Buttons in My Soup Quotes

“Snow began to fall in the morning, and it was easier to bear the cold. We all stamped our feet trying to warm up, after freezing all night without sleep. Prisoners who no longer moved were sprawled in the corners of the yard. Apparently they were finished: they were liberated.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“Their uniforms are black and their boots are shiny. What proud descendants of Goethe and Schiller…and the German language rich with expressions we heard from their progeny: “Dreckige Juden” (Dirty Jews), “dreck zak” (shitbag) and more. And these people believed that they were “members of the superior race!”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“Block 66 sleeps. Everything is barren and desolate… The black barracks, the glittering symmetrical paths… Complete desolation, no sound! No cat, no dog, no bird chirping. The night is black; the whole world is black. The guard towers stand erect, The searchlight turns… We are alone here with the guards.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“Now I could clearly see that there was no rhyme or reason to who would survive. It was not necessarily the young or the strong who remained alive.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“The relationship between the prisoners was far from an idyllic comradeship. Each person only looked out for himself.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“I knew from experience that surprises were always harsh.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“knew from experience that surprises were always harsh.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“Of course, even though we knew they were stealing from the rations intended for us, there was nothing we could do about this.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“They warned me not to tell anyone about my “walk” because lots of people were ready to inform on others, even though they received nothing in return.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“Look, the sun is in the sky, only the horizon is out of sight, and there is not even one tree to be seen, or one bird: opposite me are black rotting barracks. Everything is gray-black. There are no other colors on the planet of Auschwitz.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“At the end of the process the women were separated from the men. This was the last time I saw my mother.”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup

“One of my harshest memories is the moment one of them rudely said to my mother, “Lady, leave the key in the door. You won’t be coming back here!”
― Moshe Ziv, Buttons in My Soup