Martin Koby - April 20, 1999
German Invasion
When the Germans came, where were you?
In Giuszwica.
Giuszwica. You weren't in Rovno.
No, we were all in Giuszwica when the Germans came. We were all in Giuszwica when the Germans left.
Were you ever in Rovno during the, during the period of the war?
Yes. I went to Rovno twice. I went as a peasant, barefoot with a sack on my back.
Disguised?
No.
Not as a Jew, though.
Well, I went with the Ukrainian girls. They were going to the city to trade with the Jews you know, to see what they could get a bargain because...
With the Jews?
Yes, because the Jews were the majority in Rovno. And uh, Jews would uh, needed food.
So this was during--the ghetto was already...
The ghetto was just beginning, okay. The...
This was '41.
'41. And uh, I carried--my mother baked bread. She baked some uh, cakes you know, like uh, uh, knishes you know...
Uh-huh.
...heavy-duty, heavy-duty Jewish East, East-European food. And I remember I even carried red beets. Had to have a vegetable with your food. And I carried it to my Aunt Chyka Crommers, because her husband was gone already. He walked out of the house and he was snatched away. And I took the food there. When I came there people recognized me, they knew who I was. They were astounded, "What are you doing, you're going to get killed, you're going to get us into trouble, you're not supposed to be here."
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