text:
{Page 456}
(Reworked by L. Podlowski)
Translated from the Yiddish by Martin Bornstein
It began Tuesday the 11th of August 1942, at five oclock in the morning. A host of foreign police divisions, as well as the local German gendarmes surrounded the town. All of the houses and streets were simultaneously being guarded, such that it was impossible to tear yourself out from there. The civilian German people also helped to remove the Jewish people from Belchatow, which they did of their own accord (free will).
Already a month or two earlier, when no one had imagined that the end was so near, a division of the border police was dispatched to the town. They carefully watched (paid strong attention) that no one should illegally cross the border, into the "Fatherland" (Germany), from the governed region (General Gobernia). The Jews of Belchatow, even when they saw how people were being driven, still believed that this was just one of the many German "drag-nets" (raids) that was perpetrated against the Jews of Belchatow, with the purpose of (catching and) sending them to the Posnan camps. They also built it up in our minds, such that we thought it would be (affect) just old people and not younger people, capable of working. Had it been otherwise, certainly a lot of people from Belchatow would have run away to the nearby woods. When we first saw the hellish scenes, that played themselves out on the streets, did we then understand how great our woe is, but by then it was too late to undertake anything.
I looked out from a crack from my house at number 14 Pabianice Street, and saw how the multitude of Jews were being driven, women with children and old people, they were met with slaps from guns, knouts (whips), sticks, and other instruments. We didnt even have time to dress ourselves, when we heard from our backyard the wild screams of "Everyone Out". Quickly the piece of bread was divided among all the family members. My mother in her haste put on my jacket. Everyone grabbed on the last minute what he or she could, and out we went to the backyard.
In the backyard area were already standing all of our terrorized turned out neighbors. We were pulled out to the street, and we were driven along with the rest of the population, to the old market place. At the location of the burned out houses, by the market place, there a few thousand Jews had already been driven together. One hears the cries and hiccups of children that are clinging to their mothers. They give the impression, like they would have a premonition, that a great tragedy was being pushed upon them. Everyone keeps themselves close to their relatives (near ones) almost as if to be able to be together in the last hour. A group of Jews were sent away immediately, without any selection, packed into vehicles being sent in the direction of the towns Zelow and Lask. There lies the road to travel to the Chelmno death camp. The remaining population was asked to place themselves in 2 lines. In one line were placed healthy people from 18 to 45 years of age, and all of the remaining people, that is grandparents, children, and the sick people were placed in the second (line). I was torn away from my parents. My sister-in-law Rivkeh Lieberman, who found herself together with her husband in the line of the healthy ones, was not able to bear the pain and crying of the children, went back over to them and perished together with them in the gas chambers of Chelmno.
The whole population had been driven to the synagogue courtyard. About 4,000 Jews were pushed into the synagogue. The people were packed in like herring ("sardines") and they were kept there in the synagogue for 3 days, children and old people without food and without water. There wasnt even the ability to breathe. The screaming and crying of the children was heard throughout the entire town. The Germans were standing outside and laughing. The healthy ones and young ones were standing exposed on the synagogue courtyard by the outside wall of the Talmud Torah (Yeshiva). A lot of them risked throwing over bread to those that the Germans were unable to push into the synagogue. There wasnt anyone that was badly beaten as a result of this. Sheva Rosenblat, who was holding a child by her breast, started to grab at one of the breads. Those people that were standing near her started jumping upon her. Everyone had bunched themselves together in one pile. People were tearing at and walking over one another. Shevas child was suffocated on the spot.
Such scenes werent so unique. We were standing outside pressed together in one heap. With grieving hearts we had to look upon these dreadful scenes. Twelve oclock noon hour a German came to take out 200 men, from among those that were standing in the synagogue courtyard, in order to have them clean up the Jewish owned possessions and goods. My brother Joseph and I found ourselves in this group. While travelling by the synagogue courtyard, Hans Biebow, the hangman of the Lodz Ghetto held a speech for us, threatening and warning that by whomever they will find money or valuables, that person will receive (get) a bullet in the head. Of the 200 men only Abraham Granyk (Granick) reported anything. He showed where he had laying hidden valuables.
