Brenda Reiss - June 23, 1983
Start of War
Did uh, uh, before the war, was there much fear about a war breaking out? Do you remember your parents talking at all about that?
No, I--they didn't talk about that. No, they didn't talk that. If we left there maybe somebody would be alive. They don't believe it can happen such a thing.
When the Germans came into Poland, what happened then? Can you tell me?
Nineteen thirty-nine they come in. And they right now took me--took it out my family to Koźminek. And then they make acts, all kind, all kind, every time and every minute and they took me to camp to work--my mother, my father. In 1941, my father was over 50--52. They took the whole family and I was taken into the synagogue. Then they took my sister too and three children.
It's okay.
My mother asked my sister how come she come and she said that her husband didn't know where his mother was hiding. He went to pick her up. I went downstairs and they told me maybe they're not going to go out to the synagogue and my mother told me, "Maybe I'm going to have somebody gonna live" ??? went out and then they let out my sister and my brother-in-law and the kids were still in the synagogue. Next day they took 'em out in Chelmno, in Chelmno this--in a forest and they killed them out. My brother was between the ??? and after they killed them too and I was the only one with my sister. My brother went to camp. He don't want to eat no Jewish food and he died. And I was with my sister in the Łódź ghetto 'til 1944. Nineteen forty-four I went to Auschwitz and then they took me away. I went to camp without her and I'm alone.
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