Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982

Beatings in Auschwitz

Did you ever see any beatings?

Uh, yeah, I got beat up myself, all three sister because we was uh, it's was later on not the same uh, time you know. Later on we got beat up.

Why did you get beaten up?

Because we was changing barracks. And we didn't know uh, you don't 'posed to do that. So we was thinking the other barrack's gonna be better than this one because the Kapo was very bad. So when we get there uh, the next day it was uh, they called Zählappell...

Mm-hm.

and you have to come up from the barracks, stand in line and they was counting. And the three of us was missing. And then uh, the Kapo said, "Now I'm going to give you up to the Germans, the SS and you're going go to the gas chamber if you're going to do that once more." So we went back to the same barrack where we start to uh, get away from so we have to stay there and now the rules you can't change and you can't go no place else. You have to stay where you uh, supposed to stay.

How did she beat you?

Uh, she uh, pull our hair and uh, not just one of them came because we start three of 'em going on uh, this Kapo, so then the rest of the uh, Kapo came and help uh, that Kapo. So we get beat up with a, a stick and hair pulling and throw us to the floor and step on us and that's kinda beating they give us. But we ??? because they were strong. They had more to eat than we are, in that time.

Well a stick would hurt period.

Yeah, but they uh, they didn't care. They didn't uh, feel the hurt. They just was like animals themselves. And later on we became the same thing like they was, when you was a...already uh, in a camp 'bout three, four months.

You got used to it.

We got used to it and we uh, everybody look after themselves, they didn't care who they hurt.

Were you and your two sisters together in the barracks?

All three sisters.


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