[Page 385]

- - They took Brenner and made him a soldier, Brenner and the Russian military work! It is understandable that Brenner could in no way adapt to the customs of the Russian “kazarma”, to the “Feldwebels” who oppressed the soldiers powerfully, to the bribes and curses and blasphemies against their subjects, and since he was slower than his comrades, he would have been tortured more than others … After a while, he was transferred to the city of Oryol. - - He was tortured for a long time. Until finally he could not bear it anymore and he ran away. They caught him and again began to abuse him, leading him from one prison house to another, from road to road, from city to city, because they could not determine his personality, since he didn't have any certificate, and no one knew who he was.

During his time at Oryol, Brenner would meet regularly with a revolutionary socialist group, and there he met Chaya Wolfson of Homel. - - But that group of socialists in Oryol learned about Brenner's escape and his torture and what was expected of him when they finally understand who and what he was. Chaya Wolfson immediately traveled to Roslavl (Smolensk district) and organized a small group of people there, whose goal was to free Brenner, even if this will cost many sacrifices. One pure Russian, a social revolutionary named Roman, was invited to take part in this rescue mission, although he did not know at all who Brenner was. And since it was known that Brenner was being taken to Bobruisk - this Roman and some other people went with him from Roslavl to Bobruisk, where they talked with a group of “Bund” members, and when they led Brenner to the prison house through a narrow alley, they kidnapped him with “joint forces” (Brenner himself did not know about it). They put Brenner in a secret apartment in Bobruisk. In that conspiratorial apartment I saw Brenner for the last time. - - And here is an important point: Brenner then did no longer belonged to the “Bund” - and he clearly revealed this to his rescuers, his fellows from the “Bund”. By the way: the “Bund” members knew this secret even before, and yet this fact did not prevent them from putting their lives in danger to save him, they cherished not Brenner the “Bund” member, but Brenner the person, who was dear to them.

From here he was smuggled across the border and arrived in London.

When I came to Bobruisk, I left to look for one man named Serebrani, Echstern, who knew about all the matters happening here around Brenner, and he told me the good news, that Brenner had already been saved and he is in the conspiratorial typesetting shop of the “Bund”.

Serebrani immediately took me to this typesetting shop of the “Bund” and there I found Brenner in a small room. He was sitting on a half-broken chair and by him were two tired letter organizers (they probably worked the entire night without a break), who conducted with him a warmly debate on the questions of the Land of Israel and the exile, Hebrew and Yiddish…

- But how? But how? Who “released” you?

- I don't know - Brenner answered - yesterday, early in the evening, a policeman walked me to the prison through a dark alley, and two “yats” jumped out at us. One took out a long, sharp knife from his boot, and stunned the policeman with a strong blow in his face, and the other grabbed me and held me under my armpit and ordered me to run, he ran and I followed him, until we both arrived here…

That was the end of our conversation about the rescue. The continuation of the conversation was as before, when I entered the room, with the participation of the letter organizers from the “Bund”, on the subject: Hebrew or not Hebrew, the Land of Israel or the exile…

[Page 386]

…And so as the trains began to run, the agitation among the railroad workers increased as well as among the workers in the depot.

In order to support the general strike, a citywide three-day strike was declared in Bobruisk. Without regard to the warnings of the police, businesses were closed. The enterprises stopped working. When the stores opened on the third day, something happened which forced the stores to close. In a big wholesale business, behind closed doors, some employees were working. A portion of them left work, broke the lights and the business closed. The other stores momentarily closed. On returning, this group of workers met a group of police. One of the last policemen was badly beaten and his revolver was taken away. A second fled.

On Muriaviover Street, Cossacks attacked the workers. They resisted and there was a big fight. Some workers were badly beaten.

On the second day, the strike was called off. Three people were arrested: Pashkovsky, Wolfson and Zlotnick, who was caught throwing proclamations in the fort. They were jailed for several months.

The news of the October 17th manifest first reached Bobruisk on the 19th. The town was stirred up. The streets were full of people. Police and Cossacks appeared. In the evening there was a meeting and demonstration on Shosi Street. The speakers urged us not to believe the “freedom” which was declared from those above and to lead further the battle to overthrow Czarism.

All night people went around the town, singing and listening to speakers. The revolutionary songs, shouting “hoorah” were mixed with the dry sounds of gunshots. Members of the fighting unit were shooting their guns in joy.

On the third day, Shabbos, there was a big meeting in the theatre garden. The garden was packed with people. Some covered the fences and trees, others climbed on the roofs. There was a heated discussion. The Zionist speakers were greeted with protest. They had to stop. There were very few of their supporters there. The meeting passed with great enthusiasm. The united committee of the representatives of the revolutionary parties in the city ran away. Only the representatives of the Bund and Iskra remained.

That same day, in the evening, in the town hall where a big portrait of Karl Marx was displayed, there was a big meeting of the “Bund” which lasted until one at night. The meeting decided unanimously to occupy the hall and begin a workers club there. They began to leave when the news came about the bloody shooting which had been ordered by the Minsk governor Kurlov.

The joy dissolved into a deep sorrow. Those assembled went home in a gloomy mood. For a whole month the town celebrated the freedom. The police were exceptionally passive. All the parties used the opportunity and held meetings and assemblies. A large number of proclamations were spread over the town and barracks.

These undertakings were only party successful because most of the workers were in the streets. The bosses didn't deduct for the days that they didn't work.

Meanwhile news came from other Russian towns, one worse than the next.

The Czarist power ordered pogroms which spread in waves over many cities in Russia. In Bobruisk a strong self-defense was organized.

All the Jewish organizations strengthened their battle groups and armed themselves with guns and bullets.

In the forest, not far from the town, the fighters learned to shoot. The smiths prepared bayonets, spears and sharp tips, which were attached to sticks and which served as arms to attack and defend oneself. We also prepared arrows with lead and iron tips. The fire brigade was on watch the whole time. They had barrels of water ready.

A united illegal Red Cross was prepared into which those physically weak members of the organization went. The Red Cross had assorted medicines and bandages and they prepared cots. Doctors were in charge of the Red Cross. They instructed the members on how to give first aid to the wounded and how to get along with them.

There was no shortage of money. The people taxed themselves for the defense organizations. The Jewish bourgeoisie was afraid for their lives and property, so they opened their pockets and gave as much money as was needed.

The self-defense groups didn't have a specific meeting place. Each day they changed the places. It was enough to tell whichever rich Jew, that that day there would be a meeting of so many people and that one would prepare food and a place to sleep. Four-five groups would be stationed in the town each day. In order to avoid unrest, which could break out suddenly, spies and patrols would go about. These spies would enter secretly into the meetings at the Union of the Russian People which was then organized in Bobruisk.

