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The inmates of the Ebensee concentration camp gather at roll call place following the liberation of the camp. An American soldier took the photo

Chune Grinberg
Moshe Laor
Mendel Brown
Shimon Brown
Max Neuman
Itzik Goldberg
Shlomo Goldberg
Kuba Fuhrer
David Markus
Shmuel Salomon
Mendel Aftergut
Mosdhe Chayes
Nehemia Sheingit
Markus Fridenbach
Moshe Osteryoung
Romek Gut–Hollander
Asher Brandstern
Chune Elzner
Shimon Folkman
Shlomek Wolf
Mordechai Lustig
Benyamin Hausenshtock
Lulek Bittersfeld and father.

I later discovered that Lulek Bittersfeld and his father were also liberated but were at the hospital in Ebensee where they were treated for typhus.

Following the American roll call, we all ran to the S.S. warehouses looking for food. We found small quantities of sugar and imitation coffee. We returned to the main camp and American soldiers invited us to join them in the hunt for S.S. men that had run the camp. Indeed, some of the guards were caught. One S.S. man was brought to the gate of the camp despite the fact that he had already managed to change clothes. He was recognized by one of the camp inmates. The inmates decided to kill him on the spot by permitting the inmates to beat him. They stretched him out on a board near the gate and everybody began to hit him until he was killed. A sign was written that read “Heil Hitler.” The sign was placed in his hand and a bayonet was placed in the other hand.

The Americans began to organize a kitchen to cook food for the inmates. The soup was loaded with solid foods and the inmates began to gorge themselves with the food. But they were no longer accustomed to such rich foods. Some inmates died since their intestines could not absorb the rich food. I was lucky that I took small portions and managed to digest them. I looked about and saw on top of the American tanks boxes of combat rations. I took some as did other inmates. We of course did not know what they contained. Romek Gut knew a bit of English and he read the content labels on the boxes and also the instructions on how to prepare the food. We organized a group that began to prepare our meals for the day. In the following days, we continued to live off the combat rations that we removed from the tanks.

The Americans forced the entire population of the township including the mayor and other important officials of the nearby Ebensee city to march to the concentration camp to witness the horrible scenes of masses of dead, naked bodies scattered all over the place. They started to dig mass graves and carried the bodies and buried them outside the camp. The Americans brought nurses from the hospital of the nearby city of Shteinkugel who began to care for the sick inmates. Some of the inmates that were afflicted with typhus or other serious diseases were taken to the hospital while others began to be treated on the spot.

A few of the Sandz survivors organized themselves into a small group that functioned as a unit. I took upon myself the position of cook and began to prepare the meals. Other members began to search the area for food. I cooked many soups and other items to help build the strength of the survivors. We then moved as a group to the Polish section of the camp. There were many civilian Polish citizens in the camp. They were brought to work mainly in agriculture. Of course there were also many Polish inmates who survived the war in the camp. We all began to travel in all directions to see the area. Once, my friend and I reached the city of Wels near Linz where the American military police arrested us. We had no papers or identification. We looked suspicious or perhaps they did not like us or our clothing. We wore “Hitler Jugend” or Nazi youth clothing. We spent the night in jail and the next morning we were freed by the officer who might have been Jewish. We returned to the camp and I went to the office to get some identification

Identification paper stating that I was an inmate of the Mauthousen concentration camp

A short period of time elapsed and Jewish soldiers from the Palestinian Jewish Brigade arrived at the camp. We did not believe our eyes when we saw the shoulder pads with the word “Palestine” and the Star of David. They talked to us in Yiddish and urged us to register to go to Palestine. They promised to help us get to Palestine. They left the camp and soon those who had signed up to go to Palestine received packages from the Red Cross. I had signed my name and picked up my package. The Jewish soldiers returned to their base in Italy.

