a ‘weapon,’ that is, small knives, pocket knives, scissors, etc., which they
eagerly did.
[4] Several days later, however, our new masters showed us what they
were capable of. They called all men, that time only Jews, and locked them
in one of the churches. Even though some of the men were released two days
later, the rest were called to the village of Piątek⁹⁶⁶ to perform forced labour.
Those poor men were beaten and tormented so mercilessly that perhaps as
many as half of them returned seriously ill due to the beating and exhaustion
from work. Each man had his own consecutive number painted in white
on his back.
The Judenrat was established by order of the authorities on 3 November.
Its members included: Sender Falc (chairman), Maks Zandel, lawyer Paweł
Goldszejder, Luzer Praszkier, Izaak Kubic, and Sz. Opoczyński. Those people,
however, lacked initiative or perhaps the possibility to act. Be that as it may,
initially the Council failed to develop any activity. It remained inactive. It was
finally activated — though not in the direction we would have wished for —
by the director of the local Gestapo, commonly known as ‘Geniek.’⁹⁶⁷
A minor remark: [. . .] stories about Geniek [. . .] a psychopath, deviant,
sadist, etc. But let us take a look at that person from a different point of view.
Geniek is a typical example of the modern German mentality. He is its living
symbol. All the negative characteristics of the German race — the proverbial
furor teutonicus,⁹⁶⁸ brutality, ruthlessness, etc. — are clearer and more vivid
in him than in his fellow countrymen. Probably because he does not want to
or does not know how to restrain himself.
Geniek, also nicknamed ‘Nuchym,’ was the real terror of the town.
Whenever he so much as appeared at the end of the street, it immediately
became deserted. It was typical of him to beat somebody till he bled. His first
encounter with the Jews was when he demanded that the Judenrat deliver to
him a list of all Jews, specifying their property, debts, wealth, etc. His second
encounter had far more unpleasant consequences. Nuchym ordered the
966 Piątek (Łęczyca County).
967 Cf. Docs. 67, 69 and 71 for descriptions of the same events as in this document.
968 (Latin) Teutonian fury — expression used in reference to aggressive actions of German peoples, first used in Lucan’s Pharsalia to describe the fury of the battle and brutality attributed to ancient Teutons.
