Tag #120800 - Interview #100343 (Meer Kuyavskis)

We had to go through sanitation. We took the shower. They shaved us bold. Our clothes were taken away and we were given striped prisons’ clothing. Then we were taken to the barrack, where there were no bunks. We had to lie down on the floor, very close to each other. Every morning we had to get up very quickly, find the boots as they were in one pile. Then run out from the barracks being beaten and shouted at the policemen who were waiting by the barrack with the clubs. There was a roll call in the yard, after which we were given a piece of bread. It was good lump of bread. We were given such in ghetto. Then we had lunch- a thick soup in metal can. We had neither spoons nor forks. If we were lucky, we could find some chip to eat with. If we could not find it, we lapped it up right from the can, like dogs. The policemen teased us turning the can upside down and observing us eating the soup from the ground. In the evening we were given weak tea. That was the last meal of the day and we fell asleep without knowing what was there for us tomorrow. During the day were taken outside and sorted - those who did something wrong (walked and stood improperly) were taken aside and placed in gas chamber. Gas chambers could not idle. Usually people arriving from the East went there. At that time railroad was heavily bombed by soviet army and the carriages were not coming on time, so they had to put camp prisoners in the chambers. We were willing to survive even more than at the beginning of war as we understood that the victory of the soviet army was coming. At times we had to be at the drill square for three/ four hours. We learnt how to march even better than soldiers. We had stayed in Auschwitz for two weeks, which seemed like months to us.