We stood like that for another half an hour until Cramer himself
came and ordered us to walk onto the street in single file. The last man,
Florman, was stabbed with a bayonet in his buttock on his way out. A boy,
aged 12, who was among us (I do not know his surname), had a gas mask hung
around his neck in such a way that it dangled on his back, while the strap
strangled the poor boy’s throat.
The moment we left, Cramer announced (later on that announcement
was printed in A.B.C. Włocławskiego)¹⁰²¹ to those who remained in the courtyard
that the Jews had set the synagogue and the house on fire to attribute
the blame to the Germans. For that, he, Cramer, holds us in the capacity of
hostages, who will be immediately executed should a fire break out anywhere
in town. But we did not hear any of that.
In the meantime we continued to walk in single file and with our hands
high up. (We were hit with rifle butts for even the slightest deviation from
the vertical.) We were ordered to tread on one another’s heels. Whoever collapsed
as a result received a few blows to [13] get up. We were photographed
several times. That was how we reached the gate of the prison on Więzienna
Street. A soldier searched us there, taking away our matches and lighters.
He then arranged us into threes and we went through the gate under his lead.
Lasciate ogni speranza¹⁰²² — this was an inscription I was expecting to see.
That soldier escorted us onto the second floor (SS functionaries stood
on the stairs, hurrying us along with blows and kicks), where he accommodated
us in two cells (a dozen men, including me, went into the first and the
remaining 11 into the other). He then let us lower our hands and announced
that we would soon be executed, and he banged the door shut.
The cell where we were locked was five by four metres and had two
wooden cots, a table, and a bucket for waste. The steel door had a peephole
and there was a small window with a grille.
We were alone for about a quarter of an hour when suddenly the door
opened and a Volksdeutsche walked in followed by a Citizens’ Militia functionary.
(Established after the withdrawal of the Polish army, the Citizens’ Militia
had not been immediately dissolved after the Germans’ arrival. The formation
kept guard in prison.) The German commanded us to give in everything
1021 The correct title: ABC dla Włocławka i Kujaw. See Introduction.
1022 (Italian) Abandon all hope — inscription above the gate of Hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy.
