Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Marvin Kozlowski - August 28, 2002

So another box car.

Yes.

Wife: Yeah?

Yes. Some of 'em were open. Some of 'em.

Right. Some were open cars.

Yeah. The one that I came was not open, it was closed. When I came to Auschwitz it was closed.

Closed.

These were open, I think. We came there and uh, there was just a brand new camp.

The name of the camp again?

???. They're adding something. They were trying to make--it looks decent, the, the barracks look decent. Also there were, there were two or three levels, but the barrack was decent and the surrounding looked nice. That was supposed to be a muster camp, a master--a camp for show for the world. If they come they can bring 'em in there and show 'em.

For the Red Cross.

Yeah.

Wife: Right.

And uh, over there I got uh, uh, the morning a small piece of bread. I had a quart a soup, also with the ??? mix-up, but was already better.

And ??? were like horse beets?

Beets, beets. Like they were feeding cattle.

Wife: No, there's another name for it.

White beets, those white beets, okay? And uh, over there, nobody was your friend. Even the people, the people became animals. Even the Jewish French--the Kapos. Uh, I knew a few people. Nobody would help me there. Anyway.

Wife: His hometown.

I was--we were--they were shipping out people. They were going to make the camp a more international camp. They wanted--they were, first they moved in 1,500 people if I remember correct.

From Poland.

From, from Radom.

All from Radom.

Yeah. They were all from Poland. From uh, from Auschwitz, I would say about 1,500 people moved in there. The first group to--went--I don't remember the name uh, and I was not with the first group, luckily. Because you know, terrible conditions and there were some people from Warsaw, Jews and they were Kapos. They were helping out the, the uh, French there, from Ra...from Warsaw they were picking out right away. So they were the first to die. And a big pile of them died right there. I went with the second group. ??? was left in the third group. They were lived in the, in the bigger ghetto. Knowing each other, you understand? Some business, some uh, different category people. I lived in a different part of the city of Radom, I had nothing to do with them. So I was sent there. The conditions were terrible.

Wife: Where?

To Unterriexingen.