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When the Russians withdrew from Zamość (1939), the city remained for several days without a governing authority – neither Russian nor German.

Most of the Jews of Zamość left with the Russians, and it was especially older people who remained behind. In the course of several days, one didn't see any Jews in the streets. Everyone was hidden in their houses.

However, in the streets, one saw many of the local Poles and the peasants from the villages around Zamość. With each passing day, they became increasingly arrogant – began hacking up Jewish businesses and robbing the merchandise. If they would notice a Jew, they would run after him and shout at him: ‘Guldov zhid jedz do raju’ – that means: Jew, go travel to the Garden of Eden (meaning passage to Russia). They would also fall upon and beat some of the Jews.

Through my window, I saw how a band of crazed Poles fell upon a Jew they didn't know, who was wearing new boots. They threw him about, beat him, and pulled off his boots. The Jew was barely able to tear himself out of their hands alive, and he fled barefoot.

The gates to all of the Jewish houses were closed. They would be opened towards nightfall for a half hour, and the women would carry out the dirty water and bring in clean water. The brooks stood empty for the entire day; Towards nightfall, one could see a large row of Jewish women. Who were standing with a variety of vessels by the creeks for water; Each of them wanted to draw the water as soon as possible and take it home; many women would run to the baker, provision themselves with a loaf of bread, and later, the gates were once again bolted shut.

For the entire day, the Jews lay hidden in the houses in the attics, at night they would silently gather in the house and discuss ‘politics.’ It was said that Izbica would be the border with Russia, which is what the Jews of Zamość wanted.

At that time, a meeting of the Poles took place in the hall of the Magistrate, in the ‘resources.’ The Poles were very happy that the Russians were leaving and that the Germans were coming. They discussed among themselves how to receive the Germans. A large portion of them held that the Germans need to be received with ‘Bread and Salt.’ The lawyer, Legicz said that the Germans do not need to be received collectively, that each Pole can handle the situation in accordance with his own understanding.

The Germans arrived in Zamość along the Szczebrzeszyn Road. Many Poles stood on the sidewalks and shouted: ‘Niech Zhieh’ (Live long!). The Germans immediately occupied all of the government buildings. An hour after their arrival, they went through the Jewish houses, led by the students of the ‘Rada Opiekuncza’ (Oversight Council of abandoned children). The students showed where the Jews lived.

Jews were taken to work, and they would return by nightfall. Parts of them were severely hurt by the Germans. [Yet] a part of the Jews were rather pleased by the work, because they would bring home, sometimes a loaf of bread, sometimes a pack of cigarettes, or a bottle of kerosene. The work consisted of cleaning houses or polishing cars. Also, young Jewish girls were seized for this type of work. Many of the women were forced to take off their underwear, and in the process, clean windows, and wash the floors.

In Zamość, at that time, there were still to be found many Jewish conscripts in the Polish Army. Most of them came from places which had been occupied by the Russians, and they could not return to their homes. They slept in the small synagogue. The set the benches from the little synagogue out in the yard, and inside the synagogue they spread out straw. In being grabbed to do work, they were the first victims, because they didn't have any place where they could hide.

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Then three Jews – Zelik Ackerman, Berel Dekel and Yaakov-Borukh Mendel's undertook an action to collect all the valuable articles in the various houses of worship and study. They went to all the Batei Medrashim, got all the books together and other articles of value, and hid them in one place.

Two days after the Germans marched in, they posted an announcement, that all businesses have to be open; and those businesses that will stay shut, means it is a sign that the owners have fled with the communists, and then the businesses will be opened and the merchandise confiscated.

Indeed, on the second day, the director of the ‘Rolnik,’ (Cooperative of Polish Land Industries), Viszniewcki, with two members of the Gestapo and two Polish workers, and they broke open the doors of those businesses which were closed and they took the merchandise away. Several days later, they took away the merchandise of those stores that were open as well.

In those days, Memek Garfinkel with Elyeh Epstein sent letters with a list of about thirty names of Zamość Jews, about coming to the ‘Linat HaTzedek’ about creating a Judenrat. The list carried with it a specific calamity. Later on, his son became the servant of the Judenrat.

The following Zamość Jews attended the first meeting in ‘Linat HaTzedek:’ Memek Garfinkel, Elyeh Epstein, Sholom Tischberg, Todres Nickelsberg, Ben-Zion Lubliner, Itcheh-David Schloss, Azriel Sheps, Berel Deckel, Sholom Topf, Leib Eisen, Monik Cohen, Avigdor Inlander, Baruch Fishelsohn, Yehoshua Rapaport, Yehoshua Fuchs, Shimon Bajczman, Baruch Wilder, Leib Rosen, Aharon Shlafrok, Sholom Tzibeleh, Yosheh Mendelson, and myself with my brother Chaim.

At that moment, no one knew what sort of character the Judenrat would assume; what its functions would consist of. Otherwise, many of these Jews would have fled to Russia. 12 men were elected in the Judenrat. Later on, the membership was enlarged to 24 men.

The Judenrat immediately put together a census of how many Jews were to be found in Zamość. The count at that time showed that there were approximately two thousand Jews in Zamość.

After the establishment of the Judenrat, the Gestapo ordered that it had to submit a contribution of one hundred thousand zlotys.

In the course of time, the Zamość Jews were compelled to make three such contributions.

The Judenrat was obligated to provide the Gestapo and

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the SS with a variety of things, such as pillows, beds, bureaus, curtains, covers, stools, towels and other items. Also, the Judenrat had to provide items for women, such as dresses, blouses, and underwear. The SS would send the dirty underwear to the Judenrat to be washed.

Later on, the Judenrat received an order that it had to provide 250 Jewish laborers daily. The Judenrat therefore created a labor post, and staffed it with the leaders, Aharon Shlafrok, Azriel Sheps and Todres Nickelsberg.

The Judenrat sent a note to each Jewish family, that the head of every family must for either one or two days to do forced labor. Those who do not wish to participate in this forced labor, must pay 5 zlotys per day into the Judenrat treasury, and the Judenrat will substitute a second worker in his place. The Judenrat paid the workers that were sent to work 2 zlotys a day. Those who went to work for the SS Received 4 zlotys a day – this was a form of ‘indemnification’ for the beatings that they would get there. The workers who worked for the SS would often return home beaten up.

The workers would report at 6:30AM near the Magistrate. The leaders of the labor committee of the Judenrat would also come to this gathering place: Azriel Sheps and Aharon Shlafrok. Every morning, representatives of the Gestapo, the SS and Wehrmacht, and would approach the labor committee heads about the necessary number of workers. Sheps and Shlafrok would allocate the workers to the appropriate points according to these demands.

The Jews, paying no mind to the sort of ‘organization’ of how they were sent to work, lived in terrible fear at that time. They were afraid to show themselves in the street. Jews would be seized and put to work, tortured, or simply beaten. On a certain day, Yosheh Mendelson was standing on a potchineh with two Jews from Wloclawek, and passed by the rifle butt of a known Gestapo man. He stopped all three of them and told them to enter the Gestapo. There, each received 25 lashes on their bare skin…Yosheh Mendelson lay sick for several weeks.

A second incident occurred involving Moshe-Chaim Pearl. He was going to pray in the morning. As he was going, wearing his prayer shawl and phylacteries, two SS men met him at the ‘Hayfl,’ and the took him in hand, and from that day on, he vanished.

The same happened to Shmuel Hayber and Behyeh Klieska. They were taken into custody, and they vanished. Nobody knew how, or where to.

Despite this, each evening, people from each family would try to slip into the Judenrat. There, a variety of people would get together, and one could learn news of some kind…later, this news would be relayed to those who lay hidden in their houses.

Zamość Jews at Nazi slave labor From the right, the second person is Elazar Bukovich, a brush maker, the third person is Ytizhak'l Stolar from Browar

At the same time, transports full of Jews begin to arrive in Zamość. First from Wloclawek, afterwards Jews from Lodz, from Vienna and other places.

The foreign Jews took up residence in the Batei Medrashim, where one prayed. At that time there were also many empty houses, belonging to those families that had gone off to Russia. The foreigners, a little at a time, began to occupy these empty houses.

Near the Judenrat that was a large field kitchen, and soup and coffee was prepared there for the foreign Jews.

A medical clinic was created in the small Bet HaMedrash. The doctor from Wloclawek, Friedhoher-Mandelman treated patients there, with the nurse Masha Offenbach.

The year 1939-1940 had a very cold winter. Every nightfall, there was a long row of people would be standing in front of the clinic, who had frozen fingers, noses, or had been beaten by the Germans while at work. They received first aid there.

The following incident occurred with the Jews on the transport from Wloclawek:

Many of the Jews from Wloclawek were sent to the neighboring town of Szczebrzeszyn. So, several of the Wloclawek Jews came from

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Szczebrzeszyn to Zamość, and made an effort at Memek Garfinkel's to have him speak to the German authorities to permit them to come to Zamość. After 2 days, Memek Garfinkel said to them, that he had spoken to the Gestapo and the SS and they said that they have no objection to having the Jews of Wloclawek, who are in Szczebrzeszyn, come to Zamość. So 18 Jewish men from Wloclawek and one woman hired 3 sledges and rode from Szczebrzeszyn to Zamość. When the Jews rode through the village of Janowica (3 kilometers from Zamość, the place where the SS had its station) the SS came out of its station and detained the Jews.

