information from their lectures than we did, and their exam had also been much less demanding than ours. It is true that they came from completely different backgrounds, their intellectual capacity was lower, and they were mostly workers, disinfectors, and unemployed. It is noteworthy that while the Jews had to pay a tuition fee, all the Polish participants received subsidies for the time spent in lectures, and they were promised paid work upon completion of their training. Jewish graduates of the course received a German certificate which read as follows:
Amt des Generalgouverneurs, Aussenstelle: Staatliches Institut für Hygiene Warschau, Chocimskastr. 24. Warschau, den 9 November 1940. Bescheinigung. Es wird bescheinigt, dass der vom 28 Oktober 1940 bis 9 November 1940 an einem Ausbildungskursus [4] für Desinfektoren mit Erfolg teilgenommen hat. Er ist berechtigt Desinfektionen und Entwesungen im Bereich der jüdischen Wohngebiete auszuführen. Gez[eichnet] (-) Prof. Dr. Kudicke, Leiter des Instituts. Siegel: Amt des Generalgouverneurs f[ur] d[ie] bes[etzen] poln[ischen] Gebiete-Aussenstelle: Staatliches Institut für Hygiene-Warschau, Chocimskastr. 24. Nr. . . .”453
Everyone assumed that we would be employed by the Department for Combating Epidemics as soon as we completed the training. Things were not, however, that easy. Dr. Gold and Dr. Syrkin-Binstein kept us waiting for weeks, dismissing our inquiries with empty promises. In the meantime, the Jewish district was sealed and new Jewish internal authorities were established within the Jewish Council. As a consequence, the existing social unit, namely the Department for Combating Epidemics, was transformed into an official institution of the Jewish Council and renamed the Department of Health—Gesundheitsamt. All matters concerning the sanitary and health situation of the population in the Jewish district were subject to the jurisdiction of this department, including disinfection brigades.454 At the end of December