There was no pogrom in Bobruisk. Those in power, who usually initiated and allowed the pogroms, were afraid, taking into account the strength of the revolutionary organizations.

In the year 1906 a chapter of expropriations started: The Bobruisk chapter of the “Bund” led an expropriation in Shchedrin. The group that was sent there included: Nacke, Hessel Wolfson, Bendat, Abraham Ashkenazi, Lina Krock, Ephraim-Itche Gorelick and Itche Helfand. They invaded a liquor store and post-telegraph office and took 3600 rubles, 360 rubles in the post office, 3 guns and a sword. Afterward, Nacke went to Vilna and gave the money to T.K. T.K. was very unhappy with the expropriation and refused to take the money. It came as far as wanting to expel the Bobruisk organization from the Bund. At the end they took the money. But the Bobruisk organization got strong instructions not to expropriate any more.

The draft, which was supposed to take place in the Fall of 1905, was delayed because of the unrest, until January 1906. In January recruits from the entire district began to gather. The stormy atmosphere hadn't passed and the influence of the revolutionary organizations was again felt in the town. Many revolutionaries were called for the draft: The majority, members of the Bobruisk Bund committee, from the union, the defense group and other activists. All came to the draft hall.

The officer who sat on the Commission went out to the recruits and proposed selecting representatives, who would keep order. They chose three people: Nacke Yochvid, Ashkenazi, and Hessel Wolfson.

All the recruits—members of the organizations—received instructions on how to act. Each was to say that he is healthy and to the question, “What religion” to answer, “Social Democrat” and to declare that he doesn't support militarism.

At the recruiting hall there were two meetings: one for the local recruits and a second for those from the district.

After the induction, they had to send off the soldiers and half of them ran away. Many went to America, two to Odessa and some to Vilna.

They were wary of stationing Nacke in Bobruisk so they sent him to a commission in Minsk.

In Minsk he was known as an active revolutionary and they overlooked his illness, accepted him and sent him to the Vilna military post. After being there for four weeks, he fled to Odessa, where he lived illegally, on a false passport, as the son of a water-carrier from Bobruisk who had gone to America.

In 1906 Policeman Karpienka was murdered in Bobruisk. Everyone disliked him, as one of the worst policemen in town.

Late one evening Karpienka was walking in the direction of Shosi Street, toward the yeast factory, not far from where he lived. On the way, he went into an inn to have a drink. When Karpienka left the inn, one of our members of the Bund, who had waited for him for a long time, came close to him, and with three gun shots, cut him down on the spot.

The comrade who shot Karpienka was not found. On the following day, Karpienka's funeral was supposed to take place. The police were very agitated and we awaited all sorts of violence from the bad elements.

The defense groups had fallen apart by then. The majority of the members had gone away. Only a small number remained in the town. Because of fear of probable attacks, they assembled weapons and armed groups. Armed groups were found not far from the main street and followed the funeral procession. The funeral passed quietly. On the return the wicked attacked Weitzman's bakery, knocked out the windows and began robbing. There was a panic. The armed groups ran over, beat up several robbers and the rest were driven away. The police who came quickly, quickly restored order.

The economic struggle of the Bobruisk workers didn't stop, overlooking the pressure of the reaction after 1905.

In November 1905 they tried to organize the builders union of all trades.

When they received permission from the police master, they called a general workers meeting. Present at the meeting were a police sergeant and two policemen. They allowed the meeting on the condition that they speak Russian and not touch political issues. But they didn't meet the conditions: They spoke about political topics, and in Yiddish.

The official was led into a second room, where he was honored with a good shot of whiskey and something to eat. The policeman stood near the door.

The meeting selected delegates to negotiate with the governor about allowing the union. But they were denied.

At the end of 1906 the owners of the carpenters factories declared a lockout. It began because of a strike in a small establishment, where the boss had laid off a worker, who did not want to be let go. The union had declared a strike and demanded that he take back the worker. Then the bosses got together, formed their own bureau and demanded that the workers run their negotiations with the bureau. When the bosses were refused, they declared a lockout, from which 200 carpenters suffered.

The struggle was stubborn. The bosses proposed an eleven-hour workday and the same wages as before. The workers demanded a nine-hour workday and didn't want to acknowledge the bosses' bureau.

The strike lasted 2½ months and ended with a settlement. The workers acknowledged the bureau and the bosses went along with a nine-hour workday and a big higher wages.

In the same year the bosses declared a boycott of all the activists of the section of the painters, and refused to hire them.

Then the painters had a meeting and distributed the work among the workers. The bosses refused to take them on.

They declared a strike. But at the meeting the strike fell through.

In 1906 they formed a new chapter of the tailors union. There were nine people in the chapter: five men and four women. They were led by a representative of the “Bund.” At the first meeting the entire chapter was arrested. Those arrested were in jail for two weeks and paid a 20 ruble fine. After leaving jail they led a strike of tailors and furriers. Thanks to the strike they went from piece work to piece work to weekly wages.

In 1907 the bosses used the weakness of the union and again went back to piece work.

In 1908 the tailors put forth the following demands: yearly work from August to August, and a working day of 8½ hours. The bosses replied with a lockout. Then the workers organized a cooperative where they employed some workers and supported the others from the treasury. The lockout failed and the workers won.

In 1907 there was a strike by the carpenters who worked in the craftsmen's shul. The bosses demanded that the workers do piece work, but the workers declined. The workers won the strike.

In 1906 the bakers declared a strike in which more than 200 people took part. The demands were the following: a ten-hour workday, starting work on Shabbos, not in the evening but at one in the morning. The bosses did not agree to the demands and began to prepare strikebreakers. Then the “Bund” sent out a fighting group to remove the strikebreakers. When they came to take away the workers from the Koroviev Brothers bakery, one of them (fighting group) caught one of Bernstein's men, and started to choke him. Bernstein took out a revolver and shot him. There was a panic and the fighting group disappeared. At first Bernstein hid, and then he left for America.

The incident with Koroviev frightened the bosses who were afraid of Bernstein's strikebreakers, and the bakers were afraid of the incidents with the police. Both sides went into negotiations. The bosses agreed to a ten-hour day and the bakers were forced to agree to smaller wages.

In 1907, the bread bakers demanded increased wages and direct payment to the apprentices and pupils by the boss. (Before, they would pay the master who hired him.) The bosses declined and there was a strike.

The strike lasted an entire month and broke because the member of the bakers' committee, Leibitshke, disclosed all the plans of the workers to the bosses. Leibitshke was badly beaten up and told to leave in 24 hours, which he had to do.

In April 1908, there was a strike by the bread bakers, who demanded higher wages. The strike lasted a week and they won. The same thing happened with the roll bakers.

