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The Jews of Krasnystaw began to be “resettled” during Passover in 1942. On May 11, 1942, most of the town's Jews were taken to Belzec, where they were gruesomely murdered in the crematoriums. It was the 22 day of Iyyar, a date that is now the annual memorial day for the Jews of Krasnystaw.^[1] But the extermination of the Krasnystaw Jews actually began much earlier.

On September 14, 1939, about two weeks after the German invasion of Poland, the invading army neared Krasnystaw. The battle for the town lasted three hours. The Polish army retreated to the hills in the east, from which they defended the town against the invaders who attacked from the Lublin side. Bullets flew over the town. The population hid in cellars. All the Jews hid in one cellar, in terror, and heard the explosions outside. It grew silent on the third day. The Poles had vanished. It was afternoon when the dead streets of Krasnystaw were filled with the stomping of German army boots and the bestial yelling of their officers.

The first soldiers who entered the town immediately declared “war” on the civilian population. A lieutenant and the three soldiers with him used their rifle butts to break though the front door of Ben-Tziyon Halpern's house, where six Jewish families had found refuge in the cellar.

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Terrified to death, they did not know what to do, and decided not to open the door. The Germans battered the door, but it did not surrender. The Germans then went to Dobeh Ayzenberg's house, where seven Jewish families were hiding in the cellar. When the Germans tried to break down the door, the frightened Jews opened it themselves. The Germans took all the Jewish captives into the courtyard and separated the men from the women. One German handed out chocolates to the women and children, as the other soldiers took the men away.

Mendl Binder with his wife and children

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Two days later, Leyb the shoemaker, one of the men who had been taken away, suddenly appeared on the street. His tongue had been shot off and his face was bloody. Unable to speak, he led a few people to the cellar where all the men who had been taken lay, shot to death. Apparently, the Germans had taken all seven, one by one, to the cellar. At the entrance, each had been shot in the back of the neck (nape), and the body then dragged into the cellar. The German who had aimed at Leyb had not been entirely successful: the bullet struck him in the face and tore out his tongue. He had laid in the cellar, unconscious, for two days, regained consciousness on the third day and come out of the cellar. Two days later, Leyb died of his injuries.

Naturally, the town was shocked to hear of this. Some people tried to reassure themselves by saying that it had happened in the heat of battle. Others interpreted it as meaning that the Germans would not shoot everyone. However, they soon discovered how false this hope was.

Young Jews of Krasnystaw doing forced labor for the Germans

“Once you are shot, your bodies will protect us,” argued one German.

During this “demonstration,” a young man called Pinyeh Polkovnik was shot. The Jews were forced to dig his grave and bury him in the middle of the field.

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This was not the end of the bloody performance. The Germans took all the Jews to the river, and placed them opposite a sergeant firing a machine gun. The officer ordered the sergeant to fire – one, two, three – but he did not. It was nothing but a ruse to terrorize the Jews. This recurred several times in different locations; each time, the group of forty Jews was placed opposite a machine gun. Finally, the officer ordered the Jews to run for home. As they began to run, they were shot in the legs. Some were badly injured.

Mendel Shok with his entire family – one of the families that were murdered

During those ten days, the Germans bullied and mistreated the town's Jews. First of all, they began to take Jews for forced labor.

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The Germans assigned them to the filthiest tasks, such as cleaning the town's toilet with their bare hands, etc. Later, a German officer defecated in a hat and set it on the head of a Jew.

Another group of Jews were burying a horse that had been shot to death. When one of the Jews was sickened at the thought of grabbing the horse by its bloody muzzle, a German officer struck him in the face with his whip, yelling, “It won't bite! Pick it up!” Once the horse was partly buried, the Jews had to pose with it while the German took a picture, apparently in order to send it to his “Gretchen” and demonstrate how he taught the Jews to work.

Once, when Jews were rounded up for work, the German found a Jew named Noteh Faygenboym carrying his tallis and tefillin.^[2] The Germans tied him to a tree in a city park, where he stood all day. At twilight, the Jew Shoul-Leyb Birnboym was forced to carry Noteh, wrapped in his tallis, in a wheelbarrow through the town, shouting, “I am a Jew, I caused the war!”

