Michael Weiss - October 7, 1994
Arrival of the Germans III
Did you go back to Budapest?
I went back to Budapest after the liberation. I got liberated in Buchenwald.
What--so you--but you were, you were back in, in, in your town...
I was back in my town.
And you were--you stayed there.
I was there for a week. I went home from, from Buchenwald. There was a rumor--I didn't confirm it--that any child who got liberated, he can go right away from Buchenwald to United States. But I said to myself, "No. I have to go home." My father is coming home. My mother is coming home. They were young people yet. I have to go home. And going home, I went to Prague. And I started to talk to people--to survivors. I went to Chop, that, that's near, near Kascony already, close there. And over there I seen already many survivors. I had a lady there who said, "I seen your mother go in to the crematorium. Don't wait for her." Then I went home to Kascony. There were but five, six people. We had--there was the Russian regime there, that was Russian. And they told me, next Wednesday and the Wednesday after, you will go to work in the vineyards for the government. That's your job already. From that day they'll pay. But I didn't have bread to eat there. The Goyim didn't embrace me or embraced us or, "You, you, you poor kid." I was by myself. "Uh, uh, what do you eat? You ate someplace? You want something?" I had to beg for a piece of bread. And then I went to the police there, and I said I want to go and look for my parents. I'm going to leave Kascony and they gave me the permission to go to look for my parents. And I went to Budapest. From that...
In March, 1944, you came home...
Yes.
...and then you stayed home?
Well...
Until, until you were sent.
In March, 1944, I came home. And then, when they get uh, uh, uh, Erev Pesach, we were home as I said. But right after Pesach. Right after Pesach. You see by us it wasn't a bulletin on the radio they wanted something. There was a man with a drum. And he drum. And we knew something news is coming up. All during the years, not just the, the--everybody wants to know some news was during the year. That's they way it was, uh, uh, uh, brought to our attention. And this was the last day of Pesach. And the drum and everybody went to hear what they are saying. And the drummer was saying that all the Jews tomorrow with their families should come to the local public school's yard.
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