[2a] In Małkinia the Germans were quite happy to let the group cross the border, having previously searched them and seized their more valuable possessions.
Between the German and the Russian border posts in the Małkinia sector, there was a broad border strip of about 3 kilometres. On this stretch of field between two woods, which was a “no-man’s land”, several hundred Jewish women, young people, children, and even elderly people were camped. The people had built huts (sukkot)804 out of branches and pieces of wood and were living in them in families and groups, hoping from day to day that, any minute now, they would be able to cross the border.
Every day peasants from the neighbouring villages came freely to the huts of the inhabitants of the no-man’s land and sold them foodstuffs. The prices were quite moderate and relations normal. Order was maintained by a “board”, which dealt mainly with sanitary regulations and with sending delegations to the authorities on both sides of the border. The most important sanitary regulation was designation of the large, dense wood as the “toilet” and the instruction that [3] people should go there in groups of two or three to avoid harm. There had been a case in which a group of four young people from Warsaw had been seized by the German guards and had disappeared without trace. Then one of the “boards” took advantage of its acquaintance with the Russian border guards to sneak across the border. That created an uproar in the camp. People gathered in groups large and small to deal with the issue of the day: the crossing of the border by the representatives of the community. The small groups rapidly grew into a discussion meeting. People spoke about their own vital issues, about how to cross the border, and even about politics. A stool was placed under a tree because the large crowd couldn’t see speakers standing on the ground. The meeting then assumed an almost normal character. St. Aau. spoke as an apologist for the Soviet regime and at the same time as a realist and a moderate and … became a member of the strip’s new board. The meeting discussed a plan to “storm the border”. It was proposed that they form up in fours in closed ranks and walk to the border. They hoped that the border guards, under the pressure of the [3a] mass of people, would give way and let them through. In addition, they counted on the