The Jews in the city did not know what had become of these Wloclawek Jews. However, after some time, the Christians who lived in Janowica related that the Jews were stripped naked, and cold water was poured on them and they were held out in the cold for a long time and later they were all shot.

Later, the Jews were told that they were not permitted to make use of any means of communication and they are not permitted to travel out of the city. If a Zamość Jew is encountered out of the city, he will be shot.

Very often, two SS staff would come to the Judenrat for a variety of things, that the Judenrat was compelled to provide to them. One of them was named Pinkovsky. This Pinkovsky was a tall German who was overstuffed. He spoke in a coarse bass voice. When he would shout (and he would always shout), it seemed as if someone was shouting out of a barrel. All the Jews trembled before him. It was not only Jews who were afraid of him, even the Christians would start to quake when they heard his name.

Out of the Jews, Poles and captured Russian conscripts, that had been killed in Zamość, this bandit personally shot between 80-90 percent. When children would cry, and mothers would utter ‘Pinkovsky is coming…’ the child would stop crying and begin to tremble….

These two S. S. staff would come to the Judenrat always with batons in hand, and whoever they encountered along the way or in the Judenrat, would get beaten.

In order to gather up all the things that the Gestapo and the SS demanded be given, the Judenrat organized ‘strong arm people,’ with Abraham Malkeleh's at their head. When the Judenrat taxed the Jews of Zamość with a variety of levies or it needed to have furniture for the Germans, or laundry, and would send for it, it would often happen that a part of the people would complain: – why must we give away all of this? – why don't they take from the next person ? – Why do the members of the Judenrat themselves not give? Then the ‘strong arms’ would be sent, with Abraham Malkeleh's (and he was always drunk). First he would curse your great-great-grandmother…and before the Jew had a chance to even look around, the items were already outside…at best, they felt that they were coming to take things from elderly people, whose children had gone off with the Russians…

On a certain day, the Gestapo arrested Abraham Malkeleh's. In the city, it was said that he was taken off to Lublin and shot there.

Along with the Jews of Lodz, there came to Zamość a certain Goldhammer. He had a wife who came from the Neustadt in Zamość. This individual teamed up with a certain Messinger from Wloclawek, and these two men became sort of the ‘liaisons’ from the Judenrat with the outside – that means the Germans.

Messinger would resolve a variety of issues from the Judenrat with the Gestapo, and Golhammer would resolve a variety of issues from the Judenrat with the SS The Judenrat would send a variety of things with Goldhammer to the SS He would come with demands to the Judenrat with increasing frequency.

Initially, he was nothing more than a ‘liaison.’ Later on, however, he would exploit the Judenrat more and more. He would always arrive with all manner of stories, that the SS was demanding that they provide this thing, or another, that really was not the case. This Goldhammer became rich on the account of the Judenrat. Every week, he would make a new trip and buy himself a variety of valuable articles. He loved to partake of strong drink to excess. Often, he, with another member of the Judenrat would come to Yankel-Baruch Mendel's, and get drunk there. He would often come to the Judenrat inebriated, and make a tumult there; he would shout at the members of the Judenrat to the extent that all would simply flee.

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He reached ‘elevated’ positions. Once, the Major of the SS (his name was Poritz^[1]) rode through the city on horseback, and Goldhammer rode along with him on a second horse…for him this was a great honor, and caused him gratification…after this incident, Goldhammer became very arrogant, and he came to the Judenrat on the second day, and shouted, that Memek Garfinkel is not a good President, and that he would be a better President…until a certain day, when the Gestapo shot Goldhammer, they went to where he lived (he lived a at the home of Todres Nickelsberg) and confiscated all his valuable possessions.

In the city, it was said that Memek Garfinkel subverted him… also Messinger came to a similar end.

In the city, Zamość Jews began to appear in greater numbers, who had gone away with the Russians, and had come back. They negotiated the border, and returned to Zamość. They told about conditions in those areas; that many people had flooded those areas from those places that were occupied by the Germans; that one lives under difficult circumstances there; that they sleep in the Batei Medrashim there, and that people live there in the streets like Gypsies; that all places of business are locked and empty; that in order to obtain bread, one must get up in the middle of the night in order to grab a place in the line at the bakery; many of them had already bee deep into Russia, and had returned. These very people related that those who had gone away with the Russians were rather envious of the Jews that had remained in Zamość.

The border with Russia was not yet strictly closed off, and there was still a possibility to cross it to the Russians. This sort of news, however, that the returnees from the other side told, discouraged the residents of Zamość from fleeing.

The Jews of Zamość, generally held the opinion, that Germany could not long continue to conduct the war; that in the spring, the war with France would begin, and Germany would be broken.

What is interesting is, that the Judenrat would immediately know about those Jews that had returned from Russia, and it would immediately issue him a chit for work [sic: slave-labor] or to pay 5 zlotys. These specific Jews were severely frightened (suspected of sympathy with the Russians) and the Judenrat would exploit this condition and would very often (several times a week) send chits to them to go to ‘forced-labor….’

In the first winter, many Jews bought licenses and the women sat in places of business. In reality, these businesses were empty, but if a Christian acquaintance would come along, some bit of merchandise was dragged out of hiding, and it was sold. The Christians would pay with either money or produce.

When the Russians (at the start of the war in September 1939) left Zamość, they burned all the papers of the property registry. Despite this, the Polish executors of the taxing authority canvassed the Jewish businesses and demanded tax payments for past years. Also all the Jewish promissory notes were collected, which were found in the various banks and the Jews had to honor them. The Germans took control of these funds.

The first winter with the Germans was a very difficult one (by the second one, people had already inured themselves…) And a cold one. It was difficult to procure coal. In the ‘syndicate,’ a bit of coal was sold from time-to-time. At the outset, it was possible for Jews to buy coal there. On a certain day, it was a very intensely cold day, when a long row stood to get coal, among the customers, there stood a small group of Jews, the director of the ‘Syndicate’ came out,

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Garlitsky, and communicated gently, that those who have the yellow emblem on their arms, will not be able to obtain coal. If Jews wanted to acquire coal, they were compelled to pay exorbitant prices.

In general, the Polish merchants and storekeepers took a hostile attitude towards the Jews. They were unwilling to sell the Jews any merchandise; at every opportunity they would embarrass and insult them; they would always accuse the Jews, indicating that the Jews had armed the Polish military. The Polish police searched all of the Jews, who during the time of the Russian rule, were militiamen. These Polish police were looking for a certain Elyeh Richtman, and when they could not find him, because he had gone off with the Russians, the police arrested his father, the well-known tailor, Volvish Richtman and incarcerated him in the Zamość prison. Various rumors circulated in the city – some said that he was shot there, and others said that he had died from the beating he received.

An order was issued, that the Jews have to accord respect to the German soldiers, that means, that Jews needed to take off their hats when approaching a German soldier. When Jews used to go to work, or come back from work, they had to pay careful attention to make sure that no German soldier was approaching, in order to properly greet him. If such a German was espied, and the honor nor accorded to him, one received a beating.

In Zamość, there was tall, overstuffed Gestapo member from the forest police. He would always go about in the street with a dog, and a crop in his hand. This individual would play the following game: when he would spy a Jew in the distance, he would turn his back to the Jew. The Jew then thought that the German did not see him, and therefore did not greet him. At that point, the Gestapo man would turn around, and call the Jew over, and began to beat him with the crop on the head, because he hadn't carried out the order about greeting Germans. Therefore, if a Jew saw a German in the street, even if he was turned away with his back to him, he would ‘greet’ him. There were, however, instances of the exact opposite – when the Germans would beat the Jews for greeting them. Their excuse was: ‘You wretched Jew, how dare you raise your hat in front of me, are you my comrade…’

One of the German criminal police, he was called Meyer, was well known for his wild murdering. He always had a crop tucked into his boot. His ‘specialty’ was going through the Jewish houses, looking for goods – he was especially interested in leather. He would confiscate any merchandise found, and would beat the owner murderously.

A transport of matzos and medicines arrived in Zamość for Passover of 1940 from Switzerland. At the same time, several bakeries in Zamość were baking matzos. The matzos and medicines from Switzerland were stored in the Great Synagogue. Before Passover, the Judenrat distributed the matzos to the foreign Jews, and the local needy Jews, taking a small measure of these matzos as a form of payment. There was a variety of goods in the Great Synagogue, which belonged to the Judenrat.

At the same time, before Passover 1940, the German-Polish papers carried announcements that labor camps were being created, where each and every Jew will be compelled to work.

On June 4, 1940, the Judenrat send notices to several hundred Jews, that on the following morning at 6:00AM, they are to present themselves at the offices of the SS – in Janowica. Jews would will not promptly report will be severely punished. The Jews of Zamość already knew what ‘severely punished’ meant, and they, indeed, did present themselves at the appointed time.

