The work is a compilation, from various first hand accounts, of the events related to holocaust and in particular to Poland, especially Warsaw.
As such, it's a reading harder than most memoirs, since the events, emotions, horror and more, are here in the most skeletal forms. These accounts were recorded by those eyewitnessing the whole thing, and are a raw level of horror that belongs to life, court testimonies and documentations.
These documentspations were done consciously by those suffering, undergoing and witnessing the events they wrote about, as they became aware of their being cut off from the world, which was done deliberately by the invader occupying Germans; if foùnd, the diaries and other writings were destroyed.
So these people went to great lengths to collect and preserve these accounts, by burying them, and survivors who knew about it recovered some after the war.
As such, there is very little in nature of commentary, and the end is quite abrupt. It's not just historic and realistic, it's reality of holocaust.
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The preface begins with a hearbreaking address to the reader by a holocaust survivor, and goes on to give details of the horror, before saying something about the identity of the person:-
"... The book about the is Jankiel Wiernik. He was held prisoner there for a full year. Together with others, he organized a successful uprising there, set fire to and destroyed the camp, killed the German and Ukrainian jailers and escaped with a large group of other Treblinka victims."
"Wiernik was deported to Treblinka on August 23, 1942 and there was assigned to the brigade handling the corpses of the murdered Jews. He participated in the revolt of the camp prisoners on August 2, 1943 and managed to escape. He got in touch with his friends in Warsaw and was provided a temporary shelter in the woods where he wrote down his ghastly reminiscences."
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Quoted from the preface, the said details of the horror:-
"It was in Warsaw, August 23. We could hear firing going on and suddenly the voice of a German policeman calling: "Alle raus!" I was in the home of a neighbor. We were all forced to go into the street where many other Jews, men and women of all ages and children were already gathered. Scharfuehrer Franz with a sadistic smile on his face and his dog, Bary, at his feet, was already busy sorting out people, one here, one there. I'll never forget his face. I was standing in line opposite my own house in Wolyriska Street.
"Around us were German and Ukrainian guards, already dividing and quarreling over loot taken from Jewish homes. We were ordered to proceed to Zamenhofa Street while German photographers photographed the scene. None of us realized where we were being sent. When we came to the station, there were empty wagons waiting. We were ordered to enter them, eighty in each. I had left all my things at home, all I had on was trousers, shirt and slippers. The doors were slammed, and then we realized that there was no return.
"We left Warsaw that day and under most terrible conditions we came to Malkinia. Here Ukrainians entered, demanding that we should surrender everything to save our lives. Many gave rings and all other articles they had, I had nothing to give. In the morning, the train went on and we came to Treblinka.
"When I arrived at the camp, three gas chambers were already in operation; another ten were added while I was there. A gas chamber measured 5 x 5 meters and was about 1.90 meters high. The outlet on the roof had a hermetic cap. The chamber was equipped with a gas pipe inlet and a baked tile floor slanting towards the platform. The brick building which housed the gas chambers was separated from Camp No. 1 by a wooden wall. This wooden wall and the brick wall of the building together formed a corridor which was 80 centimeters taller than the building. The chambers were connected with the corridor by a hermetically fitted iron door leading into each of the chambers. On the side of Camp No. 2, the chambers were connected by a platform four meters wide, which-ran alongside all three chambers. The platform was about 80 centimeters above ground level. There was also a hermetically fitted wooden door on this side.
"Each chamber had a door facing Camp No. 2 (1.80 by 2.50 meters), which could be opened only from the outside by lifting it with iron supports and was closed by iron hooks set into the sash frames, and by wooden bolts. The victims were led into the chambers through the doors leading from the corridor, while the remains of the gassed victims were dragged out through the doors facing Camp No. 2. The power plant operated alongside these chambers, supplying Camps 1 and 2 with electric current. A motor taken from a dismantled Soviet tank stood in the power plant. This motor was used to pump the gas, which was let into the chambers by connecting the motor with the inflow pipes. The speed with which death overcame the helpless victims depended on the quantity of combustion gas admitted into the chamber at one time."
"The machinery of the gas chambers was operated by two Ukrainians. One of them, Ivan, was tall, and though his eyes seemed kind and gentle, he was a sadist. He enjoyed torturing his victims. He would often pounce upon us while we were working; he would nail our ears to the walls or make us lie down on the floor and whip us brutally. While he did this, his face showed sadistic satisfaction and he laughed and joked. He finished off the victims according to his mood at the moment. The other Ukrainian was called Nicholas. He had a pale face and the same mentality as Ivan.
"The day I first saw men, women and children being led into the house of death I almost went insane. I tore at my hair and shed bitter tears of despair. I suffered most when I looked at the children, accompanied by their mothers or walking alone, entirely ignorant of the fact that within a few minutes their lives would be snuffed out amidst horrible tortures. Their eyes glittered with fear and still more, perhaps, with amazement. It seemed as if the question, "What is this? What's it all about?" was frozen on their lips. But seeing the stony expressions on the faces of their elders, they matched their behavior to the occasion. They either stood motionless or pressed tightly against each other or against their parents, and tensely awaited their horrible end.
"Suddenly, the entrance door flew open and out came Ivan, holding a heavy gas pipe, and Nicholas, brandishing a saber. At a given signal, they would begin admitting the victims, beating them savagely as they moved into the chamber. The screams of the women, the weeping of the children, cries of despair and misery, the pleas for mercy, for God's vengeance ring in my ears to this day, making it impossible for me to forget the misery I saw.
"Between 450 and 500 persons were crowded into a chamber measuring 25 square meters. Parents carried their children in their arms in the vain hope that this would save their children from death. On the way to their doom, they were pushed and beaten with rifle butts and with Ivan's gas pipe. Dogs were set upon them, barking, biting and tearing at them. To escape the blows and the dogs, the crowd rushed to its death, pushing into the chamber, the stronger ones shoving the weaker ones ahead of them. The bedlam lasted only a short while, for soon the doors were slammed shut. The chamber was filled, the motor turned on and connected with the inflow pipes and, within 25 minutes at the most, all lay stretched out dead or, to be more accurate, were standing up dead. Since there was not an inch of free space, they just leaned against each other."
"A pack of dogs, along with Germans and Ukrainians, had been let loose on us. Almost one-fourth of the workers was killed. The rest of us tossed their bodies into the ditches without further ado. Fortunately for me, when the Hauptmann left, the Unterscharfuhrer relieved me from this work.
"Between ten and twelve thousand people were gassed each day. We built a narrow-gauge track and drove the corpses to the ditches on the rolling platform.
"While I was working in Camp No. 1, many transports arrived. Each time a new transport came, the women and children were herded into the barracks at once, while the men were kept in the yard. The men were ordered to undress, while the women, naively anticipating a chance to take a shower, unpacked towels and soap. The brutal guards, however, shouted orders for quiet, and kicked and dealt out blows. The children cried, while the grown-ups moaned and screamed. This made things even worse; the whipping only became crueler.
"The women and girls were then taken to the "barber shop" to have their hair clipped. By now they felt sure that they would be taken to have a shower. Then they were escorted, through another exit, to Camp No. 2 where, in freezing weather, they had to stand in the nude, waiting their turn to enter the gas chamber, which had not yet been cleared of the last batch of victims.
"All through that winter, small children, stark naked and barefooted, had to stand out in the open for hours on end, awaiting their turn in the increasingly busy gas chambers. The soles of their feet froze and stuck to the icy ground. They stood and cried; some of them froze to death. In the meantime, Germans and Ukrainians walked up and down the ranks, beating and kicking the victims.
"Often people were kept in the gas chambers overnight with the motor not turned on at all. Overcrowding and lack of air killed many of them in a very painful way. However, many survived the ordeal of such nights; particularly the children showed a remarkable degree of resistance. They were still alive when they were dragged out of the chambers in the morning, but revolvers used by the Germans made short work of them...."
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The introduction clarifies further about this work.
"Before World War II, Warsaw was the home of the largest Jewish community in Europe and the center of Jewish cultural, social and political life in Poland. It was a source of renewal and revival not only for Polish Jewry but for Jewry the world over. In 1939, this gigantic reservoir of Jewish strength was occupied by the Nazis. They created in Warsaw the largest ghetto in history. Into its overcrowded area, they jammed the three hundred fifty thousand Jews of Warsaw and thousands of Jewish expellees and refugees from various Polish provinces, and even from Western and Central Europe, until the Warsaw ghetto overflowed with more than five hundred thousand inhabitants.
"The story of the Warsaw ghetto is, therefore, more than a mere local phenomenon. In its sufferings and its desperate struggle, almost all the important features of Nazi anti-Jewish policy are reflected. To study the stirring accounts of the Warsaw ghetto is to become acquainted with the horrible mechanism of totalitarian methods of degradation, de-humanization, depersonalization and, in the last stage, with the "techniques" of genocide.
"Moreover, the Jewish revolt in Warsaw is almost unique in its historical significance. Probably, it had no more military effect on the course of the war against the Germans than did the heroic resistance of the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae in halting the march of the Persian hordes into Greece. But both events had a deep moral impact. Both testify that, in the final test, moral factors prove stronger than brute force and terror."
"More than ever the world needs a warning reminder of the ruthless and coldly calculated crimes, including genocide, of which the totalitarian regimes are capable. Whatever their color—black or brown, red or white —they inevitably bring havoc and destruction when they run rampant in our troubled, twisted world and when they are unchecked by the vigorous will of free men.
"This anthology—which depicts the Warsaw Jewish community from the beginning of World War II to the liberation of Warsaw (1939-45)—is not composed, as is usually the case, of selected essays or excerpts from monographs. All secondary accounts have been eliminated, as well as scholarly or literary elaborations upon the momentous experience of the Warsaw Jews. It is, rather, based on original sources, records of human sufferings, as well as documents of revolt against slavery and oppression. Here the reader will find eye-witness accounts, memoirs, diaries, minutes and protocols, official reports and battle bulletins, statements, proclamations, ordinances, letters, contemporary folksongs and poetry, and children's songs and stories. Thus, the editor has tried to plunge the reader directly into the day-by-day life and strife of the ghetto, into the whirlpool of feelings and emotions, into the maze of various, sometimes contradictory, currents and problems which moved and stirred the inhabitants of the ghetto."
"Most of the texts used in this book were not available in English and were translated from the Polish, Yiddish, German and French originals by Dr. David Chazen. Wherever original English texts or printed translations had been used the genuine style and other linguistic particularities of the pertinent source material have been left unchanged."
The introduction clarifies further about this work.
"Before World War II, Warsaw was the home of the largest Jewish community in Europe and the center of Jewish cultural, social and political life in Poland. It was a source of renewal and revival not only for Polish Jewry but for Jewry the world over. In 1939, this gigantic reservoir of Jewish strength was occupied by the Nazis. They created in Warsaw the largest ghetto in history. Into its overcrowded area, they jammed the three hundred fifty thousand Jews of Warsaw and thousands of Jewish expellees and refugees from various Polish provinces, and even from Western and Central Europe, until the Warsaw ghetto overflowed with more than five hundred thousand inhabitants.
"The story of the Warsaw ghetto is, therefore, more than a mere local phenomenon. In its sufferings and its desperate struggle, almost all the important features of Nazi anti-Jewish policy are reflected. To study the stirring accounts of the Warsaw ghetto is to become acquainted with the horrible mechanism of totalitarian methods of degradation, de-humanization, depersonalization and, in the last stage, with the "techniques" of genocide.
"Moreover, the Jewish revolt in Warsaw is almost unique in its historical significance. Probably, it had no more military effect on the course of the war against the Germans than did the heroic resistance of the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae in halting the march of the Persian hordes into Greece. But both events had a deep moral impact. Both testify that, in the final test, moral factors prove stronger than brute force and terror."
"More than ever the world needs a warning reminder of the ruthless and coldly calculated crimes, including genocide, of which the totalitarian regimes are capable. Whatever their color—black or brown, red or white —they inevitably bring havoc and destruction when they run rampant in our troubled, twisted world and when they are unchecked by the vigorous will of free men.
"This anthology—which depicts the Warsaw Jewish community from the beginning of World War II to the liberation of Warsaw (1939-45)—is not composed, as is usually the case, of selected essays or excerpts from monographs. All secondary accounts have been eliminated, as well as scholarly or literary elaborations upon the momentous experience of the Warsaw Jews. It is, rather, based on original sources, records of human sufferings, as well as documents of revolt against slavery and oppression. Here the reader will find eye-witness accounts, memoirs, diaries, minutes and protocols, official reports and battle bulletins, statements, proclamations, ordinances, letters, contemporary folksongs and poetry, and children's songs and stories. Thus, the editor has tried to plunge the reader directly into the day-by-day life and strife of the ghetto, into the whirlpool of feelings and emotions, into the maze of various, sometimes contradictory, currents and problems which moved and stirred the inhabitants of the ghetto."
"Most of the texts used in this book were not available in English and were translated from the Polish, Yiddish, German and French originals by Dr. David Chazen. Wherever original English texts or printed translations had been used the genuine style and other linguistic particularities of the pertinent source material have been left unchanged."
