The Virtual Historian

Another problem I developed was swollen and painful gums. My whole mouth hurt and I could hardly open it. This disease was due to lack of vitamins. It made me miserable and I received no treatment. In the spring, my condition improved for a while. Sometimes during the day, we were free to walk along the road in camp. I met some friends who had previously left Terezin.They were “old timers” and they filled us in on the situation in the camp. We found out that Czech Gypsies were housed in the camp alongside ours and that many of them were children. Ours was the sole camp where families from Terezin were together. Why did we rate that special privilege? The most curious question we asked of the old timers was about the two large factories, clearly visible from the camp, about two kilometres away. Each building had a warehouse and a verytall, broad chimney. Heavy smoke often poured out of the chimney. Were these bakeries or brick factories? The answer shook us and made us tremble. “Those are gas chambers,” we were told, “where people from the ghettos are killed and burned in the ovens.” At first, we refused to believe it. However, several months later, when another transport came from Terezin and was placed inside our Family Camp, it was our turn to tell our friends the true story of the large chimneys. It was a dramatic truth that they, too, could not bring themselves to believe. Once a month, we were handed a postcard and pencil. We wrote greetings to our families back in Terezin or at home. “…bingesund zusammen mit den Eltern.” (I am well and together with my parents.) Each postcard bore the name of the sender, his date of birth and the location of the camp: Arbeitslager (labour camp) Birkenau bei Neu Berun O.S. We dated these greetings as directed, sometimes six or more weeks ahead. Certainly an ugly omen! On the other side of our camp was a camp for only men, and beyond that, one for only women.