There were small economic struggles in the other trades: the locksmiths, tinsmiths, leather workers and others.

In 1908 the economic struggle quieted down and it died down altogether at the end of that same year.

[Page 391]

In the anthology “1905 in White Russia” which was published in Minsk in 1925 under the editorship of S. Ogurski, there is a chapter under the heading “Bobruisk in the Year 1905.” The author of the chapter is someone named Gorelik. In this chapter there are noted several events of this revolutionary movement in 1905. Amongst them—two instances in which I myself participated. That is: 1) the demonstration and connection with Henkin's murder and 2) the history of the two who ran away. In Gorelik's account of the two happenings the dates which he gives and the direct causes, there are quite a few inaccuracies which it is appropriate to correct.

By the way, my participation in the protest demonstration because of Henkin's murder, is for me connected to a political experience, which included occurred in Petersburg. Running away from that experience, I landed in the Henke tragedy in Bobruisk.

So, let's go in order, beginning with the Petersburg experience.

In 1905 I lived in Bobruisk and practiced dentistry. In the beginning of July of that year there was the “Fourth Russian Dental Conference” in Petersburg to which I was sent as a delegate by a group of dentists in the Bobruisk society. I went to a friend, a colleague from Bobruisk, named Abraham Fishman. He told me that the city was stirred up by this conference, that delegates had come from all corners of the land, that police were ready for such assemblies.

It was a restless time then: the defeats on the battlefields in the Japanese war, the eternal petitions and resolutions, which the farmers and municipalities presented to the Czarist government—make for a turbulent atmosphere in the land. The agitators worked on all sides…therefore the atmosphere at the assembly was strained.

The fiery opening of the conference and the other sessions took place in the rich “Club of the Nobles.” In the sessions of the first two days they were concerned with specific dental problems. Everything was as planned, academic. On the first session of the third day, I delivered a lecture. The theme was “The Social and Economic Situation of Dentists in White Russia.” I referred to the known patients who get dental treatment and from what classes they come. I touched the question about the condition of dental care in the educational institutions: Gymnasia, middle class schools, and so forth.

Suddenly the chairman of the session came over to me, Dr. Ribakov from Kherson and asked me to stop the lecture. The hall was full of janitors in white aprons…. In a moment he signaled that he is closing the meeting , because the hall is full of spies and “the reading of colleague Elkin's paper will take place tomorrow at 9 in the morning.” The meeting was adjourned. In a somber mood, the crowd left the hall.

At 9:00 the next morning, I came to the “Club of Nobles” where two policemen greeted me with the famous welcome “Where are you going? Are you literate? Read!” And I read an announcement that hung on the entrance door, that by order of General Trepov the fourth dental conference is closed. I went away from this surprise disturbed to look for other delegates and I found out that they had all left the holy Trepov territory and went off to Finland. Without a long delay, I grabbed my package and left for Finland. There I found the delegates from the conference that was closed by the police, working on a text of protest resolution against the lawlessness of power. It took several hours until an appropriate text was put together. Colleagues from Petersburg took it upon themselves to attend to the publication of the resolution, and all the delegates from outside of Petersburg, and I among them, left for home. I left in the evening , and after a 36 hour ride, I came to Bobruisk.

Upon entering my home, I was greeted by my wife Rivka (may she rest in peace) and my small daughter Esia who she carried, and from greeting her I understood that something is not in order. To my question what happened, she answered in a broken voice, “The city is restless; yesterday Cossacks killed an innocent Jew and they are afraid of demonstrations and bloodshed.”

After my experience in Petersburg this news made a strong impression on me. It was, as the Russian proverb—-from a fire comes a blaze.

I still wanted to know what happened and the terrible murder happened.

This is what happened:

The day before (as I remember, it was Between the 8th and 10th of July, and not the 20th, and not because of general battle reasons, as the author Gorelik recounts) there was a confrontation at the marketplace between some farmers and a Jewish woman shopkeeper. The shopkeeper insulted a farmer by accusing him of haven stolen something in her store. The farmers protested against this accusation and a fight broke out. The policeman on duty told the police about the tumult and the police master called up the officer of the company of Cossacks, who were quartered there ( in the name of peace…) that he should go there with the Cossacks immediately where the disturbance is taking place. The officer left immediately for the market with his company of Cossacks, but until they came to the place, everything was quiet—-the farmers had left and the shopkeeper and other shopkeepers were standing by the doors of their shops and waited for customers…The Cossacks went back, not having done a stitch of work…But then something happened, which gave rise to this terrible murder. It turned out, that at the time the officer called up his company, one Cossack was missing. When he came back, the officer found him and slapped him for being AWOL. The Cossack, ashamed and disturbed, jumped on his horse and at full speed left for the marketplace. But to his great disappointment, he found no disturbance. That, surely, bothered him more, and he raced back to his quarters. In his hurry, he saw a man on Muriavsker Street, a stonecutter at work, and perhaps, in order to soothe his seething rage, he pulled out his sword and without any reason, split his head and ran away. It became tumultuous; people gather, and blood-covered, they took him—his name was Henkin—to the hospital, where he soon died.

This episode stirred up the city. The party organizations began to have consultations about how to react to this terrible event. And it was decided to conduct a demonstrative, fiery funeral for Henkin. At night, proclamations were posted all over the city with a call to the people to close their businesses and participate in the funeral of the martyr, Henkin.

A few hours later, after I learned the particulars of this tragic event, a policeman came and delivered a request from the police master, that I come to his chancellery. To my question, “Why does the police master need me?” I received the classic answer, “I don't know.”

I understood that the visit to the police master probably had a connection to the Henkin story. But why does he need me, I couldn't understand. But when Authority calls, one can't be rude, and it's necessary to go….a bit frightened, I went to the police master. He received me very politely; he asked me to be seated and said: “I know that you just came from Petersburg today. I understand that you are probably aware of the sad Henkin story, and that is why I asked you to come to talk to me. We know that the city is agitated and is preparing for a big demonstration tomorrow, a funeral with red flags, with songs of revolution, and with shooting. You understand that we, government representatives, can't be passive to this. But we are afraid of bloodshed, and we'd like to prevent it. We know that you know the people who are busy organizing the demonstration. We are asking you to do something so that it won't come to a confrontation. We are not giving you advice as to what to do. Do what you will. I will wait for your reply, as quickly as possible.”

