AR Ellis Island

Ellis island

Disembarking in New York we soon passed through customs, and before long we were on our way to Ellis island. As well as I can remember, I was afterward told that our sojourn in Ellis island was necessitated by my lack of adequate documents. As a dependent minor, my papers hastily arranged for in Hamburg, apparently did not satisfy the American Immigration authorities. I was allowed entry into the United States only after my American uncle and aunt had satisfied these authorities that they would see to it that I would not become a public charge. (How different undocumented aliens are dealt with in the U.S. today!)

Arriving in Ellis Island after a short boat ride, we were passed through long lines for medical examinations, requiring partial undress. Meals were served on long board tables in the crudest manner: soup, stacks of sliced bread, and dinner plates heaped full of jam, out of which some of the immigrants ate with their soup spoons. Between meals we spent our time in an immense hall with high iron-barred windows, and a few benches to sit upon. In this hall, children were lined up for milk and a little food between meal snacks.

For the night, we were channeled up stairways where blankets and packs of soap and towels were thrown into our arms. And then we arrived at the great barracks room with hundreds of sleeping berths arranged at two levels and held up by iron rods or pipes, and consisting of mattress-less hammock springs. On this we spread our blankets for the night's sleep.

Sanitary facilities equipped with numerous wash basins and showers were adjacent to these barracks. They had to be entered through a doorway by stepping over a very high threshold that, fortunately, held back the water flooding the tiled floor of the bathroom.

Fortunately, we had to live through this nightmare for only one night.