Protocol Nr. 3484

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Name: W. G.
Gender: male
Place of birth: Ugonya
Date of birth: 1928
Place of residence: Budapest
Occupation: high school student
Camps: Neuengamme, Hamburg, San Bosten


The person in question has given us the following information On November 2, 1944 the Arrow Cross entered our building. My father and I were taken into the Tattersaal and later to the Dohány street synagogue. From here we were taken to the brick factory. We spent another night there, and the next day we were set off to Zurndorf via Piliscsaba, Dorog, Szöny, Győr, Ásványráró and Mosonmagyaróvár. It took us 10 days to get there. On the food was distributed only twice a day: bread and Zulag in the morning, bean or potato soup in the evening. We marched 25-30 kilometres a day; one day, however, we had to walk 40 kilometres. For the night generally we were accommodated outdoors. In Zürndorf the Germans took over us; they separated the women and the men. Then we were entrained, but those who wanted to stay together, could. We were given food for four days, but we got water only if one of the railway officers had mercy on us. We did not get a bucket for the purpose of bodily needs either. We arrived in Neuengamme early in the morning and we were loaded off the train immediately. The women were taken into another camp; the men stayed there, since it was a men’s camp. After being selected, they led us to a cellar or to an air-raid shelter to be precise. We were here until the afternoon, then we were taken to the disinfection area in groups of 50. All of our clothes were taken away here, only toothbrushes and shaving kits were allowed and some food too. After being disinfected we got our shoes and clothing back and were taken to the barracks. There were ca. 900 people in a barrack. The next day we got shirts and underwear. On the third day they asked about craftsmen, they wanted 250 workers. My father and I answered the call. We left for Hamburg on November 22 and at 2 am we arrived at a ship factory. This factory building was a proper brick building with stories; we were lodged on the highest floor, i.e., the third. We all were accommodated in a big room. Everybody had his own beds. There was central heating and electric lighting, so we could wash ourselves. Everybody had his own dish and cutlery. The next day we were assigned to work. We had five foremen hitting us without any particular reason, especially when they were drunk. The young were assigned to weld, the others were taken to rubble clearance. We were more or less well off, we only had to suffer from the foremen. The factory was continuously bombarded. We were hit by big bombs nine times, during the raids we went to the shelter. Once our lodging was burnt down, then we were moved one story down, i.e., to the second floor. After ca. three months the work was over and everybody was assigned to rubble clearance. Only 10 men were left behind as ship workers, the others were constructing a new building for us. My father and I were moved there as electricians. When this new building was half-finished, it was hit by a bomb. We started to build it again, but it was hit once again. After this we performed only occasional work, i.e., carrying bricks and rubbish. Out of the 250 men, who had arrived there with us, several had died due to the brutal treatment and only ca. 150 were alive by that time. At the end of March the English were approaching and we were taken to another camp: the Deutsche Werke, a ship factory again. Here we repaired railway cars and stuffed bomb ditches. The lodging was bad: 300 men in a barn, together with Russian prisoners. The treatment was even worse than at the previous place. There were air raids all the time, during which we went into the shelter. The shelter was a dry dock where the submarines were repaired. When the English approached, we were taken back to Hamburg to another camp. We spent a night there, and then we were entrained. There were freight cars into which 130 people were squeezed. By that time we were teeming with lice. We travelled for seven days and we did not receive any food during the last three days. This is how we arrived in Sanbosten. By the time we arrived here, only 80 had remained out of the original 250. That was the fourth day without food; in five days we got some soup and some bread from French POWs. We had to fast for another day until we met those two Dutch foremen who we knew from Hamburg, the Stülken factory. They took charge in the camp, brought enough food for us and they acted more fairly than before. When the English were approaching, the SS soldiers escaped and took the bread with them. Later they brought the bread back and escaped again. In the last days before liberation the POWs took over the camp. We were disinfected and got new clothes as well. On April 29 the English liberated us at around 3 pm. After that my father was taken to hospital together with the others who got typhoid fever. I was taken to another hospital with those who grew weak. The English cured me and provided me with everything. Those who got a little better (including me) were taken into a tent camp. I spent approximately four days here, but I was not allowed to leave the camp. From here I was taken to the first free camp in Verten and I spent there three or four weeks. Afterwards I was taken to Hülsen where I spent ca. six weeks. One afternoon we arrived in Burgdorf from where we escaped, since we did not get any food. This is how we got to Bergen-Belsen where I resided until my homecoming. After 13 days of travel I arrived in Budapest. I did not know anything about my father after I was separated from him and he was taken to another hospital. He is allegedly dead, as later I learned. At home I found my mother. I am still not completely healthy, so I will go to hospital.
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