He got up from his seat—a sign that the conversation was over, not allowing me to say a single word. This was no conversation, but a categorical warning which promised no good. I bowed and left for home, even more frightened. I immediately met with Nacke Yochvid, the then leader of the Bund in Bobruisk, and told him about my visit to the police master. Nacke soon called a meeting of the leaders of the party organizations who were participating in organizing the Henkin funeral; and in a few hours he let me know the conditions which the organizers of the funeral can agree to, namely: all businesses in the city and all banks must be closed until after the funeral. Instead of red flags, they would carry the bloody clothes of the murdered Henkin. There will be no song; that will be exchanged for the demonstration's silence. A chain of people holding hands will march around the coffin. Through the streets through which the funeral procession will go (the route was shown) there should be no police, soldier, or Cossack. At the time of passing the police station, the shutters of the windows should be closed. Speeches will take place only on the cemetery. Those are the conditions which were arrived at after a meeting that lasted for 2-3 hours. With this answer, I returned to the police master and gave the reply.

He again let me know that he is not in charge of the issue because this was assigned to the military power of the city, and the boss is the commandant of the fortress. But he will immediately get in touch with commandant, and will give me his answer. He asked me to wait awhile, and left the room. In 15-20 minutes, he returned with the following reply: “The commandant agrees to the proposal that I will be responsible for the funeral, and I should go ahead 10-15 steps, with a black band on my left hand.” If I don't agree to the conditions, he, the commandant is free to do whatever he wants. This meant that the responsibility for the result of this tragic event was placed upon me.

I met with Nacke again, and after a short meeting, with my consent, accepted the commandant's condition.

The beginning of the funeral was scheduled for 8 o'clock on the next morning. As the main speaker at the cemetery, Kolya Tepper was decided up. Through a special proclamation, the people of the town were made aware that the funeral would begin at the hospital at 8 the next morning.

That night was restless in town, and I didn't sleep. My wife had prepared a black band, and at 7:30 in the morning I parted with my wife and child, and left for the hospital. I found a mass of people. As soon as I came, Nacke announced to the assembled how we must act at the funeral, and a chain of people who encircle the coffin was organized, but we couldn't move because a horde of people were in the streets, and we couldn't budge. It was estimated that 30,000 people took part in the funeral. Only at about 10 o'clock, after much exertion, were the streets through which the funeral needed to pass cleared, and the procession began.

I was the first in the procession, with the mark on my hand. After we went, the organizing committee. After them, the bearers of the coffin, with the bloody clothes of the murdered Henkin instead of a flag, encircled with a living chain, woven with tens and tens of resolute proletarian hands. Behind them were a well-organized group of workers who monitored the order of the march, and at the end the town of Bobruisk. All businesses were closed. In the streets reigned a dead quiet, and after the hard rhythmic tread of the great afternoon funeral were heard in the dreadful quiet. From time to time, the procession would stop because the bearers of the coffin would change. Not one soldier, Cossack, or policeman was on the streets of the procession. When we passed the police station, the shutters of the windows were closed, as agreed upon. It was evident that the local Czarist officials felt very guilty for events, and therefore they followed the conditions that the leaders of the demonstration set.

The procession lasted over three hours—we got to the cemetery only at one. At the open grave, a few people from the organizing committee held short speeches, and the word was told that the main speaker was Kolya Tepper. He began to speak, as was his custom, about issues which have no connection with the tragic event of Henkin's death. It took quite a bit of time until he got to the point of Henkin. He handled it with revolutionary pathos, and the crowd listened intently to his speech. That they didn't even notice that it was getting late, already after 5 when the caretaker of the cemetery let me know that the “Authorities” want to see me.

The commandant of the fortress was waiting for me on the street in his carriage, and he turned to me with a request to end the speeches as quickly as possible, and to return the procession in the same order as before because there is a strained atmosphere in town, and anyway he thinks that talking for four hours is enough.

I promised him I would try to end it soon. He bowed in a military fashion and left.

I returned to the cemetery and Tepper was still talking. Wanting to prevent possible complications, I asked him to finish his talk quickly. He obliged me, and dead tired, he ended his speech.

There were many fewer people at the cemetery now than had come, but there were still about 10,000 people. I asked the crowd to return in the same order as before, not going through different streets, because that could be disastrous.

Therefore, let's get into rows, and I'll again go first, as before. The crowd obeyed, and arranged themselves into rows of 8-10 people, and at about 6:30 in the evening, in a strained silence, we went home.

At first, everything went properly, but when we came to Pushkin Street, which we had to cross, I saw a crew of soldiers and policemen, with an officer and a police commissioner at the head, marching in military style to block our way. I immediately halted the procession, and faced the military commander with a shout—“Out of our way!” They moved. I went over to the leader of the command, and with an angry voice said: “Liar, you are! We have an agreement! Where are you taking your crew? Do you want a bloodbath? I won't move from this spot with this procession until you leave, at your leisure, to where you came from.”

The police commissioner came over to me quite close, and quietly, perhaps so that the officer wouldn't hear, and said: “Calm yourself; nothing bad will happen. We had to do it; at least make a show that we are dispersing the demonstration. We're going away from here, but we ask you to end the demonstration as soon as possible, and for the crowd to disperse quietly and go home.” Right after that, he turned around his crew, and disappeared from Pushkin Street.

In order to be sure that that was not a provocation, I waited quite a while, and left with my procession in the direction of Muriavsker Street. We stopped at the open library, and from the library balcony I thanked the crowd for its disciplined behavior, which helped prevent bloodshed, and asked everyone to go home quickly. The demonstration was over. The crowd quickly dispersed.

Only late in the evening did the energy which had built up in the course of two days of tragic experiences, and there was shooting in the air, in the forest, but no harm was done, and it only marked the end of the tragic demonstration.

The history of the 12 fugitives is, in short, the following: In the Bobruisk fortress, there was a big and stern military prison, which was called “Disciplinary Battalion” (several people called it stone sack). For the slightest infraction of ordinary military discipline, the offenders were sent to this jail, where they were disciplined in an exceptional way, even whipping.

In the time of which we speak (this was the end of 1905), there were in this disciplinary battalion about 1,000 arrestees. Every morning, after a poor breakfast, which consisted of a piece of bread and water, this arrested crew, under the watch of armed soldiers, would be led to assorted labor.

One morning, the inmates arranged not to obey the order of the authorities, and instead of going out to work, they improvised a meeting, and demanded an improved situation, better food, an end to beating, and so forth. That was an unheard of “Bund,” an uprising.

So that the “Bund” would not be known openly, the authorities in the uproar tried to still the inmates with amicable measures—with good talk, with fine assurances—but it didn't help; the arrested did not leave their barracks, and demanded what they wanted.

This wrangling lasted for several days, and in the end, from the “high authorities” came an order to put down the uprising with force. The local authority took to its work, and with the help of the military, the “Bund” was liquidated. Those more active in the uprising—there were about 30-40 people—were isolated and court-martialed.