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"September 1939
"... The Germans come to a Jewish family and rob it of virtually all its belongings. They take away pictures, rugs, furniture, shoes, etc. The mother begs them to leave the little bed for her child. The answer is that a Jewish child does not need a bed. German soldiers visit Dr. Brokman's home, and steal. They express their surprise that there are so few shirts. He tells them that he is not a wealthy man. "Yes," confirms the German, "with honesty you cannot get rich," and he steals some more. A music teacher is paid a visit by two German soldiers who pick up the piano. They order her to play for them. The teacher starts to play Beethoven. The Germans get sentimental; every German has a feeling for music. One of them is even ready to leave the piano, but the other gets angry: "These Jews even have a Bechstein piano! Aren't they indeed vicious people?" And the piano disappears from the apartment. The libraries of the Jewish doctors are being requisitioned. The physicians and scholars of the gentlemanly nation are not bashful about using Jewish books. A young German officer-physician appears in the home of Dr. Srebrny, the well-known old laryngologist and grabs his library. Dr. Srebrny had published many works, some in German. At the moment one of his works, written in German, is lying on his desk. The following conversation takes place between them: "Is this your work?" asks the German doctor. "Yes, I wrote it at a time when science was still respected by the Germans." "But now times have changed," says the German, "didn't you ever hear how the Roman soldier killed Archimedes?" And now Dr. Srebrny gives the reply that should burn every German with the flame of shame: "Yes, but the name of Archimedes is known to you, to me, and to others, while nobody knows the name of the Roman soldier."
"... Jews are not allowed to have more than two-thousand zlotys in cash. During a search of the home of a Jewish lawyer it turned out that the searching officer and his victim had formerly been university colleagues. A conversation ensues and memories are refreshed. Soon they indulge in common reminiscences of past years of adolescence. Then suddenly the German asks: "How much money do you have?" The lawyer, still inhaling the balmy air of his past youth, tells the truth. He has a few thousands. To this his colleague replies: "Then give me half of it."
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 185-186)"
"... Despite the wishes of its members, the Judenrat was forced to become an instrument of anti-Jewish policy of the authorities. The blows of the Nazis were struck at the Jews through the Judenrat, which acted as the involuntary agent of the occupation in the Jewish community.
"(Goldstein, pp. 35-36)"
"September 1939
"... The Germans come to a Jewish family and rob it of virtually all its belongings. They take away pictures, rugs, furniture, shoes, etc. The mother begs them to leave the little bed for her child. The answer is that a Jewish child does not need a bed. German soldiers visit Dr. Brokman's home, and steal. They express their surprise that there are so few shirts. He tells them that he is not a wealthy man. "Yes," confirms the German, "with honesty you cannot get rich," and he steals some more. A music teacher is paid a visit by two German soldiers who pick up the piano. They order her to play for them. The teacher starts to play Beethoven. The Germans get sentimental; every German has a feeling for music. One of them is even ready to leave the piano, but the other gets angry: "These Jews even have a Bechstein piano! Aren't they indeed vicious people?" And the piano disappears from the apartment. The libraries of the Jewish doctors are being requisitioned. The physicians and scholars of the gentlemanly nation are not bashful about using Jewish books. A young German officer-physician appears in the home of Dr. Srebrny, the well-known old laryngologist and grabs his library. Dr. Srebrny had published many works, some in German. At the moment one of his works, written in German, is lying on his desk. The following conversation takes place between them: "Is this your work?" asks the German doctor. "Yes, I wrote it at a time when science was still respected by the Germans." "But now times have changed," says the German, "didn't you ever hear how the Roman soldier killed Archimedes?" And now Dr. Srebrny gives the reply that should burn every German with the flame of shame: "Yes, but the name of Archimedes is known to you, to me, and to others, while nobody knows the name of the Roman soldier."
"... Jews are not allowed to have more than two-thousand zlotys in cash. During a search of the home of a Jewish lawyer it turned out that the searching officer and his victim had formerly been university colleagues. A conversation ensues and memories are refreshed. Soon they indulge in common reminiscences of past years of adolescence. Then suddenly the German asks: "How much money do you have?" The lawyer, still inhaling the balmy air of his past youth, tells the truth. He has a few thousands. To this his colleague replies: "Then give me half of it."
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 185-186)"
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"... Despite the wishes of its members, the Judenrat was forced to become an instrument of anti-Jewish policy of the authorities. The blows of the Nazis were struck at the Jews through the Judenrat, which acted as the involuntary agent of the occupation in the Jewish community.
"(Goldstein, pp. 35-36)"
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"Although there were no newspapers and no radio, the news of the menace of the Ghetto spread like lightning among the Jewish population and stirred up a terrible commotion among them. Thousands of people gathered in front of the Community Council building...
"... In the course of the day the panic among the crowds of Jews gathered in the streets reached such a point that it was feared they would demolish the whole building. Then the representative of the workers, Zygelboim, undertook a hazardous step. He offered to address the crowds, along with Dr. Szoszkes, and to try to calm them down. After Dr. Szoszkes had informed the crowd about the situation, the representative of the workers stood up in the middle of the street and harangued the more than ten thousand Jews gathered there with words of comfort and hope. He appealed to their sense of dignity, called on them to stay in their homes until they were driven out by force, and pleaded that nobody go into the ghetto voluntarily..."
"(Zygelboim, pp. 131-135)"
"The first Nazi blackmail affair
"... Then occurred the affair of Number 9, Nalewki Street.
"A convict who had been released at the beginning of the hostilities lived there. On a Thursday evening toward the end of November, this robber had decided to "do a job" with two of his cronies. Interrupted by two Polish policemen, the burglars took to their heels and sought refuge in the courtyard of number nine. The police followed, and presently shots rang out. One of the policemen slumped to the ground, fatally shot, while the desperados made good their escape.
"Immediately, the Gestapo imposed a fine of three million zlotys on the Jewish Community, payable the following Saturday night... The next day, at eleven o'clock in the morning, a car drew up at the door of Number 9, Nalewki Street, and all the men and boys in the house were taken away. No distinction was made between permanent residents and casual visitors. Fifty-three persons were removed, including young boys twelve and thirteen years old.
"... Eight days later news was received that all fifty-three had been shot on the day of their arrest, the pretext being that they had not assisted the police in apprehending the burglars. This was also the explanation subsequently published in the Nowy Kurjer Warszawski (New Warsaw Courier).
"(A. Weiss, pp. 485-487)"
"Although there were no newspapers and no radio, the news of the menace of the Ghetto spread like lightning among the Jewish population and stirred up a terrible commotion among them. Thousands of people gathered in front of the Community Council building...
"... In the course of the day the panic among the crowds of Jews gathered in the streets reached such a point that it was feared they would demolish the whole building. Then the representative of the workers, Zygelboim, undertook a hazardous step. He offered to address the crowds, along with Dr. Szoszkes, and to try to calm them down. After Dr. Szoszkes had informed the crowd about the situation, the representative of the workers stood up in the middle of the street and harangued the more than ten thousand Jews gathered there with words of comfort and hope. He appealed to their sense of dignity, called on them to stay in their homes until they were driven out by force, and pleaded that nobody go into the ghetto voluntarily..."
"(Zygelboim, pp. 131-135)"
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"The first Nazi blackmail affair
"... Then occurred the affair of Number 9, Nalewki Street.
"A convict who had been released at the beginning of the hostilities lived there. On a Thursday evening toward the end of November, this robber had decided to "do a job" with two of his cronies. Interrupted by two Polish policemen, the burglars took to their heels and sought refuge in the courtyard of number nine. The police followed, and presently shots rang out. One of the policemen slumped to the ground, fatally shot, while the desperados made good their escape.
"Immediately, the Gestapo imposed a fine of three million zlotys on the Jewish Community, payable the following Saturday night... The next day, at eleven o'clock in the morning, a car drew up at the door of Number 9, Nalewki Street, and all the men and boys in the house were taken away. No distinction was made between permanent residents and casual visitors. Fifty-three persons were removed, including young boys twelve and thirteen years old.
"... Eight days later news was received that all fifty-three had been shot on the day of their arrest, the pretext being that they had not assisted the police in apprehending the burglars. This was also the explanation subsequently published in the Nowy Kurjer Warszawski (New Warsaw Courier).
"(A. Weiss, pp. 485-487)"
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"The Divide and Rule policy in operation: hooligans attack, while the German wire-pullers watch and smile. Early in April 1940, just before the Easter Holiday, a Polish hooligan attacked an old religious Jew on a Praga [suburb of Warsaw] street and began to tear out his beard and side locks. Comrade Friedman, a husky, well-built slaughterhouse worker, happened by. He came to the defense of the helpless old man and gave the Pole a thorough beating. A crowd gathered quickly, and a street battle broke out between Jews and Poles. German police arrested Friedman and shot him the following day. The Jews of Praga waited in terror for the consequences of Friedman's boldness. But the pogrom that followed had obviously been organized long before this incident. Groups of hooligans, mostly youths, stormed through the Jewish sections of Warsaw.
"They charged down the streets shouting, "Beat the Jews! Kill the Jews!" They broke into Jewish homes and stores, smashed furniture, seized valuables, and beat the occupants...
"... The Germans did not intervene. They neither helped nor hindered the pogromists. We saw many smiling German cameramen recording the scenes with relish. We later learned that the pictures appeared in German magazines. They were also shown in movie theatres as graphic evidence that the Poles were winning their freedom from Jewish domination..."
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"(From an affidavit by a refugee, Dr. S.S. dated May 12, 1940, in Jerusalem).
"The Passover pogrom continued about eight days. It began suddenly and stopped as suddenly. The pogrom was carried out by a crowd of youths, about one thousand of them, who arrived suddenly in the Warsaw streets. Such types have never before been seen in the Warsaw streets. Clearly these were young ruffians specially brought from the suburbs. From the characteristic scenes of the pogrom I mention here a few:
"On the second day of Passover, at the corner of Wspolna and Marszalkowska Streets about thirty or forty broke into and looted Jewish hat shops. German soldiers stood in the streets and filmed the scenes.
"... The Polish youngsters acted alone, but there have been instances when such bands attacked the Jews with the assistance of German military. The attitude of the Polish intellectuals toward the Jews was clearly a friendly one, and against the pogrom. It is a known fact that at the corner of Nowogrodzka street and Marszalkowska a Catholic priest attacked the youngsters participating in the pogrom, beat them and disappeared. These youngsters received two zlotys daily from the Germans.
"(Black Book, pp. 30-31)
"October 31 was set as the deadline for the complete exchange of populations."
Jews were supposed to move into ghetto, but the boundaries kept moving, and often Jews lost everything because of that. Also, they weren't supposed to use the word 'ghetto.
".. The walls on the Rymarska which had been built before were now made even higher. They make the impression of real prison walls. "They intend to bury us alive"—these words characterize the mood of the Jews..."
During last week of October 1940, six hundred thousand people moved due to orders about Jews moving to ghetto; on November 15, they found the ghetto enclosed in barbed wire, with guards posted across, so Jews couldn't go out to work.
"On February 12, 1941, seventeen people previously sentenced to death for illegal trespassing in the "Aryan section" lost their lives. The execution took place in the Jewish jail on Gesia Street.
"At four A.M., shrill cries notified the neighborhood that "justice" was being meted out, that seventeen outcasts, including four children and three women, were being duly punished for leaving the ghetto in pursuit of a piece of bread or a few pennies. Cries from other jail cells could also be heard, the voices of future victims awaiting trial for the same offense, a total of seven hundred people. The same afternoon the entire Jewish population was notified of the execution by special posters sighed by the German Commissar of the ghetto, Dr. Auerswald...
"... In mid-May 1942, 110 prisoners of the so-called Central Jail (Gesiowka), arrested for illegal crossing to the "Aryan side," were executed. One of our comrades (Grylak) saw the prisoners being led out of the jail and into special trucks. Almost all of them walked meekly into the cars, when suddenly one woman found courage to protest. From the steps of the truck she shouted: "I shall die, but your death will be much worse." Special proclamations signed by Dr. Auerswald informed the ghetto of the "just" punishment received by the 110 "criminals."
"(Edelman, pp. 4, 12-17)"
Fraudulent propaganda was furthered by films taken by Germans where either Germans pretended to be Jews or Jews were forced to do things they wouldn't.
"Goebbels' propaganda machine at work.
"A secret report submitted by a Polish underground reporter (undercover name: Lilka) to the Polish underground authorities reveals the German methods of manufacturing propaganda lies.
"Report from the Jewish Section in Warsaw—LILKA,"
"May 19, 1942.
"... The second abominable action carried out by the Germans in the Jewish section during the last few weeks was the activity of the so-called Propaganda Section, Warsaw District. This institution sent to the Jewish section a special movie team which is taking pictures for a "cultural" film now in preparation. Besides technical workers from the film industry, experts on "Jewish life" also participate; they are staging and directing the various scenes. It is rather difficult, based on these individual scenes, to find out exactly what the picture in its entirely may represent. But what we have already seen speaks for itself. This film seems to be designed to represent all the bad features of the Jews as "sub humans." In order to give prominence to these features, the directors are resorting to experiments which are revolting and repulsive to any unbiased observer.
"After photographing scenes of misery in the streets, beggars etc., special scenes are set-up in which German actors, made-up like Jews, play their parts. Moreover, Jewish people, seized at random in the streets, are forced to participate.
"Thus, when a picture of a ritual bathing-establishment, the so-called mikva, was to be taken, fifty people were seized in Gesia Street and transported to a real mikva located in Zamenhofa Street. There all these people were ordered to undress completely and they were driven, both men and women, into a pool, so that pictures might be taken. (As I learned later from persons versed in these matters, Jews are allowed to bathe in such ritual bathing establishments, i.e. in pools with running water, but only men and women separately).
"A few days later the same film team arrived in the so-called "refugee" centers, which accommodate Jews driven out from the towns in which the ghettos had been liquidated. There unimaginably pornographic pictures were taken. Old, bearded Jews were ordered at pistol point to commit lascivious acts with children, with young girls, etc.
"On Sunday, the 17th of this month, the movie people filmed the ceremony of circumcision of a Jewish infant.
