The response was not long in coming and he answered calmly and with
dignity: Ja, Jude.⁶⁸⁴
He immediately felt the taste of Jewish blows. They led him in among
the whole group of Jews, who were stunned not only by their own [18] situation
and the blows they had received, but by what they had just seen: their
new “brother in sorrow”, the assistant district head...
When the whole group reached the courtyard, the Sturmführer came out
with a Torah scroll in his hands, carried it to Dr. Gąsior and ordered him to
burn it...
The Jews were petrified by the scene... They did not know how the “new
sage” would react... Dr. Gąsior turned very pale and again replied calmly that
he could not do so...
They fell on him with rubber truncheons and stamped on him.
“You have to do it”, screamed the Sturmführer, beating him with his fists...
But Dr. Gąsior categorically… refused to comply...
The Sturmführer was seized with rage and told him he wouldn’t get out
of there alive...
It didn’t help... They beat him over the head and he fell down gushing blood.
Next to him lay the Torah scroll, spattered with his blood, but in one piece...
[19] “He” ordered the Jews to take the dirty Jew with them...
The Jews took him away and, with great effort, managed to keep him
alive for a short while...
The Sturmführer could not calm down and ran back into town... As he
ran, he encountered a young man, Yitzhok Rawicki, running along the street
towards him. He ordered him to stop...
The young man explained that he was running for a doctor for his wife
who was about to give birth...
He beat him thoroughly and stamped on him and falsely accused him
of knocking down a German soldier as he ran...
The young man began to plead… for mercy. His wife needed a doctor
straightaway, she was in great danger...
The young man was sent to… a concentration camp.
The unfortunate wife wrestled with pain and death... She saw that her
husband was not there, she waited and waited...but the child could not wait.
684 (German) Yes, a Jew.