In a few weeks, there was a sentence. Ten were sentenced to death, several to hard labor, and others to assorted prison duties. Those sentenced to death and those to hard labor were separated, until the judgment would be carried out.

This episode made an enormous impression in the city because the circle of the revolutionary parties decided to save those sentenced to death.

This begins my participation in the process of saving those sentenced to death—a participation that was a conspiracy, even to the active participants. This is what happened.

One evening, Nacke Yachvid came to see me (He was mentioned previously as the Bobruisker leader of the “Bund), and let me know about the decision to save those soldiers sentenced to death. How to carry that out, there were many plans . But first of all, they have to be taken from their isolated place, and that can happen only when there is a reason, because of which they have to be taken for medical help. Concretely, they all have to be made sick at the same time, so they would have to be taken to the infirmary. There, in the infirmary, are “our” people, and through them, we can do something. The question is, how do we get to that. Therefore, Nacke came to me; perhaps I could help him.

It was clear to both of us, that in order to do this, we had to have a person who had free access to those sentenced, and I had an idea that the most appropriate, and perhaps the only, person for this was Dr. Alexander Abramovitch Paperno (the younger brother of the renowned Petersburg oculist Dr. Grigory Paperno, both sons of the writer Abraham Yakov Paperno).

Dr. Alexander Paperno was a close friend of mine. In 1904, soon after Russia declared war on Japan, and the famous General Kuropatkin tried to conquer the Japanese, Dr. Alexander Paperno was mobilized, and outfitted in a military uniform. He was sent to the Manchurian battlefield to help the wounded soldiers. Now he is at home, but he is in the military service, serving as a doctor in that garrison. Therefore, I think he has access to the sentences, and he can take them to the infirmary. I gave this advice to Nacke, and he immediately agreed that it was a good thought. He would soon discuss it with whoever was necessary, and would let me know what was decided.

On the next day, they told me that my plan was approved, and that I have full authority to see Dr. Paperno, as soon as possible. And although the thought was mine, carrying it out was not very appealing. In a heavy mood, I went to see Dr. Paperno. I knew very well that it was a heavy piece of work to persuade him, that he should undertake what I proposed. And that is truly how it was. After he heard why I had come, he jumped up from his comfortable chair, and running around the room, in a disturbed voice, he asked, “ What do you want from me? You want me to be hanged together with those sentenced?”

After a small pause, smiling, I answered that was not our aim. “We don't see any danger in that a doctor requests an emergency, if a whole group of people, even sentences, suddenly becomes sick with the same sickness, that the sick be transported to a hospital to prevent an epidemic from spreading. Quite the opposite, according to us, it should be the responsibility of a doctor. What will happen to the sick in the hospital has no connection to the doctor. That falls under the general power of the hospital. Aside from that, you, Alexander Abramovitch, bear in mind that this is the decision of a central committee of revolutionary parties, and I don't have to tell you that refusing to do something, in such an occasion, could sometimes bring unpleasant consequences….”

Slowly, my talk calmed Paperno; our talk turned to other topics. By the time I prepared to leave, he told me that, the next day at his general medical call, he would visit the group of sentences, and see what he could do to get them to the hospital.

Gorelik tells, in his article of remembrances, that, “The arrested ones got a mixture, which had an after effect of sickness. After taking the mixture, they were recognized as sick, and taken to the hospital.”

What kind of mixture was it? Who gave the mixture to them, and who recognized them as sick, and transferred them to the hospital? The author doesn't tell us anything about it. The truth is that this work was done by Dr. Alexander Paperno. He gave the sentences a mixture from which they got diarrhea and light intestinal cramps. They were not forced to obey. In a few days, all of them, except Paperno, were brought to the hospital, and put in one place—officially, not to risk the spread of an epidemic.

The next step in freeing them was to escape through a window, which overlooked the Berezina. For that, the necessary instruments were prepared in order to cut the iron bars, which block the bright world…. The hardest problem was how to get rid of the watchmen, even for a short time, who surrounded the ward.

The barber who was responsible for this group of patients was on our side. Aside from whiskey, he asked for whatever we needed, in order to give the night watchmen, when the action needed to be carried out, special cigarettes to make them sleepy.

Nacke Yochvid came to me again with this cigarette problem. After a short conversation with him, I again assumed the responsibility, with the help of one of my pharmacist acquaintances.

I went, when I could, to my friend, the pharmacist Constantin Roginski, a person with revolutionary leanings (a brother of the renowned lawyer Roginski, assistant mayor of Vinover). He had a big pharmacy business on Muriavsker Street. I told him what I want to buy from him, and the reason. He looked at me with an ironic smile, and said that he doesn't sell those kind of cigarettes.

I didn't expect such an answer from him. On a rainy day, I let him know that by not giving me the cigarettes, he is playing with fire: that this is an action of the Revolutionary parties, who don't keep such things quiet, and lots of people are involved whose lives are hanging by a thread.

My stronger tone worked, and Roginski agreed to prepare a dozen “good” cigarettes. In a few hours, I gave the cigarettes to Nacke.

With that, my direct and conspiratorial part of this action ended.

Through extraordinary hard conditions, the “12 Fugitives” were saved from the claws of death, and spread over the world: Two came to America, others remained hidden in Russia, only a few were caught and shot.

I also want to remark that it is absolutely not correct that the entire action was carried out by the group of Bolsheviks, “Iskra,” as the author Gorelik relates. The “Bund” participated in this action—Nacke Yochvid, Isak (Lazar Epstein), V. Narkin, Ephraim Itche Gorelik—and indirectly, Dr. Alexander Paperno and Pharmacist Constantine Roginski helped.

[Page 399]

Nacke Bobruisker, or Nacke the Police Master, as he was known in the entire Bundist world in the first two decades of this century….

The famous Russian-Jewish novelist Tan-Bogoraz^[1] traveled in that time to all the Jewish cities and towns and described them in a series of tales. One of them is called “Natke, Police Master” and is under that name, depicted Nacke Bobruisker. That's how he was known to the Jews in Russia, but he was also popular in the entire Russian liberal and progressive population.

Nacke Yochvid was born in Bobruisk on August 11, 1884 into a middle-class family. His father, Zalman Yochvid, had a wine business. He gave Nacke, like his other children, a traditional Jewish upbringing in cheder and yeshiva. But even as a youth, Nacke showed an inclination to ordinary affairs and dreamed dreams about the Jew, people, and the world.

After his bar mitzvah he began to show interest in the Zionist movement. Nacke was not only a dreamer, he had a dynamic nature. The surrounding desolation, the Jewish workers' street, affected him. When he sought a direction for his turbulent nature, he was able to find it in the revolt of suffering, the revolt of the Jewish worker.

