Henry Tiger

“Well, we came back to the ghetto. And I don’t have to tell you, the propaganda went on. And we knew what’s going on. And people start to build bunkers. And we became the builders of the bunkers. We had the lumber, we had the machinery to cut it and so on and so forth. And, I mean people were building bunkers to stay there for years, I mean, different places, basements, digging holes underground, I mean… imagination was flying. The more money you had, the better bunker you got. Less money you had- you took a bedroom, you took... a...closet, which, you know, we didn’t have any closets. How do you call it… a… how you say it in English? -an armour. You know you put an armour, you cut it out, you cut into the next room, and you know everybody help themselves whichever way they could.

Interviewer: Were the Germans aware that you were building bunkers?

Henry: No. Again, I’m sure that somebody told them. You had a lot of Jews who weren’t so Kosher, they were working with the Germans. Thank god it wasn’t many, but it was, you know, for the whisky of whatever of for the woman or whatever it is- there were collaborators with the Germans. And whatever was going in the ghetto, they Germans had a pretty good idea. So anyway, we start to build the bunkers. and you know, people would bring in supplies, you know, dry food and dry fruit, and, you know people thought they were gonna be there for a month or two or a year, whatever it takes -they’re gonna survive in that bunker.

Interviewer: Did you do the ones for the underground? Did you see any of the underground people?

Henry: The underground had no bunkers. As far as I know. Now, I got in contact with... I was in touch with the underground from the small ghetto. I didn’t know anything about, you know, about the big ghetto what was going on. But I know they didn’t had no bunkers. They were… young people, my age, two or three years older, with a philosophy, well, we’re not gonna go and die just like lambs to be slaughtered. We’re gonna do something about it. But anyway, we’re not gonna die by going to slaughter. And they had their guns, and they had Molotov cocktails…

Interviewer: did you work with them?

Henry: I was involved with them. But I didn’t have a gun.

Interviewer: How were you involved?

Henry: Because I was with a group that was building the bunkers. And I was with a group that we start to put planks and making holes through the attic, that you could go from one building to the other, we could go through the whole ghetto almost, without going out on the street, ok?. And they weren’t aware of it. Well, not everybody was aware of it, so happen I was with the guys that knocking off the walls and making the holes and putting in the planks, and, you know… to walk from one attic to the other, and not to go on the street, which during the day that was the only way you could have gone from house to house to house, because the Germans were, you know…

Interviewer: And the underground was using this?

Henry: Yes, yes. Well, the underground after a while of the... You know, through guys like us and maybe before that, but they didn’t have the complete knowledge. And I met a group of… I think it was 2 girls and 3 guys, or 2 girls and 2 guys, who were from the underground. And when I say “from the underground”, it really was not organised. It was small groups and they were working together, they were very patriotic, to a point of being fanatic. They might change the faith of the Jewish people. Devoted. Devoted, nice young people… And because I knew what it was, and I liked him, nice, and I was a loner. So I joined them and then I was showing them how he could go from building to building to building to building, and I was running with him. Maybe I threw Molotov cocktail here and there, but I wouldn’t say I was one from the… as the group.

Interviewer: Were you armed? Did you have a gun?

Henry: No. Never had a gun. No. Through all my life, I never had a gun. That’s why I never wanted to be a cop or I never wanted to be a foreman, let me work in the kitchen and I’ll be happy. So I did not have a gun. They did, they had two guns. Between the three of them or four of them, they had two guns. And things started to get real bad, you know, we’re throwing Molotov cocktails at the Germans, you know, we didn’t wait to see how many was killed or how many was not killed, just keep on running because, you know, they could… so we’re always on the go, on the go, on the go.

Interviewer: Do you remember the first time that the uprising started? Or the first thing that happened?

Henry: Yes, the first night of the Passover. It’s typical in April, but which April…? I don’t know.

Interviewer: 43?

Henry: Oh, I know in 1943 but which date, you know, it was in April 1943. Umm.. so… we were running during the day because at night it was no Germans. The Germans would not be in the ghetto at night. We heard about the tank going in and into the main ghetto, and they throw Molotov cocktails and put it on fire, and the Germans pulled out. We have communication, you know, it was quite a good communication.

Interviewer: Who were you communicating with?

Henry: Runners. Indie organization if you can call it organized. It was all on “I know you and you know me”, that’s it. So… so during the day, you know, we were running. But at night we could go out and walk the streets. But at that time the ghetto was on fire. The Germans were throwing in, how do you call it, the fire with guns, you know… [interviewer: like a flame throwers?] flame throwers, right. So the whole ghetto was on fire. That’s how they got the Jews out, like rats.

Get them out of the buildings, and taking them to the Umshlagplatz. So anyway, at night when we would walk, well, during the day the smoke was so… it was… terrible, I mean, you couldn’t see. So we used to seat in a basement and there was water in there, you know, and I wear a white sweater I remember I took it off and I made it wet and I put it on my face so I could breathe through it. But it came to a point that my vision got blurred, I almost got blind. I could see but I couldn’t see. Everything was like through a fog.

Interviewer: Because of the smoke and the burning, and the cinder?

Henry: yeah, yeah. And then we were all wet because actually, we were sitting in water because the heat was tremendous. And we were walked the sidewalks, we were dripping you could hear it like iron on a wet “psss… psss…”, the sidewalks were hot from the fire that was going on.

And I knew where all the bunkers are, you know, so every day we would go to a different bunker and I knew the people, they would let us in, and they would feed us - whatever you called ‘feed us’, you know, have a little bit of soup, water, whatever. And we went to that bunker it was well suppliednobody was there. Empty. Well, we were hungry, so the girls made a little fire, they had like a little chimney going up. It was like a four-story building and this was like all the way down in the basement, maybe even a level below. And I knew the layout because I helped build the bunker. And a lot of food, a lot of… So they made something to eat. We were tired… and we fall asleep. Just… just the morning start to break, we hear German soldiers. And stayed right near the door, it wasn’t a door it was like a flop. And they said ‘Come on out! Because if not we were gonna put grenades in’. With your hands up. I couldn’t even see. My eyes were burning. We went out, it was already almost like daytime, with our hands up. I wore a watch that my grandfather gave it to me for my Bar Mitzva, the soldiers say, you know, take it off, give it away. Went through our pockets. I had a little bit of money, you know, from building the bunkers. And I said to myself - how did they know that we were there? - coming out, I see it. From the chimney, there was a little bit of smoke. Usually, when we stayed at any other bunker, we made a fire at night, but when we were done cooking we put the fire out. This time we were so tired, and we just… forgot. And that what they saw, the smoke. And they already cleared that bunker out once. [...]”

Because I was with a group that was building the bunkers. And I was with a group that we start to put planks and making holes through the attic, that you could go from one building to the other, we could go through the whole ghetto almost, without going out on the street

I said to myself - how did they know that we were there? - coming out, I see it. From the chimney, there was a little bit of smoke. Usually, when we stayed at any other bunker, we made a fire at night, but when we were done cooking we put the fire out. This time we were so tired, and we just… forgot.

So anyway, we start to build the bunkers. and you know, people would bring in supplies, you know, dry food and dry fruit, and, you know people thought they were gonna be there for a month or two or a year, whatever it takes -they’re gonna survive in that bunker.