directly, but circuitously to the station. There was mud everywhere (boggy
terrain — 1 km). On that stretch, they lined both sides of the road. The Jews
were ordered to run (in the mud!) and sing. At the same time, a hail of whip
strokes fell on their heads. The mud was so thick that shoes stuck in it, yet
the Jews had to keep on running as the whips were cracking about them.
The screams of children and women were terrible. Blood gushed from heads,
especially men’s. The Jews dropped their bundles on the way so as to run
faster. The carts with belongings got stuck on the way.
Finally, the Jews arrived at the station. Here, they were arranged into
two rows. A new Gehenna began. A search. They were searching everywhere.
Those with better clothes were ordered to strip naked; the naked women
were examined thoroughly. The others had their clothes ripped. Those who were
hiding something, especially men, had to roll around in the mud naked.
The searched Jews were loaded onto the carriages waiting at the station, which
were then sealed. In each [x]¹⁷⁴¹ compartment, there were at least 25 people.
There was no water or light in the carriages. [x]¹⁷⁴² The windows had to be
closed and shuttered during the day. The journey in those conditions lasted
for 36 hours. They passed through Ciechanów, Mława, Iłowo,¹⁷⁴³ Kenigsberg,¹⁷⁴⁴
Ostrołęka, and Małkinia;¹⁷⁴⁵ from there it departed towards the Wschodni¹⁷⁴⁶
Railway Sation in Warsaw. At some stations the train stopped for a few
minutes, but nobody from the crowd was allowed to approach it. From the
Wschodni Railway Station the Jews were taken further to Mińsk Mazowiecki,
Siedlce, and then to Łuków.¹⁷⁴⁷ Here, the train was stopped, the carriages were
opened, and they came to ask how many corpses there were. That day everyone
was still alive, but on the following days, there were a few dead each day.
1741 [x] carriage.
1742 [x] journey.
1743 Most probably Iława (German: Eylau), important railway junction at the East Prussian border.
1744 i.e. Königsberg (Królewiec, Kaliningrad; now in Russia). At the beginning of the occupation, the Jews from the territories incorporated into the Third Reich were to be deported to camps in Germany. These decisions were changed before the transport arrived at its destination. See Żydzi w rejencji, p. 94.
1745 Małkinia (Ostrów Mazowiecka County).
1746 (Polish) Eastern.
1747 Łuków (Radzyń Podlaski County); the Jews deported from the Ciechanów Regierungsbezirk were mainly directed to small towns located in Lublin District. See Żydzi w rejencji, p. 97.
