Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Simon Maroko - February 19 & 26, 1986

Boots? Hobnailed boots?

With boots. With boots coming. And opening and closing the doors of the johns. Every time he came closer until he came to mine, which I had locked. He found it locked and he shouted "Auf machen!" I opened it and he punched me in the, there was from the left he punched me in my left jaw and he kicked me in my left knee. And I said in the best German that I could say um, "I have diarrhea uh, I will join the others." He again kicked me and he left me, which was of course one of the innumerable times that I was fortunate. He could have killed me or whatever. He was probably one of the green police, the green Polizei. Um, I left the john, did not join the others. But at the end of the row of johns, there was a um, water faucet with a um, basin. And I remember I--of course, I washed my hands, being very Orthodox and said ???, the prayer. And after that I didn't know what to do. So I stood there. I had a coat, I had a, a hat, which I had as a, being Orthodox. And I took my hat and with the sleeve of my right--the right sleeve of my coat, I kept on slowing brushing, cleaning it. Almost like a ritual. I didn't know what else to do. And I kept--stayed there for hours and hours and hours until about seven thirty. Maybe at one time I went to look as far as I felt it was safe and I came right away back, because what I remember is that I spent there lots of hours. Eight o'clock was curfew. Seven thirty at the end of the row of toilets, I saw someone whose face I recognized. He was a member of the Jewish Council. I, I motioned to him, he came over and I told him what had happened. I divulged everything to him and asked "Can you help me to get me with the others because I can't continue like this. I, I need--will need food and, and if they catch me here I'm--it'll be bad. Even worse than if I join the others." Um, so he said, "Okay wait a little while I'll come back and I'll see what I can do." So after maybe a short while, he came back and he motioned that I come with him. So I came with him. He went from there, which was probably on the--let's say the right side, which would be from the front of the building on the left side. We were on the left side of the prison theater. And he walked with me and came across the entrance lobby. And I saw that there was on the right side in that lobby a table and someone was sitting.