We were divided into groups of 20 and sent to the different parts of the town, to collect together (gather) whatever may be found in the Jewish homes. My brother Joseph and I belonged to the group that cleaned out the homes on Stercower (Stertzover) Street. We were guarded by gendarmes of the Lodz "Kripo". While we were at work a group of men in uniform approached us. To our amazement, it was a group of police from the Lodz Ghetto, that Biebow had brought with him to liquidate the Jews of Belchatow. A lot of Jewish policemen also helped to rob for themselves. We worked hard for the entire day without eating or drinking. After working, everyone had to undress completely naked, at the instruction of Biebow, and if something was found on someone, even only a piece of bread, that person was beaten at the direction of that murderer.
After the review we were once again sent to the right of the synagogue. This time we were not by the synagogue courtyard, but in front of the synagogue, where there was laying the robbed Jewish fortune. We laid ourselves down to sleep on top of the packages, but none of us were able to sleep.
On the second day the beasts once again pulled us off to work. My brother and I ended up in the group that had to clean up the tailor (cutting) shop that was in Dzalowskis factory. We carried out the new machines, which had formerly belonged to the Jewish bosses, and loaded them into vehicles. I used the opportunity, that I was designated to bring water for the group, and I went to take a look to see what had become of the Jews that were in the synagogue. I also wanted to know if my parents were still there, and as I came close I heard myself being called. These were my parents, who didnt have a place in the synagogue. I wanted to give them the 2 pieces of bread that I had. They didnt want to take it, because they said that in any event they were being sent off to their death. While I was standing there talking to my parents, and my heart was torn with pain with the sadness that was visible in my parents eyes, a German ran in with a fury. He was holding a knout (whip) in his hand, and he right away gave it to me on my head. When I attempted to explain, that I was sent away for water for the workers in the tailor shop, he gave it to me again, and warned me that if he sees me again, I will have an end like that of all of the Jews in the synagogue.
After my return, they sent my group to clean the Piotrkower Street. A wagon traveled with us. Everything that we loaded upon it was driven to a place in front of the new magistrate. When we traveled by wagon past the synagogue courtyard, I jumped off from it, and once again went to see what was going on in the synagogue and synagogue courtyard, I once again ran into my sister Zlata and her child. I gave away to her the bread that I had. I was encircled by the women and children, that found themselves there, with tears in their eyes, asking me that I should also give a piece of bread for their hungry children. I turned my head away, almost so as not to see the pain of the hungry children. As I was just out of the synagogue courtyard almost rejoining my group, I saw from the distance that something was going on there. When I came closer I saw that the Germans were beating the people from my group. It was as a result of my being missing (from the group). I was afraid to go over there, while I would certainly not come out from their hands alive. I cut through Faiveshs house and back into my group without being noticed by the Germans.
After work, there was a repeat of everything that occurred yesterday. Once again we had to undress naked while being beaten. The second night we were sent to sleep in Machel Piotrkowskis house. On the first floor the brutes were sleeping, the Jewish Police from Lodz. Us (We) a group of 200 people were sent up to the attic. We lay pressed together without a drop of air, simply to be suffocated. It should be understood that even from the act of sleeping you were not able to derive anything. On the third day of our work we had a bitter day. Nine oclock in the morning a massacre began. A German sadist came along and whomever he found he killed. He pushed out the eyes of Shaye Berkowicz (Berkowitz) and Abraham Wengliszewski (Wenglishewski). There were other shameful abuses, but I dont remember them precisely. My brother Joseph was beaten for such a long period of time till he lost consciousness. He also became deaf from the beating. We were on that day jealous of those that had already been sent away. At night we were sent (driven) to sleep in the synagogue. We did not find anyone there. Lying around there, there were different things that the people had thrown away. We believed that now the line was coming to (for) us. We were not able to fall asleep on the third night. Before our eyes were passing the nightmarish pictures of the last few days. We were filled with horror by it, that which transpired with the people we were close with and of them, as well as what we alone were awaiting. I became of the conviction that night, that there are (present) those moments when it is harder (more difficult) to die than to live.
On the fourth day, at noon time, the Germans called for everyone to give up their German Marks (currency). Those people that had Marks were asked to put them out separately. They numbered about 25 men. The Germans required 25 benches to be brought and all 25 men had to lie down upon them. The Jewish Police from the Lodz Ghetto lashed out upon them for so long, until the Germans told them to cease. After the execution (of the beating) everyone was put into 2 lines. Those that had good work, as tailors, shoemakers, and locksmiths were placed in one line and all the remaining ones, some 130 people, were placed in the second line. The tradesmen were sent to the Lodz Ghetto. They were a group of about 70 men. All of the remaining ones were the last Belchatow sacrifices that were sent to Lodz. Before we were sent out, we were still required to clean out the house where Moshe Luzer Podlowski had lived. We packed up everything from the house into trunks and brought it out to the street. Later they commanded that we carry the trunks on our shoulders and run with them. We ran with our last strength till we reached the place of Hillel the rope (knit-ware?) maker. There we were loaded onto vehicles, and together with the Jewish Police of the Lodz Ghetto, we were driven away to Lodz. With our departure was closed the last tragic chapter of the Belchatow Jewish Community.
