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10. The Liquidation of the Little Ghetto
- The University Press of Kentucky
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10. The Liquidation of the Little Ghetto Saturday, October 4, 1941. The ground was covered with a silvery coating of snow and the sky was overcast with grayish clouds. The whole city around the ghetto was still in a deep sleep. The little ghetto was surrounded by Gennans, Lithuanian partisans , and Ukrainians who hadjoined the Gennans when they took over part ofRussia. Before we had time to get dressed there were soldiers in our neighborhood. We didn't even have a chance to get our coats before we ran out into the street. They told us to getin line by families. I got in line with Uncle Abraham and Aunt Ettel, Aunt Golda and Uncle Yenchik and their two children (Aunt Golda held the little boy in her anns), Aunt Celia and Uncle Borachand their boy, Maishke. As soon as we were all in line, they told us to start running forward. In front ofus was a Lithuanian who showed us the way to run. We ran past the bridge from the big ghetto and turned back to the place where we had stood in the practice massacre. A$ we came to the place, there were already many people there and every minute more and more came. Two men came dragging a sick woman on a stretcher. We could see other people dragging the paralyzed, bringing the retarded and invalids and people without anns or legs. Mothers were running with their babies in their anns, tearing their hair out. By the children's hospital they had seen Jewish men digging graves. What this all meant no one could understand, but everyone was still trying to be optimistic. Everyone hoped this would be like the first time, that they would punish us for a couple ofhours and then tell us to go back home. But this wasn't to be like the first time. 60 The Shadow of Death Before long the whole population of the little ghetto was standing in the field by the bridge, waiting to learn their fate. We could see in the middle ofthe field a dais, a small stage about six feet square. On that stage was a little SS man from the Gestapo with the name ofRauca. He looked fat, like a pig, and you could see the murder in his face. Suddenly an order came for each family to pass in line in front ofRauca. They were starting to sort. The first ones to march by were the Jewish police, four abreast, wearing dark uniforms and shiny black boots. They went by just like the military, everyone in step. Rauca liked that and pointed his finger to the right. This finger indicated the decision between life and death. We realized that the police were on the side to live, the righthand side. As soon as the police had marched by, they began, together with the Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Germans, to help make order in the lines. People were confused, running one way and another. The soldiers made use ofthis by hitting people over the head. They hit so hard that some ofthem broke their rifles. Our Jewish police were kicking with their boots, which hurt too. During this time people continued marching past the platform and watching the sign ofthe finger, right, left, right, left-life or death. Uncle Abraham and the rest ofthe family decided that we would not rush but would let all the others march ahead. As the day went on, the picture became more gruesome. The Gestapo leader started tearing families apart, sending the men one way, the women and children another. The men wanted to run to their wives and the wives to their husbands, and as they did the Lithuanian, German, and Ukrainian soldiers started shooting. The screaming ofthe women and children could have tom stones apart. It began to get dark, so we decided we would march by the dais. It is hard to explain the feeling as we walked past. Would it be right or left? We went without thinking, mindless, numb. We were getting closer and closer to the platform. The dread of which way he would point was unbearable. Here there occurred a miracle. For the whole party of us, eight or ten lines of people, including my family, he pointed to [3.89.116.152] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:25 GMT) Liquidation of the Little Ghetto 61 the right. Our fate was to stay alive and suffer. All the people who...