European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

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.

It was very difficult, very hard. We got lots of beatings.

In the beginning we thought we shouldn’t take that, but we soon saw that there was no way out, as life there was so terrible.

It was difficult to form a group.

Those of us that had been arrested as French resistance fighters were scattered.

They knew exactly who we were.

It was very different from the camp in Compiègne. There we were still active, we resisted, discussed, talked.

But here we were seperated and with all the block leaders, the Vorarbeiter, the team chiefs, the Kapos