Mrs. Roemerfeld - 1982?
Liquidation of Ghetto
Uh, w...they liquidated the entire ghetto at one day, in one day?
Well, as far as I can remember yes, yes.
Can you describe that day for me?
Well, I remember going to the trains and, uh...
How did you come out of your--who rounded you up out of your homes?
Oh it was the uh, Jewish uh, Committee uh, to line us up and, and uh, and...
The entire ghetto.
...in lines of five, lines of five and marching like soldiers uh, to the trains. And we could take our belongings, the, the most necessary things. So some people I remember seeing going with packs on their back, you know, and uh, some were carrying pillows and bags, all kind of--from, you know, with food. Uh, but uh, not, no suitcases or anything like that, you know.
You knew you were being, uh...
Shipped out, yes.
How did you know that?
Uh, we were going to the trains. The trains were not too far from the place where we were.
Suddenly you saw trains appearing you had never seen before.
Well, we had a train station, but it wasn't like a train station here. It was just tracks there and the train was driving by, you know, as we could see sometimes. But for this reason they stopped for us.
Did you ever see anything on the train before then?
Before the war?
Yes, before the time that you were taken to Auschwitz um, did you ever see...
No, no, no, uh-uh. You see uh, the train station was outside the ghetto. But uh, uh, what I'm saying to you, I could see the train before the war and uh, as far as I can tell, you know I could tell at the time it was only for uh, uh, shipping of merchandise or uh, or steel or all kind of things. It was not like a passenger train, it was like for, you know, uh, merchandise.
I see uh, you were rounded from your house, do you remember the day? It was in December.
In December.
Of 1941.
December 15, 1942.
Forty-two.
Yes.
And you went to stand... What do you take with you?
I can't recall. I really can't. I wished I could, I can't.
Did you have things prepared because you knew you were going to be um, on a transport?
Well, I imagine my mother must have uh, prepared us, like I said, you know. She uh, did uh, tell us we're going and we'll work there, we'll be together and trying to cheer us up.
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