The largest part of them were poor Jews. These Jews were led off to the village of Bialobrzegi, near Wisokia to do forced labor. The work consisted of regulating the local river. They worked under terrifying conditions. They slept in barracks on the bare earth. They were guarded by Volksdeutschen, these were gentiles which the Germans imported from a village outside of Chelm. They were dressed in black uniforms, and that's why the Jews called them

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‘schvartzeh.’^[2] Poles directed the actual work. Among these was one who came from the Neustadt, a known thief (I have forgotten his name). This individual made life miserable for the Jews, and beat them. One worked in a state of constant hunger. Every day, 8 men received a bread weighing 2 kilos, a liter of watery soup, and a half liter of black coffee (so-called ‘black coffee’…). Several Jews were shot by the schvartzeh at this forced labor.

Several days later, the Judenrat again sent out notices to 500 men that they must present themselves at Janowica, to the SS, concerning being sent off to work. All 500 men presented themselves on time, that being Friday, June 12, 1940, 7 o'clock in the morning. From the Judenrat, Memek Garfinkel, Azriel Sheps, and Yehoshua Fuchs, were also present. Out of the 500 Jews, 150 were selected, who remained to work in Janowica, on that spot, for the SS, which at that time was building a riding hall there. The remaining 350, under the guard of a company of SS troops, were taken to the ‘Kavalier,’ – the headquarters near the ‘Stilov’ cinema theater.

Along the way, the SS troops, who were armed with guns and staves, beat the Jews murderously. Also, the women and children that had accompanied their husbands and fathers to Janowica, were murderously beaten. Near the train station they shot Avreml Lerner (who was known among us as Avreml ‘Petter’).

In the ‘Kavalier’ the SS Turned the Jews over to an SS man, that commanded a group of 13 Volksdeutsche – schvartzeh.

There, were found Jews from other neighboring towns. It was a sort of work camp. The Jews immediately had the hair on their heads shorn in the form of a zero (0). Every day, at 6 in the morning, the schvartzeh led the Jews to work, and back from work at 3 in the afternoon. The work consisted of regulating the Zamość river. The schvartzeh guards were armed with guns and staves, and at every opportunity, would beat the Jews without mercy. They took special pleasure in hitting people in the head. When they led the Jews to and from work, they ordered the Jews to sing, and if they didn't, they would beat them. Mostly, the Jews sang ‘HaTikvah,’ and a little song that these workers had composed themselves. (This song is documented on page 998^[3]).

The work was directed by Poles. They would relate to the Jews in a very bad way – beating, insulting, and making fun of them. However, for the sake of the truth, it must be noted that there were those Poles who related [to the Jews] in a humane manner, and attempted to help the Jews.

The Jews received a loaf of bread for every 8 men, a liter of soup (three times a week the soup had horsemeat in it) and a liter of coffee. It was not permitted for those detained to obtain food brought from home. The commandant, however, did permit that families could bring beverages for the detainees. The families took advantage of this, and they would give a variety of soups in bottles. It was nominally indicated that the detained person was receiving tea to drink.

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During the initial time, they slept on bare wooden boards. Later, straw was brought on which to sleep. From 7 o'clock in the evening until 5 in the morning, it was strictly forbidden to exit the bunkers. Every day, at 5 in the morning, a shvartzer would come in and shout out: ‘Get up!’ – everyone had to immediately get on their feet. Since it was forbidden to the Jews to go out at night, even to perform bodily functions, part of the Jews set aside bottles, and used them in the night to relieve themselves. On a certain morning, a shvartzer, upon awakening the detainees, saw such a bottle, full of bodily waste, in with the straw. At his order, that he should be told to whom this belonged, nobody responded. He then went to the window, and called in two additional shvartzeh. The selected 10 Jews, lined them up on a side, and ordered them to drink the contents of the bottle that contained the bodily waste… among these 10 Jews was a certain Hirsch Ringler, his father was called Baruch Tepper. When it came to his row, he let go of the bottle, and it fell and broke. The shvartzeh went into a murderous frenzy, and beat him fearfully. Anyone else in his place would not have been able to withstand it. On that day, he did not go to work. On the following day, he went out to work.

The relatives of the detainees would go to the Judenrat, and plead that the Jews in the camp should be given more bread. The bread that was used for this slave labor was charged to the account of the Judenrat. Also, complaints were lodged with the Judenrat as to why these men were being held in confinement. The Jews held that it should be possible to work out that these [men] should be able to come home to sleep in their houses, and leave in the morning to go to work. These representations yielded no results.

In the meantime, they found out that the water inspector, meaning the German, who had the say regarding the work to regulate the rive, is having sewing done for himself and his wife by Yehoshua Fuchs. So, a number of people, who had relatives in this work camp, went off to Yehoshua Fuchs, asking him to discuss this with the German, that he should permit the men to go home at night, and they will come by themselves to work in the morning. A few days later, Fuchs informed the Jews that he spoke with the water inspector, and that individual demands payment of several thousand zlotys, and then the Jews will be set free. Indeed, that sum was gathered from those that had means, and it was turned over to Yehoshua Fuchs. The Jews were set free, with the condition that they must come to the river by themselves daily The Jews came to work by themselves, and they began paying them 3 zlotys and 20 groschen a day.

It remained this way for 8 days. After 8 days, the German gendarmerie, police, and Gestapo surrounded the entire city, and went from house to house and arrested all the Jewish men, seated them in autos, and took them away to the ‘Rotunda.’ The Jews were kept in the ‘Rotunda’ for several hours. After that, the work permits from the labor committee were audited. On the work permit, they put a stamp and ordered the men to go to work. In the Rotunda, there were also older Jews, would did not go to work, and as a result, did not have work permits, so the Gestapo put the stamp on the foreheads of these elderly people. They laughed quite heartily at this, as if they had carried out so very clever thing… all the other Jews, who were there, who according to their assessment were capable of work, but had no work permit, were taken to the train and sent off to Belzec.

There was no gas oven in Belzec yet at that time. They brought Jews there from many towns from Poland. The work consisted of building up a mound of sand. As to what this mound of sand was needed for, nobody knew.

The Jews lived there under frightful conditions. The slept in a large filthy barracks, the walls were full of lice and flies. The SS administered this camp, under the direction of a Major, with the name Dolf. This Dolf, was known as a great bandit, and sadist. He would ride around on a horse with a revolver in his hand, and whoever came under his hand, he would shoot. He shot many people. The Jews in this camp got virtually nothing to eat. From time to time, the Jews of Zamość would send out a wagon with food for their near ones, who found themselves there.

The city became aware that Memek Garfinkel had obtained a letter of recommendation from the Zamość Major Poritz to Major Dolf in Belzec, that whosoever Memek Garfinkel wishes to, he can do him a favor and have him taken out of Belzec. So people went off to him to request that he liberate their near ones. Memek Garfinkel was a haughty man, and it did not look seemly to him to have to deal with the people, and he turned this over to the members of the Judenrat. For these [members] this opened up a good business. When people came to plead, that some member of their family should be taken out, the members of the Judenrat demanded that they be given money. They would take between 300

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and 1000 zlotys from a person. It was necessary to bargain and weep, that one didn't have any more, and they would indeed drop the price. They turned this money over to Memek Garfinkel, and it is understood, that they kept a specific percentage for themselves….

In the city, it was said that the members of the Judenrat made a lot of money out of this. There were many people who had no money with which to pay. These people remained in Belzec until the end of November 1940. Then the camp at Belzec was disbanded, and the Jews were set free. The liberated came to Zamość on foot. They were severely dirty, and it took a long time to wash them clean…

At that time, Poles came to Zamość who became Volksdeutsche. There were a very large number of them, and they came to the Landart, that is the Starotsa, asking to be given homes in which to live. The Landart told them to go inspect the Jewish houses, and select homes. The Volksdeutsche then went around the Jewish houses, and looked for homes. If a home was satisfactory to them, they described it to the Landart, and the Landart ordered the Jews that they must vacate the premises withing 24 hours and turn it over to the Volksdeutsche.

It was at this time, that talk began in the city about a ghetto. Part of the people said that the ghetto would be in the Altstadt – that on the two streets, Peretz and Zamenhof, the Jews would be permitted to live. Part said that the ghetto would be in the Neustadt. Later, the members of the Judenrat conveyed that the ghetto would be in the Neustadt.

From the start, the Jews did not want to believe this, that the ghetto would be in the Neustadt. However, when they saw that the members of the Judenrat were renting homes in the Neustadt, and were really moving themselves over there, the entire city ran to the Neustadt to rent homes. Some rented entire houses, while part rented only rooms, a part attics, and a part shops, where they lived. Yet, many Jews remained living in the Altstadt.

Two days before Purim (1941) the German police surrounded the Altstadt and went from house to house and searched for Jews. Wherever they found a Jew, they detained him, and took him to the ‘syndikat.’ They gathered several hundred Jews together, and took them off to Komarow, and represented that from this day forth, they would remain living in Komarow.

