Charyton's Holocaust Memoir - Loading the Trains

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Charyton's Holocaust Memoir

Loading the Trains
I got to the train station and stopped between posts [13]. Before me, there was a square crowded full of people waiting for the others to arrive. The scene of loading was shocking. The people were being pushed like cattle to slaughter. They were beaten and pushed by horses. [Original Page 4] They crawled all over each other's heads --losing clothing, shoes, headgear [14]-- and were loaded quickly-– within 7 - 10 minutes.

In other days a train like that was loaded all day by a few hundred people. [15] The doors of the boxcars were locked by heavy bars and the locomotive pulled them in a known direction, Nach Treblinka [16].

Translator's Notes:

[13] Posts: likely telegraph/telephone poles.

[14] Headgear may refer to the religious articles or simply hats and other headcoverings.

[15] As given in the original. The meaning or implication is not clear.

[16] Nach Treblinka German: Towards Treblinka. It seems very unlikely that the author knew at the time the destination of the trains; probably, he added this later on, after the war.

Page Last Updated: 22-Dec-2009