"(IPN Archives, Lilka, p. 2)"
"The Divide and Rule policy in operation: hooligans attack, while the German wire-pullers watch and smile. Early in April 1940, just before the Easter Holiday, a Polish hooligan attacked an old religious Jew on a Praga [suburb of Warsaw] street and began to tear out his beard and side locks. Comrade Friedman, a husky, well-built slaughterhouse worker, happened by. He came to the defense of the helpless old man and gave the Pole a thorough beating. A crowd gathered quickly, and a street battle broke out between Jews and Poles. German police arrested Friedman and shot him the following day. The Jews of Praga waited in terror for the consequences of Friedman's boldness. But the pogrom that followed had obviously been organized long before this incident. Groups of hooligans, mostly youths, stormed through the Jewish sections of Warsaw.
"They charged down the streets shouting, "Beat the Jews! Kill the Jews!" They broke into Jewish homes and stores, smashed furniture, seized valuables, and beat the occupants...
"... The Germans did not intervene. They neither helped nor hindered the pogromists. We saw many smiling German cameramen recording the scenes with relish. We later learned that the pictures appeared in German magazines. They were also shown in movie theatres as graphic evidence that the Poles were winning their freedom from Jewish domination..."
................................................................................................
"(From an affidavit by a refugee, Dr. S.S. dated May 12, 1940, in Jerusalem).
"The Passover pogrom continued about eight days. It began suddenly and stopped as suddenly. The pogrom was carried out by a crowd of youths, about one thousand of them, who arrived suddenly in the Warsaw streets. Such types have never before been seen in the Warsaw streets. Clearly these were young ruffians specially brought from the suburbs. From the characteristic scenes of the pogrom I mention here a few:
"On the second day of Passover, at the corner of Wspolna and Marszalkowska Streets about thirty or forty broke into and looted Jewish hat shops. German soldiers stood in the streets and filmed the scenes.
"... The Polish youngsters acted alone, but there have been instances when such bands attacked the Jews with the assistance of German military. The attitude of the Polish intellectuals toward the Jews was clearly a friendly one, and against the pogrom. It is a known fact that at the corner of Nowogrodzka street and Marszalkowska a Catholic priest attacked the youngsters participating in the pogrom, beat them and disappeared. These youngsters received two zlotys daily from the Germans.
"(Black Book, pp. 30-31)
................................................................................................
"October 31 was set as the deadline for the complete exchange of populations."
Jews were supposed to move into ghetto, but the boundaries kept moving, and often Jews lost everything because of that. Also, they weren't supposed to use the word 'ghetto.
".. The walls on the Rymarska which had been built before were now made even higher. They make the impression of real prison walls. "They intend to bury us alive"—these words characterize the mood of the Jews..."
During last week of October 1940, six hundred thousand people moved due to orders about Jews moving to ghetto; on November 15, they found the ghetto enclosed in barbed wire, with guards posted across, so Jews couldn't go out to work.
"On February 12, 1941, seventeen people previously sentenced to death for illegal trespassing in the "Aryan section" lost their lives. The execution took place in the Jewish jail on Gesia Street.
"At four A.M., shrill cries notified the neighborhood that "justice" was being meted out, that seventeen outcasts, including four children and three women, were being duly punished for leaving the ghetto in pursuit of a piece of bread or a few pennies. Cries from other jail cells could also be heard, the voices of future victims awaiting trial for the same offense, a total of seven hundred people. The same afternoon the entire Jewish population was notified of the execution by special posters sighed by the German Commissar of the ghetto, Dr. Auerswald...
"... In mid-May 1942, 110 prisoners of the so-called Central Jail (Gesiowka), arrested for illegal crossing to the "Aryan side," were executed. One of our comrades (Grylak) saw the prisoners being led out of the jail and into special trucks. Almost all of them walked meekly into the cars, when suddenly one woman found courage to protest. From the steps of the truck she shouted: "I shall die, but your death will be much worse." Special proclamations signed by Dr. Auerswald informed the ghetto of the "just" punishment received by the 110 "criminals."
"(Edelman, pp. 4, 12-17)"
................................................................................................
"Goebbels' propaganda machine at work.
"A secret report submitted by a Polish underground reporter (undercover name: Lilka) to the Polish underground authorities reveals the German methods of manufacturing propaganda lies.
"Report from the Jewish Section in Warsaw—LILKA,"
"May 19, 1942.
"... The second abominable action carried out by the Germans in the Jewish section during the last few weeks was the activity of the so-called Propaganda Section, Warsaw District. This institution sent to the Jewish section a special movie team which is taking pictures for a "cultural" film now in preparation. Besides technical workers from the film industry, experts on "Jewish life" also participate; they are staging and directing the various scenes. It is rather difficult, based on these individual scenes, to find out exactly what the picture in its entirely may represent. But what we have already seen speaks for itself. This film seems to be designed to represent all the bad features of the Jews as "sub humans." In order to give prominence to these features, the directors are resorting to experiments which are revolting and repulsive to any unbiased observer.
"After photographing scenes of misery in the streets, beggars etc., special scenes are set-up in which German actors, made-up like Jews, play their parts. Moreover, Jewish people, seized at random in the streets, are forced to participate.
"Thus, when a picture of a ritual bathing-establishment, the so-called mikva, was to be taken, fifty people were seized in Gesia Street and transported to a real mikva located in Zamenhofa Street. There all these people were ordered to undress completely and they were driven, both men and women, into a pool, so that pictures might be taken. (As I learned later from persons versed in these matters, Jews are allowed to bathe in such ritual bathing establishments, i.e. in pools with running water, but only men and women separately).
"A few days later the same film team arrived in the so-called "refugee" centers, which accommodate Jews driven out from the towns in which the ghettos had been liquidated. There unimaginably pornographic pictures were taken. Old, bearded Jews were ordered at pistol point to commit lascivious acts with children, with young girls, etc.
"On Sunday, the 17th of this month, the movie people filmed the ceremony of circumcision of a Jewish infant.
"(IPN Archives, Lilka, p. 2)"
................................................................................................
Jews from Berlin, Prague and western Poland were ordered to go to Warsaw, but the ghetto lacked the most primitive necessities.
"Some of the men allegedly go to work, but they are not able to maintain a family. They get, it is true, a bowl of soup in order to prevent them from fainting during their work. But their families belong to the large category of unemployed and consequently are considered parasites by the Herrenvolk...
"Here, unfortunately, nothing can stall the avalanche of death any longer...
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 237-238}
"In January [1942], 9,030 persons stayed in the "refugee" centers; 715 of them died. The mortality in one such "center," which accommodated 2,500 persons, was 17.5% a month.
"(Underground report of March 23, 1942, IPN Archives)"
Jews from Berlin, Prague and western Poland were ordered to go to Warsaw, but the ghetto lacked the most primitive necessities.
"Some of the men allegedly go to work, but they are not able to maintain a family. They get, it is true, a bowl of soup in order to prevent them from fainting during their work. But their families belong to the large category of unemployed and consequently are considered parasites by the Herrenvolk...
"Here, unfortunately, nothing can stall the avalanche of death any longer...
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 237-238}
"In January [1942], 9,030 persons stayed in the "refugee" centers; 715 of them died. The mortality in one such "center," which accommodated 2,500 persons, was 17.5% a month.
"(Underground report of March 23, 1942, IPN Archives)"
................................................................................................
"Prices of food and transportation soaring high. The rikshas of the ghetto.
"October 1941"
Carriages pulled by men emerged in the ghetto, because it was cheaper to maintain men instead of horses.
"In the Warsaw ghetto a loaf of bread costs from 60 to 100 zlotys (before the war one dollar was worth five zlotys), a pound of potatoes from 30 to 40 zlotys, a pound of butter, 250 zlotys. Outside the ghetto a loaf of bread costs from 12 to 15 zlotys, a pound of potatoes from 3 to 4 zlotys, and a pound of butter 120 zlotys.
"(Report from the underground Bund, August 31, 1942 quoted in In di Yorn, p. 30)"
"Many were shot for smuggling food."
"Six-year-old boys crawled through the barbed wire under the very eyes of the gendarmes in order to obtain food on the other side. They supported entire families in this manner. Often a lone shot in the vicinity of the barbed wire told the casual passersby that another little smuggler had died in his fight with omnipotent hunger.
"(Edelman, p. 6)"
"Prices of food and transportation soaring high. The rikshas of the ghetto.
"October 1941"
Carriages pulled by men emerged in the ghetto, because it was cheaper to maintain men instead of horses.
"In the Warsaw ghetto a loaf of bread costs from 60 to 100 zlotys (before the war one dollar was worth five zlotys), a pound of potatoes from 30 to 40 zlotys, a pound of butter, 250 zlotys. Outside the ghetto a loaf of bread costs from 12 to 15 zlotys, a pound of potatoes from 3 to 4 zlotys, and a pound of butter 120 zlotys.
"(Report from the underground Bund, August 31, 1942 quoted in In di Yorn, p. 30)"
"Many were shot for smuggling food."
................................................................................................
"Six-year-old boys crawled through the barbed wire under the very eyes of the gendarmes in order to obtain food on the other side. They supported entire families in this manner. Often a lone shot in the vicinity of the barbed wire told the casual passersby that another little smuggler had died in his fight with omnipotent hunger.
"(Edelman, p. 6)"
................................................................................................
"Altogether 44,000 persons died in the Warsaw ghetto in 1941, which means about 10% of the whole Jewish population of the ghetto. (To provide a clearer contrast we note that the rate of mortality among Jews in Warsaw before the war amounted to about 1.5% yearly.)
"(Polish underground report, IPN Archives)"
"For the purpose of better understanding by the layman, I note that the quantity of food needed for an adult person is 3,000 calories daily. The facts were that the employees of the Community Council, who represented the most aristocratic class of the population, consumed 1,500 calories daily, or half of the necessary quantity of food. Other strata, such as members of liberal professions, workers, craftsmen, etc. consumed less than 1,000 calories.
"And how about the refugees? They got only 300 calories. What wonder then that you met in the streets crowds of beggars bloated from hunger?...
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 231-232)"
"Altogether 44,000 persons died in the Warsaw ghetto in 1941, which means about 10% of the whole Jewish population of the ghetto. (To provide a clearer contrast we note that the rate of mortality among Jews in Warsaw before the war amounted to about 1.5% yearly.)
"(Polish underground report, IPN Archives)"
................................................................................................
"For the purpose of better understanding by the layman, I note that the quantity of food needed for an adult person is 3,000 calories daily. The facts were that the employees of the Community Council, who represented the most aristocratic class of the population, consumed 1,500 calories daily, or half of the necessary quantity of food. Other strata, such as members of liberal professions, workers, craftsmen, etc. consumed less than 1,000 calories.
"And how about the refugees? They got only 300 calories. What wonder then that you met in the streets crowds of beggars bloated from hunger?...
"(Hirszfeld, pp. 231-232)"
................................................................................................
"And, not infrequently, an important post was occupied by a convert. For instance, the chief of the Jewish police, or, as the Germans called it, the Public Safety Service (Ordnungsdienst), was the convert and violent anti-Semite, Colonel Szeryriski, a former Polish police inspector.
"(Turkow, pp. 47-49)"
"The Nazi "moral revolution" which, both in Germany and later in the German-occupied countries, brought the most corrupt and abject elements to posts of command, had its counterpart in the ghetto. In the conditions of great confusion, under direct German intervention or pressure, the most vile and ignoble elements in the Jewish population tried to gain control of the ghetto, to override the legitimate Jewish institutions and to spread a terror regime of their own in the ghetto. Sometimes these tools of German policy were liquidated by the Germans themselves after they fulfilled their "mission." But mostly they were disposed of by the Jewish organizations after the first shock was over and the Jewish political organizations began to recover from the terrible blows of the Germans. As soon as they regained control of the ghetto the Jewish organizations meted out the just punishment to traitors and collaborators and eliminated them from Jewish society."
"And, not infrequently, an important post was occupied by a convert. For instance, the chief of the Jewish police, or, as the Germans called it, the Public Safety Service (Ordnungsdienst), was the convert and violent anti-Semite, Colonel Szeryriski, a former Polish police inspector.
"(Turkow, pp. 47-49)"
................................................................................................
"The Nazi "moral revolution" which, both in Germany and later in the German-occupied countries, brought the most corrupt and abject elements to posts of command, had its counterpart in the ghetto. In the conditions of great confusion, under direct German intervention or pressure, the most vile and ignoble elements in the Jewish population tried to gain control of the ghetto, to override the legitimate Jewish institutions and to spread a terror regime of their own in the ghetto. Sometimes these tools of German policy were liquidated by the Germans themselves after they fulfilled their "mission." But mostly they were disposed of by the Jewish organizations after the first shock was over and the Jewish political organizations began to recover from the terrible blows of the Germans. As soon as they regained control of the ghetto the Jewish organizations meted out the just punishment to traitors and collaborators and eliminated them from Jewish society."
................................................................................................
"The "Thirteen" was the name of an institution which came into existence in Warsaw in 1940. Its seat was at 13 Leszno Street, whence its name. At the head of the institution was Gancwajch, a Jew who had previously been a Zionist. He had lived in Czestochowa, Radomsko and Lodz and before the war was very active in the anti-fascist movement organized by Irena Harand. An intellectual himself, a journalist by profession, he brought up his son in a spirit of Jewish nationalism.
"In 1933, this man became an agent of the Gestapo. In the ghetto, he opened an office supposedly for fighting profiteers and keeping the ghetto clean. To his work, he attracted many serious-minded people from the Jewish intelligentsia, writers, journalists, artists of the stage and others. In the ghetto, he delivered lectures on social justice. He has mastered perfectly the Hebrew language, sends his child to the Hebrew school Dror... and... every week sends a report to the Gestapo. We have unmasked the villain.