In the ghetto of the Neustadt, about 10-12 thousand Jews lived. They lived in a frightful overcrowding, and a typhus epidemic broke out there. In the Sjemik-Hospital no Jews were taken in, and the Judenrat therefore opened a hospital in the Neustadt. The hospital consisted only of beds, there were no sort of medical equipment available. The director of the hospital was Dr. Rosenman. The doctors, who visited the hospital were: Dr. Rosenbush, Dr. Friedhoffer, and two other doctors who were from elsewhere. The nurses were: Mrs. Huberman (she worked for many years in the Hospital of the Sjemik), Masheh Offenbach, and a young lady from Lodz.

Many Jews from Zamość died of typhus. There were also those, who did not believe that the Germans would be beaten,, and they took their own lives.

On the Neustadt road, near Wenger and near the old post office, in the Neustadt, on the Hrubieszow Gasse, there were large signs with a skull, with the legend: ‘Warning! Danger of Typhus. By order of the Wehrmacht – Strictly Forbidden!’

In the Neustadt ghetto, the Jews felt more free than in the Altstadt, because all one saw were [other] Jews, and you felt that you were among your own kind. The ghetto was not strictly closed off. Poles would come, singly, to the Neustadt, and the Jews would transact with them – they were sold a variety of household goods, and they provided produce.

Every nightfall, one would see groups of Jews in the ghetto, in the Neustadt, that would discuss ‘politics.’ There were also, however, those who loved to recount ‘memories’ – how we lived before the war, what we ate… we would stand around like rabbits, with cocked ears, listening to every little sound. Perhaps someone from the Gestapo or SS might

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be riding in. Then the streets would empty out, as if during an alarm sounded before bombing. When the Germans would ride through, they would beat the Jews with murderous blows, or seize them to do work.

One time, at night, two red [hatted] police rode into the ghetto and happened to enter the baker's and discovered two unknown Jews there. They told them to go out, and on the marketplace, where the roads cross, they shot the Jews. The shot individuals lay there until 12 o'clock noon, until the Judenrat received a notification from the Gestapo that the two Jews should be cleaned away.

At that time, apparently in connection with the German plan to attack Russia, many Jews began to work for the German military. The military had a variety of jobs [available]. In Lavin, an airstrip was being built; in the forests of Tomaszow, roads were being put through; they started to build a new train line to Lublin, which would bypass Zawodow; also the headquarters generated many jobs.

You appreciate that the worst was to be employed by the SS and the red [hatted] police. They would beat and insult the Jews at work: and if it pleased them, they would also shoot them. The Jews preferred top work for the German Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe – because one could find some ways to help one's self there, but woe betide any Jew if the German soldier who led them to work could speak Polish…

Every day, between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning, the Neustadt road was full of Jews, who were on their way to work. Every individual was encumbered with packages of food carried under their arms. Before night, at about 4-5, one could see the Jews returning from work. Some had a small sack of potatoes, some with a bit of coal, a small package of wood, some with a loaf of bread, and some empty-handed…

A Polish periodical appeared in Lublin –‘Glos Lubelski.’ In reality, this was a German propaganda paper, written in Polish. Apart from the agitation, that urged the Poles to travel to work in Germany, the newspaper presented the official communications about the war at the front.

Despite the fact that it was forbidden for Jews to read newspapers, this ‘Glos Lubelsky’ would get into the Jews. An elderly Christian, a newspaper distributor, would bring the newspaper into the Neustadt. The price of the paper was 20 groschen, and the Jews paid 60 groschen. You understand that it was read clandestinely, and only a numbered few had the paper.

The Jews knew what to winnow out from the communiques. True, they read about the German victories, but they also discovered which German cities had been bombed by the enemy. The Jews calculated how many German cities, houses and people were destroyed. The news was transmitted from mouth to ear, so that if a Jew was asked: – what's new, one would hear the answer: – Jews, it is good…

In Zamość, the following sort of expression circulated: there are three things in the world that are incomprehensible: first, the Germans took in Poland, seized France, and despite this they send a communique to England that they want peace; Second, England lost Poland, and such an ally in France, and the Germans want to sue for peace, and she still doesn't want to, and third, The Jews have taken away all the assets of the Jews, stuffed them into ghettoes, they have no rights, work under the most difficult conditions, are pursued and harassed, and if you ask a Jew: – What's new? He answers you – It's good…

The Judenrat was located on the first floor of the synagogue in the Neustadt. Many tables were set out there, and at each table, there was a designated individual who dealt with resolving the various issues that pertained to the Judenrat. The President of the Judenrat, Memek Garfinkel, sat in a corner. He was divided off form the rest of the room by a Spanish wall. A policeman stood by the wall. When someone wanted to talk to the President, he had to approach the policeman. [He had to] tell who it was that wanted to speak, and what was the issue. The policeman conveyed this to the President. If the President said that the person could be admitted, the policeman let them in, if not, the policeman said to go home.

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People came to the Judenrat with a variety of issues. As an example, here a woman would come with a cry, that here monthly payment was increased and she doesn't have a source from which to pay; a second would come to try and reverse the decree for seizing her bureau and chairs; another had her pillows confiscated; a woman bemoans the fact that the police drag her son or her daughter off to work each day, even though they are sick, and can't work. Part of the women would wail, a part would silently curse the Judenrat.

Memek Garfinkel (President), Elyeh Epstein, Sholom Tischberg, Todres Nickelsberg, Rosenman, Azriel Sheps, Julek Lubliner, Itche-David Schlam, Sholom Topf, Leib Rosen, Moniek Cohen, Golass, Avigdor Inlander, Yehoshua Rapaport, Yehoshua Fuchs, Leib Eisen, Boruch Wilder, Lawyer Goldstein, Sholom Tzibeleh, M. Pfeffer, Yaakov Levin, Glatt (from Lodz), Shmuel Rosen, Boruch Fishelsohn (later on, he became a policeman). The fact was that only a small group of the Judenrat had real influence. The prime authority resided with the President.

One could already recognize the members of the Judenrat from a distance. First, they were dressed in nice clothing, always shaven, and nicely combed, as if they were on their way to a wedding. On their armbands, which they wore on their left hands, sown in gold thread, was a Yellow Star of David with the letters for Judenrat in Latin characters. The appointed members of the Judenrat also wore such armbands, with a difference, where in the case of the members of the Judenrat a number was sown on additionally (numbers were from 1 to 24). The appointed members had no such numbers.

The Germans instituted bread cards. All the peasants had to turn over their produce to the Germans, and despite this, it was possible to buy everything in the ghetto in the Neustadt – but understand, at exorbitant prices. In the ghetto there was a woman named Goldhammer. This was the wife of that Goldhammer who initially was the ‘liaison’ with the Gestapo, and whom the Gestapo subsequently shot. She had a restaurant in her house. It was possible to obtain the best of everything there; fried and roasted meat; fish and a variety of beverages. The members of the Judenrat would come to her, and other ‘Big Shots’ with their loved ones. Each of these people had their own ‘food servant’ (the title was appropriate). The wildest orgies took place in her house. He neighbors, who lived close to Mrs. Goldhammer were in a position to be able to tell about all these happenings…the Judenrat would often conduct its sessions in her restaurant.

In Zamość, there was a family from Krakow, a mother with two daughters and one son. They were named Lieberman. One of the daughters was the ‘friend’ of Memek Garfinkel. The city referred to her as ‘The Blonde Beast.’ She had a considerable influence with the Judenrat. If someone wanted a favor, or couldn't get something done by ordinary [sic: legal] means, they would go to her at home, and she already got it arranged. Understand though, that one had to pay quite well for this.

The Poles confiscated all the Jewish carriages, and on the carriages, written in a red color was: ‘Forbidden for Use by Jews.’ Only two Jewish carriages were allocated to the Judenrat, and on them the sign: ‘For Use by Jews Only.’ One saw the persona of Memek Garfinkel riding in carriages, or other members of the Judenrat, and quite often they drove around in a state of inebriation.

It was strongly prohibited for Jews to come to the post office. In that time, many letters arrived from Wloclawek for the Jews from Wloclawek, who had been transported to Zamość. Also, letters came from Zamość Jews, who had gone off into Russia. The Zamość Jews obtained mixed feelings from the letters that arrived from Russia – [sometimes] they would cause concern, and other times, they would be buoyed by them. It would bother them that – their children are found in Siberia…on the second hand, they were happy that – it should better be Siberia, the important thing is that they are alive and well. For this reason, the Judenrat organized a postal branch. The letters were turned over there. The manager of the post office was Yasheh Mendelson. The letter carrier that would carry the letters home was Moshe Hoffman.

Later on, when the war with Russia broke out, the post office [branch] was liquidated, and Moshe Hoffman became a policeman for the Judenrat.

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The Zamość Judenrat Policemen

Dudek Garfinkel, David Weissman, Beryl Schwartzbirt, Stakh Fleischman, Simcha Feldstein, a son of Sholom Tzibeleh, Boruch Fishelsohn, Moshe Hoffman, Lejzor Schultz, Abraham Artzt, and a son of Elyeh Epstein.

The policemen wore police caps with a Star of David, and each one wore a rubber jacket with a strap that ringed it, and with police truncheons in hand. The mission of the police was to collect the monthly payment from the populace, who had not turned it in by themselves to the Judenrat. From time-to-time, they would go about, with a list from the Judenrat, and collected bureaus, pillows, coverings from the people, hangings, and a variety of household articles. They also knew which of the men did not go to work. They would come, every time, and drive them to work.