Most of Italy had been liberated by the British 8th Army under the leadership of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Many of his soldiers were Palestinian Jews. The Jewish community in Palestine had volunteered to fight the Nazis as early as 1940. Over 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine were organized into three infantry battalions. The “Jewish Brigade” was established in late 1944 and was officially named the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, under the command of a career Jewish army officer, Brigadier Ernest F. Benjamin. The Haganah, the Jewish underground army in Palestine, ordered many Haganah men to volunteer for this brigade. These “volunteers” formed Haganah cells within the brigade, and took orders directly from the Haganah headquarters in Palestine.

The Jewish Brigade was deployed in Italy. One of the main Haganah officers in the Jewish Brigade was Captain Aaron Ishai Hooter; another was Sergeant Mordecai Surkiss. As the troops marched through Italy, these two men instructed their Haganah cells to be on the lookout for Italian Jewish survivors. These survivors, seeing the Star of David on the Jewish Brigade soldiers' shoulders, came out of hiding, ragged, hungry, desperate. Hooter and Surkiss helped organize support systems for these survivors, everything from small dispensaries to soup kitchens, all using British supplies and facilities. The Brichah movement was primarily interested in moving the Jews out of Europe to Palestine by any and all means. The Jewish Brigade and the Brichah began to work closely to get Jews to Palestine. These two organizations were soon joined by another organization called the “Mossad.” This was a secret organization created by the Jewish Agency to smuggle Jews to Palestine illegally. The leader of the Mossad was Shaul Avigur. Shaul was born in Russia and brought as a child to Palestine. He devoted himself to military matters and joined the Haganah. He was appointed to head the Mossad. He personally selected his agents who were sent to Europe. He established an effective organization that worked closely with the Brichah, the America Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Brigade. All of the groups were very active and cooperated in Italy and throughout Europe.

Shaul Avigur

The war's end found many of these Jewish soldiers stationed at Treviso, near the triangle of Italy, Yugoslavia and Austria. As they received passes to travel through the surrounding countries, they encountered more survivors, and many were faced for the first time with the harsh truth of the Nazi horrors in the concentration camps. Some of the soldiers, if they could, smuggled individual survivors to the brigade camp. There, in Yiddish, these survivors told their tragic tales, shocking their fellow Jews with news of the Nazi atrocities. The details of the locations of the concentration camps were passed on to the Haganah. Captain Aaron Ishai Hooter and his staff then set out from the British camp in Treviso in search of the Jewish survivors in the concentration camps, in Austria and the British sector of Germany. Hooter and his men soon found Jewish survivors at Bergen Belsen, Mauthausen and other liberated concentration camps that were now displaced persons camps run by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).

Once Hooter and his associates reported back to Arazi that survivors existed in the concentration camps, Arazi notified his home office in Jerusalem. Arazi was then quickly ordered to remove any survivors he could and bring them to Italy. When the Jewish soldiers reported the existence of Jewish survivors at the Ebensee concentration camp, the order was given to bring them to Italy. This was easier said than done, since the Ebensee concentration camp was in the American military zone in Germany. The rescuers had to cross the British zone of occupation in Germany in order to get to the American zone. Many military forged papers had to be made before the rescue mission could start. The Jewish brigade made all the preparations and one day Jewish brigade soldiers appeared at the Ebensee

Jewish survivors of Ebensee concentration camp thank the local United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration camp representative, Edward Crommelin, for the help and guidance he gave them after the war. He was assigned to the Ebensee concentration camp that later became the Ebensee displaced persons camp

I did not feel like going to Palestine and went to the men's room until the Jewish brigade left with some of the Jewish survivors. I was never a Zionist and I came from a very religious and Hasidic background that was opposed to Zionism. Palestine did not appeal to me. I wanted to live; I had suffered enough during the war. I was not going to a forsaken desert place to waste my life. I was not the only surviving Jew to remain in the camp although my name was recorded as wanting to go to Palestine.

