was in their minds: that a terrible bloodbath was about to break out at any moment. In addition, there were rumours that many Słonim Jews were going to be sent away, especially [18] the unemployed. The Jews of Słonim knew what it meant to be sent away by the Germans. A long time had passed and there was no trace of the 1,400 young people. Many Jews, men in particular, left the ghetto and slept at Christian friends’ places. At each and every step one could feel the horrible danger approaching. People were in deep despair. In the first days of November, all the members of the new Judenrat were arrested. Not only the members but their whole families, and even strangers who were in their houses at the time. It was a snowy night when armed gendarmes burst into the Judenrat members’ houses, not even allowing them to get dressed, slung them into cars in their nightshirts, underwear and barefoot, and took them to the Słonim prison. There they were made to stand for several hours in the snow, naked and barefoot, even the women. Then they were ordered to line up against the wall. [19] Opposite them stood gendarmes pointing their guns at them. The unfortunates were sure at that moment that they were about to be shot. They clung to each other and waited for death. The gendarmes kept their rifles aimed at the unfortunates for a long time, and then suddenly burst out laughing. This time they had just been playing with the Jews. After this game, the broken and mortally frightened Jews were thrown into the prison and put in cramped cells, several people to a cell. Naturally, the arrested Jews, when they came to themselves, were very downhearted, especially the Judenrat members. They could not understand why Hick, who had himself appointed the new Judenrat, had suddenly ordered its members to be arrested. He had accused the first Judenrat of not collecting the levy honestly. But why had he arrested the second? The Jews did not yet have an answer to that question, but a few days later they learned from the Polish [20] prison wardens, who generally treated the arrested Jews very compassionately, that they all had been arrested as hostages, that a ransom of one and a half million roubles would be demanded, and that if the required sum was not paid, they would all be shot. The unfortunates knew it was 99 per cent certain that they would be shot, since after the first two levies it would be very hard to find even half that sum, but they nevertheless took some comfort from the hope that their brothers might not abandon them. The Polish prison wardens also reassured them. At the same time, the Jews of Słonim were scared to death by the new developments. It was clear that “Hick” and his gang meant to horribly torture
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