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The bicycle gave me a great deal of freedom of movement. I went frequently to Linz where I soon located a Jewish D.P. camp called Binder–Michael. The camp consisted of several buildings that belonged to the Nazi party. Most of the inhabitants were camp inmates who survived the Shoah in the nearby concentration camps. They were soon joined by surviving relatives or friends from other camps. I visited the camp and met some Jews from Sandz like Romek Gut–Hollander, Berek Hirshtel, Benyamin Hausenshtock, and some of the Friedman brothers. We reminisced and took pictures. Nobody had any plans but none of us wanted to stay in Austria in the camp. Meanwhile UNRRA provided food and shelter.

Following the war, there were hundreds of thousands of refugees in Germany and Austria that were forced laborers that Germany brought to keep the Germany economy going. Some of them were survivors of the concentration camps. Amongst them were about 50,000 Jewish concentration camp survivors. UNRRA repatriated most of the refugees to their native countries except for a hard core of refugees that refused to return home for fear of political retribution, religious persecution and past scores. Most of the Jewish surviving inmates refused to return to their native places, except the Jews from Western countries like France, Belgium and Holland. The few that ventured back home soon returned to their camps and described the terrible reception that they received from their neighbors upon arriving back home. The hostility and brutality that these survivors faced and the constant fear for their lives forced them to return to their camps where they lingered hoping to get to a Western country. Getting entrance visas to these countries was not easy, the HIAS ( Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) organization, an American Jewish society, helped with the necessary legal paper work but most countries did not want Jewish camp survivors. The medical tests that were administered to potential immigrants eliminated most camp survivors.

Transport of Polish Jews leaving Nachod (Czechoslovakia) camp on their way to the Austrian or German D.P. camps.

The “Bricha”–or escape movement organization started in Poland or prewar Polish areas and spread throughout liberated Eastern Europe.

The aim of the organization was to evacuate the surviving Jews from Europe and bring them all “home” to Palestine. Most of the Bricha members were young Zionists who had survived the Holocaust. Some were discharged Jewish soldiers from the Polish and Russian armies, others, partisans and concentration camp survivors. The Bricha founders and early leaders were Eliezer Lidowsky, Abba Kovner, Shmuel Amarant and Itzhak Tzuckerman. They were Zionist–oriented Shoah survivors who dreamt of heading to Palestine. But this was much easier said than done. In order to accomplish their goal, the Bricha leaders began to clandestinely organize in small groups, exploring safe southern routes to Romania, where they hoped to board ships and head to Palestine. The task was arduous and fraught with danger. The Russian security forces were on their trail. The Soviets were not interested in giving Jews the idea that they could leave the growing Soviet Union. Like theater owners the Soviets wanted to keep the theater full with the exit doors sealed.

The original Bricha group managed to reach Bucharest, the capital of Romania, where the Jewish emissaries recently arrived from Palestine to help them organize. The hope was that these homeless people would be brought to Palestine where they would find a safe home. These contacts between the Bricha and the Palestinian emissaries in Rumania resulted in the establishment of a regular route through some newly acquired Soviet areas as well as through Communist controlled Rumania. As the weeks and months went by the stops along this route became more defined and varied in order to elude the Russian police. The numbers of people joining the

Map of Eastern Europe drawn according to the borders established by the allied powers in 1945. Notice the Bricha route that starts in Wilno, Lithuania and reaches Czernowitz on the Romanian border and then the Black Sea. Illegal Bricha centers existed in Wilno, Rovno, Lwow and Czernowitz (Cernauti).

It wasn't long before Romania stopped being a way station to Palestine, partly because of the impossible terrain, partly because Romanian authorities tightened the border crossings, partly because the Russian secret police took more control of the borders and in Czernowitz even managed to arrest several Bricha groups, and partly due to the shortage of ships. All Rumanian and Bulgarian ships were nationalized by the Communist governments. The most serious problem, however, was what to do with the refugees once they reached Romania? How to get them to Palestine? The Bricha had access to only a few ships willing to risk sailing to Palestine. British government agents had warned ship owners that their vessels would be confiscated and crews jailed if the ships were caught near Palestine. The Bricha began the search for other possible routes to get these Jewish refugees out of Eastern Europe. We already mentioned earlier that the Bricha worked hand in hand with the Mossad and the Jewish Brigade in Italy to transport Jews from the camps to Italy and then to Palestine. Jews to Palestine.