The arrival of the Red Army in Krasnystaw spelled salvation for the Jews of the town. The general mood improved, as Jews quickly returned to their normal affairs. Unfortunately, the good spirits did not last for long, after rumors came that the Red Army was leaving, and the Germans were returning.

One of the murdered Jewish families: Henech Shok and his family

When the Germans arrived in Krasnystaw for the second time, they began attacking the town's Jews with true German zeal.

The Soviet retreat took three days. They finally stationed themselves not far from Lublin. The town was free of

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soldiers for two days. During those days, the Jews were in a state of terrible fear and insecurity. When the German military marched into town for the second time, they immediately began to snatch up Jews for forced labor. Jews were brutally dragged out of their homes, and beaten severely. Beards were viciously cut. The Germans took the trouble to render the Jews hideous by cutting off half their beards, or slashing their faces. This “task” was accompanied by ridicule, mockery, and murderous blows. Among the first victims were Yankev Langman, the ritual slaughterer, Yehoshu'a Vizenberg, Hersh Eydelsberg, and others. Motl Likhtenshteyn was singled out for special torture: he was badly beaten while his beard was being cut, and later had to pay money to be released. However, the Germans were not done with him: he was dragged out of his house every day and forced to pay money.

The major task of the Jews was rebuilding the bridge that the Poles had set on fire during their retreat.

The Krasnystaw Judenrat was established during that period; it was the decision of the Jews themselves.^[3] The Germans were snatching up Jews at random. Anyone who had been caught once had to continue coming every morning, under threat of being shot. Apparently, the Jews sought a way to exchange those who had been picked up, and decided to elect a Judenrat, which would regulate the supply of Jews to the Germans for labor. It was set up by Lipeh Raykhman (Chairman), Yisokher Rozenboym, Alter Katz (Lipeh Raykhman's son-in-law) and Dovid Zilbertson. Others, such as Zaynvl Mitelman, served in the Judenrat later.

The Judenrat supplied Jews for daily work on the bridge. At first, people shared in the work schedule equally. Gradually, however, the rich began to hire the poor to take their places. Characteristically, though the Jews were beaten daily while at work, many hired themselves out to work instead of the rich, to get some money and avoid death by hunger. This situation continued for about four months. Afterwards, the Germans decided to use the Judenrat “properly.”

One day, the Judenrat ordered all the Jews to bring all their gold, silver, and other valuables to the town elders' office. Those who withheld anything were threatened by death. At seven the next morning, the town was surrounded by German police to prevent Jews from escaping. Lipeh Raykhman stood at the large crate where everyone deposited their property. Then the Jews were severely whipped, and had to

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jump down the stairs in a single leap. Anyone who fell in the course of these “gymnastics” was beaten again, and had to repeat the leap. The Jews were so terrified that most of them handed over everything they owned.

However, the Jews were not permitted to return home yet. They were driven into barracks for “delousing.” Their beards were cut off, and they were beaten and tortured for the rest of the day. Finally, they had to clean the toilets of the barracks with their bare hands. They had to report for work the next day, when the torture was repeated.

Some time later, the Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish police force. The community leaders made efforts to include their sons in the Jewish police, hoping to save them from other problems.

The police force consisted of Moyshe Shmaragd, Ben-Tziyon Rozenblat, Yoysef Zilberman, Zaynvl Mitelman, and others. Their station was at the house of Avigdor Feldman, near the marketplace. The mission of the police was to procure Jews for work and to obtain new contributions. This situation lasted all winter and through the end of the summer of 1940.

In the fall of 1940, the Germans demanded 60 Jews. These Jews were supposed to go and dig trenches in Belzec. At that time, no one knew that mass graves were being prepared for the Jews of the entire region. As no Jews wanted to report for this duty, the SS and the Jewish police snatched up Jews to be transported. Nochem Eydelberg, a witness to this event, was one of those taken.

The Jews were marched to Izbica.^[4] They were beaten viciously and forced to run all the way, chased by German riders.

About ten thousand Jews from other towns had already been brought to the small town of Izbica, where they were packed into locked rail cars. SS soldiers and Ukrainians guarded the trains and administered terrible beatings.

