Tag #140735 - Interview #96750 (Sabat Pilosof)

I can say that in Rebrovo we were much better off than in the [forced] labor camp in Transka Klisura in 1942. This camp was close to the Bulgarian-Serbian border. We built a road between the Serbian towns Surdolica and Tran. The food there was awful. We lived in tents even during November when it was snowing. There was no chance for us to receive packages. Only once a parcel from Dupnitsa reached us successfully. We were about to be happy, when we opened it and found out that everything inside was moldy. Because of the insufficient and bad food, we often went to the neighboring villages to buy cheese and potatoes. We were sold even boiled potatoes. The money we had was just all that we could take from home. We didn’t have any visitors. Because of the close border, we were guarded by the police.

In 1943, while at the labor camp in Dupnitsa, I was sent to work at a tunnel construction site. I was close to home and could go back there every day. We worked for eight hours every day and after that we had a free period. Paid workers from the town also worked with us.

In the camp in the village of Izvor, Lovech region, where I was until 7th September 1944, we also dug at a road construction site. The work included crushing gravel with hammers and digging a four cubic meter excavation. Those who couldn’t fulfill the norm during the day were forced to work at night until they managed with the quota. We were close to the town and people brought us food. Peasants from the nearby villages also helped us with food.