Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Abraham Mondry - June 15, 22, 29 & July 13, 1992

So there were all the young nuns, nuns, they run it themselves and the Americans took it over, you know. But they run it, they, they, they helped. And they couldn't find out what's wrong with me for months. Finally one, one come in with a, with a, with a helicopter, a Japanese-American, you know, doctor, you know, a military, woman. You see, see, I ain't gonna find out why I have to stay. She say, "You have to stay in the hospital, 'cause you gotta find out what's wrong with me." She bothered me for three days. Finally she say I got a little bit water, very hard to get it out. They got it out on my lung, you know. Yeah. Yeah, when I come to Italy, you know, it's a funny thing, uh. I wind up, you know. The northern part, Bolzano. I don't know if you're familiar. That's why they got that vine grape, the vine grape, the vine orchards, you know, the grape orchards, you know. Walking, walking, walking. It was a very big thing. Everybody walking. The military men, you know, with their uniforms, uh, prisoners, you know. They was, they was lots of Germans on the ???. It was right by the border, Austria, you know, Tyrolia, you know. I had a German woman come. I wanted some water. She give me some water. She tell me to come in her home. She give me something to eat and she had two daughters. So she tell me why I don't stay here. We take care of you. The girls will take care of you. They'll take you to the city. She want me to stay for her benefit. You know why? For they was taking everything away from them, the chickens, the cows, everything. This way, they see me, a prisoner, they wouldn't bother. After, I find out. Yeah, I stay there for three months.

What was the name of the town?

Town, it was a small village. It wasn't even a town. It was like a orchard, like a orchard. Near Bolzano.

Near Bolzano, okay. Near... In, in the Tyrol?

Bolzano, I think, is a part of Tyrolia, too. Tyrolia is really near Switzerland, you know, near the mountains, you know. Oh, there was all, you know, grape orchards, you know. Wine, they make wine.