Romek Gut, Kuba Fuhrer, myself and two Poles from Warsaw, Poland decided to head back to Poland. There were no regular trains or buses. The few transportation lines were reserved for military personnel. So we decided to hitchhike through the villages and small towns of the area. Wherever we reached, we went to the local chief and presented our identifications and asked for sleeping accommodations and food coupons. Most of them obliged. I had two identity cards: one in the name of Markus Lustig and the other one in the name of Markus Kannengisser. In our wanderings, we reached the hamlet of Ried where we met some of the inmates of the Schindler camp. The latter took over a house that contained a restaurant. The place belonged to a Nazi. The survivors opened the restaurant and it soon became a center of lively encounters between the survivors and the local girls. The American military police soon closed the place for violating the non–fraternization order of the American military army. This order prohibited the mingling of the American soldiers with the local population. We spent one night at the place and continued our journey to Mitmach, then to Assbach. Finally we reached the town of Braunau where we stayed at the local school. There was a nearby restaurant where we ate, since we had food coupons. We remained a few says at the place. Romek Gut, Kub Fuhrer and the two Poles decided to head to Poland. I decided to return to the Ebensee camp. I had no wish to return to Poland at the time.

Mordechai Lustig with his concentration cap following his liberation on May 6, 1945

In July of 1945, I was getting tired of doing nothing and standing on line to get food but I continued my excursions. I came across a huge parking area full of American tanks and saw the soldiers standing on line for their meals. The man standing behind the counter distributing the food was familiar. I suddenly remembered the face of the man who gave me some potato purée for the water that I was bringing to his restaurant in the ghetto of Rzeszow following my discharge from the local hospital. I waited until he distributed the food and approached him. He was glad to see me and likewise. He was dressed as an American soldier. I asked him to help me get a job, any job. He told me that he would speak with his supervisor. The supervisor was a sergeant. The American sergeant came over and brought a shirt and other clothing as well as a bar of soap. He told me in English to wash the clothing and to come the next day. I came as ordered. He gave me a military uniform that consisted of a shirt, pants, shoes and a hat. I started to work with my Jewish acquaintance and a young Polish fellow at distributing the food. They lived near the eating place and had a record player with many French records that they played. At the end of the day, I returned to my camp to sleep. The following week the tank regiment moved to permanent quarters in the city of Ablsberg near Klein Munich. I moved with the regiment and left the Jewish camp. At the new base I received a room and everything that the American soldiers received. I even received a footlocker. Everything was neat and arranged. The building also had a kitchen and dining rooms where officers ate. I assisted the cooks in preparing the meals for the next day. The kitchen prepared three meals a day that were served each day. We also had to clean the dining rooms. Every morning we served a slightly different breakfast. One morning we served scrambled eggs, or eggs with bacon, or cereals, or toast and the bread was like challa, juices, soft drinks and all kinds of desserts. Despite the abundance of food, I continued to received packages from the Red Cross. At the end of August, the tank regiment left Austria and I was left alone in the barrack. An infantry company, number 259, soon arrived. It was in turn replaced by another infantry company, number 331 of the 83 unit, that remained until February 1946 when the unit was replaced by a transport unit of trailers that distributed supplies through the occupied areas. I remained at the barrack until I left for Germany.

Near the barracks was a big stable with horses that Hungarian refugees tended. The farm belonged to a high ranking Nazi and was now the property of the American army. Next to the farm stood many small houses where people from different countries lived. There were also barracks where Poles lived. The American army took some of the barracks and converted them to a social center where dances were held for the troops. Each evening a band played dance music and the soldiers entertained themselves. Drinks were served liberally. Among the inhabitants of the barracks were Hungarian gypsies who organized an excellent band that played beautiful music. Close to the base was a forest that contained military bunkers that contained weapons and ammunition. The American soldiers had to guard the forest and see to it that nobody entered it. They also guarded the bridges leading to the city.

