growing distrust even though they know that in the case of a conflict with Germany Russia would help liberate Poland. The Jews are the only ones who do not hesitate regardless of their emotional or reasonable attitude towards the Soviet Union. Despite their grievances, confiscation of their property, and deportation of their families, they count only on Russia, for everything is better than the Germans.
[9] 16 June. The English radio is warning …
Every day the radio broadcasts detailed information about concentrations of German troops on the border with Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, on the River Bug, and in Finland. It warns that the invasion of Russia is about to start any day now. The famous TASS’s lamenting the fact that the Soviet
Union knows nothing about that concentration of troops being directed against Russia does not help. But this peace and quiet has a soothing effect on the population. The English, as always, must be lying because it would not be so calm if a war were to break out any day now. For we can clearly remember the frantic mobilisation of Poland, only ten days before 1 September 1939, whereas now nothing is happening. The second half of June begins in the same carefree atmosphere as the first. All Russia has been rapidly arming itself for two years, but the last month was the same as the previous ones. The lighthearted and gullible citizens are calmed by the macabre fact that given such difficult transport conditions enough thought and time was given to mobilise thousands of wagons and thousands of NKVD functionaries to conduct deportations to Siberia. Although there is plenty of food and one can buy everything cheaply and without queues, it does not occur to anybody to amass supplies of bread, flour, groats, or pork fat, even though the Lvov inhabitants have survived many a war. At Intourist (Hotel George)612 there is dancing, drinking of champagne, and cheerful, jaunty partying.
We have all been unanimously complaining [10] about our bad, grim, and hopeless situation, whereas now – with the spectre of war hanging over us – we wish every day to survive the war in the same conditions, as if in a most bearable asylum. We already know that we will find out about the war only when, simultaneously with a declaration of war, the first bombs fall on Lvov.
