Helena C.

Anka R.

Helena C.: at the beginning of 1943, again, people probably realized the end is closing, and is coming soon, and started to build these bunkers, under the basements. Huge places prepared for living for months. And even food was prepared for this type of living. Because, I remember that we were preparing, in our household all kinds of dry food. Dry pasta and dried Challas, so it would be kept for months. As I found out there was a well in the bunker. Because that how it was organized. Because the bunker had essential place with an oven, and a well and then there was a long corridor, like in a prison with little places for the… beds. Everybody was just lying down. But the place around this fireplace which was iron oven in the middle was a place where people could sit and talk.

Everybody probably contributed to building it because it was probably quite expensive. With all kind of limitations at that time. So I remember that when we prepared this dried food and put it down, and some kind of beddings. Because these were just from wood. Three stores of little beds in one cubicle. But everything happened very soon, as soon as we started these preparations. In that time Pesach came… we were preparing for the Seder and suddenly shootings started and everything was prepared, the table.. we left everything and ran away to the bunker and never came back. And stayed in the bunker for several weeks, because it was April 19th, and I end up in the middle of May.

The whole day we could only lie down in this cubicle, which was completely dark. And there was no obviously no electricity. And at night when it was quiet, I remember several times I went out with my cousin. On the surface. And we started to visit the apartments, everything was burned down, but I some of the apartments you could go still on the stairs which were from stone or cement, and find a kitchen which was still functioning and prepare a meal for example, because this little place inside the bunker was not enough for so many families, because there was probably about maybe 20, maybe 25 families in the bunker. So, at night, I remember we took this dry stuff, and try to find kitchen in the burned houses. They are very vivid pictures in my memory, because quiet, everything burned down, and the moon, was still full moon probably, was the only source of light at that time. And cooking a meal in this hanging kitchen in the 3rd or the 4th floor in a burned down area completely. But those nights when we went out, it was again a possibility to find out how everything was destroyed, because everything around, the whole area, everything was burned. There was not one house left. And after these few weeks, suddenly one day, we heard sounds that indicated that somebody digging into the bunker. And after few hours we saw light, and obviously it was the Germans.

They are very vivid pictures in my memory, because quiet, everything burned down, and the moon, was still full moon probably, was the only source of light at that time. And cooking a meal in this hanging kitchen in the 3rd or the 4th floor in a burned down area completely. But those nights when we went out, it was again a possibility to find out how everything was destroyed, because everything around, the whole area, everything was burned. There was not one house left.

I asked Chat GPT to write a prompt from Helena C.'s testimony's first paragraph, to use in Dall-E.

Prompt: " Imagine a scene at the beginning of 1943, where people, sensing the looming end, decide to construct underground bunkers beneath their basements. These bunkers were vast spaces designed to provide shelter for months on end. Visualize the preparation that went into these havens, including the stockpiling of dry food like pasta and dried Challas that could be stored for extended periods. Picture the discovery of a well within the bunker, a crucial resource for survival. Envision the organization of the bunker, featuring an essential area with an oven and a well, followed by a long corridor reminiscent of a prison, with small compartments serving as beds. See everyone lying down, but also visualize a central iron oven, serving as a fireplace, where people could gather, sit, and engage in conversations. Use your imagination to illustrate this unique and resilient underground living experience."