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I was taken to Auschwitz in May 1944. People usually don’t know the difference between Birkenau and Auschwitz and they think that Auschwitz was one large concentration camp. But, they first took us to Birkenau, a huge transit camp that could receive about one hundred thousand victims. In Birkenau we were unloaded and put through a selection; some were taken left, others were taken right.
One thing that is interesting in this story is that my life was saved because of my knowledge of German language. When we were being unloaded, I was still together with my mother and my sister. I was then approached by one of the concentration camp inmates, the one who was unloading our belongings from the train, and he asked me: ‘Do you speak German?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Then he asked: ‘How old are you?’ And I said: ‘15.’ Then he said: ‘Listen, don’t hold on to your mother or your sister.
When they take you to the medical board, tell them you’re 16, throw your chest out and make sure you show them you are capable to work.’ This is how it was. I was separated from my mother and my sister, although I thought we would be able to visit and to be in contact. For a long time, I didn’t really know what was happening. And what happened was that my mother and my sister were taken to the crematory in Birkenau, and I stayed in Auschwitz and was forced to work.
From Auschwitz I was transported to a nearby camp, a so-called Nebenlager where I worked partly in a coal mine, and partly in bricklaying. As the Russians were approaching, we were evacuated from this prisoner camp to the Dora Buchenwald camp. I stayed there from January to April 1945.
One thing that is interesting in this story is that my life was saved because of my knowledge of German language. When we were being unloaded, I was still together with my mother and my sister. I was then approached by one of the concentration camp inmates, the one who was unloading our belongings from the train, and he asked me: ‘Do you speak German?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Then he asked: ‘How old are you?’ And I said: ‘15.’ Then he said: ‘Listen, don’t hold on to your mother or your sister.
When they take you to the medical board, tell them you’re 16, throw your chest out and make sure you show them you are capable to work.’ This is how it was. I was separated from my mother and my sister, although I thought we would be able to visit and to be in contact. For a long time, I didn’t really know what was happening. And what happened was that my mother and my sister were taken to the crematory in Birkenau, and I stayed in Auschwitz and was forced to work.
From Auschwitz I was transported to a nearby camp, a so-called Nebenlager where I worked partly in a coal mine, and partly in bricklaying. As the Russians were approaching, we were evacuated from this prisoner camp to the Dora Buchenwald camp. I stayed there from January to April 1945.
Period
Year
1944
Interview
Oto Konstein