Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Martin Koby - April 20, 1999

Thoughts on Victims

But I don't know if that would--do you really think that was the--that was this the...

Just like sheep. Nobody resisted. Isn't it better to, to, to, to even show of, of defiance or shoot me. Why do they have to go and tell ??? complying with all the requests and be shot. Wouldn't it be better you know, at least um, attack them with a stick or get a stone or take a your shoes off and hit, he kills you.

And if you--if you're, if you're carrying a two year-old child and you don't know where you're going? Should...

What do you mean, you don't know where you're going?

Well, that's ???...

Ah, come on!

Did you know that they were going to kill you if they caught you?

Yes.

Okay.

Well, you mean, in, in Rovno, 30,000--25,000 or 20,000 Jews didn't know they're going over there, away from the railroad, they're going into the, into the field. What on earth are you going to do over at the field?

Right.

You mean they didn't know? They were all dummies? No one was--you read in the Russian literature, the heroines, ???, uh, ??? she, she resisted the Germans. The women participated in battles. Women participated in fights, you know. You mean, Jewish women are inferior to Christian women? Come on!

So why didn't they do it?

Because there was no--this Kiddush ha-Shem you know, God's faith.

Not that they--not because of the ???...

No, you see, ??? you know, why did the mayor shouting--Jewish State--that the, that the Jewish State is illegal.

Ah, it's--okay...

I mean, those are--these are the, the religious Jews believed that God will come and he'll save them! Come on! And then you have "The Internationale," who says, no one is going to help us. If the Jews are Communists, like everybody in the Christianity believed, the Jews are Communists, why did they send in--why did the Christians sing "The Internationale"? No one will help us. The only one that can help us--if God can't help us and the Czar can't help us and no here can help us, we have to do it on our own. People ask me, have--once in a while, "Do you have guns in your house? Do you own any guns?" "Yes." "Ooh!" What do you mean? Don't...

Why? Why, why do you own guns?

Just because, in case I ever need it. I have no bullets for them yet. I have a little gun, you know. It's just a twenty-one caliber or something, a little tiny thing, a single shot. For that I have...

For safety.

I think so.

Hm.

I wanted to buy a--U...Uzi. The Uzi were you know, were available a while ago, very popular, you know. You could buy for $600.00--$650.00 you could buy a nice new Uzi. My wife wouldn't let me. She was...

What would you do with an Uzi?

I don't care, but I'd have one in case I need it someday. Who knows?


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