Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Cyla Wiener - July 13, 1992

This was before they took the children then?

Before. That's right. A few months, this was in 1943, and the children they took 1944.

In May.

In May. Ya. In May, yeah. It was just terrible. You can't imagine how you can live through something like this, you know, and leave it. I am in America. I came to America and leave that long, unbelievable, really. Unbelievable. Really unbelievable.

What about your father?

My father, my father, my father was a very strong man, really strong. Very strong. He survived. He was, later on they liquidate Płaszów, you know. They send away all the people. They liquidate Płaszów, and I think that all the conflict with Russia was coming, you know. They were sending people out of Kraków, of Płaszów. Płaszów was near Kraków, you know. Part to Germany, and my own brother went straight to, to Germany, you know. Near, near Vienna, you know, Mauthausen, what do you have and all that [pause], and I was in, in...I went to Auschwitz and I was in Auschwitz.

Oh, so they took you...

And my father went to a different, you see, my father went, was lucky, my husband, too, they went, they were sent to a good concentration camp, Brunnlitz, maybe you heard about Sch...Sch...Schindler.

I was going to ask you if you knew about Schindler.

Ya.

With his factory? He worked in his factory for Schindler?

Ya.

So he save them.

Saved, ya. He was good to the Jewish people. He was good, he saved a thousands Jews. Ya. He took them to Brunnlitz.

Did he save any children?

The children, no. He couldn't save the children. The children, you see, one of my brothers went to bring his two, with his son, and with, with a, his son, and he has a sister, his wife, her son, too, whatever, he has two children. They came to Brunnlitz. All the men, all departed with the children, they send to Auschwitz. You understand? From Brunnlitz, they send to Auschwitz. My brother...

Schindler couldn't help them.

...was sent to Auschwitz with his son, and with his nephew, you know.