rumours that circulated in the ghetto. I returned home about 6 p.m. On my way, I met a friend who assured me that the decree had already been made in the region, but he was also sceptical about the news. As the evening progressed, more and more people came with the same message, but—interestingly—they were always equally sceptical. Even a message from the House Committee did nothing to dispel the doubts, even though the decree took on somewhat more realistic form there. According to this news, not only were we supposed to hand over all fur articles in the strict sense, but also the smallest scraps of fur, the lining on slippers and women’s suits, collars, and children’s coats. Failing to hand them over was punishable by death. All of these messages generated a rather justifiable anxiety, but they also gave rise to jokes of various type and calibre. The rumours, however, turned out to be fact.
[4] By about 8 o’clock in the evening, the ghetto knew that the Jews would have to hand over all furs and fur scraps, and that indeed, should they fail to do so, they would face the death penalty. You could say that the ghetto was seized with fear. It was not so much handing the furs over that people feared, but rather the house-to-house searches carried out under the pretext of looking for furs.
On the morning on 26 December, the decree was announced. The announcement read as follows:
Duplicate
Der Kommissar für den jüdischen Wohnbezirk in Warschau
Adg.[Anordnung] Nr. 7/41. Warschau, den 25. Dezember 1941.
Anordnung.
Betrifft: Ablieferung von Pelzsachen.
Sämtliche im Besitz von Juden befindlichen Pelzmäntel, Pelzumhänge, Pelzkragen, sowie sonstige Pelze und Felle, gleich welcher Art und gleichgültig, ob verarbeitet, sind bis zum 28. Dezember 1941 einzuschl.[?] abzuliefern.
Die Ablieferungsstellen befinden sich:
In der Grzybowskastr. 26/28 (Hauptverwaltung des Judenrates)
Grzybowskastr. 27 (Hauptverwaltung des Judenrates)
Juden, die sich nach Ablauf der Ablieferungsfrist noch im Besitz von ablieferungspflichtigen Gegenstanden betreffen werden, werden erschossen.
Die Anordnung tritt am 25.12.1941 in Kraft.
gez[eichnet] (-) Unterschrift
