Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nathan Weiselman - January 1, 1985

...anymore.

I see.

And I, I figure that the Bricha made it up with the, with the carabiniers, which, which they probably were right.

Mm-hm.

To show the Italian government that they catching some illegal refugees and they sent them back. That, that they are, not everybody is frightened. So they took the people who are stronger and young, that they can afford, and they have strength to come another time and another time.

I see.

And they took the sick, and the pregnant, and the older the people, they took, they, they, they went through them without seeing. Pretending that nobody saw it.

So, this was...

So, I think that this was calculated. I, I don't claim to have bad feeling of that, I think that's the way...

Right.

It should have done.

What year was this?

This was in '47.

All right. When did you come to, to the United States?

To the United States, I come in, in 1952.

1952. Where did you arrive in the United States?

We arrived in, we uh, ca-we arrived in New Orleans. We came with the ship, Harold Taylor. It was a military ship...

Harold Taylor?

Harold Taylor. Uh-huh. It was a military ship. And we, uh, we came to New Orleans. Came, the Jewish community provided us ??? for us and they gave us, they treated us very nice. Uh, it was, you know, food and shelter and the community took us around to the, the points of interest. And my son was about three years old, so he got a little flu, so they took him to hospital so we stayed over there, I believe, ten days. And then from Italy uh, from New Orleans actually, we, we got the train to go to El Paso, Texas. And El Paso, Texas, was, was waiting for us, the representative from the Jewish community at the train and they took us to a nice apartment, about three room apartment, and I would say everything in the shelving was all kinds of dishes and food, a refrigerator packed with food. And I couldn't think of a better, you know, to take care for us. And fact is, this next day, they said you going to come, and I take you family out somewhere. So, we didn't know where they were going to take us. So, they took us to a Jewish department store, Rosen's, in El Paso. And they, Mr. Reisen was the president at that time of the Jewish community, he passed away. ??? Reisen. And he said, "Nate, since you've been through so much, I think, and, and we, you're alive, you, we, you, I want, we want you to celebrate and get you the best clothing. We throw away all the clothing from the camp." And so he said select whatever you want. He said pajamas, suits, topcoats, a hat, shoes, socks, everything.