"I am not asserting that the members of the Judenrat were of the same ilk as Gancwajch. But he had hundreds of confidants in the Judenrat. Czerniakow was surrounded by agents of Gancwajch and the police captains were all his men.
"Gancwajch did all in his power to keep tabs on us...
"(Cukierman, in Nasze Slowo)"
"The Jewish Fighting Organization was set on the liquidation of all Jewish Gestapo men and traitors. After the attempt on the life of the police chief Szerynski, which was carried out by Israel Kanal, the same fate awaited other scoundrels. Fuerst, of the Judenrat, was killed for his collaboration with the Germans. Hirschl, a Jew from Danzig and the main assistant of the "shop" owner Hallman, was shot for doing the Jews great harm. The employees in the "Emergency Aid" of the "Thirteen," the boxer Fred Bobby and the Gestapo agent Edek Ast were shot in the street, in bright day light. Dr. Alfred Nossig met his well-deserved death, as did the successor of Szeryriski, the "little Napoleon" Leikin. During an entertainment given by the brush-makers, a group of armed members of the Jewish Fighting Organization suddenly broke into the place and carried out the death sentence against the Gestapo men, the two brothers Weintraub (from Lodz) and Lolek Skosowski, who had come especially for the entertainment from the "Aryan" side. Skosowski, however, although hit by many bullets, survived. The Germans sent a special ambulance to take him to the "Aryan" side, and there they put him into the Omega hospital.
"After he recovered from his wounds he became again "active" on the "Aryan" side.
"The Jewish Fighting Organization further carried out an attempt on the life of Fuerstenberg, the last commander of the Umschlagplatz as well as on Szmerling. Like Szerynski, Szmerling was only wounded. The former was later shot by the Germans in recognition of his devoted service, the latter committed suicide later. The successor of Szeryriski and Leikin as chief of the Jewish police was the lawyer Pizyc, from Lodz.
"The informer "Ele Malpe" (the monkey), who was a porter before the war, was the terror of the Jews in Schultz's shop, where he was "working"; he also was shot by the Jewish Fighting Organization..."
"The "Thirteen" was the name of an institution which came into existence in Warsaw in 1940. Its seat was at 13 Leszno Street, whence its name. At the head of the institution was Gancwajch, a Jew who had previously been a Zionist. He had lived in Czestochowa, Radomsko and Lodz and before the war was very active in the anti-fascist movement organized by Irena Harand. An intellectual himself, a journalist by profession, he brought up his son in a spirit of Jewish nationalism.
"In 1933, this man became an agent of the Gestapo. In the ghetto, he opened an office supposedly for fighting profiteers and keeping the ghetto clean. To his work, he attracted many serious-minded people from the Jewish intelligentsia, writers, journalists, artists of the stage and others. In the ghetto, he delivered lectures on social justice. He has mastered perfectly the Hebrew language, sends his child to the Hebrew school Dror... and... every week sends a report to the Gestapo. We have unmasked the villain.
"I am not asserting that the members of the Judenrat were of the same ilk as Gancwajch. But he had hundreds of confidants in the Judenrat. Czerniakow was surrounded by agents of Gancwajch and the police captains were all his men.
"Gancwajch did all in his power to keep tabs on us...
"(Cukierman, in Nasze Slowo)"
................................................................................................
"The Jewish Fighting Organization was set on the liquidation of all Jewish Gestapo men and traitors. After the attempt on the life of the police chief Szerynski, which was carried out by Israel Kanal, the same fate awaited other scoundrels. Fuerst, of the Judenrat, was killed for his collaboration with the Germans. Hirschl, a Jew from Danzig and the main assistant of the "shop" owner Hallman, was shot for doing the Jews great harm. The employees in the "Emergency Aid" of the "Thirteen," the boxer Fred Bobby and the Gestapo agent Edek Ast were shot in the street, in bright day light. Dr. Alfred Nossig met his well-deserved death, as did the successor of Szeryriski, the "little Napoleon" Leikin. During an entertainment given by the brush-makers, a group of armed members of the Jewish Fighting Organization suddenly broke into the place and carried out the death sentence against the Gestapo men, the two brothers Weintraub (from Lodz) and Lolek Skosowski, who had come especially for the entertainment from the "Aryan" side. Skosowski, however, although hit by many bullets, survived. The Germans sent a special ambulance to take him to the "Aryan" side, and there they put him into the Omega hospital.
"After he recovered from his wounds he became again "active" on the "Aryan" side.
"The Jewish Fighting Organization further carried out an attempt on the life of Fuerstenberg, the last commander of the Umschlagplatz as well as on Szmerling. Like Szerynski, Szmerling was only wounded. The former was later shot by the Germans in recognition of his devoted service, the latter committed suicide later. The successor of Szeryriski and Leikin as chief of the Jewish police was the lawyer Pizyc, from Lodz.
"The informer "Ele Malpe" (the monkey), who was a porter before the war, was the terror of the Jews in Schultz's shop, where he was "working"; he also was shot by the Jewish Fighting Organization..."
................................................................................................
" ... the converts were better off than the rest of the ghetto populace. ... When the extermination began, they shared the doom of the rest of the ghetto population."
................................................................................................
"The trend to conversion has also been noted by the Jewish historian E. Ringelblum and others and was explained in this way: (1) the food situation of the converts was generally better since they were taken care of by the powerful Catholic welfare organization Caritas, (2) the well-to-do converts used to help their co-religionists, (3) they were favored in the Jewish Community Council, in the Jewish police and other institutions; the converts also hoped to get more assistance and sympathy from the Polish population in crucial situations than the Jews.
"(cf. Ringelblum, Notes, p. 172 and passim)."
"June 30, 1942
"For many, many months we endured the most terrible sufferings and we kept asking ourselves: Does the world know about our sufferings, and if it knows, why is it silent? Why was the world not outraged by the fact that tens of thousands of Jews were shot to death at Ponary [a place near Wilna where the Germans executed many thousands of Jews?] Why was the world silent when tens of thousands of Jews were poisoned in Chelmno? [an extermination camp near Lodz.] Why was the world silent when hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered in Galicia and other occupied regions? We asked ourselves these questions and could only reply by counter-questions: Why should the world be outraged by the slaughter in Wilna, when the Germans exterminated 180,000 people in Rostow, when a comparable number of Ukrainians and Jews were murdered by the Germans in Kiew? Why should the world be aroused, when, daily, blood is flowing in rivers in all the theaters of the war? Is the blood of the Jews more precious than the blood of the Russian, Chinese, British and other soldiers? It is true that we always gave ourselves this reply, but we felt still that this was no honest answer? Only now have we come to understand the cause of this silence: London just did not know anything about all that was happening here, and that was the reason for this silence. But now we ask how it was possible that the Polish Government, which had its own radio-station, knew nothing about it? Now we ask: if London knew, the next day, that one hundred people were shot in the Pawiak prison, why then did it take many months before they learned in London of the hundreds of thousands murdered Jews? This is indeed a question which cannot be turned away by any excuses...
"(Ringelblum, Notes, pp. 240-241)"
" ... the converts were better off than the rest of the ghetto populace. ... When the extermination began, they shared the doom of the rest of the ghetto population."
................................................................................................
"The trend to conversion has also been noted by the Jewish historian E. Ringelblum and others and was explained in this way: (1) the food situation of the converts was generally better since they were taken care of by the powerful Catholic welfare organization Caritas, (2) the well-to-do converts used to help their co-religionists, (3) they were favored in the Jewish Community Council, in the Jewish police and other institutions; the converts also hoped to get more assistance and sympathy from the Polish population in crucial situations than the Jews.
"(cf. Ringelblum, Notes, p. 172 and passim)."
................................................................................................
"June 30, 1942
"For many, many months we endured the most terrible sufferings and we kept asking ourselves: Does the world know about our sufferings, and if it knows, why is it silent? Why was the world not outraged by the fact that tens of thousands of Jews were shot to death at Ponary [a place near Wilna where the Germans executed many thousands of Jews?] Why was the world silent when tens of thousands of Jews were poisoned in Chelmno? [an extermination camp near Lodz.] Why was the world silent when hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered in Galicia and other occupied regions? We asked ourselves these questions and could only reply by counter-questions: Why should the world be outraged by the slaughter in Wilna, when the Germans exterminated 180,000 people in Rostow, when a comparable number of Ukrainians and Jews were murdered by the Germans in Kiew? Why should the world be aroused, when, daily, blood is flowing in rivers in all the theaters of the war? Is the blood of the Jews more precious than the blood of the Russian, Chinese, British and other soldiers? It is true that we always gave ourselves this reply, but we felt still that this was no honest answer? Only now have we come to understand the cause of this silence: London just did not know anything about all that was happening here, and that was the reason for this silence. But now we ask how it was possible that the Polish Government, which had its own radio-station, knew nothing about it? Now we ask: if London knew, the next day, that one hundred people were shot in the Pawiak prison, why then did it take many months before they learned in London of the hundreds of thousands murdered Jews? This is indeed a question which cannot be turned away by any excuses...
"(Ringelblum, Notes, pp. 240-241)"
................................................................................................
"On the main thoroughfare of the ghetto, Leszno Street, there were at least twenty restaurants. There were as many on Żelazna Street, and Sienna and other streets. Due to the lack of skilled personnel and the indigency of the population, many young girls and women from various social strata offered their services as waitresses, so that the owners had an ample choice. Thus, it happened, that no other city in the world had as many elegant and beautiful women waiting on the patrons as did the ephemeral city of the ghetto in its cafes Cafe of Arts (Sztuka), Splendid, Negresco, etc..."
"When somebody, through skill and diligent work, transformed a dusty court-yard in the ghetto into a cafe in a garden, with grass, flowers and even a fountain; when, on other hand, some of these establishments offered musical programs of the highest artistic value; or when orchestras played English songs (a fact which would have been inconceivable in any other place under German occupation)—did not all these features bear testimony to the strong vitality of the ghetto?
"(M. Mazor, in M.J., No. 37, p. 9)"
"The Jewish Cultural Organization (YIKOR) created a network of schools and courses and a people's university, opened a large Jewish library, organized lectures, reports on scientific subjects, and various entertainments of high artistic and literary standards. Also, many symposiums and commemorative meetings were arranged, dedicated to Yehuda Halevi, Shlomo Ettinger, Mendele Mokher Sforim, Sholem Aleikhem, Peretz, Bialik, Ash, Leivick, and many others.
"Trashy literature and theater were judged and condemned.
"Many periodicals in Yiddish, of a high standard, were published... The key role which YIKOR played in carrying out its diversified cultural activities in hundreds of house committees is to be emphasized. A large staff of lecturers, writers and scientists penetrated into the darkest corners of the ghetto and carried on their educational and enlightening cultural work. They uplifted, revived and encouraged the Jewish masses and awakened them from their apathy and indifference, organizing in each house committee, according to a prearranged plan, a series of lectures on social and political subjects, arranging supplementary courses, literary evenings, discussion meetings and artistic performances, giving these tormented souls new sources of knowledge and life. In the house committees, the YIKOR also established special youth sections...
"(Turkow, pp. 249-250)"
................................................................................................
"A clandestine center for Jewish archives was formed under the innocent name of Oneg Shabbath [a Society for the Pleasures of the Sabbath]. Under the direction of Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum, the founder of the archives, and with the active cooperation of (six names are listed here), the archivists amassed materials and documents relating to the martyrology of the Jews in Poland. Thanks to the intensive work of a large staff, some tens of crates were filled with extraordinarily valuable documents, diaries, memoirs, reports, photographs, etc. These materials were buried, we have no access to them. Most of the material sent abroad originates from our archives. We have raised a cry to the world, with exact information about the greatest crime in history. We are still continuing the archival work."
"A symphony orchestra under the able leadership of Szymon Pullman was active in the ghetto. Whenever an occasion was presented, concerts of beautiful orchestral and chamber music provided moments of rest and escape. Pullman and almost all the members of the orchestra including the violinist Ludwik Holcman were killed in Treblinka. The young concert master Marian Neuteich was murdered in the Trawniki camp.
"New talents appeared in the ghetto. The phenomenal young singer Marysia Ajzensztat, "the nightingale of the ghetto," daughter of the choir director of the Warsaw synagogue, shone like a meteor. She was murdered by the S.S. during the "liquidation campaign.""
"On the main thoroughfare of the ghetto, Leszno Street, there were at least twenty restaurants. There were as many on Żelazna Street, and Sienna and other streets. Due to the lack of skilled personnel and the indigency of the population, many young girls and women from various social strata offered their services as waitresses, so that the owners had an ample choice. Thus, it happened, that no other city in the world had as many elegant and beautiful women waiting on the patrons as did the ephemeral city of the ghetto in its cafes Cafe of Arts (Sztuka), Splendid, Negresco, etc..."
"When somebody, through skill and diligent work, transformed a dusty court-yard in the ghetto into a cafe in a garden, with grass, flowers and even a fountain; when, on other hand, some of these establishments offered musical programs of the highest artistic value; or when orchestras played English songs (a fact which would have been inconceivable in any other place under German occupation)—did not all these features bear testimony to the strong vitality of the ghetto?
"(M. Mazor, in M.J., No. 37, p. 9)"
................................................................................................
"The Jewish Cultural Organization (YIKOR) created a network of schools and courses and a people's university, opened a large Jewish library, organized lectures, reports on scientific subjects, and various entertainments of high artistic and literary standards. Also, many symposiums and commemorative meetings were arranged, dedicated to Yehuda Halevi, Shlomo Ettinger, Mendele Mokher Sforim, Sholem Aleikhem, Peretz, Bialik, Ash, Leivick, and many others.
"Trashy literature and theater were judged and condemned.
