I Was A Doctor In Auschwitz by Dr. Gisella Perl

Author:Dr. Gisella Perl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gisella, Perl, Doctor, Auschwitz, Nazi, Nazis, Jew, Jews, Jewish, WWII, WW2, Concentration camp
Published: 1948-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

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lier indomitable life-instinct—at a place where thesky was always aglow from burning human bodies;where life had so little value and security; where every-one yearned for death, this woman kept on being sofrantically attached to life. What did it matter if shewas covered with lice, if she was hungry, if she wascold? She stood erect at roll call and believed in life.

In Auschwitz there were no handkerchiefs, notowels, no tooth-brushes—not even a piece of paper.And the lack of these caused so much suffering, somuch disaster! (Even today when I hold a handkerchiefin my hand, I fondly stroke it and cherish it as thewonderous fulfillment of a deep and great desire).

The camp existence taught us a lot of tricky con-trivances. For our noses trickled sometimes, ourmouths and teeth were coated with filth every morn-ing, and the lower parts of our bodies had to be cleaneddaily. But we had nothing that would serve that pur-pose. As all who wished to keep alive had to be in-genious, a strange custom continued to prevail in thewhole camp—the custom of tearing tiny squares ofmaterial off our shirts and using them to clean ourbodies.

Lily also soon learned the use of her chemise, thevalue of the small, torn-off rags. However, towards theend of the summer not much of her chemise was left,lor she could not be thrifty. One fine day an S.S. guardaccosted her, jerked up her dress and behold, onlyher shoulder straps were there, with just a strip of therest of what once was a chemise!

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Doctor In Auschwitz

“You revolutionary swine! You thief! Where isthe camp chemise?” and blows poured down upon herfrom whip and stick! When Lily came to me at ourdaily encounter in the “ambulance”, she was coveredall over with blood. There she stood waiting in herusual corner and on that day, in my reeking ambulance, she gave her first concert! She sang La Traviataheavenly, exquisitely, and I smiled my encouragementmore intensely than ever. From that day on I had totake even better care of her.

When autumn came, the camp was to be partly“liquidated”. Our S.S. chief, under excuse of “selection”, speeded up mass murder. Lily’s life became thatof a hunted animal. She ran from one block to another.One day Block 28-29 was selected, half of its inmatesdispatched to the crematory; so Lily hid and the Russian girl in charge, the Blockova, let her stay there because she sang arias so beautifully. But next day thesame block was “selected” again. There was no restfor Lily any more—no rest anywhere.

She wandered from one block to another, singingher arias to obtain right of asylum. But all blocks hada definite and limited number of inmates. She despe-rately wanted to live, to escape the eyes of Mengerleand his death-dealing hands. But the ring tightene dmore and more. Hiding became impossible. Lilyshrank to a shadow of her former self, of that once love-ly woman. What hunger and filth had not been able to

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