Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Larry Wayne - 2005

Rationing in ghetto

So now you're working in a bakery in the ghetto. Is there rationing yet?

Very, very... The rationing was for like everybody else. We, since we worked in a bakery we received an extra portion of bread. But it's unbelievable how they, even I worked in a bakery, I couldn't steal a piece of bread. Jewish, Jewish sol...Jewish police was watching us that nobody should take anything. I mean, it's almost unbelievable, you know. Although there were some Jewish police cooperated. We had some extra food and they got some extra food.

Did you know any of them?

But ???. One of them was my cousin Alan.

Yeah, I know.

Yeah.

So you...

And I worked in the ghetto almost... And then during that time they also took people out from the bakeries to do work on the ??? commandos, which means, you know...

Construction.

Construction, tearing down building and, and, uh...

Well, when you were given, you were given ration cards, is that what?

Yes.

How did you get the food? You didn't go to a store...

Yes, they had a distribution center that you go, you used to get your food with the ration cards.

And how long would that take?

You went to stand in line and when you came, you got it.

I remember your sisters mentioned something about, it would take time standing in line.

Yeah, it was...

And was there butter, meat, sugar, any...

Well it was very, very little of it. If it was, there was very little. It was a very low substance uh, thing, you know. That's why people were dying left and right. There wasn't enough food.

Typhus? Was there typhus?

Fe...typhoid fever. I, myself uh, got sick when I was liberated from the camp. After I was liberated I weighed seventy pounds and I, and two days later I came down with typhoid fever. I wish I had that manuscript with me, but I'll get it to you.

Okay.

It would be interesting for you to read.


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