{Pages 463-476}
Translated from the original Polish by Andrzej Selerowicz**
Edited by Jerry Liebowitz
Until the German-Russian war began in 1941, the Jewish population of Belchatow was integrated into the everyday life of the town. Craftsmen and weavers continued their work illegally, and when someone was caught, he bought himself free after paying a bribe. At night smugglers transported textiles to the Gouvernement [the German administrative district in the central part of Poland, west of Lodz, under Nazi occupation] and brought back shoemakers accessories such as leather, nails, pegs, and other things, tailors accessories, cigarettes, candles, in other words everything that was not available in our town. Jews displaced from surrounding villages snuck back to their former houses and smuggled butter, eggs, meat, as well as other agricultural products for us.
Thanks to the group of Jews mentioned above, the rest of us were able to survive, some by trading, some acting as middlemen. In other words, nobody was starving. The people sold everything that they possessed, willing to survive at any price. They knew that the future would be better, without fears or war, and they expected this new life and the end of the war very soon.
The smallest fact, every piece of gossip, was taken as evidence of the oncoming end of the war. [The rumors increased as much as the number of Volksdeutsche [inhabitants who declared themselves to be part of the German people] after 1 September 1939. Every story contained a high level of probability, coming from real life.] [Ed: This passage, as all others in brackets, was deleted and does not appear in the Yizkor Book.] For example, one German said (whispering in order to underline the importance of his message) that there had been a rebellion in Southern Germany. This rebellion meant that the end of the war was near.
Not to mention letters from Russia about Aunt Rosa, about a Messiah on a white horse, and different uncles, which stood for Russians, who were about to arrive. This was the reason why nobody took to heart when he lost something. When a smuggler, for example, saving his life at the border at night from the hands of the thugs, had to throw away his goods, saying the next morning that he did not mind and went again as soon as he was able to collect new goods just to stay alive.
Once Stobiecki was caught as he was baking bread, and two SchuPo-men [German policemen] harassed him some 5 kilometers to the village where he had bought flour, throwing him for fun into water (they told him to dive in and catch the ducks). Afterwards they beat him so severely that he had to be carried home in a sheet. When he regained consciousness and was asked by neighbors how he was doing, he answered: and we will survive anyway.
After the shochet [ritual butcher] Mlot was arrested, he was beaten severely, forced to drink a glass of denaturat [a very strong alcohol not for consumption], and was thrown into a shack, where he had to sit all night without any water and having terrible pains. The next day he was set free and returned to his work right away, because he wanted to survive.
Moszek Rozenblat, father of five, every day delivered fresh milk, butter, and chicken. No matter, summer or winter, he crossed the river on foot, although the water went up to his hips completely wet in summer, and almost frozen in the winter time, shaking from cold in his frozen clothes, having wounds from the cold from crossing the river in the darkness. Nature kept alive this man who desperately held onto life but later perished through German culture with the help of gas at Chelmno [a concentration camp]. He did not stop trading, even when he was beaten and his hand was broken after he was caught carrying ducks. He did not even stop trading after being denounced and a dead calf was found at his place, for which he was again beaten and forced to clean the floor of blood using his own hat. He continued his work also after he spent half a year in prison. The saying and we will survive anyway was a kind of slogan which kept him alive even during the worst torture.
I could name many Jews who were turned by Germans into creatures, shapeless bodies and who until the very end still longed to survive the Germans. They will all remain anonymous because the murderers destroyed all archives, even their graves in the cemetery; [they all will be remembered in the chapter of the Holocaust of the Jewish Nation.]
[Every one of them was a human being with his life, thoughts, wishes, everyone wanted to survive those atrocities. How many times he had to struggle with death, being successful only due to his enormous will to live. Why the voice of revenge does not bring the heavens to explosion and a hail of damnation fall upon the nation of murderers and their helpers?]