In order to better understand the makeup of the workers and to connect more strongly with their lives, this child of the middle class became an apprentice to a shoemaker and later in other workshops [sic]. Barely 16, he was already in the Bund movement. There he was noted for his boldness. Hard problems were easy for him and his sharp intelligence pushed him quickly to the Bund activists. In a few years, he was seen in a series of cities where there were Jewish workers and Bund organizations. He worked in Pinsk, in Mogilev, Bialystok, Brisk, Homel, Minsk, a certain time in Odessa and Peodosie. But the greatest part of his active years he spent in the city of his birth: Bobruisk.

Already in 1904-1905 he was not only the leader of the Bund and not only a leading personality of Jewish life in Bobruisk, but in a certain sense also the “boss” of the city. In that time, the police master of Bobruisk was Gelbach. When there was grievance in town and justice was sought, one went complaining not to the czarist power, but to Nacke. When there was a riot in town and all the Jews closed their stores, they didn't open them again until Nacke gave the order. And when some of them went to ask the police master if they could open their businesses, he answered, “Ask Nacke.”

Nacke made a strong impression on me at the time of our first meeting. It was in mid-1905, after January 9 and after the bloody July days. I came to Bobruisk for my presentation and I stayed with Yosef and Rachel Frankel. It was Shabbos. We were sitting and talking. The door opened and in came a slender young man in shiny boots with a friendly face, a childlike mouth, big, earnest, almost wondrous eyes. A real stir. There was a confidence in his manner and genial manner. When I went out with him to several meetings, I saw how influential he was and why. He was a common man. Each and every person, vendor, tradesman, and every poor man greeted him as an acquaintance. Everyone told him his troubles. Not only the workers in the markets; among them, he was one of their own.

It may seem curious but just his appearance in the city influenced his relationship with his family. His father jokingly called him Reb Nachman and he called his father Reb Zalman. Their relations were friendly but the class-distance was observed. That was also the case between him and the middle-class customs of the Jewish population with whom he mingled to resolve various issues.

In the stormy days of the revolution in 1905, Nacke was the established leader in the city. The police and the police master hid. The revolutionary atmosphere pervaded the military garrison of the fort. Some of the officers and some of the soldiers were drawn into the revolutionary movement. The atmosphere in the city was tense. Every clang brought unrest and fright. The Jews were afraid of pogroms and closed their shutters and barred the doors of their businesses. But it was enough for Nacke to go through the street and the crowd would calm down.

In November 1905, the czarist reaction became apparent. In nearby Minsk, the local governor, General Kurlov, met a demonstration with military force and there was a bloodbath. Many of the demonstrators died. In many cities of Russia and the Ukraine, the Black Hundred was organized and made pogroms on the intelligentsia and separately on the Jewish population.

There was a pogrom at that time in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. The Bobruisk committee of the Bund received a telegram that a ship left Kiev with stolen items belonging to the Jews and the perpetrators of the pogrom.

Nacke was the President of the Bobruisker Bund self-defense force. In the middle of the night, a portion of the self-defense group went to the shore of the Berezina and awaited the ship, which was manned by Jews because the ship belonged to Jews (the Sklovskys). Nacke and the self-defense force met the perpetrators, greeted them, and confiscated everything with they had robbed.

In the November days of 1905, Nacke and a group of comrades faced the draft. They came to the draft registry office and openly declared, “We will use our guns to shoot, not our own people or others, but against the enemies of freedom and the enemies of the people.” And since there were signs of reaction, they weren't arrested. They were taken into the army. Nacke and several of his friends decided that they would be more useful in the Bundist cause and they ran away.

Nacke hid for more than two years and worked in various cities, illegally. In 1908 he was arrested and he was put into military service in Vilna where he was for two years.

After his military service he came back to Bobruisk. The revolutionary movement was weakened. Nacke devoted himself in his home town to cultural work. He became active in the peoples library. He continues to infuse all his legal activities with Bundist ideas.

The first world war came. There were edicts issued about the Jews in the surrounding areas of Russia. Tens of thousands are displaced from their homes in the border cities. The Czarist army is surely the leader headed by Nikolai Nikolavitch and the chief of staff, General Janushkevitch, led an anti-Semitic political campaign. Help came from the Jewish population in Russia. In 1915, Nacke became especially active in the Jewish Help Committee for captives.

The revolution came in 1917. Nacke again became the head of the city of Bobruisk. He inspired the masses with his speeches. He organized the workers and soldiers companies and they selected him as president. He became chief of the new power organs in the town. Later in communal elections, he was chosen in the town council where he gave a talk in Yiddish about the position of the Bund on the national question. He became vice-president of the community. Even though he was very sick then, he did not spare himself. He went from one meeting to another participating in all the institutions and conferences and was a patron in all the works of the Bobruisk Bund organization where he was President. Often the meetings took place at his sick bed. How that was is told by Okun:

“Nacke was lying in bed with terrible stomach pains and leads the meeting of the portion of the committee. I remember the picture that I saw, Nacke is speaking heatedly about the tragic issues of the day, he berates the outsiders and talks about the inner unity. Suddenly Nacke became still, cutting short his speech. His eyes closed, his face pales and tightens. Nacke is having terrible pains. All his friends are frozen, a pallor reigns over the room and we think here comes the bitter end. (Nacke had long been sentenced to death by the doctor). In a moment he revives, the danger is past. Nacke opens his eyes and again takes up his fiery speech as though nothing happened.” (Life-issues, number 254, Nov. 21, 1919 Warsaw).

When we would tell him that he should rest because of his grave illness he would laugh and compare himself to a cavalry horse who runs right into battle, as soon as he heard the trumpet and doesn't look at the disturbances.

The direction of the Russian Revolution after 1917 did not go the way that all freedom loving socialists had dreamed and awaited. Communist terror took the place of the Czarist terror. The Communists placed all the blame on the Socialists. Like the Jewish workers' movement where brother betrayed brother, the Communists arrested and tortured their former friends. It had a terrible effect on Nacke. His health grew worse from day to day. A short time before his death he was told that the Communists shot one of his close friends, the devoted Socialist and Bundist Katz nelson. Friends who had come to visit him told me how he cried like a child when he heard the dreadful news.

Nacke was a wonderful friend. Everywhere that he went that he felt he could bring encouragement, friendship, comradeship he did so, so it was no wonder that his friends showed the same warmth and love to him.

On August 4, 1919 Nacke in great pain died at the age of 35.

The Bobruisk committee of the Bund issued this obituary after his death:

“Monday, August 4, 1919, after a long and difficult illness, Nacke Yochvid, President of the Bobruisk Committee of the Bund, died. He was President of the socialist faction of the former city-Duma; Vice President of the Jewish Community; member of the committee to help the Jewish war refugees; executive member of the folk library; committee member of ORT; executive member of the A.N. Bronislav Circle.” His death brought a deep sadness to the Bobruisk population and the great number of Bundists who knew him.

