potatoes from, why we had so many books and new shoes, etc. They stayed
for about a quarter of an hour, touching and pushing everything, and then
they left.
I walked them to my uncle. Wo hast du die Ware versteck[t]?¹²¹³ they
immediately began to shout. And even though my frightened uncle and aunt
walked them into a room right away, they did not stop shouting and throwing
things around. They were extreme sadists. It was not enough for them that
my uncle carried heavy items on his own back [. . .] they kept pushing him
[. . .] Faster! Faster! [. . .] [21] kick. When the cart was full, they gave my uncle
two Jewish helpers to push it, but their efforts gave poor results. The cart was
heavy, the two men were old, and my uncle was a sick man. Moreover, the
sight and supervision of the gendarmes walking beside them deprived them
of the last of their strength. The men could not rest even for a moment, being
hurried with rifle butts and kicks. I was relieved when they disappeared round
the corner, as I could not look at that scene any more. My uncle returned
after an hour. He had to unload the merchandise from the cart and carry it
to the police station, where there were lots of requisitioned pieces of furniture,
commodities, etc.
We sat at home until mid-December, as if behind a stove.¹²¹⁴ That ‘blessed
peace’ was disturbed from time to time, though. The day when the local synagogue
was vandalised was the worst.¹²¹⁵ The soldiers broke down the door
and smashed the glass panes. They then destroyed everything that contained
even the tiniest piece of wood. They then told Poles to take that dry wood
for their stoves. Among the riffraff, many took advantage and they literally
scattered the synagogue. My mother, who witnessed that whole incident, told
me that the sight of the burning books and the looting conducted by the Poles
was really depressing. Two outraged Polish women who happened to walk by
were urging their fellow countrymen to stop, on account of “the synagogue
being a temple, too.” They also tried to make them realise how hurt they
would feel if the same thing happened to a church. But those were voices crying
in the wilderness.
1213 (German) Where have you hidden the merchandise?
1214 Polish expression meaning: as if hidden in a safe place.
1215 The synagogue, erected in 1858, was located at Sieradzka Street 6.
