The Black Book

Translation of Chornaya Kniga

Compiled and edited by: Vasily Grossman and Ilya Erenburg

Published in Jerusalem: Tarbut, 1970 and Kiev: M.I.P. "Oberig", 1991 (Russian)

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator and Translator

This is a translation from: Chornaya Kniga (Black book), Editors: Vasily Grossman and Ilya Erenburg, Jerusalem
Tarbut, 1970 and Kiev: M.I.P. "Oberig,"1991 (Russian)

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Introduction

I was told about this book by Barbara Urbanska Yeager. She explained that this Russian book is an anthology of memoirs and articles about the Holocaust in the former Soviet territories and it is significant because we know little about the Holocaust in those areas. It is also interesting that it was published in Jerusalem in 1970 (when these areas were still under Soviet control) and in Kiev in 1991.

About the same time, Larry Gillig contacted me to offer to help me with Russian translations. And that is how Larry "offered" to translate the table of contents of The Black Book. We hope that we can get more of the book translated.

Joyce Field

THE BLACK BOOK

About the evil, universal murder of Jews
By the German-Fascist Aggressors
In the temporarily occupied regions
Of the Soviet Union
And in the Camps of Poland
During the War 1941 – 1945

Compiled and Edited by
Vasily Grossman
Ilya Erenburg

Kiev
M.I.P. “Oberig”
1991

[Note: The Hebrew title page indicates that the book had been published in Jerusalem (in Russian) in 1970.]

From the publishers of “The Black Book”	IX
The annihilation of the Jewish population.	X
From the history of the manuscript “The Black Book”.	XIII
From the editors of “The Black Book”.	1
Vasily Grossman, Foreword.	3

UKRAINE

Kiev, Babi Yar. Articles based on documentary materials and evidence of Kievans. Prepared for publication by Lev Ozerov.	23
The Murder of Jews in Berdichev. Author: Vasily Grossman.	32
Talnoe. Author Vladimr Lidin.	43
Resistance in Yarmolits (Reported by E. Laitzman). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	45
How the Woman-Doctor Langman perished (Sorochintsy). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	46
In the Vinnitsa region.
1. In the city of Khmelnik (Reported by E. Becker) Prepared for publication by R.Kovnator.	55
2. In the hamlet of Yaryshevo. Reported by O. Yakhot and M. Brekhman. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.
3. In the village of Tzibulevo. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	56
4. In the hamlet of Yaltushkovo. Reported by Hero of the Soviet Union young lieutenant Kravtsov. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.
5. In the Motherland. (Brailov). Author: Captain Yefim Hechtman	57
What I survived in Kharkov. A letter by Maria Markovna Sokol. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	68
Pyotr Chepurenko. Witness to the Piryatynsky Massacre. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	74
The destruction of the Jewish collective farmers of Zelenopolya. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	75
Letters from Dniepropetrovsk. Prepared for publication by G. Munblit.
1. Letters of Mr. And Mrs. Indikt.	76
2. October 13, 1941. As told by A.M. Burtseva.	70
3. The account of E.A. Revenska.	82
4. The account of B. Y. Tartakovska.	84
A letter from Officer Granovsky (Yekaterinopol). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	85
The Diary of Sara Gleich (Marinupol). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	87
Odessa. Author: Vera Tsiber, according to materials and evidence furnished by residents of Odessa.	93
German-Rumanian atrocities in Kishinev (Moldavia). Author: L. Bazarov.
Chernovtsy (Chernovitz) during the German-Rumanian occupation. The report of E. Grosberg. Prepared for publication by L. Goldberg.	107
The letter of Rachel Fradis-Milner. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg, R. Kovnator.	115
Extermination of the Jews in Lvov. As told by I. Hertz and Naftali Nacht. Prepared for publication by R. Fraerman, R. Kovnator.	123
13 Days in a refugee camp. (A story by Lili Hertz). Prepared for publication by R. Fraerman, R. Kovnator.	138
My comrade – Partisan Yakov Barer (Letter of Boris Chandros, Lvov). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	144
In the Penyatsky Woods (Lvov region). Letter of M. Perlin. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	146
The Germans in Radzivillov. As told by Lucy Gekhman. A literary adaptation by Mariya Shkapskaya.
The letter of Syuna Deresh (Izyaslavl). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	147
A letter from some orphans. (Botoshany). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	148

