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Kasriel K. Eilender, M.D.

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THE BARBER OF GOERLITZ - A MEMOIR

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"...a group of workers    

(I was one of them)

had been taken into

a forest...we had to

dig a pit. Actually,

as we later found

out, this was a large

grave prepared for 

all of us by the

Nazi authorities"

One day, my family and I along with all the Jewish inhabitants of Dereczyn were gathered in the marketplace. The leader of the German persecution team presented us with an avalanche of edicts, threats and orders. No sooner did he finish his oration, when a Polish local policeman asked: "Shall I start shooting?" An interpreter gave the answer, "Not yet!" 

At this point the entire crowd was dismissed with the strict order to wear a yellow round patch 10 cm. in diameter. One patch had to be worn on the left side in the front, and one had to be placed on the right side of the back.

In addition, the Nazis proclaimed that all Jewish males age 15 to 60 had to start each day at 7am with forced labor. The men were to be used according to their skills and their experience. In reality it was a method of cruel harassment since we had to dig ditches, and then fill them back up. We also had to carry stones from one place to another, without any purpose. Many of the workers didn’t sleep nights, and would get up at 2 A.M. because they were afraid to be late for work upon penalty of being beaten to death.

Eventually, the Germans ordered the creation of a "Judenrat" (Jewish council), which was routine for all the communities in the occupied region. It was a practical and essential instrument for the Nazis to channel their demands, because orders to this body put more pressure on the community, and helped the Germans gain control of all aspects of its existence. These unfortunate delegates were a tool, which the Nazis used to extricate fines, contributions, as well as relay their cruel orders to the rest of the population. It was a very thankless job, because we criticized many of these council members for being used by the enemy. There were many instances in which the authorities were not satisfied with the council. Then its members were promptly executed and new people were appointed.

Most of the Polish peasants who brought their produce to sell at the market had the satisfaction of watching the Jews clean the streets of horse manure and perform other dirty jobs. Besides the physical ordeal, lack of food, and crowded quarters, many of us suffered from the intense fear of doom and a premonition of death.

As time went on, there were more and more rumors about atrocities being committed by the Nazis. Just after the Jewish High Holidays in 1941, a group of workers had been taken in the morning to go for their usual toiling and abuse, and they did not return for at least 36 hours. Naturally, the families were full of fear, thinking that their loved ones were already victims of the murderous treatment. 

I was one of these workers. We had been taken into a forest a couple of kilometers from the city, and we had to dig a pit 45 meters long, 20 meters wide and about 4 1/2 meters deep. One end of the pit had a ramp where trucks could unload material and possibly people. 

Actually, as we later found out, this was a large grave prepared for all of us by the Nazi authorities. However, as is human nature, we could not believe the worst. Many elderly people who remembered the First World War said: "No, do not worry. The Germans used to do the same, digging big areas for storing potatoes." Nevertheless, many of us believed it was a preparation for the extermination of the rest of the Jewish inhabitants of the region.

We were being guarded by a few SS storm troopers and by the local police who were mostly White Russians and Polish. The worst one was a tall fellow by the name of Swiderski. He exhibited the cruelest behavior, which superseded that of the Nazis, exemplifying how our non-Jewish neighbors and friends turned against us.

Eventually, the Jewish population was forced to move into a restricted area of the city, to be isolated from the rest. There were sporadic attacks by SS German police, who beat people up and looted everything that could be carried away. 

Soon, a new group of about a dozen German policemen arrived in Dereczyn and took over the administration of the city and vicinity. They no longer trusted the Polish members of the police, and they only employed White Russians to help them with their bloody work.

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