Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Alexander Raab - June 28, 2002

And when the time came to go, you were given--you weren't given any choice. You were told to get out and go to the train.

Oh, when time came--I remember that exactly. It, it just got into my, to my head and I'll probably uh, never forget it. We were at home. Because uh, nobody would dare go out in the street or anything when the Germans were there already. And there was a knock on the door. And inside the house there was just my mother, my grandmother from my mother's side, me, and my brother. Came a knock on the door. Of course mother went and opened up the door. And there were two Gestapo guys. And since I was young and little, they looked to me giants, two giants at the door. And uh, with them was the caretaker of the house. Now this same caretaker of the building he pointed out me, he said, "Jude. This is Jews in here." Otherwise he brought up those, uh...

Germans.

...those two Germans you know, and pointed out that here in this door, this is Jews.

And then what happened?

Well, of course, they came in and my, my mother spoke perfect German. I couldn't understand. But I, I know that they were asking some questions and she answered. And then mother said to us, let's go, we're leaving. So whatever, you know. Grab a cot or whatever you, you can grab in your hand. And they, they took us out. The moment we walked out in the street there were already guards with, with guns you know, rounding up all those people that they took out in the street.

Everybody was in the street.

Everybody was in the street and the guards were waiting for us and then they marched us to city hall, like I said, on, on that big square and...

You said they were shooting. Did, did you see anyone get shot?

I didn't see get, no, the shooting was not at the--in front of the city hall.

It was at the trains then?

No, it was before we got to that river San...

I see.

...when the march was going. Looks like, looks like some people perhaps couldn't make it. And everybody was trying to go ahead. Because I guess whoever was falling behind they must have been beating them up. And everybody was a...afraid to look in the back.

So you heard the gunshots.

I think, I heard some shots, but I don't know if they actually fired at the people or, or perhaps they want us to--the--to get scared and run faster or.

Did you see people beaten?

Yes.

You and your family?

Not from my family. But I, I seen they, they, they shoved and pushed some people.

Do you remember any of the Germans in particular? Did anybody stand out? Just those two Gestapo.

Uh, the soldiers, I, I, I, I really I couldn't picture them, it's, it's, it's so many years. But those two Gestapo uh, when mother opened up the door and I was standing behind mother and I looked at, at them, it's like I said, they looked to me two giants at the door. And they had you know, their uniforms and everything on and.