Footnote

1. Vladimir Bogoraz (1865-1936), who used the pseudonym N.A. Tan for his literary works, was a well-known anthropologist and author. Return

[Page 403]

Israel Okun, son of Shimon and Bat Sheva, was born January 10, 1897 in Bobruisk and died on October 22, 1941 in Montreal. His father was a religious Jew, a lumber dealer. In his younger years Israel studied in a cheder and was tortured privately.

I Okun began his Bund activities in his home town at the end of 1898 and was later active in a number of cities and countries. In Bobruisk where he was a member of the local committee at various times, he played an important role in the revolution of 1905. In 1906 he went to study in the technical school in Dessau. But he remained active in the Bund and for a time he led the Bund's student group in Leipzig. In August, 1907 he was one of the Bund's delegates to the Congress of International Socialists in Stuttgart. He went by the pseudonym “Dag.”

In 1908, after finishing his studies with a diploma as an engineer he went to Russia where he worked with the Bund. He settled in St. Petersburg. There he was active in the Bund in the various Jewish cultural organizations and he showed great intelligence and loyalty. Okun was the leader of the Jewish Literary Society in Russia, secretary of the Jewish Musical Society and the History-Ethnography Society.

He was also active in the enlightenment group and helped publish a history journal. He was a central figure in the Jewish cultural work in this leading Russian city. From 1912 he was the Petersburg correspondent of the “Bobruisk Weekly” where he usually had a series of letters. When the revolution broke out in 1917 he went as a messenger of the Bund to a series of cities to help organize the first open Bund conference (April, 1917). Later Okun became active in his old hometown Bobruisk where he was a councilman both in the town and the Jewish community. In 1918 he was the vice-president of the city council. In the days from March 6-20, 1919 he participated in the eleventh conference of the Bund, that was held in Minsk. In the same year he settled in Vilna and worked with the Bund press in charge of production where he accomplished many excellent developments. For a time he was also director of the Vilna Jewish Technical Journal. His articles from that period were published under his own name or under the pseudonym “A. Doginski.” In 1922 the ORT in Vilna published the book, “Electricity and Its Practical Uses” by Dr. L. Gretz, translated from the German by engineer I. Okun. He also worked with the ORT Journal, “Economics and Life” (Berlin).

In 1924 Okun emigrated to Argentina. He was active in the Bund there too. With others he began to publish a Bundist journal, “Argentine Alarms.” Because of illness he left Buenos Aires and in 1930 settled in Toronto, Canada.

In his new and last home he again threw himself into his work with full enthusiasm. He was active in the socialist movement and the Workmen's Circle. In 1931 he helped to form a United Jewish Socialist Organization and became secretary of the All Canada Jewish Socialist Farrand. He was also active in the Canadian Socialist Party, CCF. Together with other friends he published a Yiddish socialist periodical, “The Socialist Word.”

Israel Okun died suddenly when he was on a short visit to Montreal on a mission from the Workmen's Circle, at the celebration of the donating an ambulance to the Canadian army at the time of the second world war.

[Page 404]

I had a friend from the cheder, a poor boy, whose father was a Jewish fisherman, a working man, simple, of the people, with a Jewish beard, his entire appearance was the symbol of honesty, an example of human beauty, a democratic man and a lover of Zion in the best sense, who was careful to express the Hebrew word with a pure expression, and there was no trace of religious fanaticism in it. The son of that old man was Yaakov Plotkin, who is mentioned in the history of the laborers' movement in Israel. This old man, a one-of-a-kind melamed, who taught Hebrew according to the idioms of the language, had a special idea about the attitude towards a woman. His wife was a shopkeeper. And to express his respect for his wife, he would go to the store every Friday, close the store and bring his wife home. He was a very original Jewish figure. And his grandson, my friend, who is also the symbol of absolute honesty and has a heart of gold, was somewhat burdensome, and would suffer beatings, while I was more mischievous than him and was not beaten like him.

Later, when he was sixteen or seventeen, he got swept up in the circle of revolution and became an anarchist. Since he was not a man of words and manners, he went to the “practical work”. In the various parties - and especially among the anarchists - he would find at the same time the appreciation of the individual and the freedom of the individual, the permission of killing. And once, when he needed to get hundreds of rubles, he and his friend went to the shop of a rich Jew in the town, demanded money from him, and the Jew - either he didn't have it or he didn't give it - was shot. This boy, who became a murderer, ran away - - - this man's suffering was great because of his act. He murdered a man, whose sons were themselves revolutionaries and members of the revolution, and if fate would have it, a day or two later they could be in the same movement or in the same prison.

[Page 405]

The year 1906. A new character appeared in Bobruisk. His name was Seltzer. He had a long forelock; he was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and shoes made of ropes. He was pleasant, cultured, well versed in Russian and world literature and an interesting conversationalist. It turned out that he is a devout vegetarian and vegan. At every opportunity he spoke passionately against the slaughter of animals, poultry and fishing. “Killing animals or fish is murder”, he would argue. The commandment “You shall not murder” is directed not only at people, but also at every living thing. Killing animals, birds, fish for pleasure is a despicable and ugly thing and every decent person will stay away from it. He had a lot of patience during arguments and was also not irritated by those who mocked his preaching.

His words made an impression on many of us, although we did not accept the mitzvah of veganism and vegetarianism.

It was a very difficult time then. Disappointment after the failure of the revolution of 1905. The flourishing of careerism, disrespect of moral laws, expropriations, slogans: “Seize the moment” (lovi moment), and here appears a handsome young man who preaches about giving up pleasure for moral reasons. His appearance expressed something good, attractive, appealing.

The expropriations that were in the city were not very serious and without bloodshed. They were treated with some leniency. And here, one evening, two guys whose faces were covered with masks, entered Stetson's store on Moraviavskaya St. close to the market. One pulled out a gun and demanded to immediately hand over all the money in the cash register. Stetson looked fearfully at the two boys and suddenly called out with amazement: You, Aharon? (The name “Aharon” is fake, because the man is still alive).

Aharon panicked and shouted: “Shoot”. A shot was heard and Stetson fell wounded. The two guys robbed some of the cash from the cash register and fled through the dark market, after throwing away the masks. A large crowd came running, doctors and the police were called. When he recovered, Stetson said that the one who shot him had very long hair and strange shoes, and the second person who gave the order to shoot him - seemed to him to be a member of a well-known family in the city. The crowd was very angry about the shooting, which could have resulted in death. Many shouted that there was a danger in the increasing lawlessness in light of the public indifference. There were also those who suspected Seltzer because of the description of the hair and the shoes.