BYELORUSSIA

History of the Minsk ghetto. According to the material of A. Machiz, Grechanik, L. Gleiser, P.M. Schapiro. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	152
From the book by G. Smolyar**. From the materials of the Extraordinary Government Commission.
Testimonies of Soviet citizens Mera Zaretska, Lev Lansky, Ivan Kasimov***.
Girls from Minsk. Reported by TASS correspondent Semyon Bank****.
The story of an old man, Shmuel-Dovid Kugel (Pleschenitsy). Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman.	194
In the hamlet of Gora. Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman*****
Extermination of the Jews in Gluboko and other hamlets. From material by M. Rank and G. Rank. Literary adaptation by R. Kovnator.	199
Account of Engineer Pikman from Mozyryo. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	214
Account of Dr. Goldfein. (verbatim shorthand report). Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman	218
Brest. Testimony and documentary evidence by residents of Brest. Prepared for publication by Margaret Aliger.	225
Our battle in Byelostok. Verbatim report and letter of Riva Yefimovna Schinder-Voyskovska. Literary adaptation by R. Kovnator.	235
The Tragedy of My Life. Letter from Red Army soldier Kisolev. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	245
Letter from Red Army soldier Hoffman (Krasnopolye, Mogilev district). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	247
Orphans. Prepared for publication by Valeriy Gerasimov.
1) In the pit.	247
2) Account of a little girl from Belostok.	249
Lyozno. A letter by V. Chernyakov. Prepared for publication by Vsevolod Ivanov.	250
Letters of Byelorussian Children. (Village of Staro Zhuravly, Gomel district). Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	251
“Brenners” from Belostok. (The story of workers from the city of Belostok, Zalman Edelman and Shimon Amiel).
A report from the major of the medical squad Nuchim Polinovsky. Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman.	252
Letter written by Zlata Vishnyatskaya before her death (hamlet of Bytel).	256
The Temchiny families of Slutzk (Excerpts of letters received by the pilot Yefim Temchiny. Prepared for publication by O. Savich.	257

RSFSR

Smolenshchina. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.
1. Shamovo.	263
2. Krasny.	264
3. The fate of Isaac Rosenberg.	266
Rostov-on-the-Don. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	271
The Doctor from Kremenchug. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	271
“Where are they taking us?” Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	272
In Stavropol. An article by A. Namkin Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	272
The Story of Evenson (Kislovodsk). Prepared for publication by Bictor Shklovsky.	274
Yessentuki. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	279
The story of Yosef Weingartner, a fisherman from Kerchin. Prepared for publication by Lev Kvitko.	270
Yalta. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	285
The letter of Fischgoit (Yevtsateriya). Prepared for publication by A. Derman.	286
Murder in Dzankoy. Prepared for publication by Lev Kvitko.	291
How they killed Dr. Fidelev. An article by A. Morozov. Prepared for publication by A. Derman.	294
Zhivotovsky, the Housepainter. An article by L. Feygin. Prepared for publication by A. Derman.	297

LITHUANIA

(Page numbers not printed)
There is no explanation of the asterisks.

The Vilna Ghetto. Author: A Sutskever**
Translated (into Russian) from Yiddish by M. Shambadl and B. Cherniak.

Sauliai (The Journal of A.Yerushalmi). Prepared for publication by O. Savich.

The death forts near Kaunas. Author: Meier Yellen***

The fighters in the Kovno Ghetto. Author: Y. Yosade****

Doctor Yelena Buyvidaite-Kutorgenie. Article by G. Ocherovich.
Prepared for publication by R. Kovnator.

From the Journal of Dr. Buyvadaite-Kutorgenie. Prepared for publication by R. Kovnator.

