Helen Wilkes

"It was very difficult they were no farmers, so uncle – we lived with uncle and aunt, he was from Horšovský Týn and knew a little bit about farming. His family were cattle dealers in Pilsner area, he knew about farming, he was able to fix things, but my parents knew nothing. The life was terribly difficult, we had no money at all. My parets first day bought a cow and the cow second day died, all the Canadians laugt, that stupid people ho didn ´t know the sick cow from a healthy cow. My mother was terrified of cows, she allways wore scarf around her head. She didn ´t want to touch them i remebrer her with this scarf. We lived in a primitive conditions, we had no indoor toilet, we had no running water, we had even no drinking water, we had a well, that was undrinkable. We had to bring every drop of water from elsewhere, we had no heat other than burning wood, we had no electricity in the house. Conditions were so primitive."

"He was in Terezín and than he was in Auschwitz, he survived. He thinks that it was i part because he worked for a company called Parik and his egineereing skills were needed the company hired him again after war, they gave him work. And he thinks that the nazis found his skills even in Terezín and Auschwitz, he was able to organize things, he was able to figure things out. They made use of him, ..they gave him more food so he was able to survive. His wife was a medical doctor Vera, the same thing, she used whenever skills she had even in this terrible conditions, to help other people. And again, I thought she died in Auschwitz, but my student was doing research it was another camp near she contracted on of these horible diseases she died trying to help people. It explains Arnolds devastation."