Murder Story of Rokitno Jews in a Square in Rokitno

…These horrors came to a deadly resolution on August 26, 1942. On that day, the whole Jewish population of Rokitno was ordered into the market square. No one was exempt now, including infants, the gravely ill, and the elderly. Those who couldn't walk were carried to the square on stretchers. Some people carried others on their backs. German soldiers and German and Ukrainian policemen surrounded the square. They began by separating the children, the women, the men, and the elderly. The situation devolved into fear and disorder. Soon, deafening screams and moans filled the square. People panicked. Children were clinging to their mothers. Everyone was trying to defend the old and the sick. All of a sudden, a sharp scream pierced the air: "Jews, they're going to kill us all now!" It was Mindl Eisenberg, a big, tall, brave woman nicknamed "the Cossack", who saw the police squadron arrive from behind the train station and alerted the crowd. The anguished people began to run for their lives. Men ran to find their wives and children. Everyone was trying to escape. Only the bullets could stop them. The guards fired at the crowd, and dozens of people were killed instantly, covering the square with blood. In this hell, my seventeen-year-old brother, Samuel, found me and grabbed me by the arm, and we started running. That was the last time we saw our mother, our father and our five-year-old brother, Moishe.…

…On August 25, 1942, a terrible order was issued, [according to which] all the Jews, including the sick ones, were to assemble in the market square on the next day, a Wednesday, to be registered. We were suspicious of this, since all day long the German policemen [gendarmes] were going from one workshop to another and gathering all their products. Furthermore, many [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen from the vicinity [of Rokitno] came to the town. There were some who thought of running away, but the Judenrat [members] tried to calm the people down by explaining that the purpose of the registration was to make sure that no Jews had run off to join the partisans…. [The Judenrat went on to say that,] if some of us were to run away, this would mean that we were all guilty, and the whole community would be victimized [by the Nazis]…. At 9 AM on the next day, August 26, 1942 (the 13th [of the Hebrew month of] Elul, 5702), the entire Jewish community – 1,631 people – was standing in the market square, awaiting their fate. The chief of the [German] police [Henkel Sokolowski], his arm bandaged, was standing in the square. Several Germans were standing near him. The registration was carried out very quickly, and, much to our surprise, we were not ordered to return home. Instead, we had to line up in two groups – the men apart from the women and children – and arrange ourselves in rows of six. Our hearts were beating wildly, anticipating the trouble to come. [At this point,] the head of the Judenrat [Aharon Slutzki] approached me and told me to go over to the police chief and ask him what was going on. As soon as I moved away, the women burst into horrible shouts, and the voice… of Mindl Eisenberg was heard: "Jews, save yourselves!" I immediately saw a large group of [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen and Germans coming in from all directions, with rifles ready to fire. The "chief" [of the Gendarmerie]…. drew a pistol with his left hand and fired two shots, cursing all the while. Before I had the time to duck away, the firing of hundreds of machine guns was heard. The wretched ones began to run about like lunatics, looking for a shelter from the bullets. Terrible shouts, moans, and cries of "Shema Yisrael" ["Hear! O Israel!" a traditional Jewish prayer] were heard, [together with]… the incessant gunfire. The market square became flooded with Jewish blood. The blood was streaming and flowing from all directions – and, if not for the scorching sun, the accumulated blood would have become a stormy and raging river. The square was covered with the crushed bodies of men, women, and little children…. …Some 300 Jews were killed in the market place….

