is taken for granted: the news that the Germans have been defeated, that the allied armies are drawing nearer, that Grodno is to be incorporated into Lithuania (September–October). The latter especially takes such real form thatresidents of suburbs behind the Niemen collectively move to the other side of the river. Well-informed sources report that the Niemen will mark the border between Lithuania and Germany. Memories of good times in Vilna are vivid for us. We believe that better days are coming, that [8] we are going to persevere and rise up from under the yoke that chokes us, that we will survive this storm in relative peace and quiet.
Then, like a bolt, a message fell on us: our city has become part of the German Reich. Incorporated within its boundaries, it cannot suffer the Jews to defile its eternal native German streets so brazenly. Thus, the threat of terrible dilemma hung over us: displacement or imprisonment within the walls of the ghetto.
Construction of the barracks seems to be an argument for the first alter-native. However, since in this war it happens that it is the least likely that eventually comes to pass, and so in this case it was the Jewish quarter that proved to be the case.183
[9] The time machine once again went back several centuries. The culture of our rulers has made tremendous progress; it already approaches theera of popes and doges.
Spanish legion184
Allow me to address the Spanish soldiers. You are our enemies, but not our tormentors. You are fighting under the banner of our enemies, but you do notabuse the vulnerable. You have danced to the sounds of the guitar on the street