The Jews were held in stables, under gruesome conditions. They were given no food; beatings and roll calls were routine. Many Jews were shot, and many more died as a result of torture. Dovid Burshtin (Yidl Nirnberg's son-in-law) of Krasnystaw was among the dead. The Jews from other towns suffered many more fatalities, as they were far from their homes and could receive no help. After two months of

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this labor, many of the Jews had died or been murdered. A new transport of Jews was brought from Krasnystaw and other towns. This period of terrible suffering lasted four months. The Krasnystaw Judenrat then ransomed the Jews from their town, using money collected from the Jewish community.

During the ransom process, the Germans often cheated, taking the money but continuing to hold the Jews. The Jews were finally released, and came home by way of Zamość. However, the Germans began to snatch Jews up again the very next day, for work in Belzec.

A series of “resettlements” began in the early winter of 1940-1941.

Jews were now forbidden to live in Krasnystaw. They were relocated in Zakrzew^[5], a small town not far away. Only the Judenrat and a few Jewish professionals who worked for Germans remained. These Jews were forced to live in the Grablie neighborhood, which was turned into a ghetto. Jews were prohibited from traveling.

At that time, the Krasnystaw district was governed by two SS villains, Ludwig and Engels. They spent hours riding their motorcycles, shooting every Jew they spotted. This was how Yehoshua Vizenberg was shot, as well as many other Jews who had arrived from other towns. The Jews had to clear away the corpses. Many Jews were similarly murdered in the other towns to which they had been driven. The brothers Efrayim and Fishl Listhoyz were killed in this manner, in Żółkiew.^[6]

In the spring of 1941, the Germans were preparing for war with the U.S.S.R. Large forces of the German army marched through Krasnystaw to the Soviet borders. Conditions grew even worse for the Jews. An SS group stationed in the town conscripted Jews for work every day. The Jews had to do everything for the soldiers who passed through. They were badly beaten. The poorest Jews, as well as those who had been brought from other towns, suffered the most. Hunger and need were so great that in spite of the horrific conditions, many Jews hired themselves out to richer Jews in order to take their place at forced labor.^[7]

The war with the U.S.S.R. started on June 22. Endless German army units streamed to the front. The Jews, whose lives hadn't counted for much until then, now became completely up for grabs. Any soldier could do whatever he wanted to the Jews. Every atrocity was justified by the claim that they had provoked the war.

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The town's main Study House was demolished and desecrated. The books were incinerated or ripped up. Although the Study House in Grablie was still intact, no Jews went to pray there, due to fear of encountering Germans, which would mean certain death. The German soldiers often came to Grablie to inspect the ghetto, and had turned the Study House into a place to “meet” women.

Russian prisoners began to arrive. The Ukrainian prisoners were released, but the Russian and Jewish prisoners continued to be held without food, and thousands of them died.

On Simchat Torah 1941, a small group of Jews gathered at Mates Faygenboym's home for community prayer.^[8] Stepanski, a volksdeutscher, came in with Judenrat chairman Lipeh Raykhman and his helper, Yisro'el Rozenboym, and dragged out Jews to help bury dead Russian prisoners.^[9] One of this group was the survivor Nokhem Aydelberg, who reported that he was taken, along with the group, to the horse market for the purpose of digging a mass grave there for the prisoners. When they began to take out the corpses, they found many still alive. Initially, the Jews did not want to remove those who were alive, but the Germans beat them savagely and forced them to bury the living prisoners, who included many Jews. When the “living” prisoners were being taken, many of them clamped onto the grass. As they were still conscious, they used their last shreds of strength to defend themselves. The burial party was whipped and forced to stamp on the unfortunate prisoners in order to create space for additional burials. It was a gruesome scene, beyond anyone's wildest imaginings.

Many of the freed Ukrainian prisoners, as well as Russians, formed partisan groups.

The grueling, nightmarish winter of 1942 began. The “resettlement” of Krasnystaw's Jews started on the seventh day of Passover.^[10] About 60 Jewish families were then living in Grablie, most of them originally from other locations. The remaining Jews of Krasnystaw had already died or been murdered.

At about noon that day, the Grablie area was encircled by Ukrainians, and German Sonderdienst, gendarmes, and SS forces.^[11] All the Jews were assembled within 30 minutes. People grabbed whatever they could and brought their small bundles with them. They were taken to the village of Izbica, where all the Jews of the vicinity were gathered.

