Jadwiga Chmielewski
Interview of Jadwiga Chmielewski
ML: So could you tell me how it all started? Start from the beginning when Germany invaded Poland .
JC: Well, Germany had many people in their army and they needed labor. All the men that usually did the work were off fighting. The Germans came into my town. They first started to take the young single men away. They'd take them on train to work in the camp. People were afraid of being taken away and sent to work. People were sent to work on farms, railroads, and factories. I was taken away in the summer of 1943.
ML: I see. Could you tell me a little about the barracks? About how many people were in a barrack?
JC: In my barrack there were about 20-30 people.
ML: So let's get on to the food. About how much were you fed each day?
JC: We were fed 3 meals every day.
ML: What usually did the meals consist of?
JC: You know it was mostly bread and soup. And water. But these weren't big meals. They were very small. Nothing like you'd eat today.
ML: That doesn't like a lot. They weren't trying to intentionally starve you were they?
JC: No no no no no no. You have to realize it was wartime. There wasn't much food to eat.
ML: Well did they make sure everybody had food?
JC: Yes. The food was given equally to everybody.
ML: Well tell me about your camp jobs? What would you do there?
JC: Well, we did what was needed. Like if they needed work on the railroad people were sent there, or if a farmer needed help people were sent there, or if a wagon needed to be fixed people were sent there, or if they needed work in a factory people were sent there.
ML: Wait they wouldn't send women and children to do that kind of work, would they?
JC: No. On the first day I went to go work on the train and the guard said to me, "Go away we don't need girls like you working here." Women and children would stay behind and work in the camp.
ML: You mentioned guards. Were the guards friendly to you?
JC: The guards were friendly. The guards never hurt anyone.
ML: Well what if people were not obeying guards then what would happen?
JC: There were never any major problems. But sometimes you know boys can get rough with each other. If boys would get rough then there was a cell in the main office of the camp where they'd lock up those boys.
ML: Do you know how the guards felt about the Hitler movement?
JC: Nope. I don't know how they felt.
ML: In your camp were people separated from their families?
JC: No. They would put all the single women in one barrack, all the single men in another, and then all the families in another.
ML: Just to backtrack a bit. How did your parents die? I know you told me once but I forget what you said. Were they killed by the Germans?
JC: No. They died of disease. My mom in 1940 and my dad in 1941. After they died I went and lived with a family from 1941-1943.
ML: During all of this, do you know how Poland was being led?
JC: Nope, I don't know about who Poland .
ML: So were you afraid when you were in the camp?
JC: Nope. I just lived one day at a time and I wanted the war to end.
ML: Out of curiosity, did you know anything about the Jews and the concentration camps?
JC: Nope. I didn't know about the Jews dying until after the war when I read about it in books.
ML: Did you know who Hitler was?
JC: I had heard his name, but I knew nothing about him.
ML: Now in your camp how mixed were you? Was it mostly Polish?
JC: The camp had many different people. There were Russians, Polish, German, and other people.
ML: How did you communicate with them? I remember you once told me that you learned some German.
JC: I picked up a little German and Russian. And at the time I also spoke Polish.
ML: Oh you spoke Russian that's pretty cool. You don't remember any of that now do you?
JC: No I forgot all of that.
ML: Did you know about the status of the war? Like did you know the Germans were losing?
JC: Yes I heard word from around the camp. Some guys they built a radio and hid it under the floor. I never saw the radio but word spread around the camp.
ML: Well do you remember when the Americans came for liberation?
JC: No I was sick with typhoid at that time and I was in the hospital. When they did come I was told about it by a healthy person.
ML: So if you were in the hospital then your camp must have had hospital care. Where did the doctors come from?
JC: We had one doctor who was Russian.
ML: Okay well tell me about the sleep you got at night. Did you have a normal amount of sleep?
JC: Yes. Usually about 8 hours of sleep a day. The days were long and we did hard work so sleep was needed.
ML: Oh, tell me about bathrooms at the camp. Did you have bathrooms? Also did you have running water?