The German-Russian war broke out [and, with this, new hopes arose. Unfortunately they disappeared very soon, right after the first Sunday. While listening to the Sondermeldungen [special war report] many Jews lost heart, but the passage of time also proved to be a good doctor. The German front moved forward], Germans became polite, and Volksdeutsche showed us how our future life would be: the Germans would stop killing us and start using us as a work force, because we were young and strong; Germany would be as big as the entire world, and the best evidence was the fact that the German/Russian front was moving forwards quickly, they have only to take Moscow and then the [Russian] government will give up, like in France. Then the time of reconstruction would come. [The evidence that we, Jews, could be useful in this was the fact that we had already repaired the whole street which had been destroyed in 1939, and that a building for the city hall was erected (and remains there even today). This building outlived all the Jews who built it, outlived all the mister murderers who relished in its rooms; and city hall still fulfills its purpose. All papers, all documents, were destroyed, and still this building and the ruins of the synagogue will remain as a monument at the graves of six thousand Jews who once lived in this town.] [The ruins of the synagogue have since been removed.]
[One did not have to wait long for the realization of the Volksdeutsch plans.]
Before the holidays, the authorities proclaimed that all male Jews between 18 and 40 years old must gather at the yard of the Klug factory. The only exceptions were men working as tailors and those who had permission to run a workshop. [They produced goods for the army.]
Nearly two thousand men appeared, accompanied by their wives, children, and fiancées, who gathered around the fence and tried to look through the smallest opening in it, fighting sometimes to have the chance to glimpse inside. The yard looked like this: in the middle a table was placed, and a woman sat there with two boxes in front of her with registration cards and yellow cards for those people who would be let free. In the distance some uniformed Germans stood like guests of honor; at an appropriate distance stood Jewish authorities, President Ehrlich and his advisers, Mr. Altman and Mr. Winter, as well as Dr. Basier from Piotrkow. The factory door was guarded by Jewish policemen and the gate in the fence by SchuPo-men [German police].
The inspection started at about 2 p.m. Naked men, carrying their clothes in their hands, came to the German doctors who ordered all healthy looking ones to be transported away. Meanwhile they had to wait in another room in the factory building. The others got red cards, evidence that its owner had taken part in the medical examination on that day (I do not remember the exact date). After the German commission left, the mongering started: Winter, Altman, Wengliszewski, not to mention the lesser ones who were part of the authorities, the police, the Grenzwache [border patrol], and other German agencies with their supervisors wandered around and took aside all of their relatives and acquaintances. But the poor mothers and wives, of those sons and husbands who did not have a chance to get free, cried and cursed at those who went in and out. The poor mothers knew that the person who left with Altman did not belong to his family at all, but an uncle bought for some 500 Reichsmarks [German money]. Before evening fell, the SchuPo broke up the crowd of women, because nobody could stand their crying and screaming any longer, and secondly, because the Jewish authorities felt the problems coming. How many were selected by the medical commission, I do not know. I only remember that after this mongering, 250 persons were sent to Poznan the next day.
Already after three weeks, new announcements with the same text were posted. This time, however, Jews did not appear so collectively like the first time. This transport had to be supplemented by a street raid, and finally a group of 450 was again sent to Poznan. Also this time, of course, they could not do without the mongering. Every German who was a member of the local hierarchy had his own Jew, through whom he got a part of the ransom for his freedom.
After the second group was sent away, the town looked changed. Logically enough that after sending away 700 Jews who almost all fed directly or helped to feed their families, hunger started to creep in under roofs of many houses. Now women and youngsters had to risk their lives not only to find enough food for themselves and their relatives, but also for the relatives who sent alarming pleas for help from the Lager [German word for camp]. Sometimes a mother saved up food during the whole week not eating anything and also taking away from the portion of 250 grams of bread given for her child, just to be able to send a package for her father or husband in a Lager.
Days and weeks passed slowly. Everybody lived out his problems trying with all his energy to keep himself and his family alive. Boys as of the age of 10 or so became heads of families, growing up very fast, finding out what is allowed and what is not, what has to be sent in a parcel to his father and how to pack the parcel in order that Germans would not discover food inside, but think it was old clothes. The news from the fronts via the Nazi propaganda began to become diluted. Newspapers with red-marked headlines became more and more infrequent. Jews again gained hope, although bad news about the Nazis brought about more beatings to our heads, backs, and cheeks, and the saying and we survive anyway gave new moral support.