Many were shot en route. Among them were

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Borech-Hersh Luft, and Motl Likhtenshteyn's wife. The other Krasnystaw Jews, along with thousands of other Jews, were hauled to Belzec, where they were murdered and incinerated. This operation ended on May 12.

May 12 marked the tragic end of Jewish life in Krasnystaw. Only a few remained in the town. Some who had managed to hide later received permits to work for the SS, and some were permitted to go on living as professionals. A bit later, some Jews arrived from various locations and were able to hide.

The only survivors of Krasnystaw's Jewish community were Yekl Kershenboym, the military tailor; Yisro'el Taytlboym, the locksmith; and Shayndl Shok, the seamstress. Others who were able to survive in hiding were Mates Shok, Nechemiya Shtuntsayger and his daughter Rivka, Yankev Kenobl. Zelik Binder, Mayer Faygnboym, and the brothers Nokhem and Moyshe Eydelberg. Other survivors were the Judenrat members Lipeh Raykhman and Dovid Boymfeld. Jews who worked for Germans continued to do so for some time.

During that period, Krasnystaw was on the route of German Jews going to the Belzec death camp. They had to leave their belongings in Krasnystaw. The few remaining Jews had to sort these clothes; this work was unpaid. They made do by stealing objects from the goods they were sorting, and exchanging these objects with non-Jews in return for food. From time to time, the Germans brought Jewish women to Krasnystaw, defined them as “girlfriends,” and arranged work for them.

This was the case with the German named Bauer, who was the deputy town elder. He brought two young Jewish sisters, one of whom was very beautiful. He put them to work at the town bathhouse. The more beautiful sister was his “girlfriend.” After enjoying her for two months, he sent two gendarmes to take the girls away and shoot them.

In the course of several months, the following Jews were shot under varying circumstances: Sheyndl Shok, Nechemiya Shtuntsayger, his daughter Rivka, Yekl Kenobl, Zelik Binder, Mayer Faygnboym, and others.

In September of 1942, the last Jews of Krasnystaw were taken to Belzec, and some were sent to the Trawniki concentration camp.^[12]

Thus ended the horrific tragedy of the Jews of Krasnystaw, along with all the Jews of Poland, Germany, and the other countries that were taken by

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the murderous German forces. It was a disaster of unimaginable proportions that was impossible to delineate. No language had the vocabulary to describe the fearful crimes and torture that the Jews of the occupied countries suffered at the bloody hands of Hitler's savages.

Let these few words brand an eternal mark of Cain, and permanent shame, on the bloodthirsty German people. Let the blood of the innocent victims continue seething, and demand revenge. Let the Jewish people remember their martyrs forever, and may their memory reinforce the struggle to bring every single Jew out of exile, into his own free country – Israel.

Translator's footnotes:

1. The date of 22 Iyyar 5702 on the Hebrew calendar corresponds to 9 May 1942. The 24^th corresponds to 11 May 1942. Return
2. A tallis (or tallit) is a prayer shawl with a ritually knotted fringe at each corner. Tefillin, or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Observant adult Jews wear both a tallis and tefillin during weekday and Sunday morning prayers. Return
3. A Judenrat (literally ‘Jewish council’) was an administrative body established in German-occupied Europe during World War II, to represent a Jewish community in dealings with the Nazi authorities. Return
4. Izbica is located about 12 km south of Krasnystaw on the road to Zamość. Return
5. Zakrzew is located about 40 km south of Lublin and about 55 km west-northwest of Zamość. Return
6. Żółkiew is located about 30 km west-southwest of Krasnystaw. Return
7. This sentence has been retained, although it is redundant. Return
8. October 13, 1941. Return
9. Volksdeutsche was the Nazi German term for people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship. Return
10. April 8. Return
11. Sonderdienst were Nazi paramilitary formations created in the Nazi-occupied areas. Return
12. The Trawniki Concentration Camp was located about 22 km north-northwest of Krasnystaw. Return

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When I heard that a Yizkor-Book for the martyrs was being prepared, I decided to add a brick to the monument commemorating our holy fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, relatives, and acquaintances, who were gruesomely murdered by the bloodthirsty German beasts in human form.

