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The Final Struggle

Layzer Engelshtern

Translated by Philip Frey

From The Ghetto To The Partisans In The Forest

It had happened at that time, that certain Jewish thieves had made a robbery attack on the Lida Pravoslav priest, and the Germans caught and arrested them. The robbers' wives appealed to the “Judenrat” in order that they should free their men, a thing that the “Judenrat” could, naturally, not do. Out of revenge, the thieves denounced the “Judenrat” to the Germans. The Germans had the entire Jewish populace led, through a small passageway, past one of the thieves, named Virobek, who pointed out all of the Vilna-natives, whom he recognized. All the Vilna-natives were shot shortly thereafter. Also all of the members of the “Judenrat” were arrested and after an inhuman “investigation” (in the course of which they confessed nothing and gave no one up) they were killed in a bestial fashion.

With this bloody episode (the “Defilade”(=march-past in Yiddish) here begins the writer's telling of his experiences in the Lida ghetto….The Editors

The “Defilade” In The Market-Place

The “Defilade” took place a few days before Purim.

That daybreak, when people awoke and began to hurry, as at every daybreak, to go to work, they saw groups of armed Lithuanians in their yellow uniforms, and the fascist White-Russian police, led by a number of S.S gendarmes, that spread out over all the houses and with wild cries : “Heraus” (German=Outside), they began to chase everyone out of the houses, men, women and children. They did not even allow those to dress themselves, whom they encountered in their underwear. Whoever did not happen to grab some article of clothing to throw onto himself, ran out of the house in underwear. Sick and weak older people, who could not lift themselves from their beds, were shot in their beds by the beasts.

In the house, where I found myself, there was a young couple, the wife had a day before given birth to a child, which was factually a “crime” according to the Nazi ghetto-laws…the woman was still very weak, the people of the house and her husband quickly threw a coat over her and supporting her under her arms they led her with the child out of the house before the murderers entered, if not, they would have shot her. But regardless they did not avoid death in the great slaughter. The woman's sister was with me later in the forest and she would constantly remind me about this very occurrence during the “Defilade”.

Beneath a hail of blows the murderers drove the Jews to the ghetto gate. No one had any other thought left, that this was indeed the final road to death. Therefore they began to run over the barbed wire on that side of the ghetto and to hide out where they might. But every escapee, who was observed by the murderers, was shot on the spot. In such a way masses of Jews were shot right in the first minutes.

Myself and another Jew were successful in climbing over the high fence of the ghetto near the workshops, which were outside of the ghetto. There several hundred ghetto Jews worked at different projects for the German army. We chanced to enter a warehouse, where there was a deep pit, in which there lay a metal tank, from which pipes led. Since there was danger, that the Nazis might come here seeking people hiding-out, therefore both of us crept down into the pit and shoved ourselves behind the tank, but there was only space for one, so we lay one on top of the other. And it did indeed turn out, that our assumption was correct. A short while later someone opened the door and then closed it again. If we had not at that time have descended into the pit, I would not have been writing these lines now. Simultaneously we heard shoot-

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ing in the yard, and this was an indication, that the murderers had found Jews hidden in the yard.

The two of us remained in the pit a whole night long and we made different plans, what to do with ourselves, if the ghetto were no more. My brother in distress was indeed working in the workshops as a tailor, he was from Lida and knew the entire area around Lida. He comforted me, that no matter what we would be together.

When day began to break, we heard Yiddish being spoken near the warehouse, where we were lying. We ran up to a support for the wall and the tailor, I don't remember his name, quickly recognized, that these are the Jews, who were working in the stable for horses, and we quickly exited the warehouse in order to find out what had happened.

When I found out that no slaughter had occurred, I could no longer remain standing listening to their telling, because my consciousness and clear reason dictated, that I must already be in the ghetto and to catch the group of workers, who work together with me in the S.S. gendarmerie, before the go out of the ghetto. If I am not there to meet them, then I am “finished”.

Several days later gendarmes came into the ghetto and took away everything from the houses of the arrested council members. This was an indication, that the murderers had already extinguished their lives. That same day the beasts lead them out several meters from the jail and shot them.

Several days after that they also led the arrested Vilna-natives to that side of the jail and shot them.

Hereby I wish to note the bizarrely dreadful fact:

When the murderers shot the Vilna “sacrificial offerings” it was already nightfall. As the murders began to discharge series of bullets into the unfortunates, three fell immediately even before they were hit by the bullets. Those who were shot began to fall upon them and in such a manner they remained lying beneath the mass of slain persons and were soaked in their blood.

