Until Rosh Hashanah, all the batei tefilot¹⁸⁸⁸ were left undisturbed. At the same
time, poverty began to rise among the sectors of the Jewish population which
were left without provisions and capital, such as, for example, craftsmen and
village peddlers. They were all left without means of subsistence. Organising
aid committees was impossible because it was very difficult for Jews to move
about in the streets. Nonetheless, some charity workers endeavoured to meet;
they compiled lists, collected money and distributed it to the Jewish poor.
Unfortunately, this did not last long, because the situation was getting more
and more serious.
On 1 October, German gendarmes arrived and took control of the town.
[4] The people’s militia was completely eliminated. In addition, the shtetl was
graced with a lieutenant and a small number of military personnel. It was
then that the real mamshelet zadon began, with all its brutality directed solely
against the Jews. Day in, day out, they went around Jewish homes, plundering
with impunity and beating people murderously, sparing neither the old
nor the sick, not even women and children. A 60-year-old man went insane at
the sight of the brutality. The life of the Żuromin Jews was miserable enough
during the day, but at night it was simply beyond bearing. The heartrending
screams of murderously beaten people were frequently heard from neighbouring
homes, and women, quite naked, had to flee on the account of the ‘splendid’
behaviour of the bearers of ancient culture, who demonstrated a brutal
baseness unmatched even by the most savage beasts of the forest.
On 5 October, around 3 p.m., a taxi arrived carrying several high-ranking
military officers and one civilian. They issued a strict summons, specifically to
Jews, ordering all men aged 18 to 40 to present themselves immediately outside
the municipality building. Anyone trying to hide would be shot. In response
to the strict order, 100 young men assembled outside the municipality building.
Men with revolvers kept on firing, in order to strike fear into the assembled
Jews. Apparently, the number of those who had reported was sufficient
and, with a show of politeness, they were made to stand in a long line. No relatives
were allowed to approach them, and anyone who tried to pass them an
item of warm clothing or something [5] to eat was chased away with revolver
shots. Finally, the assembled men were led away on foot under strict guard, and
on the way they were spared no blows from sticks prepared for the purpose.
1888 (Hebrew) places of worship, i.e. synagogues and batei midrash.