The regional capital of Krasnystaw lies 52 km southeast of Lublin. Until 1939, the town's population was about 15,000, 2,000 of which were Jews. It was ringed by gardens, and made a wonderful impression on first-time visitors.

The roughly 10,000 non-Jews of the town were not too friendly to the resident Jews. They were ruled by a type of restrained anti-Semitism, but there were never overt anti-Semitic acts. For this reason, no one had ever even dreamed of the horrible disaster that drew near from the first few shots at the Polish-German border. True, people had a vague feeling of unrest, but no one could have imagined the way in which it would begin, and how it would end.

The wholesale destruction of the Jewish population began shortly after the first German troops marched into Krasnystaw.

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Jews of various ages and occupations began to be brought out of one of the houses in the center of town, on the pretext that they had shot at the German soldiers. They were taken to the entrance to one of the cellars in that building, and each was shot in the back of the neck. They fell, one by one, on top of each other, into the cellar.

Among the Jews murdered that day were the leather merchant Leybl Kupershtok (Leybl, Koyftshe's son), a Hassid in his sixties, and his son-in-law Mendele Zilberaykh; the textile merchant Avrom-Mordkhe Shteyn (Ben-Tziyon Halpern's son-in-law, in his forties); Leyb Blumshteyn the shoemaker (Leyb Binyomeles, in his late thirties); Yehoshu'a Katz the tailor's apprentice (in his late twenties), and four others. The German gangsters allowed these men to be buried only three days later.^[1]

It was horrible to find out later, after people had gone into the cellar, that three of those who had been shot showed signs of life. When they were brought to the hospital the doctor declared that there stood no chance of surviving, due to loss of blood. And indeed, they surrendered their sacred souls to God two days later.

That same day, forty Jews were driven out of town, to a location close to the German army positions. The Jews were held for twenty-four hour without food or drink. After their release they walked back home through the fields, when a German rascal decided to “have fun.” He shot Pinches Berman the tailor (Pinyeh Yisro'el, Itshe's son). The same rascal ordered two Jews to dig a pit and place the recently shot man in it. When they noticed that the man was still alive, the terrible murderer remarked, “But of course – he's a Jew, after all.” The unfortunate Pinyeh was thus buried alive.

It is worth noting that this gory task was carried out not by the bloodthirsty Gestapo or the S.S., but by the “more refined” officers and soldiers of the regular army.

This was the blood-soaked prologue to the even more brutal drama that overtook our nearest and dearest.

Eight days later, it became possible for Jews to flee to the Soviet side, across the Bug River. The river was about ninety kilometers from Krasnystaw. The way was open, and people were free to go. Unfortunately, not everyone took advantage of this opportunity, as they did not yet grasp the full extent of the danger.

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People took pains to explain that the events of eight days earlier could not recur, that it had occurred in the heat of the battles between the Polish and the German armies that were still ongoing. Jews reassured themselves that the future would be more peaceful.

Who could have persuaded a man like Zaynvl the blacksmith to leave his forge, where he had labored day and night for years, serving the population of the entire province with his own hands. Everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, knew Zaynvl. No one else in the province could shoe a horse like he did. The worst anti-Semites would come to him, and Zaynvl responded. His workday began at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. and lasted until sundown, winter and summer alike. He never took time off, except, of course, for Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

On Shabbat and on holidays he would go to the Grablie Study House, the closest to his home. Every holiday before prayers began, one could see Zaynvl surrounded by people who listened to his tales of serving in the Czarist army, and his participation – along with his three brothers – in World War I (1914-1918). He would also tell interesting stories that he had heard from his father about his compulsory 25 years of service as a “Cantonist” in the Czarist army.^[2]

This was the life of Zaynvl Goldberg, the Jewish blacksmith, of Krasnystaw, where he and his family lived. The family consisted of wife and six children – four sons and two daughters, one of whom now lives in Brazil. He was happy, industrious, and decent. His children were raised in the same spirit of love for work, a family characteristic.

This was the case until the blood-soaked German invasion of Poland, when the German specter of death began rampaging through the cities and towns of Poland, and did not spare Zaynvl the blacksmith and his family.

