The Germans took away people’s money and ordered them to return after several
days, but they were deported in the meantime. The naïve lost their money.
On 7 November, ¼ kg of butter was issued per person. Meat was cooked,
too. But all baggage was held back, including even bedding and underwear, for
which the Jews had had permission. The baggage was to be sent to them later.
The route was guarded by troops. The Jews, including the sick and old, were
driven into stinking freight cars and transported to Grodzisk Wielkopolski.
A few thousand Poles were already at the train [6] station in Grodzisk
Wielkopolski. The Selbstschutz and the SA were the escort. The Germans
wanted to separate the Poles from the Jews during the march to the Südhof
camp.¹²⁸⁸ The Poles had walked with the Jews for the first 5 km from Grodzisk
Wielkopolski. Big raindrops were falling. The endless parade passed through
town. The onlookers were crying. The camp area was surrounded with threefold
high-voltage wire. Two of the resettled died on that barbed wire. They
were buried in the Catholic cemetery in Grodzisk Poznański, as the Jewish
one had already been levelled.
In Südhof, in a dark corner of a barrack, also [7] died Leopold Kohn,
a rich industrialist from Zbąszyń. Everybody was accommodated in dark
barns, Poles and Jews separately. The Poles received a meal, the Jews did not.
The Stadtkommissar arrived after three days. He never talked to Jews other
than through the agency of a third person. Heraus mit dem Judendreck!¹²⁸⁹ he
shouted and within half an hour everybody reported, ready for departure.
Another search was conducted. Some lost their last money. The people were
then escorted by the SA to Młyniew.
The Jews were put into freight cars, men and women with [8] children separately.
The Poles were put into passenger carriages. The freight cars were sealed
and equipped with buckets. They were to head for Volhynia. The homeowners
from the Poznań region were promised similar properties in Volhynia. Promises!
They travelled three days and nights non-stop. They passed some stations
twice. They travelled via Kutno, Warsaw, and Otwock. At times, the train
1288 Südhof-Gratz-Warthegau — camp in Młyniew near Grodzisk Wielkopolski. The transit camp was located in farm buildings, and then also in new barracks. It was a place of detention for deported Poles and Jews, who were then deported to the General Government. Later on it served a POW camp (until 1944) and then a labour camp (1944–1945).
1289 (German) Away with this Jewish scum!