JC: We had outhouses like the one at your uncle's cottage. We also had running water. I'm not sure exactly where the water came from.
ML: Well when the Americans came what happened to you next?
JC: They separated us out. And they sent us to the buildings where Germans lived during the war. Then I was sent to North America by the IRO.
ML: Okay now to backtrack again, you said you first entered Dachau . Well how did that work? How long were you in there?
JC: I was first taken to Dachau and then when I went in there, they decided to send me Augsburg .
ML: Okay I understand now. Well in all the books I've read I hear about disinfection. Did this happen when you entered Dachau ?
JC: Yeah we had that. When we entered they sent us to get showered. They put all the girls in one shower and all the boys in another shower.
ML: Were tattoos given here?
JC: No tattoos were given to us.
ML: Well did people call you by your name, or were you given a number?
JC: They didn't give us any numbers. They'd call us by our name.
ML: Were the men shaved during disinfection?
JC: I never noticed if any of the men were disinfected. I don't think they were.
ML: What happened after the disinfection?
JC: We would be sent to be placed somewhere. I was told I would be placed in Augsburg and I was after a few weeks.
ML: So did you guys receive showers in the camp?
JC: Yes. At night time a truck would come and take us to get showered.
ML: What did you do about soap?
JC: Soap was given to us every once in a while. I always kept my soap on my bed with my other stuff.
ML: Was your soap ever stolen?
JC: No.
ML: How much stuff did you have on your bed?
JC: Not much. I had a shirt and pants. Nothing much.
ML: At night in the camp were you cold?
JC: In the winter it was very cold. I slept with one blanket and a jacket.
ML: I found that your camp was owned by the railroad company. Did your camp build weapons?
JC: No. The camp next to us called Mescherschmidt had an airplane factory. But I never went there.
ML: You told my mom that you could enter the town of Augsuburg . How would that work?
JC: Well people had a tag on their clothes with a letter. That letter said what nationality you were, and that was what let you get into the town. I had a letter P.
ML: Could you leave the camp and go to the town any time you wanted to?
JC: If I had no work to do then I could go.
ML: What would you do in the town?
JC: I usually just go to the market and try to buy food from the farmers.
ML: How would you pay the farmers?
JC: The camp paid me a few marks. It wasn't anything special. Some of the farmers were mean and if we didn't have enough money they'd chase us off.
ML: Would you walk to town?
JC: Sometimes. Or most of the time I'd take a streetcar.
ML: Now I've been looking at your papers and I see the word auslanderlagger. What is that?
JC: Oh that's the German word for foreigner. They called us auslanderlagger.
ML: Was the camp dirty?
JC: No, it was well looked after by people.
ML: You know how in the movies where the camps always have those huge towers with spotlights. Did your camp have those?
JC: Yes. The lights were always turned on except for during the bombings.
ML: Wait you had bombings. Tell me about those.
JC: Well when Allie planes were coming to bomb there would be alarms that would go off. When the alarms went off people were to go to shelter. There would be many alarms and each one just meant that the planes got closer.
ML: They didn't bomb the camps did they?
JC: No. They always bombed the city Augsburg or the Mescherschmidt camp to destroy the airplane factory.
ML: Did a bomb ever get in your camp though?
JC: Once a bomb got extremely close but not inside the camp.
ML: Were there AA guns to shoot down the planes?
JC: No.
ML: What would happen if people were outside during the bombings?
JC: If people were stuck outside then in extreme situations there was a tunnel they would go to during the bombings. I was only in a tunnel once during a bombing.
ML: How loud were the bombs?
JC: The bombs were the loudest things I've ever heard.
ML: What would you do during the bombings?
JC: I'd run to my bed and hide there.
ML: Were you ever truly afraid?
JC: No because I said the more bombings then the sooner the war would end.
ML: Did other people have the same attitude?
JC: Some did and some were really afraid.
ML: Okay well when were most bombings. I've been told attacks are always at night or in the morning. Was this true for the bombings around your camp?
JC: Yes. Bombings were at morning or at night.