When the murderers completed their bloody work, they left quietly, leaving behind for the Jews of the ghetto to remove and bury the dead bodies on the morrow. Until midnight the survivors lay in this very terrible condition, and afterward they extricated themselves from beneath the hill of dead bodies and vanished into the darkness of night.

Later those in the ghetto were apprised of this story, when the three were already back in the Vilna ghetto. Two of them I remember by name. One was called Gamarski, he 'd lived in Vilna on Lipuvke, and the second, Antske Kentski, the youngest son of a well-known Vilna merchant. The lived thereafter in the Vilna ghetto until its liquidation. But death did nonetheless not avoid them and they perished later at the time of the liquidation of the ghetto. The third is Zalman Duktshulski, who lives in Israel.

Until the great slaughter in the Vilna ghetto, the murders operated in this manner, that all the Jews, whom they shot, afterward they commanded the Judenrat to send a cart to remove the “sacrifices” and to bury them in the cemetery. In this manner they first had the opportunity to see with what bestiality the murderers had comported themselves toward the unfortunate Jews prior to shooting them.

They also used to shoot they “sacrifices” with dum-dum bullets (explosive-bullets) in such a manner that there occurred heartrending scenes on the part of the families of the deceased, who were unable to recognize them, but only on the basis of the little pieces of clothing, which still remained upon them were they able to recognize them.

The bodies of the murdered members of the Judenrat were black with deep wounds and more than skin and bones did not remain after all the tortures, the beasts carried out upon them.

After the Judenrat's perishing the area-commissar gave a command, that a new Judenrat be created. At the beginning it was difficult to find candidates, who would be willing to enter the Judenrat and endanger their lives for the common good, but there was no other alternative and somehow they managed to assemble a new Judenrat.

Terrible oppressiveness reigned in the ghetto after the perishing of the Judenrat. They began to feel another ”atmosphere” and it was agreed that the ghetto could survive difficult times.

A few weeks later a new tragedy occurred. This time they arrested more than seventy Jews who worked in a German entity-“Boytn-Lager”, this meant, a place, where they assembled the conquered trophies, which the German army had seized from their enemies on the battlefield. The Germans accused the arrested Jews that they stole arms from the Boytn-Lager. Despite that they found nothing when they arrested them, they took them all to jail.

As it turned out later, it was a denunciation by the Christian Polish workers, who worked there, and had, it would appear, indeed stolen weapons for themselves or to sell to the partisans, and in order to avert suspicion on the part of the Germans in the camp, they had denounced the Jewish workers.

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After keeping them in jail for several weeks and torturing them, the ghetto soon had over seventy fresh “sacrifices”.

At the same time news arrived in the ghetto concerning slaughters perpetrated on the Jews of the towns of White-Russia. The mood started to become sad. People felt, that the evil hour began to appear for the Lida ghetto. Optimists comforted the nervous public and convinced themselves and others, that Hanweg, the area-commissar would not “permit” a slaughter of the Lida ghetto. “Because he needs the Jews for their work”. Especially, since the ghetto workshops produce such important things, which were so necessary for the soldiers on the battlefields: therefore he would not permit putting his useful craftsmen to death.

In such a way, they speculated (casuistically, as in a Talmudic debate) in the evenings, when they would return from the slave-labor.

For ”safety” reasons, here also, as during those times in Vilna, in the period of the “yellow shine”, people sought various ways of sneaking themselves into the “fortunate” workshops, in order to have the “shine”(as in fortune shines upon) of a craftsman.

The Jewish confidant of the area commissar and overseer over the workshops and jewish laborers, who worked there, was an engineer from Galicia, an assimilated Jew named Altman.

When the liquidation of the Lida ghetto took place, “his” area-commissar liquidated him just the same as all the Jews of the ghetto. Together with the remaining Jews he was lead out to Maidanek.

The Great Slaughter Of The Lida Jews

Indeed a great confusion took hold of the Vilna survivors. After the fifty “Vilner” fell as sacrifices due to the informing by “Virobek”, they feared, that the area-commissar and the chief of the gendarmerie would take still other measures to capture more “Vilner”. Because of this there began amongst the “Vilner” a confused running from Lida back to the Vilna ghetto. There the situation at that time was, so to speak, “stabilized”, where 15,000 Jews were found, whom the Nazis for the present left alive.