"Many periodicals in Yiddish, of a high standard, were published... The key role which YIKOR played in carrying out its diversified cultural activities in hundreds of house committees is to be emphasized. A large staff of lecturers, writers and scientists penetrated into the darkest corners of the ghetto and carried on their educational and enlightening cultural work. They uplifted, revived and encouraged the Jewish masses and awakened them from their apathy and indifference, organizing in each house committee, according to a prearranged plan, a series of lectures on social and political subjects, arranging supplementary courses, literary evenings, discussion meetings and artistic performances, giving these tormented souls new sources of knowledge and life. In the house committees, the YIKOR also established special youth sections...
"(Turkow, pp. 249-250)"
................................................................................................
"A clandestine center for Jewish archives was formed under the innocent name of Oneg Shabbath [a Society for the Pleasures of the Sabbath]. Under the direction of Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum, the founder of the archives, and with the active cooperation of (six names are listed here), the archivists amassed materials and documents relating to the martyrology of the Jews in Poland. Thanks to the intensive work of a large staff, some tens of crates were filled with extraordinarily valuable documents, diaries, memoirs, reports, photographs, etc. These materials were buried, we have no access to them. Most of the material sent abroad originates from our archives. We have raised a cry to the world, with exact information about the greatest crime in history. We are still continuing the archival work."
................................................................................................
"A symphony orchestra under the able leadership of Szymon Pullman was active in the ghetto. Whenever an occasion was presented, concerts of beautiful orchestral and chamber music provided moments of rest and escape. Pullman and almost all the members of the orchestra including the violinist Ludwik Holcman were killed in Treblinka. The young concert master Marian Neuteich was murdered in the Trawniki camp.
"New talents appeared in the ghetto. The phenomenal young singer Marysia Ajzensztat, "the nightingale of the ghetto," daughter of the choir director of the Warsaw synagogue, shone like a meteor. She was murdered by the S.S. during the "liquidation campaign.""
................................................................................................
"Later Dr. Zweibaum got permission to organize courses for the training of sanitary personnel. In fact, it was a camouflaged teaching of the medical courses of the first years of the medical program. There were a few university professors among the lecturers. Professor Centnerszwer and Professor Laks taught chemistry, Dr. Zweibaum, histology, I myself, bacteriology. We have organized something like a faculty and attracted a few more lecturers to cooperate with us. These courses had a fee attached and were self-supporting. Chairman Czerniakow strongly backed them and with his aid we found appropriate quarters..."
"In the brief period from September 1940 to September 1941 (inclusive) we arranged 1,814 artistic spectacles, among them light symphony concerts...
"Besides the great symphony orchestra, which gave symphonic matinees once a week, (on Saturday or Sunday), there were also a few chamber music ensembles..."
"We also had several ballet studios, and schools for rhythmic and plastic dances, under the direction of Irena Prusicka, Aniuta Reiser, Leo Szpacenkop and Lejzerowicz (from Lodz)."
"Later Dr. Zweibaum got permission to organize courses for the training of sanitary personnel. In fact, it was a camouflaged teaching of the medical courses of the first years of the medical program. There were a few university professors among the lecturers. Professor Centnerszwer and Professor Laks taught chemistry, Dr. Zweibaum, histology, I myself, bacteriology. We have organized something like a faculty and attracted a few more lecturers to cooperate with us. These courses had a fee attached and were self-supporting. Chairman Czerniakow strongly backed them and with his aid we found appropriate quarters..."
................................................................................................
"In the brief period from September 1940 to September 1941 (inclusive) we arranged 1,814 artistic spectacles, among them light symphony concerts...
"Besides the great symphony orchestra, which gave symphonic matinees once a week, (on Saturday or Sunday), there were also a few chamber music ensembles..."
"We also had several ballet studios, and schools for rhythmic and plastic dances, under the direction of Irena Prusicka, Aniuta Reiser, Leo Szpacenkop and Lejzerowicz (from Lodz)."
................................................................................................
"In the ghetto, we had five permanent professional theaters, not including the Melody Palace in the Cafe Gertner."
"Femina presented mostly revues and operettas, all in Polish. The shows had the local conditions as a background, and often they were very sarcastic satires..."
"In Azazel Samberg presented L'Avare by Moliere. Of course, according to German law, works by Moliere, who was not a Jew, were not permitted to be given on a Jewish stage, so instead of his name, the name of the translator of L'Avare, A. Einhorn, was substituted on posters and programs..."
"In the large hall of the Economic Club, from time to time we used to arrange various artistic and literary evenings, as well as exhibitions of the works of painters who lived in the ghetto. The last picture exhibition displayed the works of the noted painter and composer Roman Rozental...
"When the ghetto was completely shut off, within its borders lived:
"135 Jewish actors, stage directors and theatrical managers; 52 Artists in show business;
"157 Musicians and composers; 87 Writers, who wrote in Yiddish, Hebrew and Polish;
"25 Painters and sculptors The total was 456 persons very few of whom survived.
"(Turkow, pp. 202-241)"
"I started gathering documents on our times in October 1939. ... delegations from the provincial Jewry kept steadily arriving, telling their stories of the horrible ordeals the Jewish population went through. I noted down all I heard during the day, adding my remarks to it. In the course of time those daily notes formed a book of a hundred closely written pages, which convey a picture of that period."
"Universality was the leading principle in all our work, objectivity the next guiding principle. We strove to tell the whole truth, even where it hurt. Our photographic pictures are genuine, and not retouched. For instance, in our work we also dealt with conditions in the territory occupied by the Bolsheviks."
"Femina presented mostly revues and operettas, all in Polish. The shows had the local conditions as a background, and often they were very sarcastic satires..."
"In Azazel Samberg presented L'Avare by Moliere. Of course, according to German law, works by Moliere, who was not a Jew, were not permitted to be given on a Jewish stage, so instead of his name, the name of the translator of L'Avare, A. Einhorn, was substituted on posters and programs..."
"In the large hall of the Economic Club, from time to time we used to arrange various artistic and literary evenings, as well as exhibitions of the works of painters who lived in the ghetto. The last picture exhibition displayed the works of the noted painter and composer Roman Rozental...
"When the ghetto was completely shut off, within its borders lived:
"135 Jewish actors, stage directors and theatrical managers; 52 Artists in show business;
"157 Musicians and composers; 87 Writers, who wrote in Yiddish, Hebrew and Polish;
"25 Painters and sculptors The total was 456 persons very few of whom survived.
"(Turkow, pp. 202-241)"
................................................................................................
"I started gathering documents on our times in October 1939. ... delegations from the provincial Jewry kept steadily arriving, telling their stories of the horrible ordeals the Jewish population went through. I noted down all I heard during the day, adding my remarks to it. In the course of time those daily notes formed a book of a hundred closely written pages, which convey a picture of that period."
"Universality was the leading principle in all our work, objectivity the next guiding principle. We strove to tell the whole truth, even where it hurt. Our photographic pictures are genuine, and not retouched. For instance, in our work we also dealt with conditions in the territory occupied by the Bolsheviks."
................................................................................................
"The liquidation of the Jews in the General Government started on Passover, 1942. The first victims were the Jews in Lublin, and soon afterwards all Jews in the Lublin district.
"They were deported to the camp of Belzec, where they were put to death in the newly-erected gas-chambers. The illegal Jewish press in Warsaw published extensive news and reports about these mass murders. But Warsaw would not believe them."
"... On the second day of the "deportations" the President of the Jewish Council, Adam Czerniakow, committed suicide. He knew beyond any doubt that the supposed "deportation to the East" actually meant the death of hundreds of thousands of people in gas-chambers, and he refused to assume responsibility for it. Being unable to counteract events he decided to quit altogether. At the time, however, we thought that he had no right to act as he did. We thought that since he was the only person in the ghetto whose voice carried a great deal of authority, it had been his duty to inform the entire population of the real state of affairs, and to dissolve all public institutions, particularly the Jewish Police, which had been established by the Jewish Council and was legally subordinated to it.
"(Edelman, p. 19)"
"During the first conference the gentlemen from Einsatz Reinhard tried to force Czerniakow to sign a petition asking the Germans to "evacuate" from Warsaw the unproductive Jewish elements, since the ghetto was too crowded.
"As is known, Czerniakow refused to sign this petition. However, it was later signed by the other members of the Judenrat, who had been arrested, and who were released from the prison, after they had signed the disgraceful document..."
"The liquidation of the Jews in the General Government started on Passover, 1942. The first victims were the Jews in Lublin, and soon afterwards all Jews in the Lublin district.
"They were deported to the camp of Belzec, where they were put to death in the newly-erected gas-chambers. The illegal Jewish press in Warsaw published extensive news and reports about these mass murders. But Warsaw would not believe them."
................................................................................................
"... On the second day of the "deportations" the President of the Jewish Council, Adam Czerniakow, committed suicide. He knew beyond any doubt that the supposed "deportation to the East" actually meant the death of hundreds of thousands of people in gas-chambers, and he refused to assume responsibility for it. Being unable to counteract events he decided to quit altogether. At the time, however, we thought that he had no right to act as he did. We thought that since he was the only person in the ghetto whose voice carried a great deal of authority, it had been his duty to inform the entire population of the real state of affairs, and to dissolve all public institutions, particularly the Jewish Police, which had been established by the Jewish Council and was legally subordinated to it.
"(Edelman, p. 19)"
"During the first conference the gentlemen from Einsatz Reinhard tried to force Czerniakow to sign a petition asking the Germans to "evacuate" from Warsaw the unproductive Jewish elements, since the ghetto was too crowded.
"As is known, Czerniakow refused to sign this petition. However, it was later signed by the other members of the Judenrat, who had been arrested, and who were released from the prison, after they had signed the disgraceful document..."
................................................................................................
"Nurses search the crowd for their fathers and mothers and, having found them, inject longed for deadly morphine into their veins, their own eyes gleaming wildly. One doctor compassionately pours a cyanide solution into the feverish mouths of strange, sick children. To offer one's cyanide to somebody else is a really heroic sacrifice, for cyanide is now the most irreplaceable thing. It brings a quiet, peaceful death, it saves from the horror of the cars.
"(Edelman, pp. 26-27)"
"Wednesday, August 19
"The viciousness with which the extermination of Jewish children is carried out is stunning."
"One day, it was around the 10th or 15th of August, ... I quite unexpectedly became the witness of Janusz Korczak and his orphans marching out of the ghetto... Only the children were marked for deportation, he himself was not supposed to share their fate. And it took him great pains to persuade the Germans to let him go with the children...
"When I met the procession on Gesia street, all the children were singing together, with beaming faces, while the little violinist was playing. Korczak marched with two of the youngest children in his arms. Their faces were also smiling, apparently, he had been telling them funny stories...
"(Szpilman, pp. 101-102)"
"Nurses search the crowd for their fathers and mothers and, having found them, inject longed for deadly morphine into their veins, their own eyes gleaming wildly. One doctor compassionately pours a cyanide solution into the feverish mouths of strange, sick children. To offer one's cyanide to somebody else is a really heroic sacrifice, for cyanide is now the most irreplaceable thing. It brings a quiet, peaceful death, it saves from the horror of the cars.
"(Edelman, pp. 26-27)"
................................................................................................
"Wednesday, August 19
"The viciousness with which the extermination of Jewish children is carried out is stunning."
"One day, it was around the 10th or 15th of August, ... I quite unexpectedly became the witness of Janusz Korczak and his orphans marching out of the ghetto... Only the children were marked for deportation, he himself was not supposed to share their fate. And it took him great pains to persuade the Germans to let him go with the children...
"When I met the procession on Gesia street, all the children were singing together, with beaming faces, while the little violinist was playing. Korczak marched with two of the youngest children in his arms. Their faces were also smiling, apparently, he had been telling them funny stories...
"(Szpilman, pp. 101-102)"
................................................................................................
"April to July 1942
"For the difficult task of getting more exact information, we appointed Zalman Friedrych, one of the most daring and tireless individuals in the underground. He was a strong, well-built, athletic, handsome young man who looked like a German propagandist's dream of the blond Aryan."
"With great difficulty Friedrych finally reached Sokolow.
"There he learned that the Germans had constructed a small branch railroad to the village of Treblinka. Each day trains packed with Jews were switched onto the new spur.
"At Treblinka, there was a large camp divided into two sections, one for Jews, one for Poles. The residents of Sokolow had heard that terrible things were happening in Treblinka, but they had no precise information. In Sokolow Friedrych stumbled upon our comrade, Azriel Wallach, Maxim Litvinov's nephew, who had just escaped from Treblinka. He was in terrible shape, badly bruised, bleeding, his clothes in shreds. From Wallach, Friedrych learned that all the Jews brought to Treblinka were immediately put to death. They were unloaded from the trains and told they were to be bathed and cleaned before being taken to their quarters and assigned to work. Then they were led into large hermetically sealed chambers and gassed."
"With this information, Friedrych returned to Warsaw. We immediately published the gruesome report in a special edition of Storm. We were thus able to give the ghetto an eyewitness account of what actually happened to the daily train-loads of deportees.
"(Goldstein, p. 118)"
"Jan Karski, a Polish liaison officer between the Government-in-exile in London and the Polish underground in Nazi occupied areas describes his impressions after several talks with Jewish representatives and a visit in the ghetto. Karski left for London in autumn, 1942."
"What I learned at the meetings and later, when I was taken to see the facts for myself, was horrible beyond description. I know history—I have learned a great deal about the evolution of nations, political systems, social doctrines, methods of conquest, persecution, and extermination, and I know, too, that never in the history of mankind, never anywhere in the realm of human relations did anything occur to compare with what was inflicted on the Jewish population of Poland..."
""We want you," they said, "to tell the Polish and Allied governments and the great leaders of the Allies that we are helpless in the face of the German criminals. We cannot defend ourselves and no one in Poland can defend us. The Polish underground authorities can save some of us but they cannot save masses. The Germans are not trying to enslave us as they have other people; we are being systematically murdered..."
