Saul Raimi - July 7, 1982
Caught Smuggling
I had one time an experience. I went down to Warsaw ghetto...
You got caught?
I got caught.
Yeah.
One, two of them. Actually I went out with a streetcar. There were streetcars at that time which went to one uh, from the Aryan, from the Polish side, to another part of Warsaw. They had to go through the ghetto. But in order, in order--while they were uh, driving through you could jump on that uh, train uh, streetcar or some turned around in the ghetto going up, they had to come in empty, turn around, and go out empty. But actually that conductor actually looked for passengers, like uh, illegal passengers, he stuck them out under the bend...
Mm-hm.
...and you always gave him uh, fifty złoty or a hundred złoty and uh, that was also included in the Polish policeman who supposedly checked it, by the uh, ghetto uh, gates.
Right.
He got part of this. But the worst part when you came out there and the first stop at the streetcar, they were waiting those what they call ???.
Mm-hm.
And there was a military that they used, they told you come with us. They took you in the first house. They took every single chair. There some place even your jacket and your uh, shirt because everything at that time was of value because it was--it wasn't a nice coat or anything, you know. And they would let you go but you couldn't go too far without money, so you had to go back to the gate and tell all kinds of stories. Sometimes they--they always... ??? always let you in. They would--they never let you out. They beat you up. Of course, they push you. I had one time an experience and that was the only time that I...
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