Such a trip to Vilna was not only entailed the peril of death that lurked at every step and stride, but one also needed lots of money. A peasant, who risked transporting several Jews, along back roads in his wagon to Vilna, demanded a fabulous price. I, for example, could only dream about such, but those, who could pay and had an opportunity, did not let the danger stop them. In this way quite a few Vilna survivors were transported from the Lida ghetto.

At the same time a scurrying went on in the ghetto for one to supply himself with a “craftsman-shine” of the workshops or of another apparently “safe” facility. The whole ghetto literally was afever with this very problem. The “craftsman-shine” was considered the only way to salvation in the event of a slaughter. To run away into the forests, at that time, had not occurred to anyone in the ghetto, because they had not heard of any partisan-movement in the ghetto.

In such a frenzied and disoriented atmosphere they lived day and night during the month of May.

In the early days of May the area-commissar Hanweg sent for the representatives of the Judenrat.

He came out with the following words:

-It has come to my attention, that the Jews have hidden money and valuable articles, which at present have not been given over to my jurisdiction. I give you a term of three days to collect all the hidden gold from the Jews and to bring it to me. If this is not carried out within the term, I do not guarantee that which will follow, which will result because of this.

The Judenrat called for an assembly of the entire ghetto and related the area-commissar's words and they appealed, that those, who had gold and clothing, should bring it to the Judenrat, perhaps with it they might prevent a tragedy for the ghetto.

(Here it needs to be remembered, that immediately after the Jews were driven into the ghetto, the area-commissar commanded, that the Jews have to surrender gold and valuable objects under threat of a death-penalty.)

Despite they already felt, that no slaughter here, precisely as in the other ghettos, was to be averted, they wanted to create a spark of hope here, perhaps a little gold might soften the heart of the area-commissar and he would hold back the planned slaughter, and they began bringing gold and clothing to the Judenrat.

When the representatives of the Judenrat brought the area-commissar the assembled gold, he told them to come once again on the next day.

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On the following day they received the following response from the area-commissar:

-According to my information-----he said------the Jews have more gold. I give you a term of another three days to gather up the remaining gold, which the Jews have hidden.

This was the 6th of May, 1942, two days before the great catastrophe.

The slaughters in White-Russia were carried out by an S.D. Command. Jews called them “Tropi-Tschatschkes”(a tschatschke is a trinket)', since they bore an emblem of a skull on their hats .

The slaughters in the towns were designated by the general-commissar over all western White-Russia. He was called Kuba, and his staff was located in Minsk. According to his order at the designated time period the slaughters of Jews were carried out by these “Tropi-Tschatschkes”, with the help of the local gendarmes, White-Russian police, and Lithuanians, brought down from Lithuania. Therefore at that time the Jews were wary, when they went to and from work, to see if there appeared the murderers with those hats, and when they encountered one or several of the murderers, a panic overtook the ghetto, and that night they expected the “action”. But it turned out, that they had come for some other reason, and all they suffered was a fright.

It is worthwhile to mention, that the bloodthirsty Kuba was later torn to shreds in his residence during an attempted assassination. That was an act of revenge by the White-Russian partisans and it was carried out in the following manner:

Getting close to such a “bigshot” was hardly easy. He was constantly surrounded by an entire staff of his security-people, who guarded his filthy bones. Therefore they needed the help of someone on the inside and lot fell to one of the maids, who served him, and had earned his trust. The partisans made contact with this maid and she was given the assignment of placing the actual bomb with a timer under his bed, that was calculated, to explode when the “bigshot” would be lying in bed asleep. And so it indeed was. When the murdered Kuba was sleeping sweetly in his soft bed, the bomb exploded and in an instant their remained no sign of his filthy bones.

When we, the workers at the S.D. Gendarmerie, would enter the ghetto to work, people were there awaiting us, they wanted to know, if there at the SS, perhaps had heard something, or if the “Tropi-Tschatschkes” had arrived etc. But right on the day before the slaughter we detected no extraordinary movement. As usual, completed our work at the customary time and went back to the ghetto.

Who Shall Live And Who Shall Die

Instantly the murders tore their way in with wild cries: “Heraus (outside), heraus”, and they began to chase the people out of their houses. It appeared at that moment, as if they were driving a herd of cattle from their stable into the slaughter house to be slaughtered…Whoever did not appear to run out at that very second was brutally beaten with their gun butts, the beasts threw that bloodied person out onto the street and drove him to the ghetto gate.

