Testimony of Avraham Egber, born in Kowale, Lithuania, 1919, regarding his experiences in Kowal, in hiding and in a forest

Testimony of Avraham Egber, born in Kowal, Lithuania, 1919, regarding his experiences in Kowal in hiding and in a forest Life before the war. Outbreak of the war; air raid on Kowal by the German Air Force; escape to the forest with many people; Soviet occupation, 17 September 1939; activities of Soviet Jews in local governmental institutions; establishment of skilled professionals' cooperatives; deportations to Siberia including deportation of refugees refusing to accept Soviet citizenship; work in a printing press; outbreak of the war between the Soviet Union and Germany, 22 June 1941; German occupation; restrictions on the Jews; kidnapping of Jews for forced labor; murder of his father, the first murder in Kowal; murder of Jews, 22 June 1942; deportation of Jews to the synagogue; life in the synagogue including a list written on the walls by the Jews giving their names and addresses; transfer to pits in the Bachuva vicinity; shooting Jews into the pits, 15-18 September 1942; escape to the home of a former housemaid during the murder; life being hidden by the housemaid; life in a forest including meeting escaping Jews; knowledge from a Polish officer regarding a hidden cache of weapons; equips himself with weapons and organizes himself for an extended time in the forest; meets Jews rescued from ghettos; life in the forest with friends; liberation by the Red Army, summer 1944. Move to the Soviet Union; life in Perm including reunion with his aunt; return to Poland, 1945; move to Italy; aliya to Eretz Israel on the ship, "Umot Meuhadot", December 1947.