On the Other Side of the River: Dr. Adolph Herschmann and the Zhmerinka Ghetto, 1941-1944

This article examines the history of the Zhmerinka ghetto in Transnistria and the fate of Jewish Council member Dr. Adolph Herschmann, who served as head of the ghetto from early 1943 through the end of the Romanian occupation in spring 1944. The article is based on records of Herschmann's trial recently released by the State Security Archives of Ukraine (SBU), as well as on testimonies of survivor-witnesses and other primary sources. The author provides a history of the Zhmerinka ghetto and the activities of its Jewish council under Romanian occupation. He argues that the exceptionally high rate of survival in the Zhmerinka ghetto was the result of the skillful, though controversial efforts of Dr. Herschmann and his council.