Today, October 3 [should read September] 1942, it is exactly two weeks since the
horrible slaughter in Luck and its surroundings. For two gruesome weeks we - a few Jews who had succeeded in escaping from Luck at the very last moment - have been roaming about without sleeping at night, since death threatens us every moment. Out of the forest and back into the forest. We have become forest men. It happens that for two or even three days we are without a piece of bread, a drop of water. Our eyes are no longer able to shed tears. The heart burns with pain, there is a pressure so strong as to break it, and there is no help. We are all condemned to death. My dear son David - God knows if he is still alive - your mother was like a dove when they led her to the slaughter. I did not witness this with my own eyes; to my great pain and despair fate willed that I should abandon my dear wife and son and escape alone like a coward. However they are in a better position now than I am, they have already gone through what they had to, and every moment I expect to be caught. I am sitting in a dug-out in the forest where your grandfather used to live and I am writing both of you a farewell letter. Maybe fate will not be so cruel after all and, when the war is over, you will receive it by mail with the help of a goodhearted Gentile. Thus, I embrace both of you - you and your wife - and I send you my fatherly blessing before my death. Your Father - Unknown |
Another terrible four weeks have passed. Today it is exactly six weeks since the
gruesome events in our town Luck and the surroundings. Since then thousands of Jews who had escaped were caught and shot dead. As for me, my bitter fate has preserved me for the time being, so that I may still suffer some time longer. As a matter of fact, mother and David are the luckiest of our whole family, they have already gone through what they had to, and they surely did not suffer such terrible moral pain as I do, having remained alive . These forty- two days have been awful. Only those who live are scared of death; for the dead it is a salvation. Thus, my children, imaging such a picture: I am sitting in a thick forest and fate willed that it should be exactly the same forest in which mother was born. An old, gray-haired man squatting on the earth; one would think that I was about seventy; my body is torn and bitten, and I have no shirt on, since I had to throw it away. I did not understand [until now] what a terrible plague the lice were with which Moses punished Pharaoh, as is written in the Pentateuch: "And the wise men could not stand before Pharaoh."* This means simply that the lice were eating them alive. Now I understand it, and it is an awful thing. How happy I would be if I could take a basin of hot water, do some washing, and put on a clean shirt and underwear; and then, may death arrive. That is that, my dear children. All is lost, but may I at least be the ransom for you, so that you, the survivors, the last spark left of our family, will not be extinguished. I am now in my misfortune, my comrade in distress was caught by the murderers on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, in full daylight; he had not been cautious enough. They tortured and then shot him. They search for me, too, they even trod on me in the stack of straw where I was hiding. Yet, for the time being, they have not succeeded. Since then I have been wandering alone at night from village to village, from tent to tent, from forest to forest. But the forest, unfortunately, has started balding, and I also am naked and barefoot, hungry and sleepy. I am walking like a sleepwalker without seeing my own shadow, I am wandering - where to, I myself do not know. Shall I succeed in staying alive? I am not at all sure. It is very improbable. One can still manage somehow, though . - Unknown |
12 September 1940 …A lot has changed since we last saw each
other. How long has it been? You must have heard from your parents that while they were preparing for emigration I tried very hard to get to South America. It seemed to be quite promising a year ago, but meanwhile everything has been shattered. I was at least lucky to have been employed for almost the entire time. In November 1938 the Berlin Community Bulletin, as well as all other Jewish papers, ceased to exist. But as early as January 1939 I got a position at the newly founded Juedisches Nachrichtenblatt (Jewish Information Bulletin). The work is much the same as before. We sit in the former offices of the Juedische Rundschau and the paper is being printed at the Aryanized printer of the Israelitisches Familienblatt …. There is little variety in our life. I go to the Kulturbund cinema once a week.… Every two months they produce a new play, everything of course with much more primitive means as even two years ago. Finally, I strangely still have a lot of friends. Strangely – since the majority of the sensible people have emigrated…. - Unknown |
August 16 1943 On the first of this month, the following bulletin appeared in
the papers: The Arabs and the Jews in Palestine are preparing to wage war against one another. The “Daily Mail” from Cairo reports that the Arabs and Jews are arming themselves to the teeth, and that relations between them are worsening every day. It is said that the Arabs have approximately one hundred thousand rifles and many machine guns, mortars, small arms, and hand grenades. The Jews have only fifty thousand rifles but they have more artillery – about two thousand machine guns and a few heavy cannons. It is said that the Jews even have their own armaments industry. As soon as I saw the words “Jews” and “Palestine” my heart trembled, and as I read on I felt more and more distressed. For this bulletin was written in the same way that the riots of a few years ago were reported. The thought of bloodshed, the blood of my dear brothers which become more precious from day to day, terrified me. And why? Because this blood will not flow for a Jewish cause. The death of our dear brothers will not change the horrible situation of our people one bit. As I read, my heart began to beat faster and the blood pounded in my veins, and I suddenly felt a great yearning for my beloved country and a longing for my dear brothers; although their struggle will not better the lot of the Jews as a people, still my heart went out to them. For when they suffer they will suffer as Jews who stand and fight for their __________________________________________________________________________ Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies 2 /2 lives; and when they die, they will die as Jews who have defended themselves, as free Jews – and not like those of my brothers who are now suffering under the atrocious Germans, who lead them like sheep to be theirs. _- Moshe Flinker |
Thursday, February 6, 1941 A new decree for Warsaw city. Offices may function
8.30 to 17.00, open local shops and businesses until 18.00, steps which are seen as the gradual introduction of a state of siege. The decree applies to all of Warsaw. I registered for labor camp yesterday. A search was carried out today of Mr. R.’s premises. In general, there’s a plague of incessant searches in the Jewish district. German and Polish agents descend, each on their own initiative, usually after being prompted by Jewish informers. They took away 22 “noodles” bought out from the spoilers for 800. Members of C.K.U. will be treated through the sick fund. I heard the following take: one of the refugees from Karczew was forced to drag herself to Warsaw together with her newborn son only three days after giving birth. She came to her former employer and was received very warmly. A Brith-Mila was arranged, the celebration was happy, and according to the doctor, who was present, an obstetrician, the mother and child are the healthiest people in all of Poland. If so, I am persuaded that we shall all survive our trials. Antisemitism is raging among the masses on the other side. One might have thought that the forced separation between the two nations would have been to their liking. But actually, they claim that the Jews, confined behind walls, enjoy maximum freedom and make merry. The Poles, on the other hand, are __________________________________________________________________________ perishing in dungeons or being shipped deep into Germany for forced labor. We Jews have it good! They, it would appear, think things are gay here! - Hersh Wesser |