""How many were deported altogether?" I asked.
""Over three hundred thousand. More than one hundred thousand are left and the deportations are still going on." I turned pale. It was now the beginning of October 1942. In two and a half months, in one district of Poland, the Nazis had committed three hundred thousand murders..."
"They urged me to the window, pulled down the shade and told me to look through the slit at the side.
""Now you'll see something. The hunt. You would never believe it if you did not see it for yourself!"
"I looked through the opening. In the middle of the street stood two boys dressed in the uniform of the Hitler Youth. They wore no caps and their blond hair shone in the sun. With their round, rosy-cheeked faces and their blue eyes they were like images of health and life. They chattered, laughed, pushed each other in spasms of merriment. At that moment, the younger one pulled a gun out of his hip pocket and then I first realized what I was witnessing. His eyes roamed about, seeking something. A target. He was looking for a target with the casual, gay absorption of a boy at a carnival. I followed his glance. For the first time, I noticed that all the pavements about them were absolutely deserted. Nowhere within the scope of those blue eyes, in no place from which those cheerful, healthy faces could be seen was there a single human being. The gaze of the boy with the gun came to rest on a spot out of my line of vision. He raised his arm and took careful aim. The shot rang out, followed by the noise of breaking glass and then the terrible cry of a man in agony.
"The boy who had fired the shot shouted with joy. The other clapped him on the shoulder and said something to him, obviously complimentary. They smiled at each other and stood there for a moment, gay and insolent, as though aware of their invisible audience. Then they linked their arms and walked off gracefully toward the exit of the ghetto, chatting cheerfully as if they were returning from a sporting event...
"(Jan Karski, pp. 320-333)"
"April to July 1942
"For the difficult task of getting more exact information, we appointed Zalman Friedrych, one of the most daring and tireless individuals in the underground. He was a strong, well-built, athletic, handsome young man who looked like a German propagandist's dream of the blond Aryan."
"With great difficulty Friedrych finally reached Sokolow.
"There he learned that the Germans had constructed a small branch railroad to the village of Treblinka. Each day trains packed with Jews were switched onto the new spur.
"At Treblinka, there was a large camp divided into two sections, one for Jews, one for Poles. The residents of Sokolow had heard that terrible things were happening in Treblinka, but they had no precise information. In Sokolow Friedrych stumbled upon our comrade, Azriel Wallach, Maxim Litvinov's nephew, who had just escaped from Treblinka. He was in terrible shape, badly bruised, bleeding, his clothes in shreds. From Wallach, Friedrych learned that all the Jews brought to Treblinka were immediately put to death. They were unloaded from the trains and told they were to be bathed and cleaned before being taken to their quarters and assigned to work. Then they were led into large hermetically sealed chambers and gassed."
"With this information, Friedrych returned to Warsaw. We immediately published the gruesome report in a special edition of Storm. We were thus able to give the ghetto an eyewitness account of what actually happened to the daily train-loads of deportees.
"(Goldstein, p. 118)"
................................................................................................
"Jan Karski, a Polish liaison officer between the Government-in-exile in London and the Polish underground in Nazi occupied areas describes his impressions after several talks with Jewish representatives and a visit in the ghetto. Karski left for London in autumn, 1942."
"What I learned at the meetings and later, when I was taken to see the facts for myself, was horrible beyond description. I know history—I have learned a great deal about the evolution of nations, political systems, social doctrines, methods of conquest, persecution, and extermination, and I know, too, that never in the history of mankind, never anywhere in the realm of human relations did anything occur to compare with what was inflicted on the Jewish population of Poland..."
""We want you," they said, "to tell the Polish and Allied governments and the great leaders of the Allies that we are helpless in the face of the German criminals. We cannot defend ourselves and no one in Poland can defend us. The Polish underground authorities can save some of us but they cannot save masses. The Germans are not trying to enslave us as they have other people; we are being systematically murdered..."
""How many were deported altogether?" I asked.
""Over three hundred thousand. More than one hundred thousand are left and the deportations are still going on." I turned pale. It was now the beginning of October 1942. In two and a half months, in one district of Poland, the Nazis had committed three hundred thousand murders..."
"They urged me to the window, pulled down the shade and told me to look through the slit at the side.
""Now you'll see something. The hunt. You would never believe it if you did not see it for yourself!"
"I looked through the opening. In the middle of the street stood two boys dressed in the uniform of the Hitler Youth. They wore no caps and their blond hair shone in the sun. With their round, rosy-cheeked faces and their blue eyes they were like images of health and life. They chattered, laughed, pushed each other in spasms of merriment. At that moment, the younger one pulled a gun out of his hip pocket and then I first realized what I was witnessing. His eyes roamed about, seeking something. A target. He was looking for a target with the casual, gay absorption of a boy at a carnival. I followed his glance. For the first time, I noticed that all the pavements about them were absolutely deserted. Nowhere within the scope of those blue eyes, in no place from which those cheerful, healthy faces could be seen was there a single human being. The gaze of the boy with the gun came to rest on a spot out of my line of vision. He raised his arm and took careful aim. The shot rang out, followed by the noise of breaking glass and then the terrible cry of a man in agony.
"The boy who had fired the shot shouted with joy. The other clapped him on the shoulder and said something to him, obviously complimentary. They smiled at each other and stood there for a moment, gay and insolent, as though aware of their invisible audience. Then they linked their arms and walked off gracefully toward the exit of the ghetto, chatting cheerfully as if they were returning from a sporting event...
"(Jan Karski, pp. 320-333)"
................................................................................................
"Szyper simply thought that we had no moral right to endanger the lives of half a million Jews in Warsaw and several million Jews throughout Poland. He was convinced that Moloch would graciously accept the sacrifice of seventy or a hundred thousand Jews and would demand no more. He defended these ideas not only in private conversations, but also to his audiences in public meetings.
"(I. Cukierman, in Nasze Slowo)"
"Our group [the Bund], supported only by the Hehalutz and Hashomer organization, called for active resistance. But public opinion was against us. The majority still thought such action provocative and maintained that if the required contingent of Jews could be delivered, the remainder of the ghetto would be left in peace. The instinct for self-preservation finally drove the people into a state of mind which permitted them to disregard the safety of others to save their own necks. True, nobody believed yet that deportation meant death. But the Germans had already succeeded in dividing the Jewish population into two distinct groups— those already condemned to die and those who still hoped to remain alive. Afterwards, step by step, the Germans succeeded in pitting these two groups against one another and occasionally caused some Jews to lead others to certain death to save their own skin.
"(Edelman, p. 18)"
"The Jewish Fighting Organization encompassed twenty-two fighting groups.
"(Report B. of the Bund, p. 60)"
"... In an effort to disorganize the two fighting organizations, the Gestapo created an organization of its own called "Association of Free Jews" under the leadership of a certain Captain Lontsky, a convert Jew. This Association also published its own paper, which called on the Jews to revolt immediately and not to wait for the final liquidation of the ghetto. This, of course, was sheer provocation. The Germans wanted to instigate a small, ill prepared rising so that they would be able to liquidate the ghetto without shedding blood—that is, of course, their blood. We soon recognized this provocation and, together with the Jewish Fighting Organization, made an appeal to the Jewish population not to allow themselves to be provoked; and thus, we unmasked the "Association of Free Jews."
"(D. Wdowinski, pp. 18-22)"
"Szyper simply thought that we had no moral right to endanger the lives of half a million Jews in Warsaw and several million Jews throughout Poland. He was convinced that Moloch would graciously accept the sacrifice of seventy or a hundred thousand Jews and would demand no more. He defended these ideas not only in private conversations, but also to his audiences in public meetings.
"(I. Cukierman, in Nasze Slowo)"
"Our group [the Bund], supported only by the Hehalutz and Hashomer organization, called for active resistance. But public opinion was against us. The majority still thought such action provocative and maintained that if the required contingent of Jews could be delivered, the remainder of the ghetto would be left in peace. The instinct for self-preservation finally drove the people into a state of mind which permitted them to disregard the safety of others to save their own necks. True, nobody believed yet that deportation meant death. But the Germans had already succeeded in dividing the Jewish population into two distinct groups— those already condemned to die and those who still hoped to remain alive. Afterwards, step by step, the Germans succeeded in pitting these two groups against one another and occasionally caused some Jews to lead others to certain death to save their own skin.
"(Edelman, p. 18)"
"The Jewish Fighting Organization encompassed twenty-two fighting groups.
"(Report B. of the Bund, p. 60)"
................................................................................................
"... In an effort to disorganize the two fighting organizations, the Gestapo created an organization of its own called "Association of Free Jews" under the leadership of a certain Captain Lontsky, a convert Jew. This Association also published its own paper, which called on the Jews to revolt immediately and not to wait for the final liquidation of the ghetto. This, of course, was sheer provocation. The Germans wanted to instigate a small, ill prepared rising so that they would be able to liquidate the ghetto without shedding blood—that is, of course, their blood. We soon recognized this provocation and, together with the Jewish Fighting Organization, made an appeal to the Jewish population not to allow themselves to be provoked; and thus, we unmasked the "Association of Free Jews."
"(D. Wdowinski, pp. 18-22)"
................................................................................................
"May 19,1942... Two heroic young girls, Hayka and Frumka (the Plotnicki sisters), and others are worthy of the talents of a great writer. These bold and courageous young girls travel back and forth across the cities and towns of Poland. They have "Aryan" documents, some as "Aryan" Poles, some as Ukrainians. One of them even wears a cross, with which she never parts except when in the ghetto. They are constantly exposed to the greatest danger. They are ready to take tremendous risks based on their "Aryan" faces and the scarves with which they cover their heads. They accept the most difficult missions and discharge them without the least complaint and without even a moment of hesitation. When it is necessary to make a trip to Wilna, Bialystok, Lemberg (Lwow), Kowel, Lublin, Czestochowa, Radom, etc., to which they smuggle such "disreputable" stuff as illegal literature, reports, money, etc., all this is done in the most natural way. Or if some comrades have to be saved in Wilna, Lublin or other cities, and they take this assignment too. They admit no obstacles and no objections... They travel to cities which no other delegate from any Jewish social organization is able to reach, for instance in Lithuania or Wolyri. They were also the first to bring the sad news about the tragedy in Wilna and they were the first to convey a message of comfort and encouragement and aid to the survivors in Wilna. How often were those girls in the clutches of death? And how often were they arrested and searched? But good luck has accompanied them everywhere. Public messengers who never stumble!"
"(Ringelblum, Notes, pp. 221-222)"
"... The bulk, of the arms was supplied by the Polish military authorities, which sent a considerable shipment of arms consisting of revolvers, hand-grenades and explosive material. For the money which we received we purchased several hundred more revolvers and ammunition too, paying from ten to fifteen thousand zlotys a piece for Vises and Parabellums.
"(JFO Report, Neustadt, pp. 152, 153, 154)"
"May 19,1942... Two heroic young girls, Hayka and Frumka (the Plotnicki sisters), and others are worthy of the talents of a great writer. These bold and courageous young girls travel back and forth across the cities and towns of Poland. They have "Aryan" documents, some as "Aryan" Poles, some as Ukrainians. One of them even wears a cross, with which she never parts except when in the ghetto. They are constantly exposed to the greatest danger. They are ready to take tremendous risks based on their "Aryan" faces and the scarves with which they cover their heads. They accept the most difficult missions and discharge them without the least complaint and without even a moment of hesitation. When it is necessary to make a trip to Wilna, Bialystok, Lemberg (Lwow), Kowel, Lublin, Czestochowa, Radom, etc., to which they smuggle such "disreputable" stuff as illegal literature, reports, money, etc., all this is done in the most natural way. Or if some comrades have to be saved in Wilna, Lublin or other cities, and they take this assignment too. They admit no obstacles and no objections... They travel to cities which no other delegate from any Jewish social organization is able to reach, for instance in Lithuania or Wolyri. They were also the first to bring the sad news about the tragedy in Wilna and they were the first to convey a message of comfort and encouragement and aid to the survivors in Wilna. How often were those girls in the clutches of death? And how often were they arrested and searched? But good luck has accompanied them everywhere. Public messengers who never stumble!"
"(Ringelblum, Notes, pp. 221-222)"
................................................................................................
"... The bulk, of the arms was supplied by the Polish military authorities, which sent a considerable shipment of arms consisting of revolvers, hand-grenades and explosive material. For the money which we received we purchased several hundred more revolvers and ammunition too, paying from ten to fifteen thousand zlotys a piece for Vises and Parabellums.
"(JFO Report, Neustadt, pp. 152, 153, 154)"
................................................................................................
"... "Yurek" (Arieh Wilner) had a "mishap" while negotiating for arms. He succeeded in purchasing from a gentile woman a considerable number of revolvers and hand-grenades. As soon as he managed to get the "goods" into his room, the Gestapo arrived. They quickly searched the room, found the arms and arrested "Yurek" together with his other roommates. We were convinced that this was the dirty work of the gentile woman who sold the arms..."
"(Wladka, pp. 121-128, 158; L. W. Schwartz, pp. 4445)"
"Warsaw, April 5, 1942
"... I am well, and my health is as usual... It is understood, that Geyrusiewicz [from geyrush—deportation] will go to Adamowski [from adomoh—the earth], and that Alifowski [from alofim—thousands] will move to Kiloyon Street [from kiloyon—annihilation]. Our aunt Olomeska [from olom—here meaning world Jewry] does not care about them. It is true that she no longer has the possibilities that were available before, but if she were more concerned, the moving to Kiloyon and Adamowski could have been avoided. Mr. Pahadski (from pahad—leax) is always with us. Greetings from Haregman [from harog—to kill] and Tevakhowich [from tevakh—the slaughter]."