All of a sudden, a public execution during Purim took place, bringing 10 victims: Taube, Baum, Feld, Wolfowicz, Ehrlich, Landau, Szapiro, Weiss, Lajzerowicz, and Pelzman. They were people of different convictions and social positions. All Jews who had to assist in the execution finally understood that they had to unite because they suffered as a unit, as a race unit. [They stood side by side observing this tragic spectacle, Zionists, Communists, and people from Bund and Mizrachi, party members and non-members, pious and free-thinkers, rich and poor, factory owner and worker.] Maybe suddenly the idea went through their heads that unified they would manage to tear off the head of the Hydra.
[There is however no fact or event which would be able to stop the wheel of history not even for a moment. That execution did not rescue Nazism from a defeat similar to all those executions taking part in the whole Warthegau [the German administrative district during the occupation of Poland in which Lodz was situated], in Zelow, in Lask, wherever Jewish communities used to exist.]
Before Pesach a message went around that again raids would be taking place. This was not an official proclamation, because Nazis knew that this time Jews would not appear in front of the medical commission. This was more gossip, which however made us pay more attention. Germans wanted to use some tricks, but they did not succeed one hundred percent. One day the management of the tailors union announced that current work permits would not be prolonged without a stamp from the Arbeitsamt [Labor Office]. In this way they wanted to gather all workers and to select a group for transport to Poznan. This did not succeed, because only a portion of the workers appeared, especially those who were safe anyway. The situation became tense, and rumors spread that if people did not show up, they would be shot. In fact, just the next day, a certain Gliksman who joined the crowd died from a bullet wound. Towards evening almost all police stations drove their members with weapons by truck outside of town. They wanted Jews to think that the policemen had been driven to other villages to make raids there and hoped that Jews would leave their hiding places and go back to their beds. But this was not successful, because this time the hunted animals were on alert. When the Nazis started a raid at midnight, they found only children and handicapped and older people. [That night Ickowicz and Cymberknopf were shot. But this all did not have any relevancy, because] the raid lasted three days and three nights, in the end using the Jewish police who had to bring five hostages each. On the fourth day, 400 Jews were sent away, and they had a tragic ending because they were mostly handicapped, old people, and children, who could not survive the hard work. [At the time that we were deported from town, almost no one from this group was still alive.]
[Dark clouds hung above the town.] Shortly after Pesach, like thunder from heaven, the news arrived about the deportation. [The question where to and when was asked by a thousand lips, longing for an answer which would be able to lighten the darkness and bring a piece of hope.] [In the Yizkor Book: No one knew where to.]
[I vividly remember those days when the szpera [curfew] was ordered in town. The first news about the deportation in Pabianice arrived, about how children were ripped away from theirs mothers and thrown onto trucks.] Neighbors and family members gathered in our apartment and wanted to make common plans, exchange information or simply unload their bitterness. [A young woman carrying a child said something that others were afraid to articulate. Never, she said, never will I give my child away, even if we have to jump together into the fire. She pressed the dark head of her child to her breast, and a stream of tears flowed from her eyes. Other women joined her crying quietly. To no avail the older women tried to calm her, saying that this was a sin and she was not allowed to talk like this and that God was merciful and would protect the Jews from Hitler as he once protected them from Haman. But all words of consolation coming from the lips of religious people or common optimists could not bring peace even for a moment to the completely shaken mothers. Their intuition told them that the end of their suffering in a very tragic way was approaching, without leaving anybody who would be able to remember them or to say a pray for their souls.] Deep sorrow overcame everybody who looked at the children becoming more and more afraid [YB: infected with fear].
It is difficult to describe what happened in our apartment during those three days. It is easy to describe the activities, deeds, and facts, even my own thoughts, but I would never find out what was in the hearts and heads of my mother and my other family members. What we did was actually opposite to what we thought, because everybody tried to stay calm and thereby influence the others. We carried out our everyday work, although it was hard to do so.
Despite all this we drew up a plan according to which everyone should act. My sister and I would probably stay in Belchatow in case of a deportation, because we had official work. My mother and the children would probably be deported. Based on those presumptions, she made rucksacks for my younger brother and herself, packed with the necessary underclothes, and sewed our address on them written on white sheets of fabric. For the child she made a bag which was put around his neck with a paper in it with his personal data. The poor children did not know what such bags were for and pranced with them around the yard. For me and my sister, mother hid some food under the roof which should help us in an emergency.
Additionally, we decided that our common address would become the address of our father in Poznan, and everyone should send letters there no matter where we were. After the war we should meet again in Belchatow.
