Zigi

Today I had the privilege of meeting, listening to and photographing this fine gentleman.

Arriving at Auschwitz

The sky was hazy and there was a terrible smell. From a distance we saw
chimneys with smoke coming out. At that time we didn’t realize what it was but
rumours started spreading that it was a crematorium. I still didn’t know what that meant. We had to line up in front of the Germans for ‘selection’. Men and women were separated and taken to showers where we were made to undress, hand over our possessions such as spectacles and jewellery. Then we were shaved everywhere, disinfected and put in communal showers. We were given
striped suits with numbers on to wear. We did no work at all and were given black coffee and a slice of bread morning and evening. We slept three in a bunk,
three bunks high. The smell was unbearable.
 
an extract from 'Zigi's Story' by Zygmunt Shipper