United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The Power of Truth: 20 Years
Museum   Education   Research   History   Remembrance   Genocide   Support   Connect
Donate
Enciclopedia del Holocausto

 

 

 

Testimonio

Doris Greenberg
Nació: 1930, en Varsovia, Polonia

Describe el procedimiento para los recién llegados a Ravensbrueck [Entrevista: 1990]

La transcripción completa:

And when we went to the baths, we really expected to die. We really did, and we said, well, we could have taken the poison but it's gone and it probably won't take longer with uh being gassed. Well, we were very surprised when water came. And, uh, we...we really got a shower. There was even this grey soap that looked like pumice stone but a little softer, but it was not gas. So we took the showers and we went out on the other end of the building and we were given the striped uniforms. And then I understood why we wanted to take the poison before we went in. Because each group that went in ahead of us, we never saw them coming out. We didn't recognize them. They were shaved and wearing stripes. So then when we got stripes... And we're getting sizes that are impossible. The big person would get a tiny dress. A ti..tiny person would get a big dress. But we came out alive. And we had our numbers and a triangle, and we were assigned to barracks. When we came into the barracks, we saw on the wall Jewish writing, names, messages...many of it in Yiddish which I couldn't read, but Pepi could and she told me they were names. She read them to me and I, I could understand. I just couldn't read or write, and she told me there were messages, very, very heartbreaking messages and names of the people..."we...we were here, we're the last...tell others to remember us." It was very sad.

And when we went to the baths, we really expected to die. We really did, and we said, well, we could have taken the poison but it's gone and it probably won't take longer with uh being gassed. Well, we were very surprised when water came. And, uh, we...we really got a shower. There was even this grey soap that looked like pumice stone but a little softer, but it was not gas. So we took the showers and we went out on the other end of the building and we were given the striped uniforms. And then I understood why we wanted to take the poison before we went in. Because each group that went in ahead of us, we never saw them coming out. We didn't recognize them. They were shaved and wearing stripes. So then when we got stripes... And we're getting sizes that are impossible. The big person would get a tiny dress. A ti..tiny person would get a big dress. But we came out alive. And we had our numbers and a triangle, and we were assigned to barracks. When we came into the barracks, we saw on the wall Jewish writing, names, messages...many of it in Yiddish which I couldn't read, but Pepi could and she told me they were names. She read them to me and I, I could understand. I just couldn't read or write, and she told me there were messages, very, very heartbreaking messages and names of the people..."we...we were here, we're the last...tell others to remember us." It was very sad.

Los alemanes invadieron Polonia en 1939 y crearon un ghetto en Varsovia en 1940. Después de que sus padres fueron deportados, Doris se escondió con su hermana y otros parientes. La hermana de Doris y un tío fueron asesinados, y supo que sus padres también habían sido asesinados. Su abuela se suicidó. Doris salió del ghetto de contrabando y vivió como una sirviente no judía, pero finalmente fue deportada al campo de Ravensbrueck. Al llegar ahí, Doris y su amiga Pepi consideraron envenenarse, pero decidieron no hacerlo.

— US Holocaust Memorial Museum - Collections

Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.