Martin Shlanger - March 4, 1983
Bread
What do you remember, the procedure then that uh, that they followed when you arrived there?
Well, we were directed to barracks. We went to the barracks. About an hour later, I heard some noise outside, so I went to see what's going on, and I noticed that people were running out of the food warehouse with bread and, and margarine and when the Germans uh, noticed that the people are carrying out the food from the warehouse they were start... they started to machine gun everyone.
What went through your mind then? What, what did you think about then?
Go and get some bread.
In spite of the shooting?
In spite of the shooting.
Did you do that?
Yes. Yes. And I walked out with three loaves of bread and I noticed a friend of mine, on the ground, dying, a bullet wound.
Did you stop?
No.
Did he say anything to you?
No. Carried away the bread. But the shooting was going on.
Had you made friends in the camps? Were there friendships in the camps that you can remember?
Not much. Real friendship... No, I don't think so. Everybody was for himself. They all had one thing in their mind, survive, and care nothing about the other guy. Sharing of food, there was no such thing.
You had these loaves of bread, then went back to your barracks with them?
Yes.
Then what happened?
I ate. I ate. Filled my stomach with bread as much as I could eat.
Did the other prisoners know you had it?
No. They didn't. I would have been killed by the other prisoners. They would have wanted some of the bread too.
When did the shooting stop, shortly after that?
Shortly after the shooting stopped.
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