Eva Lišková

“I realized where we were as soon as they opened those railway cars. They immediately started shouting at us. We were thirsty and hungry and I remember that it was raining just as we got out of those cars and my dad saw eaves from which water was dripping and he wanted to go get a drink there, only to be horribly punched in the back. But this was not done by an SS-man, it was a prisoner, some commander. I just saw my daddy being hit, being beaten and this is unforgettable. And such shouting, dogs barking, children crying… I cannot describe it. Just telling this to you sends shivers down my spine. This was simply the first moment in Auschwitz – me seeing them beating my dad.”

“I think the worst part was when we returned and found out we were alone. That all of our relatives were gone. From the big family of ours only my mom, my sister and my cousin survived. This cousin lost a husband, her parents and her sister. She simply returned just to be on her own. When we found out we moved together and tried to stick together. Our grandfather had also returned. He survived Terezín and was ninety-six years old when he died in Poděbrady in a Jewish old peoples’ home. He outlived his three sons in Terezín.”