Testimony of Joseph Szames, born in Ludwipol, Poland, 1925, regarding his experiences in the Ludwipol Ghetto and in hiding in a forest

Testimony of Joseph Szames, born in Ludwipol, Poland, 1925, regarding his experiences in the Ludwipol Ghetto and in hiding in a forest From a well-to-do family; attends a Tarbut school; Bnei Akiva and Bnei Yehuda activities. Outbreak of the war; occupation by the Red Army; limitations on Jewish property; German occupation, 1941; deportation to the Ludwipol Ghetto; Judenrat; preparation of a hiding place in a cellar; "Aktion"; liquidation of the ghetto; murder of his father and mother; escape to a forest and preparation of a bunker (for approximately 11 people) in the forest; obtaining food from villagers and partisans; typhus; liberation by the Red Army, March 1944. Return to the burnt out and looted Ludwipol; from there to Lodz; activities in preparation for aliya to Eretz Israel with support from the Joint Distribution Committee; unsuccessful aliya attempt, 1946; detention in Cyprus; aliya to Israel, 1949.