the Vistula River. Only a small portion of Jews stayed, approximately 10 per
cent. The refugees left their belongings to God’s mercy as they ran away in
panic. Góra Kalwaria did not suffer from bombardments. A bomb hit the
house of the notary, killing 6 people including the notary. Jews did not suffer
from this. On Friday, 8 September, the German army occupied Góra Kalwaria.
Immediately after, the young Jews of those who stayed in town were taken and
sent to POW camp where they spent several months and came back.
After a week the Jews returned, only to find out that most of the merchandise
and household goods had been stolen, because in their absence
dark elements had opened houses and shops and taken away whatever they
wanted. The Rebbe’s house was broken into first, and many precious items,
clothes, furniture, etc. were stolen, which they could not and did not manage
to take along.
One can only imagine the state of the Jews who returned home and
found such a situation. Moreover, everyone lived in fear. Every day up to several
hundred (from 200 to 400) Jews had to [5] report for work in barracks,
highways, and sometimes town roads. At the time, Jews in Góra Kalwaria did
not have representation, and so a person, a tailor by profession named Yankl
Czarnaczapka, put himself forward to represent the Jewish population. It is
self-evident that he did not do the Jews any good. He supposedly defended
them, but he cared only about himself. This situation continued for several
months until the Judenrat was established, that is until January. Jews lived
in chaos, went to work, and absolutely did not engage in any trade, received
no help from anyone; aid offices ceased to exist.
There was no damage to dwellings since, as previously mentioned, Góra
Kalwaria did not suffer from the bombardments.