Unfortunately, there were no surviving witnesses to the last hours of Zaynvl and his family. Everyone knew that they did not fear the hands or weapon of any Gentile, and that they would not perish in any revolt. If this did occur, and Zaynvl and his family were killed in the course of a revolt, it could only be the result of the murderers' use of the “refined” methods they had learned over the years from their gangster teachers.

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Now, the forge, in its beautiful wooden structure, built near the Lublin-Zamość road with the sweat and blood of the Jewish Zaynvl Goldberg, is held by Gentiles, perhaps even by the neighbors who lived peacefully with him before the horrible war but looked calmly on when “their Zaynvl” was driven away into a death camp with his family, enabling his “good neighbors” to take the property that he accumulated through his hard work. Perhaps they didn't only look on but even helped the pitiless Germans. After all, the Polish population was totally indifferent to the immense tragedy that overtook their Jewish fellow citizens, and in many cases even helped to exterminate the Jews.

Zaynvl's dream to have his children take over the forge after his own death was not realized. Two of his sons were already working with him, just as he had worked with his own father and eventually took over.

This was probably true of many of the hundreds of Jewish craftsmen in our town whose fate was similar.

Let these few words be a contribution to the small – but sacred – monument that this book constitutes. The book also commemorates all the other blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, and other artisans, as well as merchants and all the other Jews who were exterminated so gruesomely by the German murderers, who were actively helped by many Poles as well as Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and other blood-stained scoundrels.

Let the words also be a monument to the unknown grave of my devout parents and all my relatives who were tragically murdered.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Jewish tradition requires burials as soon as possible after death. Return
2. In 1821, Czar Nikolai instituted a conscription quota for Jewish males aged 12-25, requiring 25 years of army service. The children were placed in special “Cantonist Battalions” in training/educational establishments until the standard draft age of 18, when they began serving their 25 years. Return

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September 29, 1939, was the beginning of our arduous journey. I went to Ludmir, then under Soviet authority. I could not find my place in Ludmir, and moved to Kostopil, a small town near Rivne. I discovered a few other Krasnystaw natives there: Shloyme and Yankev Kerpel, and Chayim-Meir Perlmuter.

On June 22, 1941, when war with the U.S.S.R. broke out, we decided to remain in Kostopil, hoping that we would eventually be able to go back home; we thought it would be the same home that we remembered.

As soon as the Germans entered Kostopil, we realized that things would go badly. We couldn't go home, and food grew ever more scarce. The attitude towards Jews immediately worsened. We had to steal a few potatoes in order to nourish ourselves and not starve to death. The potatoes kept us going for four weeks. Later, we were forced to work for the Germans, and received a bit of food in return.

On August 18, 1941, while at work, we heard that vehicles had come from Rivne, and people were being snatched up. No one knew what this meant.

We did not leave for a meal, and tried to find out exactly what happened to the Jews who had been taken.

At 2 p.m., two German Gestapo officers came to our work site, accompanied by Ukrainian policemen. I did not like the looks

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of this, and suggested to my friends that we escape. They hesitated – “we'll never make it” – and I left for the woods nearby, where I stayed until late that night. When I came back, none of my friends were there. I was told that 460 Jews had been taken that day, and no one knew what had happened to them.

We were sent to work again a few sad days later, and were reassured that the remaining Jews would be safe and that we could go to work without worrying.

On Friday, September 18, 1941, I was sent with ten others to work for the police. We were assigned various jobs. No one had the slightest notion that we would never return, and we were being watched by a patrol. We finished working at 5 p.m. and wanted to leave, but were ordered to continue working. We worked, tearfully, until nightfall, when we were sent down into a dark, damp cellar. When we asked for water, they told us “You won't need water.” As we sat in the dark cellar, we heard that graves were being prepared for us. We understood what awaited us, said our confession, and prepared to die, wishing only that it be quick.^[1]

The night was endless. At dawn, we heard that more people from the town had come and were being stood in rows. This was the situation until 11 a.m. Every rustle and sound made us think that they were coming for us.

The cellar doors finally opened and we were ordered to go into the square. We stood in a row, and the commissioner asked who we were. A policeman responded that we were communists, but the translator said we were the men who had worked there the day before. The commissioner looked us up and down, and shouted, “I need young men to work in the cellar!” This happened as we were standing in rows and should have been marched to our deaths.

