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On March 29, 1945, when we liberated Gdynia (a city in Poland), we learned that the Germans had retreated and had left a lot of technical equipment. So we went to have a look at it.
On our way to do so, we saw barbed wire and people puttering about. We stopped. Since I could understand German, I was sent to go closer and to get a sense of the situation. I walked closer and saw the barbed wire and a locked gate. I asked: ‘What is going on here?’ And I got the answer: ‘This is a camp.’
I came in and saw people lying, kneeling. Some of them were dead. Those who were able to speak said that they were Jews and were afraid to leave. I explained to them that the war was finished and that they were free.
And we went on to find German technical equipment. It turned out that it was damaged and could not be repaired. I only picked up only two wrenches.
On our way back to Gdynia we saw people who had left the camp. They were more dead than alive. They were trudging along the road carrying bread (slices and loaves), probably given to them by local residents. Now it seems to me that that concentration camp was situated 40 kilometers from Gdynia on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
On our way to do so, we saw barbed wire and people puttering about. We stopped. Since I could understand German, I was sent to go closer and to get a sense of the situation. I walked closer and saw the barbed wire and a locked gate. I asked: ‘What is going on here?’ And I got the answer: ‘This is a camp.’
I came in and saw people lying, kneeling. Some of them were dead. Those who were able to speak said that they were Jews and were afraid to leave. I explained to them that the war was finished and that they were free.
And we went on to find German technical equipment. It turned out that it was damaged and could not be repaired. I only picked up only two wrenches.
On our way back to Gdynia we saw people who had left the camp. They were more dead than alive. They were trudging along the road carrying bread (slices and loaves), probably given to them by local residents. Now it seems to me that that concentration camp was situated 40 kilometers from Gdynia on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
Period
Location
Gdynia
Poland
Interview
Boris Lerman