Murder Story of Wyzwa Nowa Jews at Lake Somow

… When we returned to town, we saw terrible chaos. All the houses were wide open and had been looted, children were crying and adults were crying as well, searching for their dear ones. By that time there were no Germans [i.e. Gendarmerie men] or [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen in the town. I was told that at 5 a.m. a truck with 6 Germans and many [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen arrived [in the town]. They scattered throughout the town, pursuing the Jews. Screaming and crying were heard around the town. Many people tried to flee from the town. They [the Germans] opened fire, but apparently there was an order to shoot [only] into the air. All the Jews who had been caught were taken to the synagogue, where Bida, the German … who was chief of the police [Gendarmerie] of our town, was present, as well as many [Ukrainian] policemen and residents [of the town]. People of different ages were selected. Mothers with little children, as well as some artisans whom the residents decided to keep alive, were not taken [were not selected]. The remaining 260 were driven on foot to the town of Maciejów. In this roundup among those caught were my family members – my father, who was 40 years old, my mother - 38, my 14-year-old brother, one of my grandfathers and both of my grandmothers. The town elder claimed that they were taken for work. From that time, i.e. from August 5, 1941, I was left without parents. … several days afterward we learned that all of them had been taken, along with another group of Jews, [to a location] not far from Maciejów, near Somow Lake [Somne Lake], where all of them were shot to death.…