As mentioned earlier, the tank unit left and was replaced by an infantry unit. I again worked in the kitchen. I then was assigned to care for four officers. I set their table in the dining room and brought them their food and removed their dishes. I also had to tend to their room. One of the officers had a girl friend and I had to bring her food. Units came and units went but I continued with my job of tending to officers. During my off duty hours, I promenaded in the city and saw a nice girl. We exchanged looks and smiles and approached each other. We started to exchange words and began to kiss. This was the first sweet kiss that I received after so many years. Her name was Helene and her family were Yugoslavs. We continued to meet and talk. She told me that she lived near the barracks and that she had two sisters and parents. She also told me that the family was practically starving. Yet we threw out large amounts of food at our military kitchen. I decided to bring some food like cooking oil or meat. Everything was accepted gracefully. I invited Helene and her sister Olga to the evening dances. Helene was sixteen and a half, Olga was eighteen and a half, and the youngest sister was twelve and a half.

At the evening dances, rum, Coke, whiskey and cognac were served to the servicemen. The two sisters took me to the dance floor but I never danced and did not know the dance steps. Following some liquor shots, I lost my inhibitions and began to move on the floor. The dance floor attracted many soldiers, among them a red–haired soldier who worked in the kitchen next to me. The latter became jealous that I was having a good time with the girls and he yelled at me and threw a knife at me. I ducked and missed the knife. I complained to the officer in charge and he was reprimanded. Then he and his two friends grabbed me and sat me do down on a chair. They poured half a bottle of whiskey down my throat and left. I was stewed drunk and did not know what happened. Eventually I managed to reach my barrack and I was given black coffee. The next morning everything was over.

Among the various American units there were some Jews; the tank outfit had a Jew and there were three Jews in the infantry unit but most of them only spoke English. I encountered one Jewish American soldier from Brooklyn who spoke Yiddish and I could converse with him. All soldiers spoke English. There were some soldiers from Chicago, Illinois, who knew a bit of Polish. I was picking up English fast but was still unable to converse in the language. In the Polish barracks I met Victor, a Pole from Warsaw. He had a motorcycle with a boat. He took me for a ride on his bike and we were almost involved in an accident. I spent some evenings with him and we spoke about Poland. I bought some cameras from the Poles. Within these barracks, some people opened a night club where there was dancing nightly. I visited the place, drank vodka and met lots of girls from different countries: Poles, Czechs, White Russians, Austrians and Yugoslavs. They taught me to dance. I had a fabulous time and tried to make up time for the years that I lost.

At the stable I used to take horses to ride, sometimes solo and sometimes with the military personnel. I went pheasant and rabbit hunting with some officers and in the winter we hunted deer. In the summer we went on picnics and carried on. In one of the barracks next to the officer's club lived a Polish woman with a baby. I met her on several occasions and we had a good time. Once I visited her and suddenly there was loud banging on the door. Apparently, the lady had another boyfriend and by his shouting voice I recognized him as an American soldier who served in our unit. I grabbed my belongings and left the place by jumping through the window while the woman kept shouting, “I am coming to open the door.” She finally opened the door but I was no longer there. Outside it was dark and cloudy. The soldier was drunk, angry and shouting. He probably slapped her about.

Once, a Polish woman was hired by our company commander to work as a dishwasher. The officer asked me to arrange for her living quarters and whatever she needed. I took her to the stable house where there were rooms and fixed her room. She began to work in our unit. On occasion I visited her and we spent time. She later met an older Yugoslav man and married him. I still continued to visit her and spent time with her while her husband was cleaning the kitchen ovens. But the relationship waned with time since I had guilt feelings about spending time with a married woman. I began to rationalize that I did not need this relationship for I had other women. Besides, I started to think about myself and what I was doing and what I hoped to do.

I received many gifts from the American officers to whom I served meals or cleaned their rooms. Most of the gifts were items that had been confiscated from the Nazis. One officer gave me a gift of a bicycle that gave me mobility.

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