The Judenrat represented that it is strictly forbidden for people to gather in one house in the Neustadt. However, in the ghetto, no great mind was paid to this order. Jews would come together and pray in a congregation. So the police would come, and detain the Jews, and it was then necessary to pay a fine. The Jews, however, arrived at the following stratagem – when they wanted to pray, they would set small boys outside in front, who would indicate if they saw Jewish policemen coming. The Jews would then flee. The older Jews, who did not have a capacity to run, had to pay a fine. My father, for example, paid the fine three times for this ‘infraction’ – twice 10 zlotys, and the third time – 20 zlotys.

When Germany attacked Russia in 1941, and captured Lemberg, many Jews, who initially had gone off with the Russians, came to Zamość by a variety of indirect means. On a specific day, the Jewish police went around with a list, and gathered 18 Jews together. The police told them that they were needed at the Judenrat. This involved, actually, those people who had come from Lemberg, which the Germans had captured.

When the 18 came to the Judenrat, the Gestapo was contacted by telephone. The Gestapo took them by auto, and they were taken away to the 'Rotunda' and they were shot there.

The families of those who were shot, came to the Judenrat with a wail, and asked why this was done, to which the Judenrat offered the excuse that they are not responsible, that a certain Lejzor Schultz handed over the list to the Gestapo, that contained these people, and the Gestapo forced the Judenrat to gather these people.

Lejzor Schultz, and a certain Blonde Jonah, from the ‘Hayfl’ had the reputation in the ghetto of being informers.

From among those who were shot, I remember the names: Yekhezkiel Citrin, Chaim Frank, Zalman Ackerman, Dora Schwartzbier, Kayla Holtz, Chaim Miltz.

In the ghetto, news spread that in Izbica, and in other additional towns, the Jews were subject to ‘evacuation’ in an unfamiliar trial. By us, they began to say , that such an ‘event’ has to take place in Zamość (in Zamość, this type of an ‘evacuation’ was referred to as a ‘khasene’^[4]). Many argued that it was better to work at military jobs, because during such an ‘evacuation’ those who are working at military jobs will not be sent out. For this reason, many Jews, who had up till now not worked for the military, began to look for ways to obtain such work in military locations.

There was a camp on the ‘Vikrent,’ which belonged to the German Luftwaffe, where several hundred Jews worked, the majority from the towns around Zamość. The Jews of Zamość therefore began to seek ways how to get employed in this type of work for the Luftwaffe.

In general, the idea was widely held that it is generally better if one is employed at work. Also, Jewish women began to look for work. On the Neustadt road, a Polish woman, Mozelewska (the wife of the obstetrician Mozelewski), had

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a vegetable garden. Therefore, Jewish women ran to her, asking her to be retained for work. On the strength of a note from her, the labor committee would issue a work booklet. This woman, exploited this opportunity, she had female laborer at no cost and additionally asked to be paid from 100 to 200 zlotys.

The Jewish labor committee was located in the home of the Mozelewskis. The labor committee was led by Aharon Shlafrok and Fishl Grossbaum. A Jewish policeman always stood at the door. Also, groups of women stood there, who waited to be sent to work.

In the first times, the Jewish police would have to run around before dawn from house to house, with the lists in their hands, and forcible drag the women to the labor office, from which they were dispatched to a variety of jobs. Also men were seized to be sent to work. Later, however, when the news arrived about the ‘khasenes,’ in the surrounding towns, people came of their own volition to the labor office and asked to be sent to work.

There were instances when Jews, who worked for the Germans, provisioned themselves with notes, indicating that they were good workers and that the Germans have a need for the work provided by these Jews. In general, the Jews strongly believed that if they work, the will not be ‘evacuated.’ However, it would also happen that people would be sent to work, and they would never again come back.

The group of people driven together for the ‘evacuation’

From one thirty to two, people began to arrive at the place. The gathering place was at the market, on the left side, where Lehman had his restaurant. Entire families came to the market – men, women, and children – and also families whose husbands were at work.

They came dressed in their Sabbath finery. Almost all were carrying packages on their backs, [containing] whatever one could grab. Jews came with noted from the German workplaces, that they are needed for work. They were certain, that with such a note, they will be sent home. The Gestapo staff, however, would take such notes, and immediately rip them up, and then supplemented the presenter with a whack in the head from a truncheon.

Those who had been gathered in the place, did not remain in their place. They were very seriously unnerved. They would wander about from one corner to the next. The Gestapo went about and hit people with truncheons right and left, and ordered the Jews to remain ‘still.’ It was estimated that there were more than 3000 Jews on the [market] place.

At 5 o'clock, before nightfall, the Gestapo ran through all the houses with revolvers in hand, and whoever they ran into in the houses was shot.

At 9 o'clock at night, a column was formed, which consisted of 5 to a row, and set out for the train. The Germans discarded their sticks, and took guns in hand. They began to shout, chasing after the people, demanding to move faster, and anyone who paused was shot immediately. The men, who came along last were indeed killed.

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The Jews were driven to the ‘Vikrent,’ diagonally opposite the school, there stood several and thirty wagons, into which the Jews were packed. Near the train, when the Jews were loaded into the wagons, a certain Luxenbourg (Menashe Grober's son-in-law) stopped and shouted at the Germans: ‘You low-life murderers, you have in any case lost the war, and for every Jew that you shoot, 10 Germans will be shot…’ The Germans shot him on the spot.^[5]

The wagon driver Eleshberg was advised that he should come with his platform and all the dead, that were lying on the road, which leads to the school, were gathered up and placed on the platform. The killed people were driven to the train, and loaded into the wagons together with the living people.

Loading the people lasted the entire night. At 4 o'clock before dawn, this train that was stuffed full, went off to Belzec.

The entire Neustadt road lay covered with strewn packages, which the Jews had discarded during their tortured march. The road was also covered in spilled blood from those who had been killed. The Jewish police gathered up the packages, and delivered them to the Judenrat. The blood was covered in sand.

It was only on the second day, that it was possible to see the extent of the destruction that had been wreaked by the Germans. In many houses, the dead lay, and people who mourned them were beside them. In many houses dead lay, for whom there was no one to mourn, because the remaining members of the family had been ‘evacuated’ [sic: taken away]. In general the entire city wailed. I do not have the power to portray what that weeping looked like.

Among the dead that lay in the houses, I remember the following Zamość Jews: Yitzhak Shpizeisen, Hirsch Messer, Chaim Boxer, Berel Deckel with his entire family of 5 souls.

At 12 o'clock noon, Eleshberg rode around, and the group of carriers gathered and put the shot Jews on his platform, and they were taken to the Jewish cemetery, where they were interred in a mass grave.

When this ‘evacuation’ took place, many were at work, and when they came back home, they did not encounter their wives and children already. So they came to the Judenrat with a cry, and asked: why did you not order your own wives and children to go to the [market] place, and you came only after our wives and children…

Despite the fact that one already knew that we would never again see those who were ‘evacuated,’ nevertheless there were those who did not believe this to be the case. They got together money, and gave it to the Polish railroad station workers, so that they should exactly determine to where the people were being taken off. There were those that said the Jews were being taken to do labor in Russian territories. There were those who said that the notion that the Jews were being taken to work in Russia stemmed from the Judenrat, in order not to increase the panic in the city.

The Judenrat and its policemen went around the houses of the Jews, from which they had taken out the people and confiscated all their things, and conveyed it to the Judenrat's magazine. The person in charge of the magazine was Shmuel Rosen.

In 2 or 3 weeks time later, Czech Jews were brought to Zamość. All of the Czech Jews looked well. All were dressed well, and wore good Czech shoes. The Jews of Zamość took a reserved attitude toward them. More accurately, these newcomers held themselves at a distance from the Zamość Jews , it didn't displease them that they had been brought to Zamość, but rather why was it that they had been mixed in together with Polish Jews… they were assimilated Jews – we called them Jaeckes. Many went to church on Sunday to pray. They were settled in the houses of Jews, that had undergone ‘evacuation.’ A number of them immediately became policemen for the Judenrat.^[6]

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Those who understood ‘politics’ said that there will be no more ‘evacuation’ in Zamość, because Zamość had already contributed its contingent.

Men, women and children are driven in the death march

They need to take along food and underwear for 3 days. The older people, who will not present themselves on time, will ‘have their children evacuated.’

After the appearance of this notice, a violent tumult broke out among the Jews. Everyone ran to the Judenrat in order to plead that their elderly people should not be ‘evacuated.’ So Memek Garfinkel, Azriel Sheps, Sholom Tzibeleh, and other members of he Judenrat replied to the people: – ‘If you don't want your older people to go, well, then you go in their place…’

In relation to this decree, everybody prepared a hiding place in their homes, where the elderly could be hidden. In order to grasp what such a hiding place consisted of, it is worth relating what they looked like. There were a variety of hiding places already in the homes of many Zamość residents, not only for people, but also for a variety of household articles, primarily bedding, which was carefully guarded, so it would not be confiscated by the police. In the house where we lived, we made a camouflaged Spanish Wall, with a secret little door. Behind this little door lay the packed bedding. Later on, under the packs, a camouflaged entrance was made to a space under the floor. The boards could be lifted up through a crack in the floor, which was cured underneath, and lead to a dark cellar, where many barrels of herring stood. In a corner of this cellar, there were two empty barrels, which if they were moved, there was yet another camouflaged entrance, where, crawling on all fours, you could crawl into another cellar. It was in this cellar that my parents hid themselves.

