Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nathan Weiselman - January 1, 1985

So, he couldn't afford to buy a bigger place, so he took, half of the clothing he took to this place and paid, otherwise he would have to pay twice as much, and half he got in the home. So once uh, it came, so the-mostly regular sizes he took it for, in the store, for the go in and pay. And the outside is like very big people, very tall; he had it in the home. So when it came, I mean a guy, he was very big, maybe a fifty-two, a suit. So, one time I-and the customer said he needed it very fast, to run. So one time I did go through to that court. Then teenagers saw me, that I went through that court, they stormed almost to lynch me because I went through to the Catholic uh, court, where the church was. The reason I went through, the church took almost several blocks and it would take me ten times longer to go all around the block and to bring it.

Mm-hm.

So, that's why I try to take the short cut.

Mm-hm.

So when I was in Soviet Union, in Kavkaz, in that small town, Izobil'nyy, I saw a church and I, and then I saw two Red guards from the Red Army. And I said, "I'm ???", it means in Jewish. "And I would like to go in, in the church but I'm afraid." He said, "You don't have to be afraid. We're going to stay and watch you. Don't worry. Go in, in the church." So I went in, in the church. And this, the people, you know, of course the Gentiles, kneel...were kneeling down. And I was ???. I made it sure because I saw they're kneeling and I ask the, from the Red guard, " I don't want to kneel, I'm Jewish, and I, this is not our tradition. "You don't have to go, don't have to kneel, you don't have to pray. You want to go in, go in." So I went in, I stand and then the guy, the people over there start kneeling. And they prayed. The first thing when they start the prayer, "Jesus Christ, the son of God, was murdered from the Hebrew in bestialic way." And then they describe how they nailed him to the board, to the cross, and how the ??? chasing him and how was running from him, and how terrible it was, enough that they stand up and they look that I, they look that I am not even kneeling and they start with the, with the ??? with the-And that, but I was, it was nothing uh, didn't say anything, but when they look that the Red guard from the Red Army, you know, walks in when the door was open so they got quiet down. So I um, was very, very surprised in a country under Communism to have allowed such provocative prayer that there really could lead to anything.

Mm-hm. Well... Um...