I often visited the Binder – Michael camp where I could converse with my friends at ease in Yiddish. We had similar fears, hopes and ambitions. We wanted to get out of Austria. Once, my friend Berek Hirshtal asked me to give him a ride on my bicycle to visit his girlfriend who was recuperating at the local hospital from war traumas. It so happened that I had some dry fruits and other goodies in my pockets so that I could give her something. Her name was Tushka and she was a beautiful girl. My friend was in love with her and shortly after her discharge from the hospital, they married.

Meanwhile, the old American regiment moved out of the barracks and was replaced by a very big engineering unit. All refuges who lived near the barracks were moved to a refugee camp in Anas near the hamlet of Stayer Mark. Helena's family was also moved there. I went to visit them at times. Then at the end of 1945, the family was moved to a barrack in Eblsberg.

I was paid by the American military authorities for my work in scrips that were not really currency but could be exchanged at the military facilities. I traded a bit in dollars at the Binder–Michael camp and managed to save some money. When Austria devaluated the currency, my account was frozen with 6000 marks in it.

For the New Year celebration of 1946, I prepared a special celebration for my officers. The table was set and I (Mordechai Lustig) waited on them. They were very pleased and the next day we took some pictures with the officers. The unit left in February 1946 and was replaced by a big unit. The latter built a fuel station and established a big garage. They also installed an entrance gate and a guard house to check the flow of traffic to and from the station. I was moved to the farm house near the stable where there were many rooms. This new company assigned me to work at the gas station and then as a guard registering the licenses of the entering and leaving vehicles. I was issued a weapon and writing material. Once I took a military jeep for a ride and hit the corner of a building. The front of the vehicle was bent but the matter was dismissed. Some of the officers who lived near me decided to open a disco in

Mordechai Lustig on guard duty at the American military base

I was now in charge of cleaning the hall and making all the necessary preparations for the nightly events. I had to see to it that all the tables had table cloths and were neatly arranged. I had to check that there were ample supplies of beverages like beer, coke, whiskey, and cognac for the clients. Clean sheets had to be provided for the nearby empty rooms as well as contraceptives. The officers managed to bring a piano to the club. The club was a success and many girls visited the place. I had a very good time.

One day, I started to think seriously about my present situation. What would happen to me? What am I doing? I remembered that I had an uncle in Sao Paolo, Brazil who left Poland prior to World War Two. He lived at Sao Paulino Street. I later discovered the correct address was Jose Paulino. I told the officers about the situation and they sent a military cable to San Paulo. The civilian mail was still not organized in Austria. The cable was addressed to Chaim Lustig, Sao Paulino Street, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A few days later, I received a reply from my uncle with the exact address. I thanked the officers for their help. I was no longer alone. I had some family. My mother's brother was alive. We began to write to each other and he informed me that he wanted me to come to Brazil. He wrote me that he already contacted the agency in Brazil that handles these legal papers. Chaim also wrote me that my aunt Primet Mastebaum, her husband Yehuda and their daughter Sheindeleh survived the Shoah and are now in Italy. He also wrote me that my cousin Nathan Lustig who escaped to Russia was now in the British Army stationed in the British military zone in Germany. We began to write to each other. We kept in touch until I left the American military base and he was discharged from the army.

I continued to work at the base. With the arrival of the summer, the sergeant in charge of the kitchen gave me a new job that consisted in traveling through the country side and exchanging coffee, cigarettes and chocolates for potatoes, apples, and apple cider. The exchanges were successful. I even took potatoes and apples to the parents of Helena at their barrack in Anas. Helena and Olga came to visit me at my base and once they overstayed their time. The curfew went into effect and they could not return back to their camp. They spent the night in my room where there was only one bed. We managed somehow to sleep all three in the bed. Olga continued to visit me until she found a Hungarian book and got involved with the book.

