![<p>(English translation) and they brought us to Stutthof. It was a huge camp where it seems they brought lots of people from all the camps and there was a huge plaza. The first thing they did is that they disrobed us and we had to get a bath to disinfect us and to bathe us. And at that time there weren't any lice because they found a way to…when one went to bathe they put all the clothes in this oven. It had such a high temperature that it killed all the lice. So when they brought us there they took all the women for a gynecological exam. They were looking for gold or things hidden in the vagina. They did it so quickly that you didn't even notice. They lay you down, searched you, and after that they put all of us in the bathroom, the showers. And on coming out of the showers… INTERVIEWER: Who did the exam? SONIA S.: The Germans, the doctors. INTERVIEWER: Men? Doctors? <br/>SONIA S.: Men, to young girls, older women. Well, there weren't that many young girls anymore… INTERVIEWER: And they examined you and your mother. SONIA S.: Yes, yes, the exam. And sometimes there were people that had stuff, and in general when people got to the camp … you had to leave all your clothes, all your suitcases. In that camp they took everything we had. And on coming out of the bathroom they took us outside to the street and in the patio there was a pile of clothes and each one quickly - everything was done quickly, pushing and shoving - we had to get clothes. Well I found myself a long skirt that was very narrow. Another [woman] that was maybe smaller might find clothes that were too big. I don't even think there were bras. I also found a pair of good boots that fit me well, that later came in really handy.</p>](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/62e42e77-85ba-4250-aaf8-35f099c950ff.jpg)
(English translation) and they brought us to Stutthof. It was a huge camp where it seems they brought lots of people from all the camps and there was a huge plaza. The first thing they did is that they disrobed us and we had to get a bath to disinfect us and to bathe us. And at that time there weren't any lice because they found a way to…when one went to bathe they put all the clothes in this oven. It had such a high temperature that it killed all the lice. So when they brought us there they took all the women for a gynecological exam. They were looking for gold or things hidden in the vagina. They did it so quickly that you didn't even notice. They lay you down, searched you, and after that they put all of us in the bathroom, the showers. And on coming out of the showers… INTERVIEWER: Who did the exam? SONIA S.: The Germans, the doctors. INTERVIEWER: Men? Doctors?
SONIA S.: Men, to young girls, older women. Well, there weren't that many young girls anymore… INTERVIEWER: And they examined you and your mother. SONIA S.: Yes, yes, the exam. And sometimes there were people that had stuff, and in general when people got to the camp … you had to leave all your clothes, all your suitcases. In that camp they took everything we had. And on coming out of the bathroom they took us outside to the street and in the patio there was a pile of clothes and each one quickly - everything was done quickly, pushing and shoving - we had to get clothes. Well I found myself a long skirt that was very narrow. Another [woman] that was maybe smaller might find clothes that were too big. I don't even think there were bras. I also found a pair of good boots that fit me well, that later came in really handy.
…y nos trajeron a Stutthof. Era un campo enorme donde se ve que traían a mucha gente de todos los campos y había un…una plaza enorme. Lo primero que hicieron es que nos desnudaron y teníamos que pasar por un baño para desinfectarnos y para bañarnos. A parte en ese tiempo ya no había piojos porque ellos encontraron un método que…cuando uno se iba a bañar metían toda la ropa al horno este. Había una temperatura tan alta que se liquidaban todos los piojos. Así que cuando nos trajeron nos llevaron a todas las mujeres para un control ginecológico…de mujeres. Buscaban oro o cosas escondidas en la vagina. Lo hicieron tan rápido que uno ni se dio cuenta. Lo acostaban, lo buscaban, y después de eso nos metieron a todos al baño, unas duchas. Y al salir de las duchas… ENTREVISTADOR: Quienes eran las personas que les hicieron el control…? SONIA S.: Los alemanes, los médicos, ENTREVISTADOR: Varones? Médicos? SONIA S.: Varones, a chicas chicas, a grandes. Bueno ya chicos no había tanto… ENTREVISTADOR: A usted y a tu mamá le hicieron la revisa. SONIA S.:Si, si, la revisación. Y a veces había gente que tenía, y en general la gente cuando llegó al campo como…usted tenía que dejar toda la ropa, todas sus valijitas. En ese campo nos han quitado todo lo que teníamos de antes. Y al pasar del baño nos sacaron afuera a la calle y en el patio había un montón de ropa y cada uno rápido -- todo se hacía rápido, empujando a empujones -- teníamos que sacar ropa. Bueno yo me conseguí una pollera larga que era bien angosta. Otro que era más chico a lo mejor conseguía una ropa mas grande. Creo que corpiños ni había. Lo que si me conseguí unas botas buenas que me calzaban bien, que después me vinieron diez puntos.
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, the Claims Conference, EVZ, and BMF for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of donor acknowledgement.
