Roma Frey

“[...] Finally, we had to leave there because I was really impossible to live longer like this. And then we found a place that was not far from Thebens in the same street “Leshno”. But part of Leshno belonged to Aryen side already, but the other side where the Thebens was, that was some houses, but mostly the hiding places were mostly in some ruin houses, you know, that would be less— but they knew it already, they looked everywhere, they tried, they tried to get... to poor victims… anywhere possible what they could think of. So what we were trying to think, gradually, we… the houses in Warsaw almost - the apartment houses- had a cellars, where there be used to keep the coals, you know, for winter. Because we used to have this–not central heating but we used to have this stoves-like [...] to be used with coals… [...] warm up this, so the cellars were always, you know, for the coals or other things, like… to store there. So one of the cellars, I remember how we gradually did make a bunker of it, you know? Each cellar has a little window. So we flet the window with bricks, and tried to make it not look fresh, you know, that wouldn’t be… and this [...] cellar was under each of this houses had sort of an entrance like that was just under the entrance, which was less, maybe we thought was safer, also, but anyway that where we did make a bunker there. And gradually we tried to prepare some food there, because if we will hide there, some of us, you know, maybe many of us because we let enter some people who was [...] have nowhere to go. I remember one older lady, she was probably at this stage maybe 60 or something… we were still young so she was all alone. And she was nearly out of her mind, what to do, we said you come with us, cause another one person didn’t matter, and she had her little savings up from food, so you know, everybody would contribute and we were sort of prepared to stay there in case of need. So we lived there for a while, and then… ohh… to describe the ghetto... That was… I mean, one sees in pictures, but to live through it, and to see the bodies…”

I don’t know rather you would know, but some people could remember where the old-sort-of-stoves which we burnt wood and coal there to cook meals, to cook food, then there was sort of iron heavy stoves, you know, some openings. We had to lift up the top of it, there was an opening covered with wood, pretending that’s… you know, there, didn’t use it. We had to lift this up that wasn’t a sort of hole, through which we had to slide down to go, and that was a little step ladder, you know, to go down to the cellar, and then removed this and put this back and removed the ladder, that’s where we stayed in the bunker. But that was the way, so we thought nobody will ever think of lifting up this to enter this.

“...We lived in Leszno [street] where we build that bunker, we lived on the ground floor… because we put the cover top to the little window, and the entrance was completely covered up to the cellar, you know, to the bunker. To enter the bunker, you know how that was… I don’t know rather you would know, but some people could remember where the old-sort-of-stoves which we burnt wood and coal there to cook meals, to cook food, then there was sort of iron heavy stoves, you know, some openings. We had to lift up the top of it, there was an opening covered with wood, pretending that’s… you know, there, didn’t use it. We had to lift this up that wasn’t a sort of hole, through which we had to slide down to go, and that was a little step ladder, you know, to go down to the cellar, and then removed this and put this back and removed the ladder, that’s where we stayed in the bunker. But that was the way, so we thought nobody will ever think of lifting up this to enter this. That’s how we were entering this hiding place, this bunker. Indeed we haven’t been burned. Somehow this fire was avoided us, fortunately. But, even in the ruins, there were going and throwing grenades and bombs, and one of the grenades hit there, and uncovered the bunker. So here we were, there, uncovered. Nothing could save us. [...]”