Murder story of Tarnopol Jews in Tarnopol

…Before the Bolsheviks left town, they arrested a number of Ukrainian nationalists, mostly [members of] the intelligentsia. Some of them were deported and the rest, due to the unexpected German attack, were still in prison. Some were shot before the Russians left and some apparently were shot in prison and buried there. The Russians were no longer there, but the Jews were in town. Why not take revenge and kill the Jews? This was easy to accomplish. For centuries the Ukrainians were engaged in similar attacks and were dreaming of the day when they would be able to kill the Jews. They did not have to do it this time by themselves; they had excellent helpers. The role of the natives was restricted to showing the Germans where the Jews lived. This was easy and [was] done with great satisfaction. The Germans did the rest. I was hidden and from my little window I witnessed all the gruesome details. The pogrom lasted from the July 3-6, 1941. Five thousand Jews, mostly men, were shot. From my opening I saw the scene. The S.S. men were shooting Jews as if it was a hunting expedition. Those shot were buried in the center of town in different backyards. I saw how a few Jews were ordered to dig a grave. Then, they [the Jews] had to go into different apartments and take out those who had been shot. At the end of their task they [the Jews who had taken [the bodies of] other Jews from their apartments] were also shot. And the S.S. men were sitting on a nearby fence drinking whiskey, playing their harmonicas, and singing their beloved German song "Wenn Judenblut vom Messer spritzt" (When Jewish blood is squirting from the knife.) The major responsibility for this massacre rests with the natives [locals], mostly the Ukrainian population. With axes in their hands, they showed the Germans where the Jews lived and, although unable to speak their [the Germans'] language, they knew enough to indicate to the Germans who was a "Jud"…. Many of our relatives and friends...lost their lives. I witnessed from my hiding place the murder of about 100 people on Ostrogski Street.

...When the Germans arrived… the first thing that happened was that the Ukrainians who were against the Soviets assembled in the town hall; they had a large gathering where they encouraged the Germans to inform them that the Jews had participated in all the evil deeds of the Soviets and that they should be punished. That is how it was decided to carry out a pogrom… by Ukrainians together with the Germans. They called on peasants from the villages to come [to the city]. Then, they went from house to house, taking out the Jews and murdered them outside. All the streets were littered with bodies.