make accusations: “There are rich Jews in the ghetto, but they are wicked and
refuse to support you.” The people order Polish women to work, but Zeldusia
receives food without having to work, as there is a ban on employment of Jews.
The head of village keeps an eye on it.
[3] She goes home through a police post. She shows the gendarme her
treasures and he kicks her and [then] lets her in, or sometimes even lets her in
without the kicking. And when she comes back everybody at home gets excited.
They all rush to the bag to admire what she has gathered and how much.
Zeldusia says: “Today I will be the one to divide it. We cannot eat too
much, because bread is expensive and difficult to obtain.”
Pinio
Before the war, his parents were rich but now their financial situation has
deteriorated. There are 10 of them at home: Little children; he is the eldest,
22 years old. He is slowly swelling from malnutrition. A strange thing: only
the upper part of his face is swelling up, whereas it is usually the legs. You can
see that his eyes are swollen.
He boarded the No. 3 tram¹⁰³³ on the corner of Nowiniarska and Francisz
kańska Streets and paid 5 zlotys to the ticket inspector. He covers up his
armband and crosses to the Aryan district for the first time in several months.
He reaches the village of Izdebna without any problems. He walks into the
first farmstead he sees. He tells briefly where he is coming from, what for,
and whose son he is. The peasant recalls that he used to stop by their shop
before the war. He nods his head. He puts bread, butter, and even vodka on
the table and tells Pinio to drink and eat. Pinio reaches for bread but does not
drink the vodka. The landlord pours himself half a glass of vodka, drinks it,
spits, and complains about the Germans. The landlords brought straw into
the room and gave him a pillow. Pinio lay down and slept rather peacefully
all through the night in his new lodgings.
They fed Pinio for 10 days with bread, meat, coffee with milk, potatoes,
and noodles so that he can regain his strength. They allowed him to perform
only the lightest work: he swept the yard and fetched water. When he
1033 The transit tram ran along Franciszkańska and Nowiniarska Streets. It did not stop in the ghetto and only non-Jews could use it. B. Engelking, J. Leociak, The Warsaw Ghetto: A Guide to the Perished City, pp. 110–113.
