Eddie Bachner

Interviewer: How many people - I know it’s difficult to put exact numbers on - but do you think on underground, in bunkers, in hiding, at the beginning of the uprising?

Eddie: Thousands of people. In bunkers. Each building had a bunker or two. Took a lot of work to put a bunker. Dig a cellar under the cellar. It wasn’t in the cellarbecause anybody can go down to cellar. But they dig the cellar under the cellar.

I used Chat GPT to write a prompt from Eddie Bachner's testimony's first paragraph, to use in Stable Diffusion.

Prompt: "Create a realistic illustration that shows a group of people outside in the (dark)1:1, their hands digging desperately into the ground to create a secret small pit. The dirt unearthed must be carefully concealed to avoid detection, so illustrate the people discreetly carrying it away, hiding it in their pockets and other makeshift containers. The image should convey the intense fear and determination of the people, in Warsaw in 1943."

“[...] What happened is like this - a lot of people didn’t had no bunkers to go to. So my job was to get them into bunkers. I knew where they are, where they were. But the problem was, if I got to a bunker, they wouldn’t let them in. Haven’t got much space, can’t get them in, all kinds of… Sometimes you had to… to put out a gun. And say “If you don’t let them in I’ll shoot you”. So they let the other ones in, because the idea of letting them guys surrounding around to find them a place for us, after Germans will catch him, the first thing they’ll do is beat him up “show us where the bunkers are”, and they will… If he talks, then hundreds of people will be killed. That was the idea that the guy can not run around. [...]

Interviewer: How was it possible to get food, during this time? After the uprising began?

Eddie: They prepare food in the bunkers. They had bread, dried out so it could stay longer [...] and next to it, we thought the whole thing is gonna take another month, two, three.

Interviewer: How many people - I know it’s difficult to put exact numbers on - but do you think on underground, in bunkers, in hiding, at the beginning of the uprising?

Eddie: Thousands of people. In bunkers. Each building had a bunker or two. Took a lot of work to put a bunker. Dig a cellar under the cellar. It wasn’t in the cellar - because anybody can go down to cellar. But they dig the cellar under the cellar.

Interviewer: Where did you find equipment to do the digging work?

Eddie: The dig with our hands, whatever you name it. Not only that, the dirt, what you digged out, you couldn’t leave there because the Germand would see. So, little by little we used to take it away with us, and dump it somewhere. Everybody a little bit, in their pockets or whatever. That was like, unbelievable, unbelievable, the entrance to the bunkers and the exits, in case you got to run.”

Interviewer: Where did you find equipment to do the digging work?

Eddie: The dig with our hands, whatever you name it. Not only that, the dirt, what you digged out, you couldn’t leave there because the Germand would see. So, little by little we used to take it away with us, and dump it somewhere. Everybody a little bit, in their pockets or whatever. That was like, unbelievable, unbelievable, the entrance to the bunkers and the exits, in case you got to run.