Marvin Kozlowski - August 28, 2002
Transport to Auschwitz
And uh, the people who couldn't make it, a lot of 'em were getting weak suddenly, they wouldn't carry them, they had carriages with two horses--two carriages with horses. Took them on the carriages and they have to walk. Then uh, the carriage would take off, go down the field, take them off and shot 'em and leave 'em there or throw 'em to a ditch. But they, people didn't know, they didn't help it, they had to do it, okay? The one who lucky they were able to continue to walk would lay on the grass and if there was a little--I remember distinctly they tried to help us sometimes uh, SS shouldn't notice it. Uh, a little bit water from a dirty ditch they shoot you. Anyway, we survived until we came to Auschwitz. No. At Tomaszów they were loaded on those cattle tra...train, trucks, whatever, cars. And we went close by, you know, as many as can be put in, we made it to Auschwitz.
How long do you think?
I don't know, we were. I don't know how it took It took, I don't know how it took. Things were going back, probably they could have gone from there maybe an hour.
But it didn't.
No. It seemed forever. I know. Anyway, we came in the afternoon we came in the morning. I don't know. So I uh, when we came in there, I didn't know what's happening. All we heard "Aussteigen! Aussteigen!" "Get out!" So we got out.
What was it like in the boxcar?
It was like a prisoner, squeezed in. We were with a few French Jews, you know. And they were terrible, those French Jews. They, they, we were in the same ballgame, they would kick us because you know, they had no comfort and we had no--anyway.
There was no toilet right?
No, no, nothing.
So what did people do? It must have smelled.
What can you do like--live like animals.
Wife: Believe me ???.
Okay so, well, you were a luxury person. Anyway, let's not talk about it now. So we came out and the Kapo came out like this big--people, Jewish people-- Jewish Kapos, we didn't, all from Łódź, from Littsmannstadt. They were treated differently. They were treated the same.
It was awful in the box car, so when the doors opened at Auschwitz...
Yeah.
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