Three days passed rich in happenings like centuries. The date of deportation was expected anytime. All of a sudden a good piece of news arrived like lightning, reaching all the places where a Jewish heart beat. The deportation was withdrawn. Many people thought about the meaning of this expression. Clear thinking was not possible when everyone was almost crazy with joy, when crowds of Jews gathered, despite the szpera [curfew], in the so-called Judenstrasse or in the yard of the Jewish Committee, trying to find out something more concrete and official about the quieted storm which hung over the town. Jews kissed each other, hugged, forgetting for a couple of hours all the differences between them, between the rich and the poor.
The szpera was withdrawn in the afternoon. There was, however, something which should not be forgotten and which somehow overshadowed the joyful mood which existed after the biggest danger, the deportation passed. This was the case of President Bodganski, a lawyer who was born, had studied and practiced in Piotrkow. Before the war, he married the daughter of well-known medical assistant Laskowski, Miss Andzia, who worked as a dentist in her private practice. During the Nazi occupation, many changes in the position of the President took place. After Ehrlich was hanged and Topolewicz stepped down, Bogdanski was appointed. During the entire period that he was in office, he tried with all his might to help people in their difficult existence, met delegations of workers, and debated with them about the slightest possible help.
[After asking the visitors to the soup-kitchen, he decided that the free soup served would be enriched with fat instead of margarine. He also wanted to establish a canteen like the one in Piotrkow, where one could get lunch for a minimal price, some five pfennig for larger families or 10 pfennig from a single consumer. Unfortunately he did not manage to realize all those plans due to the storm which broke out.]
On the first day of the szpera he rented a taxi for some thousand Marks to bring him and his family to Piotrkow. The cab driver, a German, brought them instead directly to the police station. After the Judenrat paid a ransom, they were not executed, only sent to Radogoszcz [a concentration camp near Lodz]. Among them were Bogdanski with his wife, old Laskowski with wife and his old mother, his son Szlamek with wife Pola Dykierman, who originally was from Radom, and their several months old baby, which she bore thanks to a big protection and money paid for in a clinic in Lodz, as well as Dawid Laskowski's wife, son of the old Laskowski, who at that time was in the Lodz Ghetto with an 11-year-old boy. All those listed above were transported to Radogoszcz by these murderers.
The President's chair was taken on by Topolewicz once again.
May ended and the summer arrived, time was quiet, no more raids for work camps. Although the Germans had not changed their tactics towards Jews, everyone was breathing easier. Even new facts of terrible torture did not disturb people. More and more cases of letting dogs loose on Jews. The Germans smiling, would say to the dog, Du, Mensch, nimm den Hund [You, human-being, grab that dog!]. Also murders became more common; for example, Zwierzynski was shot, after he escaped from the transport, hid in Zelow, and simply came home for a short visit. Borensztajn, who used to be a Hebrew teacher in Yavneh before the war, now earned money by giving lessons to children of richer people. One day he was caught hovering over a book with a child, and this was enough for the murderers to arrest him in the evening and shoot him on the way to the local prison, after having tortured him.
Also, Yossel Machabanski and his son were shot, in order to eliminate witnesses who could confirm that a German butcher had sold sausages to a Jewish woman who ran an illegal grocery shop. Moshe Zygmuntowicz, who was arrested carrying chickens, was beaten so long that he died after two days of torture, but still not confessing the names of the farmers where he bought the chickens.
All these facts could not darken the joyful atmosphere at that time as a message spread that the manager of the Arbeitsamt for the entire Warthegau was bribed. He came to us at the time when a raid was expected from Zdunska Wola where his office was. His arrival used to spread fear, but this time, however, he was literally welcomed. For furs, gold, diamonds, and similar gifts, he promised to bring our people from Poznan back to Belchatow.
[The will to be greedy was successful.] The first eighteen persons came back from the Lager towards the end of July. One can imagine what happened then in town. Everyone started selling everything he could turn to money, and this money flew to the boss through the cash shelter of the committee. The first eighteen persons came Friday before evening, and just the next Thursday came the second group of 70 people.
In the center sits Kalman Gelbart
This was another story. Actually a group of eighty should have returned, and for all of them the Lagerfürhrer [camp manager] had been paid. However, he kept ten men, demanding a ransom in the form of two pairs of shoes, two leather coats, and two clocks. This message about the Lagerführer's demand was brought by the people in the group that just arrived. Of course, the families of the remaining ten prisoners collected the needed ransom and sent Mr. Altman with these things to Poznan.