That night, the police surrounded the Kastliansky house on Moraviavskaya St., knocked and rang the bell on the main entrance door of the apartment on the second floor, where Seltzer lived, and demanded that the door be opened immediately. Seltzer ran to the kitchen to try to escape through the back door. When he opened the door, he saw policemen on the stairs. He closed it, went into the utility room and shot himself. The police broke into the apartment, searched all the rooms, and initially found no one. But then groans were heard from the toilet, the door was broken and Seltzer was found dying. After a thorough search of his room, they found “Aharon” under the couch and arrested him.

He was a member of a well-known family. His father was a bank manager and a respected man. He was a talented boy and studied at the Reali School in Minsk. The police came to his father's house early in the morning to investigate, but the father did not believe the story, which was imaginary in his eyes. According to his opinion, his son was in Minsk and only the day before a letter was received from him. He rushed to the police station to prove the mistake, saw his son and fell fainting. They alarmed Dr. Raigorodsky, who treated him. The father cried loudly and could not calm down. Dr. Raigorodsky brought him in his chariot to the house of his mother, Aharon's grandmother. She was a wise woman, with energy and a developed and rich sense of life. When she heard everything that had happened from her crying son, in the presence of the doctor she scolded her son, the manager of the respected bank, as one scolds a small child, and said that now is not the time to cry but to do everything necessary immediately. She announced that she was ready to give up all her possessions in order to save her beloved grandson from the gallows or hard labor that was expected of him. That morning she pawned all her precious jewelry, signed bills, collected large sums of money and activated all her connections in circles that could help her.

Seltzer was buried by Chevra Kadisha late that evening behind the fence of the cemetery. The time of the funeral was not announced and no one came to the funeral.

The good people of the city were mobilized in action not only to save

[Page 406]

Aharon from the expected harsh punishment, but also to remove the disgrace of the family and the city of Bobruisk. A lot of money was spent, no effort was spared. The activity and the funds were useful, the investigation took a completely different turn. The wounded Stetson received all kind of payments, and not only he did not recognize Aharon, but he signed on testimony that the guy who gave the order to shoot him was tall, fat, with red hair, that is, the opposite of Aaron's character. The police determined that Aharon apparently only stayed in the apartment and was banned by mistake. The Reali school in Minsk was not informed about the imprisonment, and Aharon continued his studies. He almost never came to Bobruisk.

Years have passed. “Aharon” graduated from the Reali School and then the Technological University in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). He married him a good Bobruisk girl, stayed away from any public activity and did not participate in the busy life of the students. After the Bolshevist revolution, he received a position at the post office that did not match his education and talents, but he diligently continued for decades in a gray and boring job, with no attempt to advance. Today he is 74 years old. A few years ago, he retired and lives with his wife in Leningrad from the government pension that they receive. All his life he was not related to any party. He does not maintain any contact with his family in Israel. In his meeting he had with a guest from Israel he asked about it and sent his greetings and nothing else. And this is how he explained his “philosophy of life”:

“You should be in the shade. If you don't stand out, you won't be admired, but you won't be hated or jealous of either. My colleagues at work indeed progressed and got responsible jobs, but most of them were exiled to Siberia and it is not known how many of them remained alive. As you can see, Stalin didn't hurt me. You will say that our life is gray, perhaps it's true, but it still a life, and in any case better than in a concentration camp in Siberia, that's the way it is”.

There was silence. We were both silent. We sank into memories, thoughts. I got up to go. He accompanied me to the door, looked to the sides and added:

“You surely remember Seltzer, I remembered him when you entered. He is the one who got me in trouble, but in his death saved me. He was a good, developed, talented guy, and how did he end up! And where! Oh God! In the restroom!”

A deep sadness was visible on his face. I didn't want to continue. We parted without saying a single word, he shook my hand and held it for a while. I felt the shadow of the hanging tree, which threatened him nearly sixty years ago, probably left an indelible impression in his soul, he is afraid even now of the sound of a rustling leaf.

The Bundists in Minsk, in Vilna, and other cities were sure that Bobruisk is the fortress of the Russian revolution, and that each Bundist who comes to Bobruisk is a hero in a heroic land. So every Bundist who didn't live in Bobruisk wanted to be there to see it with his own eyes, how the city appears and its heroic people who live there. I wanted to also, and dreamed of going to Bobruisk. And the opportunity came. I was riding back from Yekaterinoslav. I decided not to go by train, but with a ship. It was a beautiful summer day. I went over the entire Dneiper and I was sitting on this poor little ship that belongs to a pair of wealthy Jews. The ship glides over the still waters of the Lake Berioza. And already I'm in Bobruisk. My heart was beating with joy. The shipped stopped at the shore of the city. I took my package on my shoulders for Grisha. Grisha wasn't from Bobruisk. He was sent by the Bund as a professional revolutionary to lead Bundist activities in the city. I came to the house to which the address directed me and I inquired after Grisha. The lady of the house told me that he had moved a long while ago and that she did not know where he was now living. I asked her if she would allow me to leave my package until I would find an acquaintance in the city. And I went away to look. Who—I alone didn't know. I wandered the streets until evening. At evening I went to the Bundist neighborhood, which in that time was on the main street of the city—on Nievsk. Several days before, it had rained in Bobruisk and there were still puddles on the street. But the boardwalk was filled with people. I imagined that every man carried a big stick and was ready at any time to have a fight. I walked around and looked at the faces. I hoped that I would find someone I knew. But the more I looked at the groups, all the more they looked at me. And I felt instinctively that the people looked at me as a stranger and perhaps as a spy. My skin got goose bumps, and the easiest thing would have been for me to go up to one of the strollers and tell them the truth. But I lost my reasoning powers and decided to go away. I remember I went over to the corner of Pushkin Street and started to walk quickly. That prompted some of the Bundists to think I was a spy, and a group of three with fat sticks in their hands went after me. I saw the town library and I ran to the library with the hope that there I would be saved. And as I walked fast—not walked, ran—the three ran after me. And then, to my luck, I saw Grisha leaving the library. The one for whom I'd been looking. I ran up to him, hugged him and when the three workers came up to me and to Grisha and Grisha knew them well, they yelled out, “But we were sure, Comrade, that you are a spy! If you were not now standing next to Grisha, you would not leave here without broken bones.” I told Grisha where I was coming from and that I needed a place to stay to live. One of the workers, who was a tinsmith, said, “Comrade, come to me. I have room for you.” And on the spot, instead of getting a beating as a spy, I became a comrade with whom they spent several days.

When I think of Bobruisk, I remember that incident. I see the city, the boardwalk, the three workers, who wanted to break my bones, and the library where Grisha, the three workers and I are standing like close comrades.

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