[34] He explained that he could take us 5 kilometres but no further, because he had to get back to town. We got into his car, and he set off. As hedrove, he told us that he had invited us to get in because he realised that we were Jews. He had been afraid that the Lithuanian with whom we had spoken as we got out of the car would recognise us as Jews, and that would havebeen the end of us. That Lithuanian, he explained, had thousands of Jews onhis conscience whom he, together with Germans and other Lithuanians, hadshot at Ponary.
While telling us this, he wept profusely. He went on to say that the Lithuanians and Germans stripped the Jews naked before shooting them,because they thought it a pity to ruin the clothes, which they later took. Allthe neighbours from around Ponary could no longer bear to watch the terri-ble, inhuman murders.420
Again he broke into tears. When he had calmed down, [34a] he gave us a raft of advice on how to behave on the road. He warned us not to go through Ejszyszki, because all the Jews had been shot there and any Jew travellingthrough would be shot immediately.
Night was falling when the car stopped after 5 kilometres. Altogetherwe had covered 55 kilometres from Vilna. We found ourselves near a village 15 kilometres from Ejszyszki. We set off for the village, went into the hut ofthe first peasant we came across, and asked to stay the night.
The peasant was very friendly, letting us spend the night and givingus something to eat. He realised we were Jews and was amazed that we hadgot all the way there from Vilna and were still alive. He was amazed that we had managed to stay alive and get so far from Vilna. The Lithuanians and Germans, he said, were patrolling the roads, and any Jew they met was shoton the spot.
He told us that in Ejszyszki the Lithuanians had taken all of the Jews –men, women, andchildren – to the Jewish [35] cemetery, stripped them naked, and shot them. In recounting the details of the events in Ejszyszki, he broke into tears. He especially mourned the death of the rabbi.
He said it was impossible for us to go any further because they were checking everyone’s documents. We should either go back to Vilna or make