At the same time as Altman was on his way to Poznan, the mayor of Belchatow, who did not know anything about what had recently happened here, requested Altman's presence in order to discuss a matter. The mayor's anger was boundless when he found out that Altman was not there and when he learned of the purpose of his journey to Poznan. He called the camp immediately and ordered that the release of the people without his permission be stopped. After Altman's arrival, he was informed of the mayor's decision. With empty hands he returned to Belchatow on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, President Topolewicz was arrested, and, in the night from Saturday to Sunday, he was liquidated with a shot in the back of the head.
On Tuesday the 11th of August, at 4 o'clock in the morning, my uncle, with whom I worked at the shoemakers, woke me up. The first shift started at 5:00 am and lasted until 1:00 pm.
[The fog that morning could not block out the sun already coming up behind the roofs of the small houses. I left home without a coat and a cap, wearing only my workers shirt and trousers and carrying a bundle with shoemaker's accessories, such as a hammer, pincers, knife, and other things.]
In the street I noticed an unusual movement. [Something was in the air, but I was not able to say what. A German rode by us on a horse and answered our polite greetings. I am ashamed now, but I must confess that I presumed that a revolution had taken place in Germany. We all imagined that on a nice morning we would get up and everything would be over.]
In the workshop, also, where there were only a few men, we were discussing what each one had seen on the way to work [and analyzing the meaning of this information. Meanwhile newcomers added to our observations]. But suddenly we were interrupted by the news brought by Mr. Zylbergold, whose father was a gardener with the SchuPo. He said that Mr. Winter ordered him to go to the chief of the Jewish police, that all old and sick people and children should gather in Zelowska [YB: Zelower] Road. And then the happenings developed with the speed of lightening.
In front of us one SchuPo-man led with a whip in his hand a group of men, women, and children, old and young. Many of the workers went home to change clothes. My uncle also left, but I stayed because I was morally too weak to say goodbye.
At 7 a.m. trucks with trailers arrived from Zelowska [YB: Zelower] Road and stopped on both sides of Stary Rynek [Old Market Square]. We stood around helpless, not knowing what we were waiting for; some left for home, others for the factory. The general confusion which existed in the town also came over us. We were simply standing there and waiting.
Soon the manager of the factory arrived (a German) and told our supervisor (who was also a German), to get the keys and lock the building [literally: shack] and to send us to the devil. His order was followed. I was on the street and wanted to go home, but how? Between me and the other side of the street was a long row of German vehicles. At every one stood a driver armed with a weapon or at least a stick, club, or a knuckle-duster. We stood in a group without knowing which direction we should go. Someone called out, Hop, Jude, hej [Hey, Jew, come on], and this indicated the way. We had to run past Germans standing in a double row where we were beaten repeatedly, and out of breath we reached the yard of the synagogue.
I started looking for my people among the Jews who were gathered there. I could not find anybody, because these were mostly Jews from the outskirts of town. The Germans were afraid that if they started the action from the center, all those who lived on the periphery would flee and hide. They started their raid at night encircling the town, shooting those who tried to flee like hunting rabbits, and emptied one Jewish house after another. The people, half naked, were led to the synagogue yard. After the yard was full, the murderers led by Bibow arrived. It was silent, like at a cemetery, as he announced that those having documents or permission to work should go to the other side and form rows of five. Between us and the other side, Germans stood, checking all our documents, every single paper. The crowd jumped towards them, one pushing the other, showing their papers, afraid that the contingent soon would be full and they would have to continue roaming. The Germans created order right away. Two shots were fired towards the masses, and two dead bodies taught the people discipline.
After having shown my card, I was ordered to the other side; that means I was allowed to join those who, thanks to their work permits, could stay in town, according to circulating rumors. Standing in the row I was able to look around. The crowd had to form rows of two and was escorted outside. Dr Basier stood there with his wife, wearing a Red Cross armband. When he was supposed to form a row, his wife did not want to leave him. She kept coming back to him, despite being beaten with hands and feet. Finally she was allowed to stay with her husband, and both hugging each other left for the unknown.
While all this in the yard happened, while the fate of the people was being weighed, not knowing that they were going to their death, just peacefully standing together, happy not to be separated from each other, a girl with loose hair and torn skirt was brought in. Her appearance indicated that she had fought with the soldier who escorted her. I knew her. She was Miss Mendlewicz, about 17 years old, who came to Belchatow from Wielun during the occupation and who still traveled there earning money for her family from trading. I do not know how they found out she was Jewish. The soldier brought her in front of Bibow. His first question was, Bist du Jüdin? [Are you Jewish?]. I don't understand, she answered in Polish. A loud slap to the face was heard. Bist du Jüdin? came the same question, and the same answer followed with the same reaction. This kind of conversation took so long until the Nazi became furious, hit and kicked her, and, when she was on the ground in spasms, he ordered that this piece of sh__ be taken away from him and thrown on a truck.
