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Chapter Three: Deportation
On August 5, 1942, the small ghetto on Glinice was liquidated. At midnight of August 16th 1942, the big ghetto streets on Walowa were brightly lit by searchlights, when Germans in black uniforms filled the ghetto streets. They were behaving like drunken wild savages. They ran into houses shouting "Juden Raus" (Jews get out). People who were asleep had no chance to get dressed. The aged, sick, or crippled, women and children who could not get out in time were shot in their homes. There was great panic and confusion, mothers were separated from their children and children were calling for their mothers. The Germans tried to outdo each other in violence and brutality. Weinrich, a Gestapo officer ordered his company not to waste bullets on Jewish infants and demonstrated how to smash their heads against the stone building. This was done by a man who had six children of his own. I was a witness at his trial in Hamburg in 1972. (I will describe the court procedure later). After selecting skilled workers from among the young men and women as slave labourers for the war industry, the remaining Jews, my mother, sister, her husband and their two-year old son included, were loaded into cattle cars and dispatched to Treblinka to be gassed. The remaining selected Jews were relocated in a small area of the "Walowa" ghetto. Shortly after the deportation I developed a high fever. The Germans were afraid of typhus so they sent me to the ghetto clinic for medical help. When we arrived in the ghetto (the Jewish policeman and myself) the clinic was closed for the day. I had to stay overnight in the ghetto. I had to search for a place to sleep over. The house we used to occupy was now outside the small ghetto. I finally located a friend who lived with six other boys in one room. They had two double bunk beds that could accommodate eight people, two per bunk bed. After a meager supper, some girls from across the hall came in for a chit-chat. Around eleven o'clock the girls retired to their quarters and we did the same. I barely dozed off when there was a knock at the door. My friend with whom I occupied the bunk bed went down to see who it was. In walked one of the girls with whom we carried on a conversation earlier. She looked pale and frightened. She said that she heard through the grapevine that later during the night there would be a raid, and as she had no work permit she most likely would be deported. The boys' room was known to the Jewish police who conducted these raids. They knew that all of the boys have work permits so she reasoned they might not search this room. She requested permission to spend the night in the boys' room sitting at the table. All the boys extended an invitation for her to join them, but she refused. They kept on taunting her until she caved in. Being very tired and fearing for her life, she said she would consent to come to bed only where my friend and I were sleeping. She was fully dressed, laying between the two of us. I dozed off and awoke due to some movements in bed. The girl was resisting the advances being made by my friend. I then spoke to him; how dare he take advantage of a situation where the girl is in danger of losing her life, - rather he should be protecting her and offering a helping hand. He immediately stopped pursuing his goal and we all finally fell asleep. The following morning all the boys were making fun of the two of us, stating that we were naive fools, that the girl supposedly planned the affair and to confirm their assumption, there was no raid that night. I was convinced that this was not true. The news that traveled through the grapevine did not always materialize. Secondly she went to bed fully dressed, but the most important item in this affair was that one does not take advantage when a girl's life is in danger and helpless. In simple language, it's rape. Decency and integrity dictates a different behaviour. I never found out whether my friend in agreement with my approach. Unfortunately he did not survive. |
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