The Jewish police went around during the day, and night, and looked for older Jews, which were on their list for ‘evacuation’ and wherever they did not find these people, they arrested the children. They undertook to search for my parents several times, and when they did not find them, they arrested my brother Mordechai, and held him for two days and nights and attempted to force him to reveal where our father lay hidden. Thanks to Mottel'eh Sznycer, who worked strenuously at the Judenrat, my brother was set free.

When the police did find an elderly Jew, they took him off to the ‘keep’ of the Judenrat. The ‘keep’ was found in a building where before the war there was a soda factory that had belonged to a certain Zucker. The windows of the ‘keep’ were nailed over with boards. Outside, across the door, there was an iron bar. During the day, the ‘keep’ was guarded by one policeman, at night, by two.

However, the Judenrat and the police applied themselves vigorously to find my parents, and they gave one of our neighbors a bribe to disclose the hideout. Police came, and indeed, did discover my hidden parents. The joy of the Judenrat knew no bounds.

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When my brother Chaim returned from work, he went immediately to the Judenrat, to make an effort to compel them to free his parents. The President, Memek Garfinkel let my brother wait a long time, and afterwards, received him courteously, even asking him to sit. In response to the please and crying of my brother, the President declared that he can do nothing, he cannot set the elderly parents free, but he does have a suggestion… you are, he says, a relative, so I have this advice for you: there are many elderly people in the city, whose children went away with the Russians, and they are alone. You are three brothers – go out into the street, and bring me 2 other Jews, then I will set your parents free. My brother answered him: first, I do not understand why you must seize all the older Jews. If the Gestapo wants them, let them do it themselves; secondly, you want to turn us into kidnappers of people… the President, Memek Garfinkel became greatly enraged, and gave my brother a hard slap across the face and accompanied this with an insult: ‘Get out of here, you dirty Jew…’

The Jewish police permitted me to go into the ‘keep’ for 10 minutes to take leave of my parents. In the ‘keep’ there were my parents, Yaakov Mendelsohn (he had an iron business in the Altstadt). A certain Schatzkammer – from the Neustadt, who before the war, dealt with fowl, a Jew from Wloclawek, and a certain Nettel – his father was called Lejzor-Ber, he used to live in the ‘Tchyneh,’ selling cigarettes. Despite the fact that this Nettel was still young, he was packed in among the elderly; his sin consisted of being all alone, extremely poor, and was dressed in torn clothing…in the ‘keep’ everyone sat and wept. The only one who did not cry was my father. He comforted the Jews, and he argued to them, that weeping will do no good, that it is to all intents and purposes it is in God's hands… however, he himself broke down, and began to weep intensely.

Aharon Pfeffer's house was occupied by the Germans, where the local commander was to be found. Several Jews worked there, and I among them. So I approached a certain adjutant of the commander, Reich, who had influence in the command structure, requesting that he intervene on behalf of my parents. I gave him one thousand zlotys and a gold ring, so that he would make an effort to free my parents. The adjutant rode to the Neustadt, to the Judenrat on his motorcycle, where he was for a half hour. After the visit of the adjutant Reich, the Judenrat freed only my mother. Immediately, my sister-in-law Helena Sznycer, went to Memek Garfinkel and wept before him, pleading for him to release my father. The President then gave a shout: – ‘Go home, all the Zwillichs have pissed enough…’ The Judenrat and the police picked up Memek Garfinkel's ‘quip,’ and when others would come to plead for the release of the elderly, they had the same answer: ‘Go home, you already have…’

News spread through the city that a new ‘evacuation’ was being prepared. The Jews who worked near the train had observed that a train had arrived with empty wagons, and boarded up small windows. So Jews began to search for hiding places. In the Altstadt, there were Jewish manual laborers living in the house of Hannan Eidelsberg, who worked for the Germans. From that occupation as a manual laborer, those Jews brought their parents there from the Neustadt. Understand that this was done clandestinely, hidden from the Jewish police.

The same thing was done by the Jews who worked at the local command, and had some influence over the hotel ‘Victoria.’ They brought their parents over, and hid them for a day in the hotel.

Azriel Sheps became aware of this, and at midnight, he came with a carriage to the hotel ‘Victoria,’ with the recognized Gestapo murderer Bohlmann. Sheps remained with the carriage, and Bohlmann went in, up to the second floor with a truncheon in his hand, and he began to beat all the Jews that were found there, in a murderous fashion. At the same time, he shouted and insulted – You, lice, quickly, go to the Neustadt to the ghetto. A woman from Wloclawek remained lying, severely beaten and bloodied. The others barely fled with their lives.

The same thing was repeated at the house of the manual laborers. From there as well, the hidden Jews were driven out with beating.

It became apparent that all the wagons were standing ready for the Jews of Tyszowce and Komarow.

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On May 26, the Jews from Tyszowce and Komarow were transferred in by wagon. When the wagons drove by the Neustadt, many Jews fled from the wagons. A panic ensued in the ghetto. Gestapo staff and SS troops arrived, and seized Jews off the streets and took them to the train. On the same day, Eleshberg drove up with his platform, escorted by several policemen, to the ‘keep,’ and took out 16 Jews from there. These Jews were first taken to the Judenrat, and from there to the train. The policemen who escorted them were Simcha Feldstein, Stakh Fleischman, Abraham Artzt and a policeman who was a Czech Jew. At the train, Simcha Feldstein went up to the SS and presented himself in a military fashion, saluted and reported: I have the honor to inform you that we have brought 16 Jews. At the same time, two members of the Judenrat came and selected 16 other Jews from the wagons, and were taken away on the same platform back to the ghetto. You may appreciate that for these 16 Jews who had been ‘bought out’ the relatives paid quite handsomely, and gave ‘gifts.’

Later on, the SS went through the wagons, and gathered up all the elderly Jews, and took them off near the ‘Rotunda,’ and to the tune of the well-known Horst Wessel Song, [singing]‘When Jewish blood spurts from the knife…’ they shot all of them there.

Among the Jews who were shot was my dear, good father. Related Jews later asked the Judenrat – And if you would not have brought the elderly Jews to the train, would the ‘event’ been more distasteful?… The members of the Judenrat answered: – What do you want? We turned over old Jews and brought back young Jews…

After the evacuation of the elderly Jews, it was still until July 15, 1942. On the 15^th of July, at 6 o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo, SS and the German police again surrounded the ghetto. Again, an auto from the Gestapo rode up to the Judenrat. The Judenrat and the Police no longer worked with the same tempo as in the prior ‘evacuations.’ This time the Jews knew how to hide themselves more effectively. During the ‘evacuation’ several hundred Jews were rounded up – the largest portion, Czech Jews and small children.

In Zamość there was a Jew from Lodz, who was named Jonasewicz. This Jew was designated by the Gestapo to collect scrap iron. Under him, he had a group of, and every month they provided two wagons full of iron material. When the first ‘evacuation’ took place, the Gestapo ordered him, and all of his people, with their families, who were standing on the [market] place to be taken away, to return to their homes. Because of this, he became extremely popular in the ghetto. No other workplace enjoyed this right. After this incident, many people ran to him, asking to be taken into his group. He exploited this opportunity, and demanded that he be paid from 800-1000 zlotys per person, and because of this, during the following evacuation, he received an order from the Gestapo that he and his people must assist in the ‘evacuation’ itself. The largest part of this group concealed themselves, and never again returned. However, a small number of his people brought small children to the ‘evacuation.’

The Landart (Starotsa), the Burgomaster, Ziftzer, Memek Garfinkel from the Judenrat, several women from the Gestapo, and two tall officers from the SS from Lublin, came to the gathering point. They stood for about 10-15 minutes, and observed the Jews, who stood at the gathering point. Afterwards, they took out 2 poor children from the group, they photographed them, and then the ‘guests’ departed.

Among others, Itcheh-David Schlam was brought to the ‘evacuation,’ along with his wife; Shalia Herenrut; Sarah Beitel (Yosheh Mendelsohn's wife) and her little daughter; the lawyer, Goldstein with his wife and child. The lawyer Goldstein spied Memek Garfinkel in the distance. He called out to him several times: ‘Memek Save Me.’ However, Memek did not answer at all. At a specific moment, the lawyer Goldstein and his wife sat themselves down on the ground. So a Gestapo man approached them with a truncheon in his hand, and beat them on the head, and told them to stand up. To which, the lawyer Goldstein replied, that he knows they are being taken to their deaths, and therefore they might as well be shot here on the spot – and therefore, we will not raise ourselves from this place, he declared to them. So the SS man Pinkovsky went up to them, and replied: – You want to be shot? Then go to the wall. The picked themselves up and went to the wall near Lehman's restaurant, and there, indeed, they were shot. The lawyer Goldstein with the child were killed immediately. Mrs. Goldstein was still alive, and she was taken into the Jewish hospital. After two days, she died. All the people, who were on the [market] place, were taken off to the train, loaded onto wagons, and taken to Belzec.

