and a large brass chandelier dating back to Old Polish times; apart from those,
there also were a number of old ritual objects and many other antiques. In the
anteroom there was the famous kuna, said to have been used to punish Jews
who committed religious transgressions. All these antiques were designated
for the Jerusalem university. According to a legend current among the Jews,
the synagogue had been blessed by the local rabbis of old, such as the Midrash
Rechovah, Feivel of Gritsa, etc., so that fire might have no power over it, which
was the case during several big fires in the last decades. [There was] also an
old prayer house with its original appearance.
On Monday, 4 September, 1939, refugees from Płock and the whole surrounding
area arrived from the other side of the Vistula, and the town was
virtually inundated by the homeless, who were accommodated by the kehillah.
Under the leadership of the local rabbi and the rabbis of Rypin and Płock,
a soup kitchen was set up.
On Saturday, 9 September, the first bombing took place. There were
several casualties. It’s worth mentioning that throughout the military operations,
no Polish troops were stationed in the town. For Rosh Hashanah, minyanim
were organised in every few houses to prevent people gathering in
large groups.
On Friday, 15 September, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the town was
bombed for the second time, for about 6 hours non-stop. An entire Jewish residential quarter was destroyed. A large number of Jews were killed, among
them the Rotblit family, who had come from the Land of Israel to visit their
parents. One of the victims, Mrs Sheyne [2] Blume Wolman, was burnt alive,
buried up to the waist in the rubble of her own home. When it proved impossible
to free her, she said goodbye to her husband and her only son, who had
to leave the place at her demand in order not to die with her. On Shabbat
Shuvah, the above-mentioned rabbis enjoined the Jewish population to dig
out the bodies of the victims from under the ruins in their presence. Around
noon the same day, the town was heavily bombed. Another Jewish quarter
was destroyed, and again many people died.
On Sunday, 17 September, early in the morning, the first German troops
arrived and, as if at a signal from them, the last and heaviest bombing took
place for 6 hours non-stop. More than 100 Jews died, among them whole families,
and two thirds of the town’s buildings were destroyed (almost all of
them belonging to Jews). Around 2 p.m. the town was occupied. On Monday,