June 6, 1946, I took liberty from work. It was the anniversary of my liberation from the Ebensee concentration camp. I went to Bad–Ishel where some of my Jewish acquaintances from Sandz resided: Shimon and Mendel Braun, Max Neuman, and Chuna Grinberg. We toasted our luck that we had survived and continued to drink and reminisce. They asked me what are you doing and I answered I am having a ball. I have riding horses, a night club and women.

Shimon Braun had a gorgeous blond Austrian girlfriend. While riding one day to a picnic with American soldiers, I noticed Shimon and his girlfriend next to my farm house. I could not stop the jeep and get off. So I continued to ride with the soldiers until the picnic ground and then took the jeep and returned to my place where I met the couple waiting. I took them to my room where they spent an entire week and used all the available facilities of the base including the horses. Two weeks later, I was still in bed when someone knocked at the door. I asked who it was. She answered: “ I am Shimon's girlfriend.” I opened the door and let her in. She remained for one week with me. During the day we rode horses, in the evening I was at a

In August of 1946, I received a postal card from the HIAS organization that I was to meet their representative on November 4, 1946 at the Linz railway station with all the papers that Chaim Lustig sent from Brazil. To get these papers was very difficult since most South American countries closed their doors to the Jewish survivors. There were so many obstacles placed for the entrance that it was almost impossible to get entrance visas. Chaim Lustig must have had good connections to get entrance papers. I was told that the train would transit Germany and France where it would continue to my destination. I began to prepare myself for the long trip. I requested the Austrian treasury to free my 6000 frozen marks since I was leaving the country. I bought a suitcase and a backpack. The day of the departure Helena came to see me. I gave her the key to my place and everything within. We said good–bye; she cried. The military jeep came and drove to the railway station where I boarded the train. The transport consisted of Jews heading to many places like Brazil, Argentina, Guatemala and other places.

The train started to roll towards Germany. In the morning we arrived in Munich, Germany. The HIAS representatives awaited us and took us by cars to a special camp called Funk–Kaserna that was once a communication base of the German army. The camp now belonged to UNRRA that provided food, lodgings and all other necessities. From this camp refugees went all over the globe. Each inhabited block had a manager and an assistant to accommodate the arrivals. There were also sport facilities at the camp as well as many offices. The camp was closed and there was a guard at the entrance to check papers. One had to have the necessary documents to enter the camp. On arrival we were assigned to quarters based on our destination. I was given a large room with three childless couples who were heading to Brazil. We received beds, blankets and food from the main kitchen.

I left for Munich and went to the center of the city where the Jewish community had its office on Mehl Street. The place also contained the offices of HIAS and the American Joint. I soon discovered that near my camp there was another UNRRA camp called Neu Freiman where an old neighbor from Sandz lived. Celina or Cesia Goldberger was her name. I went to visit her and found her at home. In Sandz we called them Ferleiger. She was already married to Naphtali Goldman. I arrived just in time for the circumcision ceremony of her son. He was given a Hebrew name but was called Maxi. I have remained in touch with the couple until now. Two of her brothers, Shlomo and Itzi Goldberger were also in Germany.

The head of the Jewish community in Munich was Zvi Teler who survived the war in the Soviet Union. He was a Sandzer Jew. He was the one who gave my father the key to his apartment and warehouse when he left Sandz prior to the German arrival to the city. We were very glad to reminisce about our past. My lodging at the camp was soon changed to a smaller room with

several lodgers: a Jew named Shtaier, a Spanish Christian, an Egyptian named Fuad, and a Moroccan named Eli, most of them non–Jews. We got along very well. Time passed and we already reached 1947. The winter of 1947 was a cold winter. We sat and played cards. The room was heated with wood provided by UNRRA. We had many visitors including girls and spent our time. One of the girls was from Belgium and she asked me whether I wanted to have my palm read. I replied in the affirmative. She then read my palm and said that I was supposed to cross a large ocean but this will not take place. My palm indicated that I would cross a small body of water. I was furious. I wanted to spit her in the face. I was determined to go to Brazil and so much effort was spent on the project and suddenly someone tells me that I am not going to Brazil where I planned to live. Of course, the girl read the cards and interpreted them for me. It was not her decision but what the cards indicated. She was on her way to meet her boyfriend in Belgium. Meanwhile we got acquainted and enjoyed each other's company. She even showed me her letters to her boyfriend. We met until she left for Belgium.

