European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

“Ask that cop what he did in the night of October 21st, 1941!” I made a big fuss.

The officer calmed me down and sent the other one out.

Every-day live at Auschwitz-Birkenau

Day to day life in the camp started with the morning role-call.

The camp was huge.

I think we were a hundred thousand prisoners.

Birkenau was especially huge.

Then we found out that Birkenau was no holiday resort.

The days were very long: from 4h00 or 5h00 in the morning ‘til 21h00, 22h00 in the evening,

because if one of the 22,300 people was missing during the evening role-call, he had to be found.

We had to stay standing until this person was found. Sometimes we spent whole nights outside.

Some people hid, some escaped and then we had to stand until the following morning, in summer, and winter.

The winters in Upper Silesia are very cold, terrible. We lost many men there.

Our days began at 4h00 or 5h00 with a first role-call.

They handed out a brew that they called herbata in our mugs,

which we should absolutely not lose, and which we could never wash. Then we left for work.

Yes, we thought of it. There were three or four of us. We tried to find ways of fighting, but it was practically impossible.

There was a room leader who was to keep control. There also were leaders for each building.

And there were also team leaders, themselves being deported prisoners.

Often they were Germans, Poles.