Ruth Muschkies Webber - February 2, 1987
Separation from Father
You lost touch with your father?
Yeah.
In 1942?
About 1942-43. I don't remember exactly when, but we lost touch. He went to another place and we were sent to another place.
Did you ever hear from him again?
Yes. Heard we did. During that time. But I saw him...in 1944 in Auschwitz. He was sent back to Auschwitz from another camp. I really don't know which one. My mother was gone by then. I was in a children's home. No. He was brought to Auschwitz while my mother was still there. She saw him too. And then my mother was sent out and I don't know what happened to my father. I lost touch. And then when I was in the children's home, in the children's block, in Auschwitz, my mother was gone, somebody got in touch with me and told me that my father was in the next camp, and he arranged...he arranged a meeting for us at a certain time. My father was on one side of the electric fence and I was on the other side. And I saw him then again. I feel bad about those times. I can't remember even what language we spoke. I guess I missed my mother very much at that time. And although my father was there, I felt kind of bad that he could not fill my mother's place. I felt bad about it. I wanted to talk to him I guess in a way like I did to my mother, but I couldn't. He wanted to help. He wanted to know if I needed anything. I guess he was, maybe, in a position where he could get me an extra piece of bread. He threw over the fence, I remember some cigarettes. He thought I could sell them for some piece of bread or something that I might need. I guess I saw him two or three times during that time and there was some talk already of them liquidating Auschwitz. That was towards the end. That was in January. And our conversation was mostly about that I should do whatever I can to get on that last transport out of Auschwitz, because everybody that was going to be left there will be killed. So it was, "What do you need, can I do anything for you?" How important it was to try to say that I'm older, to try to stand on my tip toes, to do everything that I possibly can to leave with that last transport. That was the last I heard of him. Well, I didn't make the last transport. He did. But he didn't survive.
???
Yeah.
You said you came from ???
Yes. We were brought from, I think there was one of my father's, no maybe not, they needed workers in the Ostrowiec camp so they came I think to Starachowice for a transport because the Ostritser, the people from that camp, heard that there was a lot of people from Ostrowiec in that camp so they thought they would bring their own and try to give them a place of maybe a little bit more security for a little bit longer period of time.
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