Murder Story of Sarny Jews in the Forest in the Tutowicze Area

The order for the people [i.e., the inmates of the Sarny Ghetto] to assemble was given on Monday, August 24, [1942]… [stating] that everyone was to show up for registration in 3 days' time. Several hours later, Neumann came. He was a lawyer from [the city of] Kalisz [i.e., a refugee from Nazi-occupied Poland], and he served as secretary of our Judenrat, since he knew German well.… Neumann was notified about the registration, and he announced it at the Judenrat meeting. People began to suspect that what the [Germans] had in mind was much more serious than a mere registration. It was decided to approach the Gebietskommissar [Huala]. Thus, [the members of the Judenrat] approached him and offered him a certain sum of money in gold. To this end, [the Judenrat members] were forced to issue a confiscation order to every Jew who had some gold [or] merchandise (such as textile, etc.), which could be found in the possession of many Jews. Following this operation, only gold remained, since the entire amount that had been collected was not delivered to the Gebietskommissar. The [Judenrat] representatives came to convince him to agree that, since they had been unable to collect the total amount of gold that he had demanded, they would make up for the deficit with Ukrainian currency, which would be paid to him in monthly installments over several months. We [the ghetto inmates] were happy to hear about this kind of arrangement, assuming that it meant that we would be granted a stay of execution. We thought that, if the Gebietskommissar agreed to split the "debt"… into several months, this would be a good sign. He [the Gebietskommissar] went so far as to say to those who came to him: "As long as I am the Gebietskommissar of Sarny, nothing will happen to you."… In his attempt to convince the Jews that they were not in any danger, he said: "If we wanted to do something to you, we would close down the ghetto right away." Eventually, on the day when the exit from the ghetto was sealed (and this was already on Thursday morning in the same week), all the gold that was in the money box of the Judenrat was delivered, as a gift, to the Gebietskommissar. He [for his part] reiterated his promise that the people would be taken away only to be registered, that they would then be returned to their homes, and that nothing bad would happen to them. He took the gold – but, despite his promises, the ghetto was sealed, and events took their course. Back on Wednesday, the [Jewish] people from [the nearby towns of] Dabrowica, Klesów, and Rokitno had been taken to the [Poleski] concentration site, which was surrounded with barbed wire. The Germans were taking [these people] in large groups from the concentration site to a [nearby] grove, dividing them into smaller groups, and bringing each group, separately, close to the… pit. There, the people were ordered to take off their outer garments and strip down to their underwear. A special box stood near the place [i.e., the shooting site], into which the people… deposited the contents of their pockets – various objects, pieces of jewelry, and money. The undressed people were forced to climb down into the pit and lie on their stomachs, face down. In this position, they were shot by the murderers, who used automatic pistols. The Germans had chosen this method [of execution] to avoid noise. And, indeed, it was hard to hear the pistol shots from the concentration site, because of the noise that prevailed there [at the concentration site], as a result of the overcrowding, under horrible conditions, of thousands of men, women and children. There was a German guard stationed next to the box, and he was guarding the loot…

… The ghetto is surrounded! Nobody comes, nobody goes! This was the first news [which the ghetto inmates received]… on Wednesday, August 26, [1942], about the gates and exits from the ghetto, which [previously] would usually be guarded by the [Jewish] ghetto policemen. [Now,] armed Ukrainian [auxiliary] policemen were stationed [around the ghetto]. There were some inmates [living] near the gates. During the [previous] night, they had sensed the unusual bustle, and several brave fellows tried to break through the encirclement ring and run away – they were either injured or killed. Naturally, no one went out to work on that day, and the entire ghetto was like a swarm of agitated bees. The night between that day and the day of the disaster, that was on Thursday, was a sleepless one, and only a handful of people slept that night.… We lived [in the ghetto] in front of the public bathhouse… and thus we could see all the ghetto Jews being taken toward the main gate of the ghetto, going from Barmacka Street out to the "Szeroka" (Broad) Street…. From that hour on, everything was conducted with typical German speed and efficiency. We were placed in rows of five, according to the list of families – 100 rows – and we were all led along "Broad" Street toward the Poleska [the Polish side of the town], while the Christian residents lined both sides of the street and watched us. Old and sick Jews were transported in carts. We crossed the railroad tracks and were placed inside the [Poleska] camp, which had been prepared in advance, and was already crammed with Jews from the nearby towns of Rokitno, Klesów, Dabrowica, and some other [towns]. In the camp, there were three barracks. … To the right of the camp stood a building that used to house the NKVD personnel during the Russian period. There was a machine gun there. Our situation was still unclear. Our hearts refused to believe that this was really the end. Different hypotheses were advanced: The Germans were about to transfer all of us to the labor camp in the barracks near Straszów, to work in the nearby woods and quarries. It was unthinkable that the Germans should liquidate, just like that, the people who were working for them and bringing them profit. The Jews from the [nearby] towns, who had been brought to the camp before us, were in a bad shape, without food and water.… With the arrival of the Jews of Sarny in the camp, the Germans began to summon the Jews of the surrounding towns, in a specific order, and lead them in large groups toward the forest that lay on the road to the Jewish cemetery. Afterward, we began to hear dim echoes of gunfire and explosions. The truth of the matter became clear to us. There were some who tossed their gold and valuables into the latrines in the camp, while others cut their new clothes, to prevent the Germans from deriving any benefit from them.… (By the way, some Roma people were placed in the camp together with us. They brought in images of their saints – [e.g.,] the Holy Mother, etc. – believing that this would make the [Germans] treat them better. But it didn't help them. They were taken toward the forest together with the groups [of Jews] from Rokitno...).