Excerpts from Rosner Blay, A. (1998) Sister, Sister, Sydney, Hale & Iremonger pp134-143

Janka: While we were in Plaszów we heard about a factory called Emalia which manufactured enamel-ware. It was run by Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who, although he was a member of the Nazi Party, seemed to have some humanitarian feelings. He employed Jews as cheap labour, but the people who worked for him were much better off than we were. Nobody shot them; they had better food and relative comfort.

Sisters Hela & Janka Weiss (Haubenstock)

When there was talk of Plaszów being closed down, Schindler asked Goeth for permission to move his factory from Plaszów to Brünnlitz in Czechoslovakia, near his home town. In Autumn of 1944 he had begun to draw up a list of names of people he claimed he needed for his munitions factory, asserting that they were essential to the German war effort. He was eventually given permission, but only about 1000 Jews could go with him. On this list were the names of the two musician brothers, Poldek and Herman. Schindler knew them from hearing them play at Goeth's parties, and he loved their music. He agreed to put all of their surviving family on the list as well. So Poldek's wife Hela, my brother Kuba and I were on the list, as well as all of Poldek's relatives. This list promised life.

At the last moment people were frantically giving away gold or diamonds which they had managed somehow to conceal, to get their name on the list. I found out that my name, which had originally been on the list, had been removed. I felt a terrible despair, because even though we didn't know for sure what would happen to the people on the list, I wanted to get out of Plaszów and be with my sister.

I went to an OD who had been involved with drawing up the list, Marcel Goldberg, and asked to be reinstated, insisting I knew that my name had been on it. He began to hit me around the face and head until I fell to the ground, and still he continued to beat me. Many people claimed afterwards that because of his greed some members of their family lost their lives. Others stated that he was their saviour and didn't take a penny for it.

But there was nothing I could do. So that's how it was that my sister and the others went with Schindler's transport to Brünnlitz, and I was left behind in Plaszów. A few days later the order came that Plaszów was to be liquidated, and we knew we had to leave.

Hela: It was 21 October 1944. We began to march, gathering what energy we had left, hungry, dirty, with guards' screams all around us. I had no idea where we were going. Soldiers were lined up, aiming their rifles at us. I suddenly thought of the absurdity of these strong, powerful men, afraid of a group of weak, starving women. We marched to the accompaniment of screams and the thudding of truncheons.

We were marching towards the cattle wagons of the train that stood nearby. There were screams again as they pushed us together towards the wagons. Hands reached down to drag up those below. About a hundred of us were pressed into one wagon. The doors were closed, then nailed shut, and the train began to move.

The train stopped often, and the stale air and the stench became unbearable. We began to thump on the door. 'Where are we? Where are we going?' our voices called out.

Eventually a voice replied, 'To Oswiecim (Auschwitz).'

'Give us some water!'

'Not possible. The doors are nailed shut, and the windows are too small and too high. I'd give it to you if I could.'

The train began to move again. Questions were flying. Are we going to be gassed? Are we going to be rescued by Schindler? Is he really a friend of the Jews? We found out only later, the 300 of us, that we were on the list drawn up by Oskar Schindler. At the time I knew very little about who Schindler was, and how he had been helping Jews who worked for him at Emalia.

Again the train stopped. We could hear dogs barking, quite close. All I could think about was my thirst. I dreamed of a large glass of cold water.

(The sisters of the book's title, Hela and Janka, survived the war and immigrated to Australia in December 1949.)