On both sides of the street Lithuanians were arranged with guns in their hands and they continuously drove the confused Jews and when they approached the gate, the beasts commanded us to line up in rows of four and to march in the indicated direction to Kosharover street. There too armed Lithuanians stood on both sides of the street.

The front rows came to the place, where three streets crossed: one way, right, led to the Kosharover street, and a second, left, led back to the ghetto. At this place the rows remained standing.

In this place the selection took place, with its entire clique (of selectors).

There the whole band of murders was already assembled. The elders of the S.S-gendarmerie together with the chief heading the S.D.-gendarmerie and the area-commissar Hanweg together with his whole clique.

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Families walked together. When they came up to the place, they had the “Shine” of their work prepared in their hand, which was inspected by the murderers and there was an immediate indication with a finger where he should be sent.

At the beginning the majority of those who had “Craftsman Shines” were sent to the left, which means, to live. Not A few heart-rending scenes took place, even with those, who were for the moment the fortunate ones. If the owner of the “Craftsman-shine” had, according to the count by the murderers, a family that was too large, it was torn apart. A portion were sent to the left and the remaining ones were sent to the right, to death. There were however many cases where families did not wish to part and they all went together to their death. The gallows-masters scarcely cared.

It turned out that it was my fate to go in the very last rows. The rows moved very slowly. With each step further my heart shook with convulsions. Each step further was a step closer to death. I did not create any illusions for myself, that I with my simple “Shine” would be left alive. Just as the last rows neared the selection place, suddenly the selection was interrupted and the murderers began to beat everyone with their gun-butts and to drive them to the right into Kosharover Street.

As it was later related in the ghetto, the selection was interrupted because, out of the more than 7 thousand Jews, who were found in the three separate ghettos, the gallows-masters decided to leave up to 1500, and since the appointed number was complete, they interrupted further selection. Due to this really fine craftsmen were sent to their death who had “good” shines and would surely have been sent to the left, if they had found themselves in the earliest rows, and so it was my fate to be driven to the right along with the “persons of privilege” (Yiddish sarcastic usage).

We were driven to the place, where the flock sentenced to death stood, and we united ourselves with them.

Soon there came a command to seat ourselves on the ground. One the face of it they wanted to be sure, they we wouldn't run away. We saw how the armed murders were placed around us and the machine-gunners were aiming at the sentenced people.

Simultaneously near to us we also saw two open trucks, on which there stood casks of lime and chlorine and a lot of shovels.

The cynicism of the murderers went so far, that they thought to further horrify the moods of the “sacrifices” and they no less stationed the trucks before the eyes of the unfortunates, in order to demonstrate, what awaited us. And truly the machine guns, aimed at us did not as much “unscrew” our nerves as the two trucks with the chlorine and the shovels.

Round and round us fields were spread and on the horizon we could see the edges of the forests.

At first glance you may ask:

“Why didn't you run away across the fields, since the whole community of several thousand Jews saw what was happening? What did they have to lose in the face of death? “

-----See, Engelshtern, this very watch, my wife bought it for me as a wedding present. No, the murders will not inherit it, and with these words he struck the watch against a stone he shoved the watch into the filthy earth. Afterward he called out to me again. These were Zakheim's last words:

---I am no longer young-he said to me---I don't have the strength to run. But you, Engelshtern, are still young, you must not let yourself be led like an animal to the slaughter, run away at the first opportunity, and at least die an honorable death…

---Jews---he said---you can already see

what we're facing and what the murderers will soon do to us. We have one way out to save our selves. Lets take the stones here and throw them at the murderers and suddenly we can run away in every direction across the fields. They will shoot at us. Nu, so what, let them shoot, in any case they're going to shoot us.

My ears caught interrupted words from the men and women sitting there about the baker's entreaty:

---Perhaps we are not fated, because me sinned against the Almighty: no matter what we shall die. We no longer have the strength to live and to observe the grief of our children--and more and more other expressions.

We were exhausted by so much suffering and the boundless brutality, that we experienced every day. For what purpose to save yourself? Why to clutch at such a wormy existence. If in just a short while we could be delivered from this dark life.

Another moment should be mentioned here.

The German army found itself at that time deep in Russia, and we could not imagine, that they might quickly be repulsed from there.