"... "Yurek" (Arieh Wilner) had a "mishap" while negotiating for arms. He succeeded in purchasing from a gentile woman a considerable number of revolvers and hand-grenades. As soon as he managed to get the "goods" into his room, the Gestapo arrived. They quickly searched the room, found the arms and arrested "Yurek" together with his other roommates. We were convinced that this was the dirty work of the gentile woman who sold the arms..."
"(Wladka, pp. 121-128, 158; L. W. Schwartz, pp. 4445)"
................................................................................................
"Warsaw, April 5, 1942
"... I am well, and my health is as usual... It is understood, that Geyrusiewicz [from geyrush—deportation] will go to Adamowski [from adomoh—the earth], and that Alifowski [from alofim—thousands] will move to Kiloyon Street [from kiloyon—annihilation]. Our aunt Olomeska [from olom—here meaning world Jewry] does not care about them. It is true that she no longer has the possibilities that were available before, but if she were more concerned, the moving to Kiloyon and Adamowski could have been avoided. Mr. Pahadski (from pahad—leax) is always with us. Greetings from Haregman [from harog—to kill] and Tevakhowich [from tevakh—the slaughter]."
................................................................................................
"On January 18, 1943, the ghetto was surrounded once again and the "second liquidation" began. This time, however, the Germans were not able to carry out their plans unchallenged. Four barricaded battle groups offered the first armed resistance in the ghetto."
"... The number of Germans killed by Z.O.B. bullets was not the only important thing. What was more important was the appearance of a psychological turning point. The mere fact that because of the unexpected resistance, weak as it was, the Germans were forced to interrupt their "deportation" schedule was of immense value. In the meantime, legends about "hundreds" of dead Germans and the "tremendous" power of the Z.O.B. started circulating throughout Warsaw. The entire Polish Underground was full of praise for us... At the end of January, we received fifty larger pistols and fifty hand grenades from the Home Army Command. A reorganization of the Z.O.B. was carried out.
"(Edelman, pp. 30-31)"
"Himmler orders the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto. On January 9, 1943, the chief of the German S.S. and Police, Heinrich Himmler, visited the Warsaw ghetto. The result of this visit, and of the unexpected Jewish resistance on January 18-19, 1943 was his Draconian order to wipe out the Warsaw ghetto entirely."
"For security reason, I hereby order that the Warsaw ghetto be destroyed, after the concentration camp has been transferred elsewhere. All useful parts of the buildings as well as all kinds of materials are to be disposed of. The razing of the ghetto and the transfer of the concentration camp are necessary because Warsaw will never quiet down and its criminal deeds will never end, as long as the ghetto stands. A general plan for the destruction of the ghetto must be submitted to me. At least it is necessary that the dwelling space for 500,000 sub humans available until now, which would never be fit for Germans, should completely disappear. In this way, Warsaw, that city of a million people, which has always been a center of decay and mutiny, will be reduced. /signed/ H. Himmler 2. Copy sent to Chief of Security Police and Security Service with request that notice be taken. Br. SS Obersturmbannfuehrer
"(S. Piotrowski, p. 47)"
"On January 18, 1943, the ghetto was surrounded once again and the "second liquidation" began. This time, however, the Germans were not able to carry out their plans unchallenged. Four barricaded battle groups offered the first armed resistance in the ghetto."
"... The number of Germans killed by Z.O.B. bullets was not the only important thing. What was more important was the appearance of a psychological turning point. The mere fact that because of the unexpected resistance, weak as it was, the Germans were forced to interrupt their "deportation" schedule was of immense value. In the meantime, legends about "hundreds" of dead Germans and the "tremendous" power of the Z.O.B. started circulating throughout Warsaw. The entire Polish Underground was full of praise for us... At the end of January, we received fifty larger pistols and fifty hand grenades from the Home Army Command. A reorganization of the Z.O.B. was carried out.
"(Edelman, pp. 30-31)"
................................................................................................
"Himmler orders the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto. On January 9, 1943, the chief of the German S.S. and Police, Heinrich Himmler, visited the Warsaw ghetto. The result of this visit, and of the unexpected Jewish resistance on January 18-19, 1943 was his Draconian order to wipe out the Warsaw ghetto entirely."
"For security reason, I hereby order that the Warsaw ghetto be destroyed, after the concentration camp has been transferred elsewhere. All useful parts of the buildings as well as all kinds of materials are to be disposed of. The razing of the ghetto and the transfer of the concentration camp are necessary because Warsaw will never quiet down and its criminal deeds will never end, as long as the ghetto stands. A general plan for the destruction of the ghetto must be submitted to me. At least it is necessary that the dwelling space for 500,000 sub humans available until now, which would never be fit for Germans, should completely disappear. In this way, Warsaw, that city of a million people, which has always been a center of decay and mutiny, will be reduced. /signed/ H. Himmler 2. Copy sent to Chief of Security Police and Security Service with request that notice be taken. Br. SS Obersturmbannfuehrer
"(S. Piotrowski, p. 47)"
................................................................................................
""For days and nights the ghetto flamed... and there was no one to halt the blaze."
"The ghetto was burning. For days and nights it flamed, and the fire consumed house after house, entire streets.
"Columns of smoke rose, sparks flew, and the sky reflected a red, frightening glow. Nearby, on the other side of the wall, citizens of the capital strolled, played, and enjoyed themselves. They knew that "the Jews were burning." The wind blew smoke and soot from the burning ruins in their direction. Sparks scattered and now and then a house outside the ghetto would catch fire. But these fires were immediately extinguished. Only in the ghetto no one hastened to put out the flames, to come to the rescue. Everything was burning and there was no one to halt the blaze."
"... The omnipotent flames were now able to accomplish what the Germans could not do. Thousands of people perished in the conflagration. The stench of burning bodies was everywhere. Charred corpses lay around on balconies, in window recesses, on unburned steps. The flames chased the people out from their shelters, made them leave the previously prepared safe hideouts in attics and cellars. Thousands staggered about in the courtyards where they were easy prey for the Germans who imprisoned them or killed them outright. Tired beyond all endurances, they would fall asleep in driveways, entrances, standing, sitting, lying and were caught asleep by a passing German's bullet...
"(Edelman, pp. 37-38)"
"The Germans brought strong military detachments, field artillery, tanks and armored columns into the battle."
"The results of the first day (Monday) of action of the Jewish fighters are already known: more than a hundred Germans have been killed or wounded. Some dozens of Germans were stripped of their arms. A few tanks were burned with benzine bottles.
"Being now convinced that they cannot break the resistance of the Jewish fighters in open battle, they are now trying to annihilate them by fire. In the buildings thousands of women and children are burning to death. Terrible screams and desperate calls for help are coming from the buildings."
"According to preliminary accounts, the losses of the Germans during the first three days of the battle amount to two hundred killed and four hundred wounded."
"... Despite the deportation of a considerable number of people from the "shop" center (it has been learned that two thousand persons were deported from the premises of Toebbens, among others), and despite the killing of several thousand Jews in the central ghetto during the action, the greater part of the population (50,000 people) are still in the ghetto, in shelters and hiding-places. They are all threatened with being burned alive 0r killed by the Germans in the future."
"(JFO bulletins)"
"... On the fourth story, at a small window, our old soldier Diament is at his combat post. His is a long rifle whose glorious history reaches back to the Russo-Japanese War. Diament is phlegmatic, his movements are slow but deliberate. The young boys near him impatiently try to hurry him along. But Diament is imperturbable. He aims at the stomach, hits the heart. Every round finishes off another German.
"At 56 Leszno Street Jurek is cornered at an outpost. A group of SS men surrounds him, and one throws a grenade. Jurek adroitly catches the grenade in mid-air and tosses it back at the SS men before it has time to explode. Four of them are killed on the spot...
"(Edelman, pp. 36-39)"
""For days and nights the ghetto flamed... and there was no one to halt the blaze."
"The ghetto was burning. For days and nights it flamed, and the fire consumed house after house, entire streets.
"Columns of smoke rose, sparks flew, and the sky reflected a red, frightening glow. Nearby, on the other side of the wall, citizens of the capital strolled, played, and enjoyed themselves. They knew that "the Jews were burning." The wind blew smoke and soot from the burning ruins in their direction. Sparks scattered and now and then a house outside the ghetto would catch fire. But these fires were immediately extinguished. Only in the ghetto no one hastened to put out the flames, to come to the rescue. Everything was burning and there was no one to halt the blaze."
"... The omnipotent flames were now able to accomplish what the Germans could not do. Thousands of people perished in the conflagration. The stench of burning bodies was everywhere. Charred corpses lay around on balconies, in window recesses, on unburned steps. The flames chased the people out from their shelters, made them leave the previously prepared safe hideouts in attics and cellars. Thousands staggered about in the courtyards where they were easy prey for the Germans who imprisoned them or killed them outright. Tired beyond all endurances, they would fall asleep in driveways, entrances, standing, sitting, lying and were caught asleep by a passing German's bullet...
"(Edelman, pp. 37-38)"
................................................................................................
"The Germans brought strong military detachments, field artillery, tanks and armored columns into the battle."
"The results of the first day (Monday) of action of the Jewish fighters are already known: more than a hundred Germans have been killed or wounded. Some dozens of Germans were stripped of their arms. A few tanks were burned with benzine bottles.
"Being now convinced that they cannot break the resistance of the Jewish fighters in open battle, they are now trying to annihilate them by fire. In the buildings thousands of women and children are burning to death. Terrible screams and desperate calls for help are coming from the buildings."
"According to preliminary accounts, the losses of the Germans during the first three days of the battle amount to two hundred killed and four hundred wounded."
"... Despite the deportation of a considerable number of people from the "shop" center (it has been learned that two thousand persons were deported from the premises of Toebbens, among others), and despite the killing of several thousand Jews in the central ghetto during the action, the greater part of the population (50,000 people) are still in the ghetto, in shelters and hiding-places. They are all threatened with being burned alive 0r killed by the Germans in the future."
"(JFO bulletins)"
................................................................................................
"... On the fourth story, at a small window, our old soldier Diament is at his combat post. His is a long rifle whose glorious history reaches back to the Russo-Japanese War. Diament is phlegmatic, his movements are slow but deliberate. The young boys near him impatiently try to hurry him along. But Diament is imperturbable. He aims at the stomach, hits the heart. Every round finishes off another German.
"At 56 Leszno Street Jurek is cornered at an outpost. A group of SS men surrounds him, and one throws a grenade. Jurek adroitly catches the grenade in mid-air and tosses it back at the SS men before it has time to explode. Four of them are killed on the spot...
"(Edelman, pp. 36-39)"
................................................................................................
"The large-scale action was terminated on May 16, 1943 with the blowing up of the Warsaw synagogue.
"(From the teletype message of May 15,1943:)"
"The large-scale action was terminated on May 16, 1943 with the blowing up of the Warsaw synagogue.
"(From the teletype message of May 15,1943:)"
................................................................................................
"The voice of the Polish underground press: Rada Narodowa [The National Council)—Organ of the Polish National Council.
"Warsaw - April 28, 1944 - No. 7
"The defense of the Warsaw ghetto, which lasted from April 19 to the middle of May 1943, was not an insignificant, isolated skirmish, but a regular battle with the overwhelming power of modern German weapons, with tanks, artillery, hand grenades, and flame throwers, with gas bombs, incendiary bombs and airplanes."
"It is a definite fact that there was not a single army officer among the commanders of the Jewish fighters. The leaders in the fighting were men who had been active in labor and youth organizations. The chief commander of the fighters and their inspiring leader was the twenty-four-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, who previously had been connected with the youth movement. He perished in the battle together with all the members of his staff. All these leaders of the Jewish fighters had risen from the rank and file of the people. Their guiding star was the yearning for social and national liberation..."
................................................................................................
"Gios Warszawy
"(The Voice of Warsaw).
"Third year - Warsaw, April 18, 1943 No. 31
"In the Warsaw ghetto the powerful military machine which the Nazi criminals had at their disposal suffered a heavy moral blow. A handful of poorly armed and wholly isolated fighters put up a strong resistance against elite units of artillery and armored tanks. The despicable enemy could break the resistance only by setting the whole ghetto on fire, using airplanes, and even gas bombs..."
"The voice of the Polish underground press: Rada Narodowa [The National Council)—Organ of the Polish National Council.
"Warsaw - April 28, 1944 - No. 7
"The defense of the Warsaw ghetto, which lasted from April 19 to the middle of May 1943, was not an insignificant, isolated skirmish, but a regular battle with the overwhelming power of modern German weapons, with tanks, artillery, hand grenades, and flame throwers, with gas bombs, incendiary bombs and airplanes."
"It is a definite fact that there was not a single army officer among the commanders of the Jewish fighters. The leaders in the fighting were men who had been active in labor and youth organizations. The chief commander of the fighters and their inspiring leader was the twenty-four-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, who previously had been connected with the youth movement. He perished in the battle together with all the members of his staff. All these leaders of the Jewish fighters had risen from the rank and file of the people. Their guiding star was the yearning for social and national liberation..."
................................................................................................
"Gios Warszawy
"(The Voice of Warsaw).
"Third year - Warsaw, April 18, 1943 No. 31
"In the Warsaw ghetto the powerful military machine which the Nazi criminals had at their disposal suffered a heavy moral blow. A handful of poorly armed and wholly isolated fighters put up a strong resistance against elite units of artillery and armored tanks. The despicable enemy could break the resistance only by setting the whole ghetto on fire, using airplanes, and even gas bombs..."
................................................................................................
"Final letter of farewell addressed by Zygelboim to the Polish President Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, and to Prime-Minister Wladystaw Sikorski."