At the time Munich had two restaurants. One of them served camp inmates and students and the other one served business people. Of course the first restaurant was much cheaper; lunch was 20 marks and in the second restaurant the same meal cost 70 marks. At the first restaurant I met Aaron and Zvi Berliner from Sandz. We were very happy to meet and talked about old days. At the second restaurant named Piccadilly I met Moshe Dershewitz who changed his name to Max Berger. I studied with him in my youth. Each day I would travel to the Munich center where I went to the movies, to the theater, and to shows. The tickets were rather cheap. I also discovered that my friend Kuba Fuhrer who was liberated with me from the Ebensee concentration camp lived in Munich. I went to see him. At his place, I once

Oskar Schindler

On occasions I went to the Brazilian consulate in Munich to inquire about my status. I was supposed to get an entrance permit to Brazil for I had all the necessary papers. Every time I received the same laconic reply: it would take time until it arrived. Meanwhile UNRRA opened another camp near Geretstrid. The camp was beautiful and probably belonged to a German noble family. Some of the families that came from Austria moved to the camp. The old place was practically deserted. I moved to the new camp with three other Jews; two were brothers and the fellow named Shtayer. All three were on the road to Australia. They were hardly at the place. They were involved in commercial affairs. Next door to us moved in Katie Fersteig who was of Dutch origin. We started to socialize and went to Munich where we saw movies, theater performances and night shows. We led a very happy and careless life until I left Germany. I still maintained letter contact with Helena in Austria.

Sandzer Jews attend memorial service held in 1947 in Munich for the murdered Jews of Sandz. Mordechai Lustig has his hand in his pocket. He is wearing white slacks and a grey jacket.

With the expanding agitation and fighting between the Palestinian Jews, the British soldiers and the Arabs, The Jewish Agency in Palestine decided to use the Jewish manpower reservoir bottled up in the refugee camps of Europe. All Jews D.P. camps were urged to conduct a campaign on behalf of joining the Haganah. Those who expressed interest were sent to draft board offices located in central points like Munich and Prague. Once they passed the physical and medical tests they were sent to special camps where they began military training. They would play an important military role in Israel's struggle for independence.

While in Munich I invited the girl that I had in Munich to come to my present camp. She came but could not enter the camp since she did not have the proper identification. I found a hole in the fence and we entered the

Kathie and myself at a picnic at the D.P. camp in Germany

November 27 1947, I heard that the United Nations granted the Jews a state. The radio also reported that bitter fighting was taking place in Palestine. The paper described the situation as grim. I suddenly had a change of heart. Maybe I should drop the idea of going to Brazil where I do not seem to be wanted and head to Palestine. Thoughts began to flow through my mind. On Chanukah we had a big party at our camp when Yanek Brawer shoed up unexpectedly. I was very pleased and kept in contact until he went to the USA. He then stopped the correspondence. Contact between us resumed when he came to Israel to participate in a memorial service for the Jews of Sandz. Near our camp was the D.P. camp of Fohrenwald where I met Beck who was related our landlord in Sandz. He told me that Itzi Sheinfeld, his son Zvi and his daughter Gusta survived the war in the Soviet Union and are presently in Berlin. In January, my landlord informed me that his son was coming home from the prison of war camp in Belgium and would therefore need the room. But he told me not to worry; he already made arrangements for an apartment in a two story house. The place was furnished and gave us privacy.

Katie had a friend named Reggi Tressler who lived in Frankfurt. She invited her friend to come to visit her. She came and remained with us. We only had one bed in the room but we managed to sleep in one bed. Next to our camp was a big mountain and when the sun was bright one could tan themselves. Reggi insisted on climbing to the top and getting a tan. I escorted her to the top and started to fool around with her when in the distance I noticed Kathie approaching us. I stopped everything and received Kathie as though nothing happened. I later invited my friend Ezriel Poliwoda and introduced him to Reggi. Some days passed and I definitely decided to give up the idea of going to Brazil. I opted for Palestine where I felt I was needed. I traveled to Munich with Ezriel to report to the Haganah office where I was drafted. In May, I took Kathie back to the Funk–Kaserne D.P. camp an said good bye.

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