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The person in question has given us the following information: After much suffering we arrived in Auschwitz. We, young people, were separated from parents, sent to the disinfecting building, where all my hair was completely shaved off, they took away my clothes and shoes taken from home. Instead, they dressed me in prisoner’s clothes and wooden shoes. I got into Camp C, where one thousand women were crowded together. I had nothing to eat for two days, because they brought the soup in large cans, and whoever was pushier got the food. Later I also tried to wangle to get some of the inedible soup with pebbles. The only edible food was bread and Zulag. I lived on them. They woke us up at 2 am to get us lined up for roll call, the cold wind and the rain penetrated our bodies and souls. Exhaustion completely overtook our bodies and souls. We were almost completely dehumanized, and suffering brought out the innate evil from us. This was a specialty of the Germans, who gradually killed our inner selves and made the human beast develop. We were not helping each other, everybody cared only about saving their own lives. Even our appearance changed. I would often watch people’s wandering gazes at roll call; we were half- crazed. Could it be true? How strong was the will to live in us, who witnessed the smoking crematoria and knew how little value human life had in Auschwitz. Everything depended on Dr Mengele’s whims, he unconditionally ruled over life and death. He was unpredictable in it as well, it would often happen that he sent someone to the right at selection, but if any sign of joy appeared on the face of the person, he would through her back to the left, to crematorium. Anxiety was continuous, if anybody found the smallest pimple on their bodies, they were doomed. 14 of us slept on a bunk in the barrack, while we shared one blanket. I was there for five months, all this time I did not work at all. We kept eating from one plate, and were very thin. Before we were selected for a transport, we were tattooed. At the end of October 1944, we were entrained, we got some bread and margarine for the journey, and a few days later we arrived in Bergen-Belsen. Here we slept in tents, got a little straw as well, but because of the heavy rains this also got wet, and we actually slept in mud and water. The rain was dripping in, on late autumn days we were holding each other numbed by cold and kept ourselves warm. I did not work at all here. Nutrition was very inadequate: coffee, turnip soup, 120 grams of bread. Dirt was unimaginable, we did not get any drinking water, we had to queue at the latrines, but even this in secret, because it was forbidden. Many people died around me, I lost my best friend, she died of hunger-typhus. At the beginning of December 1944, I was selected for a transport and taken to Magdeburg. Here, compared to the other camps, we had a very good life, I slept in a separate bed and worked in a weapon factory 12 hours a day. Workers helped me in the factory, but here supplies were also good: 400 grams of bread, coffee, soup and we often got Zulag as well. Here we did not have to starve to death. We had to line up for roll calls here as well, before and after the tiring factory work, and this extra effort really used up all our energies. SS women treated us quite well. At the beginning of April 1945, we had to leave, because Russians were fast approaching us. We walked for six weeks. On the way we ate grass, snails, anything we could find. Sometimes we would get some food and water from the peasants. Eventually, Russians liberated us in Parchim. If we had had to wait for a few more weeks, no one would have survived. In such a weak condition we could not have kept up with SS soldiers, and they would have finally executed all of us. Now, I will go home and look around, maybe someone from the family has returned. I would like to emigrate to Palestine.

Labour Service