Vishak

Vishak

** Filip Muller ** My name is Filip Muller, and I am a survivor of **Auschwitz Death Camp. I saw many things there that I will never forget for the rest of my life. The job that I was forced to do there was to be a stoker at the crematorium. Stokers are people who strip down the dead bodies before they are burned. There were more than 50 bodies that would be burned in the crematorium every hour. It was a horrible sight to see. So many people were burned in the crematorium that the walls were getting burned, and they were getting broken down. They had to build a new chimney in 1942, but that one soon was showing signs of breakage due to the number of people being burned there. There were three to four people that were burned at a time, and they were arranged in how combustible they are. Due to the very large number of people that were killed in the gas chambers, there needed to be another crematorium built. The number of people that were burned each day increased from about 600 to over 10,000 people. There were many crematoriums that were being broken down, and the ovens were falling apart. Crematorium four and five were in very bad shape in a very short time. There was one crematorium that was built that was scientifically planned. It was thought to be able to cremate 12,000 people a day, but it fell short of the expectations. In August of 1944, there was a peak cremation of 24,000 people in one day. They needed a better way of burning the mass amounts of people that died. Instead of using the crematoriums, they dug up six huge pits to put the bodies in, and old pits that had been built before had been reopened also. This was the main way of burning people. The pits had holes in them to drain all of the human fat after the bodies had been burned. To keep the pits burning, a lot of oil, alcohol, and human fat were poured in the pits. I can never get this out of my head. It is astonishing to me that so many people were killed and cremated every day. **

Survivor Questions


 * 1) 1. Q. Was it difficult to manage with just your sisters and you?
 * 2) 2. Q. How did this tragedy affect you as a person?
 * 3) 3. Q. What was going on through your head when this happened?
 * 4) 4. Q. How did you feel when your mother died?
 * 5) 5. Q. How did you feel when your father died?
 * 6) 6. Q. Who was taking care of you at that young age?
 * 7) 7. Q. How did you get to where you are right now without any parents for most of your life?
 * 8) 8. Q. How did your experience change you?
 * 9) 9. Q. How do you feel your life will be different if this didn’t happen?
 * 10) 10. Q. How did you get through it?
 * 11) 11. Q. Was there a lot of support from your siblings when this happened?
 * 12) 12. Q. What was the hardest part about getting through it?
 * 13) 13. Q. How old were you when your mother died?
 * 14) 14. Q. How old were you when your father died?
 * 15) 15. Q. What impact did this have on you?

My name is Srimathi Venkataraman, and my parents died when I was very young. My mother died when I was nine years old. I did not know what death and the permanent loss of death entails because of my very young age. My father became the primary care giver of the family and that made my loss more acceptable. My father died when I was just sixteen years old. This was a tremendous blow to my whole family. My siblings and I felt emotionally and financially drained after his sudden death. No one was expecting it. Thankfully, I had my grandparents from my dad's side, and they were very loving and supportive. They took care of me after the loss of both of my parents. I am very thankful that my brothers and sisters are there with me. We became very tight and close knit after my parents passed away. Even today, we feel like we are there for each other in times of happiness and need. I was able to be where I am at today because of the spiritual values and the importance of good education that was taught to me at a very young age. My father was a very inspirational man, and he was clearly a visionary. He laid a career path for each of his children at a very early age. I just followed the path he laid for me and never looked back. The loss of both my parents at a very young age made me a stronger person, and I am now able to cope with all of the difficulties and challenges I face. It made me believe in myself even more.media type="file" key="Mine_Today.mp3" width="240" height="20"

This is the story about my mom, Srimathi Venkataraman who survived living without her parents. She lived a majority of her life without the support and help of her parents. She was very lucky to have very loving siblings and grandparents.