[Page 566]

On that same day, a Pole from the Neustadt came to the Judenrat (I am frustrated that I have forgotten his name), and represented that the Gestapo had shot two Jews in his attic. The Judenrat immediately sent its detail of carriers to take these two Jews away. It became apparent that these were Yankel Hertz and his wife. Later on, Jews said among themselves, that the Pole who had hidden them in his attic, had indeed informed about this to the Gestapo, saying that there were two Jews lying hiding in his attic…

In Tzersky's house (diagonally opposite the church) was the Gestapo office. Every Jew or Christian, that was brought to this house, did not ever emerge alive again. From Tzersky's house, people were taken to the ‘Rotunda’ and shot there.

A fragment of the ‘Evacuation.’ The bodies of martyrs can be seen in the rear

After this specific ‘evacuation,’ the Jews, once again went to work and talked ‘politics.’ At that time, General Rommel's army in Africa was dealt a severe blow. Simultaneously, it was said that the Allies were preparing shortly to open the second front. Jews were interested in seeing the second front opened as early as possible; they hoped that then Germany would become preoccupied with its own fate, and leave the Jews alone.

There were three Jews in the ghetto, who would bring ‘good news.’ ‘Good news’ meant those kind of information that do not come from German sources. One took this kind of news into account [sic: seriously].

These three were: Kaplan, Bajczman's son-in-law; mt brother Chaim, and Israel Scheck.

Kaplan was able to hear English broadcasts at the home of a Volksdeutscher acquaintance. My brother Chaim worked at the business of the known Zamość engineer Krantz, and from time to time would hear English broadcasts in the Polish language. Israel Scheck was given a Russian language newspaper, which appeared in Berlin, and also Der Sturmer, where articles would appear by the Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels, by a Christian. Scheck would read the articles by Goebbels, and to each paragraph, he would add a personal explanation. He would say that it is necessary to read these articles by Goebbels between the lines, and from these ‘between the lines’ he declared that the Germans are in deep trouble… Sunday was the usual day for such ‘news.’

On a certain Sunday, several Jews were eating in our house, and were waiting for my brother Chaim. They said, that they had heard a bit if news, but they first want to hear from Chaim, to see if he will confirm it. When my brother came, he related that: – Jews, I have important news for you. The detail was that the English announcer, before he would begin to broadcast the communiques, would repeat the phrase several times: ‘Hello, Hello, Germany – where is Hess?’ Today, he also began with this phrase, and immediately passed on that [Hess] is found in England. That he had come to negotiate for peace and the English police had immediately arrested him.

The Jews, who had waited for my brother, were buoyed by this, because they too had heard this, and they wanted this should be confirmed by Chaim. Meanwhile a Jew from Wloclawek entered, and related: he had spoken to a member of the Judenrat, who, today, heard a German communique, in which it was related that in the last several weeks, Hess had shown signs of derangement, and now he had gone completely insane. The Germans are ashamed to say that they sent Hess to sue for peace. To this he added – Jews, don't worry, we will yet take our revenge on the Germans.

[Page 567]

The entire city trembled before them. It was mostly Bohlmann who would come to the ghetto. This Bohlmann was a great bandit and murderer. When he would come to the Neustadt, all the Jews would conceal themselves in their houses. One Jew would already inform the next person – don't go out in the street, Bohlmann is in the Neustadt.

For most of his visit, Bohlmann would sit at the house of Avigdor Inlander. He would sit for an hour or two. He loved to talk about art and literature. In Avigdor Inlander's room, there was a rather large collection of art objects. When he would leave, he would always take along something of value. One time, Bohlmann came to Avigdor Inlander, talked with him for a long time, and then ordered him out of the house, and then shot him at the door…

A certain Itcheh Schwartzbier lived in the Browar. The Jews of Zamość used to call him Itcheh Khezekalles.^[7] He was a butcher by trade. During the war years, he worked for a Volksdeutsher in a slaughterhouse as a meat cutter. He made a good living, and he was always jovial, full of humor. The Volksdeutscher for whom he worked was very pleased with him. Not so much by his work as he was with his witticisms.

On a certain day, 2 Gestapo men came to the slaughterhouse where he worked, and shouted out: ‘Schwartzbier hier!’ and immediately rewarded him with several truncheon blows in the head, and ordered him to follow them. They did not even permit him to take off the white apron that he wore while at work, and led him off the Gestapo office in his white apron.

There, they held him for several hours, and later on, they took him to the ‘Rotunda’ and shot him…

In the city, they said that the Volksdeutsch had been charged with mishandling meat that he had sold, and he gave the excuse that he was not responsible, but rather it was the fault of the Jude, Schwartzbier, who was employed by him….

I have already related that Jewish manual laborers were living in the home of Hannan Eidelsberg, who worked for the SS. The well-known Zamość shoemaker, Yaakov Gutheit (Yankel Shchigel) also lived in that house. He created shoes and boots for the Gestapo, as well as for their families, which they would send to Germany. He would be well paid for this work, even giving him gifts. Every Sunday, Gutheit would come to the Neustadt (Many Jews didn't work on Sunday, and it was more possible to walk the streets). He would get together with the Zamość tailors, such as Shalia Finkelstein, Chaim Blank, Ben-Zion Lubliner, Itcheh'leh Wechter and Pinhas Flescher (a son-in-law of Finkelstein's). He would relate news to them, which the Gestapo had discussed among themselves when they would come to him, to collect the work and in that process, make a ‘round,’ meaning, that they partook from a whiskey bottle and a bite, which would be put out for them.

Gutheit's news would then be relayed in the Neustadt from one to another. Israel Scheck would call this, the ‘News for the Common People.’ Once, at such a get-together, Gutheit told that the Gestapo people receive letters from Germany from their families, that Germany is being intensely bombed by the Americans, and things are going very badly on the Russian front. The Russians are mounting a strong counter-attack. The Jews were very happy about this news, and in honor of it, an entire liter of whiskey was consumed, with herring being eaten along with it. Eggs and bread. Each person toasted the other with the whiskey and food, expressing the wish that they would survive the war, and take revenge on the Germans.

Later on, Yankel Gutheit went on the ‘Bomb’ Street to resolve an issue. On the way, a gentile began to harass him, cross words were exchanged, and the gentile hit Yankel in the head with a stick. Yankel fell and died on the spot. About an hour or two later, the familiar Gestapo man, Kalb, came to the Neustadt, with another individual, with truncheons in their hands. They searched for the gentile, and beat him severely, and afterwards threw him about. When the gentile

[Page 568]

lay on the ground already, Kalb danced on him, jumped on his belly, on his throat, and on his head. For the entire time, he screamed, that to hit and kill Jews was a right only for Germans, but not for Polish swine… the gentile lay dead.

At that time, an order arrived, that all Jews who work for the Wehrmacht are to be confined, that means, that each evening, after work, they may not go into the ghetto in the Neustadt, rather, they must remain in the barracks that had been erected on the Szczebrzeszyn place, near the ‘Rotunda.’ There were many barracks there, and each ‘workplace’ had its barracks. There were also barracks for the women. Those that worked, received 3 zlotys and 20 groschen for a day's work. After cashiering them, the workers were given produce in place of money. The Jews slept in the barracks for three to four weeks.

One time, on a certain day, at 6 o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo and the SS surrounded the barracks, and audited all of the Jews that were there. They ordered the largest portion of them to go back to sleep in the ghetto in the Neustadt, and they sent a small number to Izbica.

At the same time, an order went out that the ghetto in the Neustadt is being cut in half, that is, all the Jews have to live only on the right side. The road from Zamość to Tomaszow is the boundary. The Jews were given 3 days time to relocate. After these 3 days, no Jew is permitted to be found on the left side of the ghetto. The Poles who lived on the side streets of the right side of the ghetto, obtained an order from the Gestapo that they must immediately abandon their dwellings. The dwellings must be turned over to the Judenrat. All the Jews from the left sides obtained an allocation from the Judenrat of the dwellings vacated by the Poles, for a specified fee.

The office of the Judenrat was transferred from the synagogue to the house of Janacek on the first floor. On the second day, already in the new house, the Judenrat posted a sign that all the elderly Jews who are found in the ghetto, must present themselves to the Judenrat, that they are going to be transferred to Izbica. There were those who said that in the German periodicals, it was indicated that Izbica was remaining a Jewish town, where the Jews are permitted to live. The elderly Jews did not believe in this idea, that Izbica was going to remain a Jewish town, and did not present themselves to the Judenrat, [rather], they began to hide themselves. The Jewish police went through the houses, looking for elderly Jews. Whomever among the elderly that they did encounter, were sent to Izbica.

The Jews already saw, and felt, that dark days are coming, and yet despite this, there was hope that at the last minute, a change would come in favor of the Jews.

