officials fleeing from Pomeranian towns and shtetls. None of them stopped in
Żuromin, but all hurried on in panic towards Płock. That same evening there
began mass evacuation of the Christian population from Pomeranian towns
and villages, together with the small number of Jews [2] living there. Masses
of evacuees were on the move continuously until 3 September, i.e. Sunday
afternoon. All day long, heavy gunfire was heard near Mława [and] Działdowo.
In the night of the above-mentioned date, the Polish troops began retreating
from their positions. By the morning of Monday 4 September, not a single
Polish soldier was to be seen in the whole Żuromin area. At 12 noon, the local
police had already changed into plain clothes. They ordered all young Jews and
Christians to assemble outside the municipality building and announced that
all young people up to the age of 40 should leave Żuromin.
All those assembled quickly formed large groups and set off along different
roads for Sierpc, 30 km from Żuromin. All along the way, the aforementioned
fugitives came under constant machine-gun fire from the air.
Among those killed were two Jews. On reaching Sierpc at midnight, the people
from Żuromin found the same situation as in Żuromin. Everyone was getting
ready to flee, but some of the Żuromin residents decided not to run any
further and remained in Sierpc. Others joined the people from Sierpc and set
off for Płock. On Friday, 8 September, German troops marched in and occupied
all the government buildings. The Żuromin Jews then began returning to
Żuromin, because things were still quiet at home. On Wednesday, 6 September
a town citizens’ committee consisting entirely of Christians had been formed
in Żuromin to temporarily maintain order in the town. It soon turned out,
however, that the purely Christian committee looked after their own interests
more than the good of the town. [3] For that reason, it was quickly
disbanded, and a second committee was set up, this time a mixed one, consisting
of Christians and Jews. The militia also consisted of two non-Jews and
one Jew, and was financed by the Jews. That lasted for barely 3 weeks, until
21 September. People lived from day to day, in fear of the morrow.
A completely new life began on 22 September. The municipality was
reconvened with a nominated village Volksdeutsche as mayor, and soon a large
number of non-Jewish residents got involved — people who before the war had
been considered the best and most dedicated patriots and who now became
close intimates of the German mayor. From that day on, there began a succession
of persecutions and harassment of the Jews, such as forced labour, etc.