"The last news received from Poland makes it clear that the Germans are determined to wipe out, with horrible brutality, the last remnants of the Jews who have survived in Poland. Behind the walls of the ghetto is now going on the last act of a tragedy unequalled in all history. The murderers themselves bear the primary responsibility for the crime of extermination of the whole Jewish population of Poland, but, indirectly, this responsibility also weighs on all humanity, on the peoples and governments of the allied nations, because they have not made any attempt to do something drastic to stall the criminal deeds. By looking on indifferently while helpless millions of tortured children, women and men were murdered, those nations have associated themselves with the criminals."
"Szmul Zygelboim
"(Zygelboim-Book, pp. 364-365j"
"From a letter of farewell to friends
"... Maybe my death will achieve that which I did not succeed in achieving during my life, the starting of a definite action to rescue at least the less than three hundred thousand Jews who are the only survivors in Poland of the former Jewish population of three and a half million. Now is the last minute for such an action...
"(Zygelboim, p. 366)"
"Commercial utilization of murder: the Germans clean up and salvage what they can from the ruins.
"In June 1943, the Germans recruited Polish workers to clean up the ruins, to tear down the tottering buildings, and to salvage whatever iron and other useful metals they could. They also formed a separate labor unit of Jews from Greece, France, Rumania, and Hungary, who were brought from various labor camps. They wore prison dress of striped trousers and gray blouses and were quartered in the Gesiawka, the building on Gesia Street which had once housed the institutions of the Jewish community. The Poles and Jews worked in complete isolation from each other and were not permitted to communicate. The Jewish workers were prisoners from camps and were so treated. The Poles were volunteers and were permitted to pass in and out of the ruined ghetto..."
"When the Germans finished, nothing was left in the ghetto except a broad field of rubble, three stories deep.
"(Goldstein, pp. 204-205)"
"Final letter of farewell addressed by Zygelboim to the Polish President Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, and to Prime-Minister Wladystaw Sikorski."
"The last news received from Poland makes it clear that the Germans are determined to wipe out, with horrible brutality, the last remnants of the Jews who have survived in Poland. Behind the walls of the ghetto is now going on the last act of a tragedy unequalled in all history. The murderers themselves bear the primary responsibility for the crime of extermination of the whole Jewish population of Poland, but, indirectly, this responsibility also weighs on all humanity, on the peoples and governments of the allied nations, because they have not made any attempt to do something drastic to stall the criminal deeds. By looking on indifferently while helpless millions of tortured children, women and men were murdered, those nations have associated themselves with the criminals."
"Szmul Zygelboim
"(Zygelboim-Book, pp. 364-365j"
"From a letter of farewell to friends
"... Maybe my death will achieve that which I did not succeed in achieving during my life, the starting of a definite action to rescue at least the less than three hundred thousand Jews who are the only survivors in Poland of the former Jewish population of three and a half million. Now is the last minute for such an action...
"(Zygelboim, p. 366)"
................................................................................................
"Commercial utilization of murder: the Germans clean up and salvage what they can from the ruins.
"In June 1943, the Germans recruited Polish workers to clean up the ruins, to tear down the tottering buildings, and to salvage whatever iron and other useful metals they could. They also formed a separate labor unit of Jews from Greece, France, Rumania, and Hungary, who were brought from various labor camps. They wore prison dress of striped trousers and gray blouses and were quartered in the Gesiawka, the building on Gesia Street which had once housed the institutions of the Jewish community. The Poles and Jews worked in complete isolation from each other and were not permitted to communicate. The Jewish workers were prisoners from camps and were so treated. The Poles were volunteers and were permitted to pass in and out of the ruined ghetto..."
"When the Germans finished, nothing was left in the ghetto except a broad field of rubble, three stories deep.
"(Goldstein, pp. 204-205)"
................................................................................................
"... It is a stormy, dark night... But he who survives until tomorrow will also live to see the daybreak...
"(Kermisz, pp. 343-344, 380-384)"
"(Late 1943 and early 1944)
"Around Warsaw, hiding in the woods and in the open countryside, were possibly twenty thousand uprooted homeless wanderers. We estimated that the Bund alone was helping about three thousand of them. Until the outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, the organized help of all Jewish groups and organizations had reached about eight or nine thousand people."
"... During the last half of 1943 and the beginning of 1944 there were constant raids in the Otwock resort district and similar sections near Warsaw, like Podkowa-LeSna, Bernardowa, and Jablonna. These places, remote from the teeming city, surrounded by forests, with only isolated homes and villas, were well suited for concealment. Here were hidden most of the wealthier Jews, those completely assimilated and indistinguishable from Poles and those who had the advantage of an Aryan appearance...
"Here too, lurked the schmaltzovniks, petty gangsters, and informers. And there was always danger from the unpaid Hitler agents, like the members of the Polish Falanga [a Polish fascist organization], who hunted Jews without any desire for monetary gain. They were a larger group and even published an underground newspaper, Szaniec (The Bulwark). They organized partisan groups in the forest who hunted down and shot Jews in hiding.
"(Goldstein, pp. 217-218, 227)"
"... It is a stormy, dark night... But he who survives until tomorrow will also live to see the daybreak...
"(Kermisz, pp. 343-344, 380-384)"
................................................................................................
"(Late 1943 and early 1944)
"Around Warsaw, hiding in the woods and in the open countryside, were possibly twenty thousand uprooted homeless wanderers. We estimated that the Bund alone was helping about three thousand of them. Until the outbreak of the Warsaw uprising, the organized help of all Jewish groups and organizations had reached about eight or nine thousand people."
"... During the last half of 1943 and the beginning of 1944 there were constant raids in the Otwock resort district and similar sections near Warsaw, like Podkowa-LeSna, Bernardowa, and Jablonna. These places, remote from the teeming city, surrounded by forests, with only isolated homes and villas, were well suited for concealment. Here were hidden most of the wealthier Jews, those completely assimilated and indistinguishable from Poles and those who had the advantage of an Aryan appearance...
"Here too, lurked the schmaltzovniks, petty gangsters, and informers. And there was always danger from the unpaid Hitler agents, like the members of the Polish Falanga [a Polish fascist organization], who hunted Jews without any desire for monetary gain. They were a larger group and even published an underground newspaper, Szaniec (The Bulwark). They organized partisan groups in the forest who hunted down and shot Jews in hiding.
"(Goldstein, pp. 217-218, 227)"
................................................................................................
"Report of June 23, 1942 No. 18
"1. Last week (June 14-20) there was posted on the billboard of the Jewish Community Council an order of the German authorities, according to which all foreign Jews, except men fifteen to fifty years of age, who have a father or mother, husband or wife, residing in one of the countries of the two Americas (with the exception of Chile and the Argentine), or in Palestine, are obliged to register with the Registration Office established for this purpose at the Community Council. Moreover, the registration of Polish Jews is ordered (except of men fifteen to fifty years of age) who have close relatives in Palestine. The order does not reveal the reasons for such a registration. Rumor has it that the aim of the registration is to exchange the registered persons against Germans residing in the above countries or interned by those governments in concentration camps.
"(Polish underground. IPN Archives)
"In this connection, the infamous Hotel Polski affair may be mentioned. Since many of the Jewish addressees for whom foreign passports arrived were no longer alive the Gestapo was willing to transfer these passports to other living Jewish substitutes. Of course, a considerable bribe had to be paid for this. In this way, many foreign Jews as well as "foreigners" of a recent Gestapo-make were gathered. They were ordered to live in several places in Warsaw. The best known and most crowded was the Hotel Polski, a Polish hotel controlled by the Gestapo. Later, these Jews were transferred to camps in Germany (Hannover and others) and France (Vittel). However, only a small number of those people were actually used for exchange and released by the Germans. The rest were eventually either exterminated on the spot or sent to the extermination camp in Auschwitz. The Hotel Polski affair has been described in many memoirs and eye witness records."
"(August and September 1944)
"On the first day of the uprising, [August 1] the military prison on Dzika Street was captured and all the prisoners freed. Most of them were Jews, mainly from Greece, Hungary, and Rumania, with a few from Poland. They were all slave laborers whom the Germans had been using to tear down the ruins of the ghetto.
"I must confess that the attitude of the military command of the uprising toward these most unfortunate of the unfortunate Jews was far from proper, even considering the difficult times. They were formed into labor brigades and immediately sent into the front lines to dig trenches under the artillery fire of the enemy. Toughs and hoodlums taunted and tormented them. Their difficulties were multiplied because they did not understand the language. We learned of the plight of these Jews and intervened on their behalf. We gave them what assistance we could and got a promise from the military command that their condition would be improved...
"The Monitor Polski, the official government gazette, published a communique abrogating the laws which the Germans had introduced during the occupation. They forgot one detail — to nullify the Nuremberg laws against the Jews. We promptly complained, and the government promised to correct the omission.
"(Goldstein, pp. 243-244)"
"Report of June 23, 1942 No. 18
"1. Last week (June 14-20) there was posted on the billboard of the Jewish Community Council an order of the German authorities, according to which all foreign Jews, except men fifteen to fifty years of age, who have a father or mother, husband or wife, residing in one of the countries of the two Americas (with the exception of Chile and the Argentine), or in Palestine, are obliged to register with the Registration Office established for this purpose at the Community Council. Moreover, the registration of Polish Jews is ordered (except of men fifteen to fifty years of age) who have close relatives in Palestine. The order does not reveal the reasons for such a registration. Rumor has it that the aim of the registration is to exchange the registered persons against Germans residing in the above countries or interned by those governments in concentration camps.
"(Polish underground. IPN Archives)
"In this connection, the infamous Hotel Polski affair may be mentioned. Since many of the Jewish addressees for whom foreign passports arrived were no longer alive the Gestapo was willing to transfer these passports to other living Jewish substitutes. Of course, a considerable bribe had to be paid for this. In this way, many foreign Jews as well as "foreigners" of a recent Gestapo-make were gathered. They were ordered to live in several places in Warsaw. The best known and most crowded was the Hotel Polski, a Polish hotel controlled by the Gestapo. Later, these Jews were transferred to camps in Germany (Hannover and others) and France (Vittel). However, only a small number of those people were actually used for exchange and released by the Germans. The rest were eventually either exterminated on the spot or sent to the extermination camp in Auschwitz. The Hotel Polski affair has been described in many memoirs and eye witness records."
................................................................................................
"(August and September 1944)
"On the first day of the uprising, [August 1] the military prison on Dzika Street was captured and all the prisoners freed. Most of them were Jews, mainly from Greece, Hungary, and Rumania, with a few from Poland. They were all slave laborers whom the Germans had been using to tear down the ruins of the ghetto.
"I must confess that the attitude of the military command of the uprising toward these most unfortunate of the unfortunate Jews was far from proper, even considering the difficult times. They were formed into labor brigades and immediately sent into the front lines to dig trenches under the artillery fire of the enemy. Toughs and hoodlums taunted and tormented them. Their difficulties were multiplied because they did not understand the language. We learned of the plight of these Jews and intervened on their behalf. We gave them what assistance we could and got a promise from the military command that their condition would be improved...
"The Monitor Polski, the official government gazette, published a communique abrogating the laws which the Germans had introduced during the occupation. They forgot one detail — to nullify the Nuremberg laws against the Jews. We promptly complained, and the government promised to correct the omission.
"(Goldstein, pp. 243-244)"
................................................................................................
"After a few weeks of desperate fighting the Polish insurgents surrendered to the Germans on October 2, 1944. But the Nazis were not content with taking prisoners of war. They ordered a total evacuation of Warsaw and sent the civilian population into internment camps. After the evacuation, they set out on the systematic destruction of the whole city, house by house, and street by street. It was to be wiped out as the Warsaw ghetto had been a year before. The situation of the Jews, both the fighters and the civilians, was far more dangerous than that of the Polish population.
"If they were recognized as Jews by German soldiers and spies or by unfriendly Poles they were instantly shot. Only a small part of the Jews hidden in the "Aryan" part of Warsaw or disguised as "Aryans" survived this new disaster. However, a small number of Jews who remained in the emptied and demolished city, defying all dangers, managed to survive as ruin and cave dwellers, or in deep dug-outs and bunkers.
"On January 17, 1945 Warsaw was liberated from the Germans. But sometimes it took weeks and months until a well-hidden Jewish group learned about it in their living grave or until they had courage enough to show up, remembering previous bitter disillusionments and German tricks. The surviving remnants (Sherith Haplaithah) instantly took steps to organize Jewish life and to set up a Jewish Community.
"(January to April 1945)"
"After a few weeks of desperate fighting the Polish insurgents surrendered to the Germans on October 2, 1944. But the Nazis were not content with taking prisoners of war. They ordered a total evacuation of Warsaw and sent the civilian population into internment camps. After the evacuation, they set out on the systematic destruction of the whole city, house by house, and street by street. It was to be wiped out as the Warsaw ghetto had been a year before. The situation of the Jews, both the fighters and the civilians, was far more dangerous than that of the Polish population.
"If they were recognized as Jews by German soldiers and spies or by unfriendly Poles they were instantly shot. Only a small part of the Jews hidden in the "Aryan" part of Warsaw or disguised as "Aryans" survived this new disaster. However, a small number of Jews who remained in the emptied and demolished city, defying all dangers, managed to survive as ruin and cave dwellers, or in deep dug-outs and bunkers.
"On January 17, 1945 Warsaw was liberated from the Germans. But sometimes it took weeks and months until a well-hidden Jewish group learned about it in their living grave or until they had courage enough to show up, remembering previous bitter disillusionments and German tricks. The surviving remnants (Sherith Haplaithah) instantly took steps to organize Jewish life and to set up a Jewish Community.
"(January to April 1945)"
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February 13, 2020 - February 20, 2020.
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