Murder Story of Tuczyn Jews at the Tuczyn Jewish Cemetery

…The Germans released the Jews who had been brought in on Friday afternoon. They [the Jews] were told that "it was a mistake": "The Jews of Tuczyn are a valuable element; it is forbidden to kill [them], and, from this minute on, the Jews will be permitted to live and work." Those [Jews] who had scattered in every direction [after the burning of the ghetto] and were now wandering in the woods, suffering from hunger and having no resting place or shelter from the cold and rain, returned to Tuczyn. Families with little children were the first to come back. In a week, there were 300 Jews in Tuczyn. They were given three houses. On Friday, early in the morning, Germans and Ukrainian [auxiliary policemen] surrounded their dwelling place. They [the policemen] seized the residents, took them to the [Jewish] cemetery, and shot them. [There was one Jewish pharmacist, Chantsya Bergman], who was allowed to work. While watching the group being led [to the cemetery] from afar, she saw her daughters in the crowd, and ran up to join them. The policemen tried to drive her away, but she struggled with a policeman and went to her death together with her children and the other remaining Jews….

…On Friday, October 2, 1942, after spending some time hiding in a hay barn, we decided to leave [our hiding place] and return to Tuczyn. Suddenly, shots were heard from the direction of Tuczyn. We were scared. Pavlo [Gerasimchuk, the non-Jew who was sheltering Itshak Chomut's family] came to calm us. We tried to understand the meaning of these shots, which grew louder and louder. There was an unease in our hearts. We were crying…. Finally, he told us that he would go to Tuczyn to learn what was going on. He returned depressed and told us that we should stay with him, since we had nowhere to go. Pavlo told us that the public notices put up by the Germans, informing the Jews that they were allowed to return to the town and promising that they would not be harmed, were nothing but a malicious hoax. Some 300 people had returned to Tuczyn. Early in the morning on that Friday, the Ukrainian and German [policemen] showed up in the town. They took all the Jews to the [Jewish] cemetery, shot them, and buried them there….