And the entire community of Jews, a scant six thousand---men, women and children, sat as doomed persons, resigned, depressed and waiting with extinguished eyes, for the murderers to free them from the Hell of the world.

Soon the command was given to form ranks of four. At that moment a lamenting outcry and a crying by women and little children, that could have rent the heavens. The murders surrounding us were not moved. Apparently, they had already seen enough such pictures that they were already accustomed to the lamenting of the men, women and children, whom that had upon their conscience.

And immediately came the command to march. The sun that had previously shone so brightly, suddenly disappeared into the clouds, sort of as if it were ashamed to look at the depressed people, who are now being led to the slaughter. The wind howled and it seemed as if it howled at the fate of the unfortunates, who now are going on their final road. And indeed at that moment there awakened in me a desire for life, round and about I saw the green fields, the trees were blooming, nature, everywhere calls for life, everything is sprouting out of the earth, and we must now part with our lives.

Now we had already entered the narrow Kosharover street, Both sides of the street were thickly surrounded by the armed murderers. We are plodding with our feet in the deep mud of the unpaved street. Ever step brings us ever nearer to the last minute of our life.

In placing myself in the rows I had calculated to be the first one at the edge. My neighbors in my row already knew my plan, and they said, that just as soon as I would run out of the row, they would also follow after me. The murders were hard alongside me and I watched out for every glance of their eyes. With every glance I looked for a break in the fence, into which I might run at the right moment. Soon the long street with its houses will end. My nerves were stressed to the utmost. Lightning-fast I decided---now is the time to make an escape. I ran out of my line and into a gap in the fence. The other three in my row began to escape, and similarly at the same time from other rows. The murderers began shooting at the escapees, and with wild shouting.

When I was on the other side of the fence, I sprawled in the wet mud, held my breath and pulled my hat over my face and afterward spread out my hands, not allowing the slightest movement of my body, exactly as if I were “dead”…I don't feel a bullet, that might have struck me. Lying there in this way I heard the murderers running around in the field, how they never ceasing yelling and shooting.

When the shooting ceased and I no longer heard their wild shouts, I understood, the rows of doomed Jews had already passed through the little street and I lifted my head a bit, in order to see what was happening around me. I saw a toilet, and when I lifted my head a bit more and saw, that no one was around there, I began to crawl on my belly toward the toilet and pulled myself inside. First now through the cracks I could see what was happening around the fields.

First when I could see the sprawled dead on the surrounding field around through the cracks in the outhouse (walls)

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and at the same time, out of my mouth tore a cry from my deepest recesses:

---Oh, God, why did you let me remain alive, to further torment myself in the world? Why do I deserve this?

----For them its already good, they are free of the life of suffering and for me my beaker of suffering is not yet full.

The shooting didn't stop for a minute, and at the same time I could observe through the cracks that automobiles were driving, in which high-placed Nazis apparently were sitting. They were riding to the murder site to observe how their comrades carried out the extermination of the Jewish people. These very automobiles were continually riding back and forth bringing new interested parties to get a look at the “spectacle”, how Jewish blood pours.

And so the minutes turned into hours of my sitting in the stinking toilet, being afraid to go out, lest I be dragged off to the graves, until it got dark and the shooting had stopped.

Soon I saw a lot of automobiles riding back and a while later I saw trucks, which were filled with clothing.

First then it became clear to me, that the sacrifices had to undress, before the murderers killed them.

At the same time I also saw the trucks riding toward the houses, where the Jews had slept before this night. The White-Russian police began to carry everything out of there and rode away with it.

When I saw this, it became clear to me already, that as soon as it would get dark, I must disappear from the outhouse, if not, I would again fall into the hands of the murderers.

Soon it was dark enough, and the automobiles stopped coming to carry away the murdered peoples things, I made up my mind, that this is the right time to slip out of this place. I apprised myself immediately, that they had placed sentries on the street, in order that the Christian population should not drag away everything from the houses during the night A thought seized me, that I should crawl on my belly, and in the darkness they couldn't spot me, always further from the Kosharover street, and afterward I would seek a way out, where to take myself.

I crawled out of the tiny room and began to crawl on my belly across the fields like a snake. In this way I crept across the muddy fields for along time, which were damp from the not-long melted snow, not knowing where I was, until I crept into a little wooded area. There I felt more “certain” and I decided to rest until daybreak.