The fate of the Jews from the city of Telshiai.
(translator's note: In Jewish circles this city is often referred to by its Yiddish name, Telz),
as told by Galina Masyupis and Suzanna Kagan. Prepared for publication by O. Savich.

LATVIA

Riga. Author: Capt. Yefim Hechtman.
1. Germans enter the city.	300
2. Above Riga…. Night.	303
3. The first days of the occupation.	305
4. The ghetto.	310
5. “Deportations” from the ghetto.	319
6. The first “aktion”.	312
7. Jews from Germany.	320
8. The camp at Salaspils.	323
From the diary of the sculptor Rivosh (Riga). Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman and R. Kovnator.	327
The story of the Shpuktin family of Dvinsk. Prepared for publication by O. Savich.	318

THE SOVIET PEOPLES ARE UNITED

A letter from the officers Levchenko, Borisov, Chesnokov (Lopavshi, Rovensk Oblast (region). Prepared for publication by Ilya Ehrenburg.	354
The peasant-woman, Zinaida Bashtinina (Dubrovitz, Rovensk Oblast).	356
The collective farmer, Julia Kuchta saved Jewish children. An article by Lieutenant of Justice Mayakov. Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman.	357
The Lukinsky family adopted me. As told by Polina Ausker Lukinskaya. Prepared for publication by V. Ilyevkov .	359
The Russian teachers, Toltseva, Terekhova, Timofeyeva. An article in “Khodos”. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	363
Zirchenko the Bookkeeper. Prepared for publication by Ilya Erenburg.	364
The story of F.M. Gontova. Prepared for publication by G. Munblit.	364
One was spared. The story of Yevsey Yefimovich Gopshteyn. Literary adaptation by L. Seyfullina.	365
Glagolev, the Priest. An article by I. Minkina-Yegoricheva. Prepared for publication by R. Kovnator.	370
Rev. Bronius Paukshtis. Author Hersh Osherovich. Translated from Yiddish by M. Shambadal.	377

EXTERMINATION CAMPS

In the camp at Khorol. An article by A. Resnichenko. Prepared for publication by Vasily Grossman.	379
The Camp at Klooga (Estonia). Prepared for publication by O. Savitch.	383
Treblinka. Author: Vasily Grossman.	391
Children from the “dark path”. Author: V. Apresyan.	422
Revolt in Sobibor. Authors: P. Antokolsky; V. Kaverin.	427
Ponary. A story by the engineer Y. Frarber. Prepared for publication by R. Kovnator.	446
Materials of the “Special Government Commission on Crimes at Auschwitz”.
A girl from Auschwitz (74233). Prepared for publication by Osip Charny.	467
Twenty-six months in Aushwitz. (The story of Mordechai Tsirulyinsky, former prisoner No. 79414).
1. In the village of Ostrino.	478
2. In the Kelbasniski Camp.	470
3. The First Months at Auschwitz.	481
4. At the factory.	487
The story of the former POW, M. Sheinman.	493
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Author: B. Mark.	503

APPENDIX

The racist politics of Hitlerism and anti-Semitism. Academician I. P. Traynin.	528
Testimony of Germans and documents from the materials of the Special State Commission.
1. Himmler's Order. Compiled by a member of the leadership of the Union of German Officers, Major Bernhard Bechler.	533
2. Text of a German report found in the region of Rossoshi.	534
3. From the evidence of the commander of the “Defense (Schutzman) Company” Captain Zalog (Kamenets-Podolsky).	536
4. Excerpts from the diary of captured lance-corporal Karl J. Drexler.	545
5. From the evidence of Private Christian Farber.	547
6. Extract from the protocol of the interrogation of POW lance-corporal Erich Heubaum.	548
7. From the evidence of POW company commander Michael Benirich.	549
8. From the evidence of Wolfgang Jamik.	550
9. Extract from the protocol of the interrogation of POW Private Wilhelm Zudbrak.	552

ADDENDA

Ilya Ehrenburg. “Killers of a People”.	554
[Letter from Kramatorsk].	556
NOTICES.	558
ABOUT THE AUTHORS.	564
LIST OF NAMES.	568
LIST OF GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCES.	589

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