We were surrounded by watching Germans and policemen holding rubber whips, which they used to beat us mercilessly, not permitting us to cry. This continued until 2 p.m.

We returned to the cellar, which was not locked, and sat there for hours, not knowing what would happen to us, hearing shots

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constantly. The door suddenly opened, and a policeman appeared, who announced in Polish, “Sit calmly, you'll return home alive.” We cued to sit and wait.

At nightfall, we were told that we could leave. They took all our possessions: boots, shoes, clothes, etc.

However, when we came home, there was no one there. The town was now Judenrein, purged of Jews. When I went out to the street the next morning, I saw only the chairman of the Judenrat, and a few people who had been freed with me.

A few days later, we were again taken and told that a camp would be established for the remaining Jews. I decided not to go, and left for Ludmir, walking only at night.

I found a different kind of existence in Ludmir. No one believed me when I told them about the events in Kostopil. The Jews were still living well and running their businesses. I started working in a mill, all the while thinking about returning to Krasnystaw. At one point I received a letter from my family that I'd be better off staying in Lublin, because all the Jews of Krasnystaw had been ordered to leave.

Six months passed. By this time a ghetto had been established in Ludmir as well, on April 18, 1942. Now a sense of impending doom hung over the community. Eight or ten people lived in a single room. Diseases began to spread, as did deaths.

The Commissioner now ordered the firing of all the Jews who worked in the mills (which were outside the ghetto). These Jews were in fact fired on June 1, 1942, and began to seek other jobs. My brother and I found employment in a barrel factory, where Chayim Buchbleter also worked. We all worked there until August 20, 1942. A new order came down: all the Jews who worked outside the ghetto now had to work inside it. There was very important government work to be done.

The work consisted of digging large pits one kilometer away from the town; they would be part of a tank position. They had to be 32 meters long, 21 meters wide, and 2.5 meters deep, and covered with earth on three sides.

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This project employed 3,000 Jews, and continued until August 30, 1942. Some Jews really believed they were building tank positions, while others thought the pits would be graves for the few Jews still living in Ludmir.

There was talk of an operation targeting Jews. That turned out to be the case. At 5 a.m. on September 1, 1942, the ghetto was surrounded by Germans and policemen who began shooting into the ghetto from all sides. Anyone trying to escape was immediately shot on the spot. At 7 a.m., the murderers entered the ghetto and began catching Jews, beating and torturing them. Four friends and I had prepared a hideout, which we entered and stayed in for six days, without food. This operation lasted until September 15, and took a toll of 15,000 Jews. We sustained ourselves by eating vegetables from the gardens in the vicinity.

Jews reappeared after September 15, and reported that the commissioner had told them that all the remaining Jews would not be killed. About 1500 Jews came out of their hiding places. However, a few days later a new ghetto was designated for these survivors. A new Judenrat was formed, and Jews began to be sent to work again. More Jews arrived from the towns in the vicinity, and they now numbered about 3,000.

Another “operation” was held on November 13, 1942. We lay in a hideout again for six days, and later ran to the forests.

The Gentiles of the villages around Ludmir reported that there were 400 Jews in that town again. We thus set out for Ludmir on May 8, 1943, but were not allowed into the ghetto. After much effort, my brother Mekhl and I were taken into the ghetto, and were again sent to work in a barrel factory.

On December 13, 1943, another pogrom broke out, with the aim of exterminating the remainder of the Jews. We hid again, until December 18, when we went out in the city. Shots were fired at us as soon as we emerged. I fell to the ground, while my brother and the other six Jews escaped. I never saw my brother or the other Jews again. I returned to the hideout once again and stayed there for as long as my food held out; my food consisted of one cracker a day. I stayed there until January 2, 1944. When I had nothing left to eat, I had to go out. I walked

[Page 118]

aimlessly all night, sometimes encountering Germans, whom I was able to evade.

One night I went into a stable owned by a Gentile acquaintance and waited for daybreak. When the owner came in, I begged and wept to be allowed to hide in his house. He kept me in a room for two days, and fed me. On the evening of the second day he took me to a hideout where eight more Jews were hiding. This continued until Liberation, on July 21, 1944. The Gentile, Leon Garczynski, is living in Poland.

Translator's footnote:

1. It is traditional for Jews to offer a final confession (Vidui) shortly before death. Return

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