The Zamość Jews driven to the Death March

Two days later, the labor office took away the old work books from the Jews that were registered by the Gestapo man Langenkaempfer, and gave them new ones. The new work books consisted of what was on the first page which was a large Star of David, and in the middle of the Star of David was the letter ‘J’. On the second side was the name and the photograph of the owner of the book, and where he worked. In the ghetto of the Neustadt, these books were called the ‘Yot-kartes.’ The Jews who did not receive a ‘Yot-karte,’ were envious of those who did have one, because it was being said in the ghetto that the Jews with ‘Yot-kartes’ will not be taken in the ‘evacuations’ that are drawing close. The Jews of Zamość therefore exerted themselves, with money, or through protection to obtain such kartes from the labor office.

At the same time, when the Jews were preoccupied with getting themselves ‘Yot-kartes,’ on Friday October 18, 1942, at 5 o'clock in the morning, the Gestapo, the Red [hatted] police, and German gendarmerie surrounded the ghetto, and went house to house, ordering the Jews to go out onto the [market] place. The gathering point was on the [market] place,

[Page 569]

where Janitzky had his colonial-business. A large part of the Jews were visited by the Germans, who took away everything that they had in their pockets, and in addition beat them on the head with truncheons.

At the market, where the roads cross, stood a large auto, in which several German gendarmes stood, with machine guns, aimed at he Jews with the barrels, who stood on the marketplace. The Gestapo selected members of the Judenrat out of the Jews that stood on the marketplace, and set them to a side.

The commandant of the Luftwaffe came to the [market] place, the German, Raffert, and selected 50 Jews for work. In general, according to my estimate, there were between 3 and 5 thousand Jews on the [market] place.

The Jews were lined up 5 men to a row, and at 11 or 12 o'clock, the order came to march. The Jews were led through the ‘Vikrent,’ towards Izbica. After every several rows in the train, a German went on both sides with either a gun or a truncheon in hand. For the entire way, they continuously kept shouting: – ‘Move it! – March!’ The largest number of victims came from the last rows, those who stopped, those were mostly beaten and many of them were shot.

The members of the Judenrat, set off to the side, came to Izbica on the following morning in an auto. After this ‘evacuation,’ it meant that Zamość was left Judenrein.

On the way to Izbica, each family made an effort to stay together. They held each other's hand. If someone stopped, then the members of the family offered help, dragging them along, in order not to be left last. The largest number of fallen victims were from the village of Stary Zamość, on the hill leading to Izbica: here on the ascent to the hill, many stopped, fell from lack of strength, and here the Germans shot them mercilessly. One cannot know exactly how many people were shot along this way. The Jews who went in this train, estimated that approximately 100 Jews were killed.

The Jews came to Izbica before nightfall, and in Izbica there already were many Jews from Czechoslovakia, and from villages around Izbica. In every house, wherever you went in, it was full of people, and each person sat on their own bundle. Also, the streets were full of people, who sat on their bundles and slept… Izbica looked like a train station, where people are waiting for the train…

A Gestapo man named Engels held authority over Izbica. He had a reputation throughout the entire area as a great bandit and sadist. He would ride around on a horse with a revolver in hand, and he would shoot anyone he ran into in the street. When Jews would catch sight of him in the distance, they would flee into their houses.

The Jews of Zamość who already were in Izbica, said among themselves already, that an ‘evacuation’ was being prepared, and that the Judenrat of Zamość had made an effort with this Gestapo man not to send the Zamość Jews away. So, many Zamość Jews ran to the Judenrat and paid them money, in order that they be among the candidates not to be sent away.

On Monday, October 21, 1942 at 5 o'clock in the morning, an auto arrived on the Zamość road, which stopped on the hill, where one rides from Izbica to Krasnystaw. One could see recruits sticking out of this auto, dressed in black, but who spoke only Russian. There were two Gestapo staff with them. They made a chain, shouted wildly, and descended on the city. They held guns as if they were going on a military attack on the city.

They descended on the Jews at the train and took away their money. Specifically, they were looking for watches and boots. When they saw a Jew in boots, they first mad a traditional Russian blessing and shouted ‘ ПеревернутЬ туфли

!’ (turn over the shoes!). There were an insufficient number of wagons for all the people who stood on the place, so they first started to load the women. Among the women was also my dear mother, and my sister Bluma, and the other people were told to go home.

Many dead remained in the streets. Several days went by before the dead were removed from the streets.

[Page 570]

As in the case of the neighboring villages, the Jewish police took a rather significant role in the ‘evacuation’ in Izbica, which consisted mostly of Czech Jews. They conducted their work with German punctiliousness. They took a direct part in driving and shouting at the Jews, that they should get into the wagons more quickly. A few minutes, however, before the wagons were locked, the Gestapo man Engels ordered the police that they should also get into the wagons….

On the [Market] place after the ‘Evacuation.’ An Abandoned Child Blinks About

Images from the Zamość ‘Evacuation’

There were also those, who could not manage going into the forests, and they didn't want to leave their families behind, the wives and children. They also argued that the Aryan papers will be of no help because of their ‘accent,’ in Polish. These were the ones who got themselves dwellings in Izbica. For such dwellings, one had to pay a goodly sum of money. A Zamość baker lived in Izbica, Sholom Hantwerker, who was a member of the Izbica Judenrat, and it was he who allocated dwellings. For a good house, he took between 500 and 1000 zlotys. A ‘good’ house meant one in which there was a secret place to hide, which can offer protection during an ‘evacuation.’

Two weeks elapsed from the first to the second ‘evacuation’ in Izbica. Again, a similar number of wagons came, again the Russian ‘blacks’ came. The second ‘evacuation’ lasted for 2-3 days already, because people had begun to hide themselves by this time. The Russians went along with small gentile boys to look for Jews. They gathered together several thousand Jews, and loaded them up in the wagons, and the transport went off to Belzec.

On the second day, Polish fire fighters were brought into Izbica from the surrounding villages. They came with hoses and hammers. They went through the Jewish houses, not missing anyone, banged on the walls, tore up the floors. Wherever they felt there was an empty space, they made a hole and piped in water with their hoses. It was in this manner that they were able to drive Jews from their hiding places – they would run out wet, frightened and pale. The fire fighters would fall upon them with wild laughter and beat them, looking in their wallets, and take away everything they had. In the end, they took them to the Izbica cinema house.

Among these Jews also to be found were: my brother Mordechai, with Hirsch Bott. The Jews were held in the cinema for 6-8 days without food or drink, and not letting anyone out even to attend to bodily functions.

After that, a small number of Jews was selected, and they were taken away to a work camp. All the rest were taken out of the cinema, in a group of 30-40 men, and were taken to the Jewish cemetery in Izbica, and shot there.

That is the sum totality of what happened to our Zamość.

Translator's footnotes:

1. The following excerpt is from the Dereczin Memorial Book:
   On November 17, a contingent of 11 S.S. troops arrived to take over the town governance into their hands. At the head of this group was a young, dangerous sadist named Poritz. He was as bloodthirsty as a wild animal. The Polish authorities are replaced with Byelorussian police, who are no better than their predecessors. The Germans set themselves up in the movie theater, and from there, spread their bloody rule throughout the town. Poritz was the Leiter for the ‘Jewish Question.’ Return
2. Here is an excerpt from the Simon Wiesenthal Center Website, that records the formation of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police: The Ukrainian Auxiliary Police were equipped with captured Soviet light weapons and wore black uniforms. On some occasions a collective fine was imposed upon the Jews in order to defray the costs of providing the police with uniforms and boots. The senior commanders of these units were Germans. In the first few days of the occupation, Ukrainian police, as an organized group or on an individual basis, participated in pogroms against the Jews, in Lvov, in the cities of Eastern Galicia, and in Volhynia. Later, when Ukrainian police escorted groups of Jews to places of work or were on guard duty in the ghettos, they extorted money from the Jews, harassed them, and frequently shot Jews merely for the sake of killing. When the ghettos were being liquidated, units of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police took part in Aktionen: blockading the ghettos, searching for Jews who had gone into hiding, and hunting those who had escaped. They escorted Jews to their execution in pits and served as the guards surrounding the murder sites, barring access to them. They were known for their brutality and killed many thousands of Jews who could not keep up on the way to the execution sites, or who tried to escape. Return
3. Page 602 in this translation. Return
4. A euphemistic and ironic use of the Yiddish word for a ‘wedding.’ Return
5. This individual is identified as Shlomo (Lomeh) Luxenbourg in the memoir on page 516. Return
6. We know today, that the parents of former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and the paternal grandparents of Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) were Czech Jews who either hid, or abandoned their Jewish origins. In an article that appeared in Reform Judaism, Fall 2003 Vol 32, No1, the following observation is made in an article by Jennifer Anne Perez, regarding the situation of Czech Jews during the fin du siècle period:
   Many Jews hid their religious identity, posing as Gentiles. “It was easier to do business as a Christian,” says Prague-based genealogist Julius Miller, who specializes in tracing Jewish lineage. “Many Jews just stopped practicing Judaism during this period and had no belief at all.” Return
7. This nickname joins together two Yiddish words that impart the meaning of ‘makes sport of everything.’ The implication is that the person is a jokester of sorts. Return

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