February 15, 1945 My loved ones, …[At some point,] my parents [who lived in Rokitno] decided to take us [i.e., Miriam and her husband from the town of Sarny] in and share their fate with us.… Life in Rokitno was easier.… Thus, we lived [in the ghetto] until August 26, 1942. My daughter was already 8 months old. [On that day,] the ghetto inmates were ordered to assemble in the [market] square on the morning of the next day, for a roll call. We were told that many people from the ghetto had joined the groups of Russian [Soviet] partisans.… To make sure that this was true, they had to count us all. Fear and trembling seized all of us Jews. The fear was reflected in the eyes of everyone. We learned that, in the neighboring town of Siedlisczce [i.e., Ludwipol]…, all the Jews had been killed. Our hearts were bleeding. I was crying hysterically. The men were silent in thunderous silence. Only my mother was strong. She consoled and calmed us down. We couldn't console [each other]. We didn't sleep a wink the whole night, and kept [asking themselves]: "Should we run away at night?", "Where?", "With a baby?" I asked the men not to take us into consideration and run away. They refused. They didn't believe that we would be murdered. When the next day dawned, my mother kneaded the bread dough… and intended to bake the bread after coming back from the square. My daughter was sleeping the sleep of the just, and then she woke up and sat down in her bed like a little angel. My brother went out. The Jewish police had already driven the Jews out of their houses [in the ghetto] and directed them toward the square. My brother returned home pale. I dressed my daughter, and we went out. My husband was crying bitterly. All [the family members] joined him, the neighbor as well, and thus we walked to the square all together. Silence prevailed.… There were no Germans, [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen, or firearms at the site. There was only one Gendarmerie officer [i.e., Henkel Sokolowski], who counted us. My mother approached me, and, with an expression of joy, she encouraged me and promised that we would soon be back home. The counting was over quickly. We didn't understand why we weren’t released home. Suddenly, we heard an order: The men and women were to stand apart, in rows of six. We became restless. I was shivering with fear. My husband, father, and brother were separated from us. My mother gave me her hand. The baby fell asleep in my arms. She was heavy. My mother, wishing to ease my burden, took her from me. At that moment, the heartrending cry of 1,500 people was heard: "Run away for your lives, Jews! They are killing us! Run away!" The square was encircled by the Germans and [Ukrainian auxiliary] policemen. [They] were shooting from the windows. I don't remember what happened to me. I felt a heap of people above me. I began to slowly take them off me, and [thus] I cleared a way out for myself. I saw my mother lying [on the ground]; my daughter wasn't near me. There were many dead people nearby, and my dress was soaked with blood. I didn't know what to do. To run home? Our house was nearby. The shots of the policemen could be heard above the bridge. I decided to return to the killing site. Suddenly, my eyes met my father. With my last strength, I called out to him. I lost consciousness. When I came to, I found myself in a patch of potatoes and peas that covered us. With his meager strength, my father dragged me toward the field outside of town. I lost my mind and wanted to return to the town. My heart bled and ached when I thought of my daughter.…

February 23, 1945 My dear Iakov, I have not written to you for quite a long time. Indeed, I don't know what I should write. I am in no condition to describe all that I have experienced from the day the Soviets retreated until the entry of the Red Army into Rokitno.… Everything that was dear and holy to me is gone, gone forever, and will not be resurrected.… When I returned to Rokitno, it turned out that all those who had greeted those damned Germans with flowers, cakes, fruit, etc., entertaining them, partying with them, and throwing feasts for them, had, from the first day of the retreat of the Soviets until the arrival of the Germans (a period that lasted about six weeks), begun to murder us Jews, to rob, persecute, beat, destroy, torture, insult, and rape us. After the arrival of the "Swabians", they served them like lapdogs. Now, after the arrival of the Red Army, these same types are playing the first fiddle. Antisemitism is not at all waning, but actually increasing with each passing day. All those who cried "Beat the Jews, save Russia!" and "Slaughter all the kikes!"…, all those who had helped them organize the Ukrainian militia that, on August 26, 1942, fired the first volley at us Jews, 1638 of us (followed by the Germans with their machine guns) in the [central] square, all those who shouted "Don't be afraid, you won't get anything but death!" – all those villains… are now serving the Soviet regime, and, as I said before, are playing the first fiddle….

…We lived to see that bloody Wednesday in August [1942], which proved to be the last day in the lives of many of the Jews of Rokitno. It was a warm, beautiful morning. All the Jews of the ghetto assembled in the market square to be counted. The names were read out, and there was a meticulous check to make sure that everyone was present. Afterward, we were ordered to line up, with the women (including girls older than 10) being separated from the men (including boys older than 10). We stood thus for fifteen minutes. Suddenly, an awful shout broke out among the women…. Our hearts were beating rapidly, and the crowd that had previously stood still now began to scatter in all directions. Immediately, [the killers] opened heavy fire on the unfortunates. The shouts and cries rang out to high heaven. While running [away from the market square,] I flung myself into a ditch near Gotlib's house. When I climbed out of the ditch, I saw that the market square was covered with bodies, and the earth was red with their blood. I heard the shouts of the wounded and the cries of children. I began to run toward the forest, through the yards. On my way, I met some frightened Jews who didn't know who could possibly help them.…

…On August 25, 1942, the Judenrat announced, by posting placards on the ghetto walls, that all the Jews were to report in the market square at 8 AM on the next day. The order also applied to the elderly, the sick, and the children.… We stood [in the market square] in rows of six – women with children to one side, and we, the men, to the other. We were all surrounded by the SS, the SA [sic], the [German] Gendarmerie, and the Ukrainian police.… At 10 AM, Sergeant Sokolowski [the chief of the Gendarmerie] fired into the air. This was a sign to begin the [murder] operation. [The killers] opened fire on us with rifles, pistols, and machine guns.… My wife and son were killed during this murder operation.…