When it became a little light I saw, that during the night I had traversed, crawling on my belly, a considerable distance. I no longer had any “yellow-patches” on me. When I was still in the toilet I tore them off. Then with quick strides I took myself deeper into the forest. I sought a deep thicket of bushes where I could “hide-out”. There I decided to lie there as long as I could hold out against hunger and thirst. I was almost completely spent, I lay down on the earth and soon was asleep. I was awakened by the howling of dogs, which came from far away, so I had a sign, the houses were to be found not too far away. I was unendurably thirsty but, but I didn't have the
audacity to leave my lair and to go to seek water. .I decided to remain lying in the lair until the next day. I thought that since I was near to the city it was a lot better to let another day elapse. Perhaps the White-Russian police are still around. In this way I remained lying in the lair until morning. I could no longer endure thirst. This was the third day that I had not had a drop of water in my mouth.

Before me stood the question: where should I go now?

There could be no though of going back to Lida. First I needed a house, where I could wash myself and clean up my clothes just a tiny bit., which were smeared with mud, so that I should not be suspected, of being an escapee from the slaughter.

I left my “hideout” and went looking for a house somewhere. Having gone a half a kilometer, I saw a house in the distance, so I went in

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that direction. Approaching nearer, just as a peasant-woman went out of the house. I went straight to her and asked, if I might have a drink of water. She, at the time was looking me over, but she asked no questions went right into the house and came out with a dipper of water that she gave to me. I went at the water with terrible avidness, so that actually in very few seconds I had drunk the entire dipper-full and the Christian lady was standing there looking at me agape. She had already, it appeared, understood who I was and from where I came….

Returning the empty dipper to her, I asked her first of all if there were any strangers in her house and if she would permit me to wash myself off in her house. At this she invited me into the house without hesitation.

As I entered the house I encountered her husband there. They both could not stop looking at me. On their faces I could see amazement apparently at my awful appearance. Suddenly the peasant-woman began to wring her hands and crossing herself several times, she cried out: O Bozshe Moy (Oh, My God).

The peasant-woman a her husband were apparently very religious Catholics, and as I immediately began to feel, I had had very good luck to chance upon such a house. The immediately told me to take off the muddied clothes and they gave me a robe to put on. Afterward they themselves put my wet clothes on the heated oven to dry. She also warmed up a large cast-iron tub of water for me to wash myself, and afterward gave me food and drink. Tears formed in my eyes because of their goodness toward me. I thought: apparently, not all gentiles are corrupt. After eating I related my entire experience.

Both heard with wringing hands as I told of my tearful experience, and when I finished, the told me to climb up atop the oven and to go to sleep there.

First as I was lying on warm oven as my writhing limbs were warming up, I began to analyze my lot, putting the question to myself: “Who knows , what might by now have happened to me, had I not accidentally chanced upon such good and honest people?”

I slept through the night and before daybreak the good people told me to go into the barn and to burrow into the hay. In case, they said, neighbors from the surrounding houses come by, who my see me, it might possibly result in much trouble for them and for me, because they are hiding a Jew….

I crept down off the oven immediately, and took my clothing along into the barn, which had dried out in the course of the night, and after entering the barn as best I could I tried to clean the mud off my clothing.

I began to think: What to do next? Where shall I go now?

If I knew, I thought, that the ghetto in Lida still exists, I would have gone back to the ghetto, but how to find out?---I racked my brain.

When the good peasant-woman brought me food in the barn, I said to her, what it was that was bothering me. She soon decided by herself to go to Lida and to find out if there are still Jews in the ghetto.

At night the peasant-woman returned from Lida, and she related that she had met a group of Jews coming from work in the ghetto and they told her, the ghetto now is located in Postover street, and especially, that I need have no fear about returning to the ghetto.

As soon as I heard, I felt, as if a stone had been removed from upon my heart. At that moment the only way out was to return to the ghetto.

That night I slept in the hay in the barn and before daybreak after I heartily thanked the good people for everything, which they had done for me, I departed for Lida. But rather then to immediately go into the ghetto, as I was on the way there I considered, that I had better first go to the kitchen of the Judenrat, which was situated opuside of the ghetto. My assessment was, that amongst the Jewish workers, who work in the kitchen, I could learn more details about the ghetto, and if I might be able to legitimize myself there. I plotted, that I might for the time-being give them a little help in the kitchen, and when the workers will return to the ghetto at night, I would company them.

And so I did.

Back To The Ghetto