a out from the grave--make myself red with blood. You didn't have any make-up there. And where do we find something red uh, you give a, you give a pinch or whatever. But he showed you no cavities, "I'm pretty, can I work today in the kitchen?" "No," she said. So everyday I was going, because I was working in the afternoon and my sister was in the morning and this--that work was done in, in the after, you know, during the morning hours. So I said, "Didn't you tell me yesterday--you told me yesterday everyday I was going--I was saying you told me yesterday you're going to take me away from..." She never did. But I talked to her time when she got me in there. When I had a, a, you know, a pot with potatoes in the pails, I thought I hit the jackpot. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't--I had to wait for my sister--she...she's the older one to get started because all, all the rations, it was, was this thick. She was slicing it always like tissue paper, show how, how many slice she can make, she make three. And the thicker one I always got to get. I said, "How come I always get the thicker one?" It just turned out to be like this. I didn't know what she meant, she was like a mother to me because she was the older one. So and I out of respect, I couldn't eat the first potato, I had to wait until she comes, and she has the first start. So she didn't want to eat without me, so she maybe ate 'em stale a few days after.