Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Sidy Weiss - January 7, 1987

Life During the War II

You want to tell you any of your experiences at Auschwitz or in Płaszów? Do you remember certain things...

I remember, but like I, I am telling you that--how you call it? I remember what happened.

Do you want to tell me about it?

If you want.

I--of course I want.

Okay so I tell you...

Husband: You don't mind if I leave ?

No, no.

Husband: No, no, I have to go, to ???

Tell me some of the things you remember that you want. Um, um, Martin tells me you have lots of stories.

Husband: Oh yeah, oh. She told me many times in this week, last week. You remember when you told last week, what happened?

What happened?

Husband: You didn't have what to eat, and you went, and you fight--you, you went and you stole and you follow your sister and this and that? All these things you tell me already, come on.

Tell me that story.

Well, we have two hours right?

We have as long as you want. If you want an hour, we'll do an hour, if you want two, three, whatever um, it's up to you. Tell me the story about when there was no food, and you went to steal the food.

Okay, I tell you how it happened. So I went uh, how you call it? When we were going on the, going on the--how you call it? It came--I told you want happened. Friday night it was raining and pouring and uh, we didn't have no [pause], no [pause] food. We started to--how you call it?

Is this when the clothes froze, you mean?

Mm-hm.

You started to what?

We started to...

Husband: Go on, go on.

Okay, that's all.

You didn't tell me the story.

Husband: You have plenty. You started already, so--okay.

???

Husband: I see you later.

Okay.

But uh, how you call it? That, that--the, the clothes froze on us, and uh, we got there and uh, we started to hike ??? to work. We got there and they were taking us--we went to Krakow and they were taking us into the--from the city to the camps. People were standing outside and they were watching, and they were watching.

People who lived in the city?

Mm-hm.

In Krakow. Did they say anything?

No. I don't think--they just were looking. I think they were just looking.

Then what? So you marched through the streets?

No, we weren't on the street, we got into the camp, we got into the camp.

And there was no food? Is that when there was no food?

No. Then, then we--how you call that? It was uh, it was uh, not, the food, uh...

Husband: Do you care for a cold drink?

No, thank you.

Husband: Pop, tea, coffee?

No, no, nothing.

Husband: Alright, I see you later. ??? I'll be back.

Okay, that's all. I mixed up, mixed up everything.

That's alright, well we'll start--we'll sort it out. There was a time that um, you went out and stole food for the people in your barracks, is that right?

No, no, that's not the way it was. It was that way that it was--how you call that? It was like that, that I--somebody came to me, and it was--I don't know what time of day--in the evening, we were going to observe--oh yeah, we were going to observe Passover, and uh, I said if I will have enough br...bread for uh, for my, for my, for my sister and her--how you call it? Then you're going to have it too. And then I went--how you call it? They took me to the, they took me to the kitchen and I got a hold of I don't know how many potatoes, and uh, we--how you call that? We had enough.

For, for Pesach.

Yeah.

So you stole the potatoes in the kitchen and brought them back. Wasn't that dangerous?

Yes.

So you were still religious then.

I always was religious.

But you said not anymore. Didn't you say you weren't anymore?

No.

Now?

I tell you, I don't know what happened.

You mean because you're not religious anymore, is that what you mean?

I am--how you call it? I am religious, but I don't know if I'm doing the things the right way.

Me too. Uh, the--let--I'm going to, I'm going to stop it, okay.

Okay.

All right.


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