Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

• Contents
• Map

Eva Wimmer - January 1, 1985

Again, this--almost a year passed. It was a hard, struggling year. Then, we--they, they said they are going to, to--our Gestapo man had the order once. He need 250 girls. Evidently, they said--it must have been something because it was short before the war was over so, it must have been some commotion. Either they wanted a cut down in the workers because they didn't need it so much. They knew it's towards the end of the war and they want to cut down a little bit so they, they wanted 250 girls from our girls, from the 500 to send to Auschwitz and get rid of them. And it was a commotion who will go. So they made selections and we were appointed. We knew already who was going. One of my sisters, the oldest, who is alive, thank God, she was assigned to this place--to this uh, 250 were--they were, they were being sent away from, from our uh, camp, so we said no way. You won't go alone. Wherever you go, all, all, all four of us are going with you. Well, she was, she wasn't thrilled about this because she had a feeling that uh, she is going to be sent to, to Auschwitz to, to the gas chambers and she felt like why should you suffer because of my deadlock. Maybe you remain here in this camp and maybe you will survive. But, nevertheless, we made up our mind whatever will happen to one, will happen to the rest of us. But, a miracle happened. We were waiting 'til the day would come and they would say the 250 had to come with the Gestapo, but they didn't. Before this happened, they--the commander Führer said we are being uh, shipped over--this was maybe two months before the war was over to another camp uh, Ravensbrück. Ravensbrück was uh, uh, a dead chamber also. Uh, and the millions of people died in Ravensbrück. Ravensbrück wasn't much better than Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the worst, but this wasn't much better. So, they, they took us over again, the 500 girls, we were marching, marching. And our, our commander Führer, the uh, uh, Gestapo and the uh, Lagerälteste was the, the Mutti, we called her the Mutti. Uh, she went with--when we came towards the fence and the gate, there was a big gate in Ravensbrück, when we came and they opened up the gate our Gestapo man and the Mutti, the Lagerälteste, she was not allowed to come in with us. They had to remain outside. When they let us in to, to Ravensbrück, both of them, which was really some scene, they cried. They must have had some compassion, some feelings for us, what we are going through. Our commander Führer had a, a wife and children. He said he was sent uh, to do his duties, but he left his family behind. So, evidently, he had some feelings because he had a family. We, we went in and they remained out.