Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nathan Weiselman - January 1, 1985

Mm-hm.

They still did give us food that we could survive.

Mm-hm.

And beside that, the group from the eight hundred people which we were over there, they did belong to all kinds of Jewish organizations. Some belonged to the Zionists, some belonged to the Bundists, this means the social uh, Jewish social democratic movement, some belonged to the Communists. And each of, with other intermingled, and they, they understood that the only way, you know, to survive, if we would be together, not divided. We were not demoralized. And I am very happy of myself that I didn't come through to the really situation when the physical and the moral character break down, broke down from the Jewish people because they were hungry, they, they were, are not clothed, and they were, you know, the cold. And, and it's condition like that, worse the condition, that was the aim of the Germans. The, that was the final destination; if they were break them down morally and physical, then it would be no problem to destroy them.

Uh, were there any Jewish services in the uh, in the, in the camps?

Yeah, in the barracks we, it's, when we come home, sometime we, we got the ???. We were, some participate, and some did not participate, but we were always have more than a ??? because it was a whole bunch of rooms and we got together probably half of the people from the camp got together and we pars...participate in services.

Uh, in Russia, did you also have Jewish services?

No.

I see.

And I would like to say something about my experience with religion in Russia. We didn't have Jewish services but uh, one time it came to my mind to challenge something what I could never do in my lifetime. I lived uh, my house was across, just across the Catholic church. And I never in my life could go through, you know, through the cap...uh, through the church. Not just inside the church but um, you know, the...the...

Church yard?

The court.

Church. Court.

The court.

The courtyard.

The courtyard. It, it was for me, it's, it's really a challenge. For instance, I'll give you an example. My father used to sell the clothing, in ??? was a market in our hometown. And across from the church in the other side was the bazaar. And it was little corners that really not, doesn't look like stores, that, that, that uh, merchant could rent for that day in corner and put up his clothing.

Mm-hm.

And every day pay by the day. So, I helped my father in that day because it came, I mean hundreds and hundreds of peasants and farmers and you have to watch it.