Tarnopol 7 April 1943.
Before I leave this world, I want to leave behind a few lines to you, my loved ones. When this letter reaches you one day, I myself will no longer be there, nor will any of us. Our end is drawing near. One feels it, one knows it. Just like the innocent, defenceless Jews already executed, we are all condemned to death. In the very near future it will be our turn, as the small remainder left over from the mass murders. There is no way for us to escape this horrible, ghastly death. At the very beginning (in June 1941) some 5000 men were killed, among them my husband. After six weeks, following a five-day search between the corpses, I found his body… Since that day, life has ceased for me. Not even in my girlish dreams could I once have wished for a better and more faithful companion. I was only granted two years and two months of happiness. And now? Tired from so much searching among the bodies, one was ‘glad’ to have found his as well; are there words in which to express these torments? |
Tarnopol 26 April 1943.
I am still alive and I want to describe to you what happened from the 7th to this day. Now then, it is told that everyone’s turn comes up next. Galicia should be totally rid of Jews. After all, the ghetto is to be liquidated by the 1st of May. During the last days thousands have been shot. Meeting point was in our camp. Here the human victims are selected. In Petrikow it looks like this: before the grave one is stripped naked, then forced to kneel down and wait for the shot. The victims stand in line and await their turn. Moreover, they have to sort the first, the executed, in their graves so that the space is used well and order prevails. The entire procedure does not take long. In half an hour the clothes of the executed return to the camp. After the actions the Jewish council received a bill for 30,000 Zloty to pay for used bullets… Why can we not cry, why can we not defend ourselves? How can one see so much innocent blood flow and say nothing, do nothing and await the same death oneself? We are compelled to go under so miserably, so pitilessly… Do you think we want to end this way, die this way? No! No! Despite all these experiences. The urge for self-preservation has now often become greater, the will to live stronger, the closer death is. It is beyond comprehension. |
My dear Hela:You can not imagine my happiness because of your writing. You are the only one who is able to understand Erna´s suffering. She is very alone, without anyone to speak a coherent word. She lives with Chasbel and his family, you can imagine her life. Now she hopes for the bitter to stop, otherwise it would be imposible to endure. Yes, my dear, there would be so much to talk about. Why don´t you write to me if you obtained the shoes and the dress. Write to me about Mordele´s gift.The postal service in Sackenhoym is good. All of the relatives are there. Except for Cyrel. The Gut parents are not there. How are you? How much I have missed you already. Regards I have already given to Maria. I do not have any more patience to write. I only ask you to mantain yourself well. You should not cry, you can rely on Erna on this. The sky, the moon and the stars are witnesses. Schmill Chasbel was with Erna and her daughter, he wanted them to go with him, but they did not want it so. He wanted to give them everything. I pity him. He is a noble man. Now be lovingly greeted and kissed. Live well, your Richt.Liebe Hela!You can not imagine my joy when reading your letter. You should know how much I miss you. My dear Hella write to me a lot. I will not write much to you. My dear father is in Sackenhoym. He is camp chief. Ber was just here. He greets you and wishes to see you soon. I greet you too, and send you a lot of kissses. Write everything to me.
Dearest Mother,
How are you? It feels like forever since I have seen you. I hope to see you again, and so does Miriam. I know that it is wishful to think you are still alive, but I can still believe it. As you can see, the Russians made it to Auschwitz. You should have seen the Nazis before they arrived; it was as if they were chickens without heads! They weren’t paying attention to us for the most part; it allowed me to escape for a few moments. I returned because I couldn’t leave Miriam alone, but what I saw outside shocked me. I went all the way to where there was a river, and on the other side there was a girl. I was so jealous of that girl, with her hair and her nice dresses. She was cleaner than I could remember being for years. She didn’t know how lucky she was. Miriam and I were left behind from the march. It was good that we hid, because they were probably going to another camp; the officers saving themselves. I wonder if the Russians found them too. When they came, we were all so excited. Miriam and I ran over to them, half in disbelief. They gave us food, chocolates even! When was the last time you can remember eating chocolate? It was like heaven. The best part, though, was not when the Russians actually got to the camp, but it was when somebody came running in to our barrack, shouting that we were free. And now Mama, we are free. Your daughters are free. Love, Eva |
horrible slaughter in Luck and its surroundings. For two gruesome weeks we - a few Jews who had succeeded in escaping from Luck at the very last moment - have been roaming about without sleeping at night, since death threatens us every moment. Out of the forest and back into the forest. We have become forest men. It happens that for two or even three days we are without a piece of bread, a drop of water. Our eyes are no longer able to shed tears. The heart burns with pain, there is a pressure so strong as to break it, and there is no help. We are all condemned to death. My dear son David - God knows if he is still alive - your mother was like a dove when they led her to the slaughter. I did not witness this with my own eyes; to my great pain and despair fate willed that I should abandon my dear wife and son and escape alone like a coward. However they are in a better position now than I am, they have already gone through what they had to, and every moment I expect to be caught. I am sitting in a dug-out in the forest where your grandfather used to live and I am writing both of you a farewell letter. Maybe fate will not be so cruel after all and, when the war is over, you will receive it by mail with the help of a goodhearted Gentile. Thus, I embrace both of you - you and your wife - and I send you my fatherly blessing before my death. Your unfortunate father H.P |