Perkal.⁹⁹⁷ On 12 September 1939, the municipality announced with drumrolls
[. . .] to the population [. . .] quite laconically that the merchandise in Jewish
shops was free to be taken, in the name of the German army. To the disgrace
of the Poles (it was not made clear who made this mistake), the words “for the
German army” were missing in the announcement. The shady types immediately
took advantage of the announcement and attacked and robbed the
remaining Jewish shops.
From 15 September 1939 until almost 1 August 1940, when an official
decree was issued that Jewish labour must be paid and that no one, except
for the Arbeitsamt, is allowed to select Jews for work. Jewish men regardless
of their age, and young women also, were caught daily for various jobs by the
military. [2] Those who were caught were forced to do various jobs, at which
they were physically and psychologically tormented by being ordered to clean
latrines with bare hands. Very often, they were badly beaten. However, there
were also soldiers, who not only protected the Jews from the blows, but also
gave them food. At first, several tens of elderly Jews with beards were deployed
daily to sweep the market square, which was previously done by two town
street sweepers. It is worth noting that very soon the Poles took over making
a mockery of Jews from the Germans.
In the summer of 1940, the municipality sent several tens of Jewish women
to sweep the streets. From 20 September onwards, the Jewish population,
following an order of the municipality, provided 150 men and 50 women daily
to work. The administration of the Jewish community did not show itself in
public; on the contrary, they [. . .] closed down, and the overseeing of selecting
Jews for work was taken over by a private person with a murky past.
He made his livelihood from Jewish sorrows by taking money from the rich in
exchange for releasing them from work, whereas he sent the poor to work
without any pay. Even though every day many presented themselves for
work, the round-up of Jews in the streets or from homes did not stop. From
the first days of December 1939 until the end of January, masses of refugees
were continually coming to Skierniewice from Włocławek and the area, and
from Łódź and the area. The refugees had been expelled, and had themselves
escaped, in order to avoid being sent away and to save some of their belongings.
997 Moyshe Perkal was later a member of the Skierniewice Committee for Aid to Refugees. See AŻIH, AJDC, 210/635, p. 25.
