Brenda Reiss - June 23, 1983
Being Transported to Auschwitz
Yeah. Was there any resistance activity at all? Was there any underground that knew of or that you heard of?
I heard, but I, I was too naïve for that--to do it because I'm afraid they going to catch me. When I went to Auschwitz I know where they catch me right now. I didn't know--I don't know to do this. And now...
Oh sure. When they took you to Auschwitz--can you tell me how that happened? What--was there a call for people to come to work or how did they, how did they take you from Łódź to Auschwitz?
They told us that they going to go to work. And we come to Auschwitz with, with--in a train with--like for cows, closed up on one side and you were staying there. I don't know what it was, what it was meaning then, we were staying then and they said to us inside here and we're going to get killed. We were staying a whole day and the train closed. And they we open up--I was with my sister and we got, you know, the baggages, you know, and they told us to leave on the train. I--we said, "How you can leave it? We need it, you know, underwear to wear it in another time." ??? then they take the kids separate, the men separate, the women separate. My sister was young, she went with me. And I went to the back--in the back and then the doctor and he said "Left, right," you know. My sister was on the other side. And they told me to take off the clothes, the clothes. They cut mine hair, they cut me all over. And I went into the bed and I was--I lost my sister and I was alone. I was three ni...days and three nights naked outside and after they took me to work. I didn't even know where to go to work after. I cried three days and three nights. And this is--was my life.
When you were on the train coming to Auschwitz, was there any water or was there anything to drink?
No, nothing, no, no. Everything you, you make it on the train. Nothing, nothing.
Was it crowded or was it...
Very crowded. Everybody was crying because they didn't know what is happened--will happen to us. I wish they did killed everybody there. Be better off, not to leave survivors. What ??? survivors?
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