These roads consisted of such places as:
- the Gestapo headquarters in Warsaw
- Pawiak prison in Warsaw
- the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp
- the Mauthausen, Gusen I and Gusen II concentration camps.
I was brought to this place in a railway carriage on 5 October 1943 and tagged with number 156569 tattooed on the inside of my left forearm. At the Mauthausen and Gusen I camps, I received the following numbers: 4491 and 45332.
The number from Auschwitz has existed for 77 years and is still legible. It is a living witness to unforgettable tragic events. I remember!
In Auschwitz-Birkenau
- I remember driving living naked women in trucks from the barracks to the gas chamber. I can hear their screams in my subconscious mind when I recall these events.
- I recall people nicely-dressed, wearing the Star of David armbands and walking around with no signs of anxiety or fear. A large group of these people were led by just one SS officer. He led them in the direction of the
crematorium. However, only me and a few prisoners standing next to me knew about it.
- I was the "object" of the periodic selection of prisoners from my barrack upon returning from work. After the evening food ration was dispensed, the designated prisoners were led to the crematorium.
In Gusen I and Gusen II
I was a witness to
- Death penalties for observing the rules of one's religion.
- The killing of sick prisoners in the camp hospital by a functionary prisoner.
- The suicide of prisoners who threw themselves on the electrified barbed-wire fence of the camp.
- On the first day of freedom, I witnessed the drastic prisoner extra-judicial executions of functionary prisoners who killed other prisoners on orders from the camp authorities or because of their sadistic nature, which originated or manifested itself in camp conditions.
These are only selected examples.
To live a normal and creative life, I try not to think about the events of the camp. I found a way to achieve this: I put my memories in an airtight box, tied a rope to it and threw it into the water. I take it out occasionally, for instance, for today's ceremony, and after using its contents, I throw it back into the water.
However, once the echoes of the celebration cease, some memories overcome these defences, penetrate my memory, trigger reflections and unanswered questions.
When I say the Pater Noster prayer, I recite a verse: "Give us our daily bread today and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Does forgiveness of sin mean:
- forgetting the damage inflicted?
- refrain from imposing punishment?
- abandoning the right for compensation?
Can you forgive those who had the inscription "Gott mit uns" on the buckles of military belts and killed people with premeditation? I emphasise: with premeditation! Because war is the "art" of killing. Whoever kills more, wins.
War breeds violence on both sides; blurs the line between good and evil, and the victor dictates a law that is often cruel.
To avoid it, there must be reconciliation between nations.
Yet, reconciliation without historical truth and forgiveness will only be a bridge without a railing between the edges of a precipice - you can cross it, but not without fear.
Therefore, the moral obligation of all people gathered here is to undertake actions so that all nations can live in mutual respect and understanding.
Under these inhumane conditions that prevailed in Auschwitz and other concentration camps, the prisoners formed various underground organisations with the primary goal of protecting life and human dignity.