Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Michael Weiss - October 7, 1994

So how did the liberation happen?

Well, by the time I got liberated, I was so weak because we had a few false alarms. The rumor was that we are getting liberated the Americans are here. And uh, nothing happened. So by the time it really happened I was weak, I was sick...

Did you have typhus?

No. No, that I didn't. And uh, I remember the American soldiers, American soldiers came into Buchenwald. I, I would like to see some of those soldiers. I don't know no names or anything. But they were running from barrack to barrack. "Is somebody from Munkacs here? Is somebody from Beregszsász here? From ??? here?" Crying. Crowded. Because at that time, at that, that, that, that time you had that people that much in Buchenwald on the streets. The, the crematorium wasn't working. The Germans ran away. And these soldiers, these soldiers, they were running from barrack to barrack.

What did you do?

Well, I tell you, uh, uh...

Where did you...

First of all soldiers tried to give you those conser...uh, meat in them, you know, what, what...

Spam?

Spam. I think so. And many, including me, tried to eat it. We were hungry. And many, many died. You know, after something like this you know, a little soup, a little this but... They wanted to but many people died because of that. I got sick, more sick.

Did they take you out? Take you to the infirmary and take you to medical treatment?

Uh, no. I have--I never seen a doctor there. Never seen a doctor. And I remember going into the barracks of the SS and many people took some souvenir uh, revolvers. You know I'm seventy years old. I never had one in my hand. I wouldn't know what to do, to mean nothing. But the most interesting thing happened. We went into Buchenwald. Took a train we went into Buchenwald. You know, none of us, and we had that not only Jewish ??? I never seen the--anybody who beat up a German, break a window for a German, ??? and this ???

You went into the town?

Into the town.

What did you do in the town?

Well looked around and then come home. We didn't have much strength to walk, to do anything or to know, you know, if somebody explained you where are you, what happened, you still in a daze. This is in a daze really when you live with uncertainties. What will tomorrow be? What is today? What is now? What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Why am I supposed to do this? What, what, what, what, what, and, and it boils down to one thing, professor. Actually, I had to do all those things because I'm a Jew. And that's the bottom line.