It is absolutely essential to mention these moving instances of humane behaviour
– intervention to prevent the removal of a Jew designated for resettlement.
The official German decision provided for the expulsion of 10,000 people
from Radom, in groups. On 2, 3, and 4 December 1940, 2,000 people had
to leave the city.⁴⁵⁴ A special commission of social groups [was established],
headed by Dr. Szucer, the former Radom starosta, an honest but ruthless
man. The commission took care to ensure that the evacuation was carried
out under tolerable conditions. First of all, those designated to leave the city
were informed three days in advance. Each person could take with 25 kilos
of baggage, and the kehillah took the rest under its care. Aside from this,
the commission also ensured that there would be special trains to take the
exiles to the designated place by the shortest route. Who had to leave Radom?
(1) Refugees who had settled in the city; (2) persons receiving social welfare
assistance; (3) undesirable criminal elements; (4) persons who had not fulfilled
their work battalion obligations.
The first two categories were designated rightly or wrongly by the commission.
There were cases where orphans and elderly people were expelled,
but no one could be accused of dishonest dealing. The other two categories,
on the other hand, leave a bad taste. The third category was drawn up by
the Polish police. Obviously, those who had money for bribes were not put
on the lists, whereas people who had been sentenced only to administrative
fines were often included. The fourth category was imposed by the “operators”
from the work battalion (led by Gajger⁴⁵⁵), and once again the parasites
created a source of income on the backs of the exhausted Jews [2] from payment
for exemptions.
While the lists for the first two categories were well prepared and everyone
knew their exact time of departure, the other lists were drawn up hastily
454 On 1 December 1940, the German authorities ordered the resettlement of 2,000 Jews from Radom to various localities in the counties of Busko-Zdrój and Opatów. A Judenrat commission drew up the list of deportees on the basis of the card index of persons on social welfare assistance from the ŻSS. For that reason, many Jews stopped claiming welfare assistance. The Germans promised the designated deportees financial aid and a comfortable journey. Finally, 2,000 Jews left Radom on 3–5 December.
455 Joachim Gajger, police captain, commander of the Jewish Police in Radom. Arrested on 28 April 1942 and sent to a concentration camp. This happened to other police officers, including Wajner and Lipa Wajchnadler. See S. Piątkowski, Dni życia, p. 199
