[7] The Jewish autumn holidays were coming. Despite the dreadful period, the House Committee at Nalewki Street 23 chose not to relax its requirements, whether with regard to members or to others. The war training has been short. People still live with their pre-war aspirations and everybody gets meat and wine at least once a day for kiddush on Jewish holidays. In the meantime, the number of people coming to the kitchen is increasing day by day. Not only refugees come to the kitchen, but so do all those who have no products with which to cook a meal even though they still have the money. Life in the besieged city has stopped. Warsaw is being shelled and bombed from aircraft. The city resounds with the deadly, piercing whistle of missiles, with the crack of exploding grenades, with the ominous hiss of diving aircraft, with the dull rumble of the ground, and with the reverberating thud of collapsing buildings. Shops are closed. Life returns to the streets [8]330 [9] during rare breaks. Shopkeepers have to open their shops, but most of the time you cannot buy anything, as the terrified storekeepers have hidden their merchandise away. [10] The following fact vividly highlights the situation. A rich refugee from Łódz paid one hundred zlotys for a bowl of soup in the kitchen. This was not only a donation, but also a measure of the value of products in the besieged city.
[11] Residents of the neighbouring tenements also come to the kitchen. Consequently, Mr Kahan appeals to those present at the meeting on 11 September to allow the collection of money to include not only the tenement at Nalewki Street 23, but also the other tenements whose residents come to the kitchen. A discussion ensued and it was decided that the collection would not include others as the OPL members are already overburdened with work. The matter was left open as it was obvious that the situation would soon force them to spend the collection for others anyway.
The meetings of the House Committee are held every day. On 12 September Mr Szczerański files a report on the second collection of money in the amount of 578 zlotys. The organisation of the operation of the kitchen is on the agenda again. Mr Skowronek and Mr Rozenberg [. . .] [12] planned to exert control over things by using special tickets, as some people were eating two portions. But this was during that memorable initial period of faith in people and of still genuine compassion, brotherhood, and sympathy
