Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Cyla Wiener - July 13, 1992

Born in the ghetto?

A boy.

He was born in the ghetto?

No. A boy, one boy.

But was he born in the ghetto?

In ghetto. Yea. I didn't want to have a child. I want to have a abortion, you see? An abortion, I said. To...I would rather [crying], I would have to do all the child, but I didn't want...they didn't let me to do, they didn't talk me out that I have a child, you see. After the war, I could never, I didn't want to have a child. I was afraid to have...that wasn't me, you know. I said I can't have a child, and I like, like I punished myself [crying] that I had a child, you know.

So you never had any other children?

No, I didn't, and I love children. My whole life was children. I really mean it. Whenever a child was sick in the family of my friends, I was the babysitter. I love children. I always used to say to, to say to my mother [crying]...I love all children but I am afraid I will not have children. My mother used to say to me, "Don't say this, don't say this. You will have children, you will see.” Really true. And then I would like to mention that I have a very upbringing, very good and Jewish, you know. I had a wonderful teacher who is known the whole world, who was, she was known in the whole world. Her name was Sara Shenea(?) and she was the founder of the Bas Yakkov. First woman who was the founder of Bas Yakkov, you know. And I think in '20 or '30 she came to America and she found here Bas Yakkov and then she went all over the world. She was something outstanding. I have to mention her but really, she was really something special and the Jewish, my education, thanks to her, I have, you know.