Donnerwetter!¹⁵⁵⁹ I’ll break the door down now and shoot you like a dog. And
he began breaking in. It is truly difficult to describe on paper the tragic scene
in the rabbi’s home as they contended for life or death. A difference of opinion
arose between the rabbi and his wife as to whether they should open the door
or not. The rabbi argued that the door should be opened. The tragic exchange
between the two of them was a dialogue of desperation.
Rabbi: Please, let’s open the door now, otherwise he’ll break it down and
shoot you, God forbid. And you are the mother of six little children.
Rabbi’s wife: I won’t open. I’d rather they shot me.
Meanwhile, the third party kept on pounding and hammering the
door, shouting that he would shoot. On the other side, the children had been
standing beside their parents the whole time, with frightened eyes and bated
breath. But on hearing the threats of shooting, the dialogue between their
father and mother, and the banging on the other side of the door, and on
seeing their father’s downcast countenance and the pallor of their mother’s
face, still under the impact of the earlier blows, they burst into tears. Then
the rabbi and his wife cried out in despair, and the weeping and lamentation
of the whole household rose [46] to heaven. It seemed as if the heavens were
splitting apart. The father and mother said the viduy, forgiving each other
for any past ill-treatment. In a word, it seemed as if their very minutes were
numbered. The panic and tragedy is truly hard to describe, and it is difficult
to transfer those events from thought to paper.
The only remaining Jew who saved the rabbi and his whole household on that
last tragic night
The cries and weeping in the rabbi’s house were heard by the only remaining
Jew, N.Sh, who had stayed behind alone in order to leave with the rabbi.
Although he lived a few houses away, the clamour from the rabbi’s house
reached him while he was out in the yard. He was unable to help, however,
because it was forbidden to be out after 7 o’clock. How could he get to the rabbi
and find out what was going on?
As he was standing there wondering what to do, he was suddenly
approached by a German from the group who were at the rabbi’s door.
The German asked him to accompany him to the rabbi’s house, tell the rabbi
1559 (German) Goddammit!
