Lola Greenspan - April 25, 1983
The Judenrat
When you were taken, you were taken to Sosnowiec...
Yeah.
...and then you waited in a hall...
Yeah.
...and--can you tell me about--a little more about that?
In Sosnowiec? Yeah.
How long you were in there?
I went--this is not in Sosnowiec, this is Będzin...
Będzin, okay.
...Będzin. I went by my brother in Będzin. The same when the Germans come in 1939. And this is not as a war, just is coming--the beginning. And my brother went in the house and I went my brother. And my brother said to me, "Lola, you know the Germans coming--so much Germans here I saw it by the Jewish center--like a, like a circle with, with the Germans and got the ??? and play music." He said, "Lola, you know you have to go home back." I said, "No I will stay a little while here." And I not can going away because was so bad the trains not going.
Mm-hm.
And I have to stay by my brother and I went by my brother one week. And later on is were a report from the Jewish men what ??? maked the ??? German he call out and he needed one Jewish--supposed to be for the Jewish people make uh, Appells.
Mm-hm.
Merin is the name from Sosnowiec. He were the um, you see the, um how you say the, um...
Like the head of the Judenrat?
Judenrat, yes, Judenrat. He said to all peoples--to all Jewish--he say "We gonna haved an Appell. Everyone come to this place and this place and we gonna stand, we gonna talk." He said, "Listen sisters and brothers. You don't have to be afraid nothing. The Germans tooked the people--the youngsters to the work and the older people going to assigned not too much work." He said right to us. And the Germans said, said to this man to ??? Merin, "You have to talk to the people, every Jewish people old and youngs supposed to come to ???" Is a Polish name, ???. That is a magistrate--the, um city.
Yeah, yeah.
And every people got bad--Jewish people. And ??? all the mens--and lotta mens be hired in the some places they wanna going except then somebody going to be hired, the police come in and wanna shut the ???. And the mens, all the mens coming the same place with the--were the circle with the Germans, circle the Germans and got the ??? play ???. Nice. And everybody is saying this place supposed to be all the Jewish people. All the Jewish people is coming the same place, stay outside. We stay in the line, younger this side right--right younger, left the ol...the older. He tooked a sh...knife--not a, not a scissor--took knife cut...
Cut the beard.
...cut the beard. And some people got ???.
Mm-hm.
A rabbi--were a nice rabbi, a big beautiful--he cut and cut and tooked in this bag. He tooked and hanged him, hanged him. He show for these people he hanged, for nothing, you know? Hanged the rabbi and the people went afraid, you not gonna afraid. Got the synagogue and burn up the synagogue, burn up the, the ??? everything. And these people, and the people they step in the line--stay in the line and circle is the police. And one police is staying and shoot one man. And the other one man have to take other one man and put in the grave. The Jewish mens supposed to maked a grave and put in this man...
Yeah.
...two mens together. So who can do this? You not gonna do this sticked a man in the grave. Later on toward the ??? the old people were shot round the camp--everyone. With music, music, every thing with music, with music.
© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn