Ushichanka Ida Goldschmidt. The pogrom in Ukraine

By Anatoly Shtarkman

Note: This is an automatic translation of the original Rusian text published at http://www.proza.ru/2010/06/27/465

In Chechelnik was still quiet. After mobilization and leaving their husbands at the front I was with my sister Firoy decided to get a job. I was offered a laboratory assistant in the office Zagotzerno, and a week later I had to go to work. However, less than a couple of days, we were awakened by a roar of exploding shells. I rushed to the military. At my request for help in the evacuation of the chief replied: "Today we evacuate works with families, and tomorrow the rest" - and wrote my name. Parents categorically refused to leave Chechelnik, and their daughter, Rose did not want to leave their parents. I have two children began to gather, they have helped, given some of the clothes, divide scarce edible products and waiting for the next day. With us in the neighborhood, lived across the hall music teacher, his wife and daughter. They had to leave the first layer at 18 o'clock, waited all night, the car behind them came at 5 am. At 6 am we were already in the military, but found the doors wide open, empty rooms, the floor strewn with torn paper which. With tears came home. By the evening of the distillery sky lit up, burning alcohol is released from the tanks, storage of grain. In the morning there were wedges with Soviet soldiers. I was asked to Fira tank to take us, they agreed, but when we learned that our children are abandoned. Meanwhile, nearing the bursting shells. People pozakryvalis in houses, cellars, streets became extinct. I also wanted the children to hide in the cellar of the house next door, but we are not allowed, they were afraid that Alex would cry and all the finds. We returned to the house, Lelechku parents have taken with them. All night we heard the sound of a passing outside the German technology, the glass in the house trembled.

In the morning my father got out of the cellar to visit us, but he stayed. Later, back rest, opened the shutters. On the main street were moving car with soldiers, the team heard the German language, barking, abruptly. On the second day the movement died down. People slowly started to go out. Market resumed, it was possible to change some things.

Our house stood on a street bazaar. From the main entrance was the workshop of his father, then at length one after the other three small little room, the latter went out to the other parallel to the marketplace, the street. On this street around a small square house stood in a spacious and neat. In one of them lived a prosperous Ukrainian family with two daughters of 18-20 years. Before the war, we often talk to them. When were the main part of the German troops, they came to us and began to comfort, that, well, we have nothing to fear, nothing bad to anyone, we did not. A little later they were asked to lend them a few records for the gramophone music teacher from the apartment, leaving the teacher has left us the key to the apartment. Fira teacher walked into the apartment and discovered the rich collection of folk instruments.

On the second day after the German military took part in the street could hear loud voices. We hid, and through cracks in the shutters saw four scantily clad drunken German soldier, they shouted the song, whistled and fired into the air. They were sent to the house we knew the girls. There could be heard late into the night drunken voices, music. I did not go anywhere Alik, Lelechku took with him rose, Stelochku - parents. Fira is usually stayed home with me. We have not closed the door. Once one of these soldiers went to the house, came in, said nothing, walked through the house and went through the opposite door, just across the street from the neighborhood girls. He was this way, it seems, liked it. The next day they all went through our house, going to the bazaar, near which was their apartment, they returned the same way. Our house turned into a thoroughfare. Also with Alik and I Firoy in the house was empty. All of our stayed in the cellar and appeared only at meals. Fira each day mopping the floors, so they were "nice" place. We Germans have not touched in this, obviously, was the merit of girls across the street. We gave them the tools of teaching guitar and balalaika. This went on for about four days. On the fifth day I went out with Alec at the hands of the yard and sat on a bench next to me sat a neighbor girl (can not remember from which it got out of the cellar) of sixteen. Suddenly, at the beginning of the street there are drunken scoundrels, followed by a crowd of children and women of Ukrainian descent. Stopping near a house, the Germans started shouting and banging on the door and then broke down it. Residents of the house was not, and the soldiers began to throw the contents into the yard. The crowd stood in silence at first, not moving, and then rushed into the house, and began a pogrom. Dragging away all that you could carry. After the first houses come to the second, also kicked out the windows and doors ....

I sat like a mummy. All saw, heard everything, and get up and leave but could not. So they destroyed the houses of five and went to a nearby home with us. In it lived an old man poor Jews from the old woman, hunted, they manufacture the ink will not hide. Villains broke into them, killed a cat and put the old woman's neck, then doused it with ink and grandfather, and kicked into the street. The crowd rushed into the house, but there was nothing left to take, they smashed the old furniture, and threw into the street through the windows broken out. I froze. One of the Germans, the highest, opened the gate and headed toward us. As they passed, he took out a lipstick on the forehead of the girl wrote "Judas." She was frightened and ran into the house. The soldier behind it. In the first room hung a mirror, she looked up and saw the paint. Thinking that it was blood, she began to cry heavily. I heard this bloodcurdling scream and ran into the house. The house is located Fira, it is at this time of washing the floor. German, repeatedly passed through our house, learned Fira and began to laugh. He then left the house and have turned to us rinuvshihsya robbers. We have closed a long time, and from the street could hear sound of breaking windows, gunshots, screams of the raging crowd.

In the evening, knowing that our house was not ransacked, people come to us from the neighboring house and asked to for the night. Of course, we all took. Sitting or lying, anywhere, even in the studio. About two o'clock in the morning heard loud cries and knocking. Everyone froze. If not empty, then povyshibayut windows and doors, will be even worse. Fira and I decided we should open the door. Pushed people out of the studio in the room and opened the door. The Germans saw us, pushed the gun aside and told to shut the door. They took the crowd, and later we learned that the thugs from the local Ukrainians, Germans were asked to go with them to our house because they forgot to rob him.

In the morning we spent the night the neighbors left. Dvortsis Suhar Itskovich, our father, to believe that that house was not touched, opened the shutters of the shop and went to work. The weather was gorgeous. Dvortsis Gold Aronovna, our mother, went to the market with tin products to trade them for food. Rose with Lelechkoy Stelochkoy and were in the yard, and I'm Alik home. Fira decided that if it does we will have to rob, then you need to prepare. She gathered the best things put all into a handkerchief, made site and put it under a large rock in the yard. After this preparation took food. Suddenly we heard a desperate cry of the father. We ran into the shop and saw the angry people, robbing and beating up a workshop of his father. I was at the hands of Alec rushed to the market and mingled with the crowd. Fira is not lost and ran through the second door to our neighbors. There, the girls had lunch together with the Germans. Fira shouted that rob, and ran back. The pogrom was in full swing. The ringleader of the gang named Pavlo, a place knew him as a thug, he saw Fira, grabbed her and saying, "complain pishla" - picked up his father a bottle of hydrochloric acid, and raised above his head. At this time there was a Teuton, and had to withdraw his hand. The bottle fell to the floor, shattered, without causing harm to anyone. Teuton drove the robbers and, above all, this is Paul. Fira rushed to close the doors and shutters. I watched from afar with a tremor of an event, and when quiet had returned to the house. The house was a complete rout, took away everything: dishes, clothes, pillows, and found the site was taken with the things in the yard.

In the neighboring two-storey house lived a widow Rachel Gerberg. Two of her sons went to war, and the youngest a boy of 12 named Lyusik (Leonid) every day, spending time in our apartment. Rachel's house robbed on the same day as ours. Through the window, threw the ripped bag, down and feathers covered the entire marketplace. Not only plundered Jewish homes, and shops. Accidentally Lyusik was next to plunder the store, and he, knowing that I had nothing to feed Alec brought baby food "Oatmeal." I was enough for a year.

I kept thinking: "What made the first seen by German soldiers to defend our house?" Perhaps, they are influenced by our neighbor. If so, thanks to his heart. Almost six days, these German soldiers were busy in Chechelnik. Suddenly, they're gone. After some time for us have heard rumors that they were German deserters, they were caught and taken away somewhere.

A few days in the town of utter silence reigned, but it became even worse. People hid in cellars. The Jews were afraid of the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians were afraid of retribution for the massacre. Even the bazaar is deadened. On the third night, heard the noise of cars and motorcycles, a foreign language. In the morning we learned that Chechelnik stopped Italian military unit - guns, tanks, and even former armed with the Italian Army donkeys. They were located on the opposite street bazaar, we watched them through the cracks. The Italians were calm, not bursting at the door. Directly on the camping area, they found pots. For boilers fit calves, there were killed and cooked them. People began to leave their shelters, and the boys even dared come close to the donkey, the donkey in our area - a rare animal. When the cook assorted animals for cooking, all the viscera, head, legs they gave to children. If someone came up to boilers with a bowl, the cook did not refuse, filled.

About our neighbors house music I wrote. Fira with Rose, accompanied by her neighbor Rachel (both older) went to the soldiers who stood in front of our house, and invited them in an empty apartment to musicians. We hoped that if the soldiers would agree to wait, we will be in relative safety. The soldiers have learned while talking on the fingers. Prior to the evening went to our five soldiers. We all were in the house: Rose, Fira, Rachel and I with Alik on his hands, children: Lelechka and Stelochka. Rose wanted to offer them a wash, showing gestures, like wash. To say she certainly could not. Suddenly, the soldiers got up and left. We began to accuse Rose of the fact that she did something wrong, and the soldiers took offense. Less than ten minutes, they returned with large chunks of soap - so they understand the gestures of the Rose. We really had no soap, and we gratefully accepted. They sat in silence, looked at each other. Seeing the two on the walls of mandolin, guitar, balalaika, and having asked our permission, they took them off the wall, and after a short time the concert began. In addition, they asked for a saw and washboard. The result was a band. Rose and Fira even danced. A couple of hours they were gone. On the second day they came again, it lasted three nights. We asked to be sent part of them, they replied "Moskau." My heart ached with us.

On the fourth day came two officers, inspected the empty room and told that there will be live the General. Two soldiers washed the floors, windows, doors, set up a camp bed with a bed. Soldiers of the musicians will no longer appear. The adjutant general asked, "Can we do your laundry, General." I Firoy agreed. They made soap, water was brought. We washed laundry tub full. One day I saw General Lelechku. She had white hair, long black eyelashes and black eyebrows. He picked her up and showed photos of his family - wife and two girls. Three days later, we brought more clothes. Do not have time to soak, as an adjutant ran, ordered to unscrew and put it in a wet bag. To our questioning glances he threw up his hands, indicating that an order to move. In parting, they gave us half a bag of rice and a box of chocolates - slabs twenty. Later, we became aware that the whole of the perished (died) near Odessa in the winter of 1942. How this information is correct, I do not know.

After the Italians there were Croats, perhaps, the Slovaks. In the studio his father went to two, he asked a thing which my father was not. Then they began to loudly berate him, called them and threatened to kill a Jew. They spoke in Ukrainian. For a long time these troops were not in place.

Croats, Romanians have changed. Most of the Romanian soldiers were winding on its feet. They behaved not very aggressive, but in the homes raided, looted and raped women. Were taken with the choice, the best thing and stuck in the backpacks. To us they broke early in the morning, ransacked everything, got to the attic. There were hidden things of relatives of his father, migrated to us from Olgopolya (12 kilometers from Chechelnik) just before the arrival of Romanians. They took almost everything, but still beat a host of things for the altercation. Two days later disappeared, and the Romanians.

Finally, there were "owners" of the district: the Germans and Romanians. At the head of district administration Chechenetskogo appointed Romanian, so called, has undergone. We knew firsthand that part of the Ukraine, Germany gave its ally Romania. * Soon after they drove the first group of Romanian Jews, there were about 500 people, and settled in the abandoned house. There Schutzmann - Ukrainian police. I must say that they were real monsters. A few days later hung on a market announcement: "All Jews come to the town square in front of the Prefecture for the census, for failure to appear - severe punishment." Early in the morning Schutzmann began to expel from their homes, even those due to illness could not move. Rewrote all, including children, have announced an order:

1.Vsem residents of the Jews to sew yellow six-pointed star clothing, without which it was forbidden to go out. For disobedience - severe punishment.
2.C six o'clock curfew was declared. For disobedience - death by shooting.
3.Trudovoe Jewish population is obliged to work on the first call.

There were other orders, which I do not remember.

The next day, an old Jew came to the market without a star. Two Schutzmann seized him, beat him to death and dragged to the middle market, pinned to his breast a paper with the inscription: "This will be with each." Then it led to another Jew, put on his knees and forced to lick the wounds of the beaten. The cases when caught Schutzmann Jewish boys and forcing them to suck out the flesh of the German soldiers. The new order came into force.

* According to the agreement with Germany, Romania has received the land between the rivers Dniester and Bug rivers, including the city of Odessa. Romanians call the area "Transnistria" (Transnistria).