[After the Germans counted 100 people,] we were escorted outside to the vans. They were high trucks, and we were supposed to get on through a hatch at the back. A large tumult started, because nobody knew how to climb onto the trucks, and, before we could think, we heard the sticks over our heads hitting people standing close together next to the truck. Even if someone managed to climb up, he was torn back down by those grabbing him trying to climb up.
[Not being aware of the risk involved,] I went to the truck at the side of the driver's cabin, climbed up over the wheel and got in, waiting until the truck was full, looking around the square.
Near the church fence stood those Jews who did not find room in the synagogue yard. Among them I expected to see my family. Using the knowledge of those who lived in our neighborhood, I discovered those from number 18, those from 20, all made to stand in this order. Then I saw number 22. At that moment my mother found my searching eyes and raised my 6-year-old brother into the air. He was saying goodbye to me, waving his hand. Unfortunately, this was the final farewell.
When the three trucks with trailers were full, the command to start was given. A Gestapo man got on every truck and ordered us to turn to the front for the journey, not leaning on sides, which could result in an accident. The transport started, first, second, third truck, and a taxi with some Gestapo policemen at the rear. After a two-hour drive we found ourselves on Balucki Rynek [YB: Baluter Ring] in the Lodz Ghetto. Here I [again] met my sister, who came with the same transport [because she had the documents for a tailor's workshop. What scenes of tragedy as brothers, sisters, and mothers discovered that nobody else had reached the ghetto. Jews from Balucki Rynek looked at us shaking there heads with pity; it is really hard to describe].
[All those happenings to which I was witness in the last couple of hours did not break my soul, my eagerness to live. I shook it all off like a dog leaving water, and with new energy I started my life under Ghetto conditions.
When I saw my desperate sister continuously telling me how my youngest brother looked when he woke up, and how he shook from the cold and fear while being dressed, or when she told me how my mother calmed everybody down, that this was all a new German trick, I was not able not to answer her.
Always when she started, heartbroken to remember our family, I calmed her down saying: We have to stay alive! If the war does not last long, we will see all of them my father in Poznan; also my mother, who surely survived as I expected she would, a healthy woman, was deported for sure and we would meet them. If not, we have to stay alive to take vengeance for their deaths.]
Three years have passed since then. From Belchatow into the Lodz Ghetto, then Auschwitz, Flosseburg, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt [all the time I was driven by the idea of vengeance. When finally the moment of paying back, when the groaning comes from under the soil and demands revenge, the mighty gentlemen in full dress and top hat spread their protective wings over those nests of vipers, which again multiply and will again poison the world with a new poison in the future. The hope which did not leave me during years of torture, and now brings me new energy to start a new fight, for once and for all the end of all those dark powers breeding this new nest of mean individuals. I am standing in the row of all those 44 million victims who should be addressed for the position of judges and those seeking vengeance and who overtake in their hands the steering wheel of government. Finally the gentlemen from Westminster Hall will speak their judgment, which will be fair for all those criminal Germans with heavy cleated boots covered with mud combined with the blood of innocent victims, will destroy the nest of those reptiles.] [In the Yizkor Book, this passage ends as follows: I have been dominated by one desire: survival, to be able to take revenge when the day of retribution finally comes.]
Lodz, 15 January 1946
[Narutowicza Street 29/37]
* From the Archives of the Jewish Historical Institute in [Warsaw,] Poland, catalog number 1413 [written in Polish by Moniek Kaufman] retrun
** [Editor's note: This chapter was originally written by the author, Mendel (Moniek, in Polish) Kaufman, after World War II, in Lodz, as one of many official Reports of Holocaust Survivors. Several years later, after he had settled in Israel, he was visited by his childhood friend, Jacob Meyer Pukacz (who had emigrated to Argentina in 1937). They found a copy of the original document in the archives at Yad Vashem and translated it into Yiddish for this Yizkor Book (with some deletions and minor changes that do not appear in this translation). Andrzej Selerowicz's translation is from the original document in Polish in the Archives of the Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw, catalog number 301/1413. Mr. Kaufman now lives in Kibbutz Yafit, Israel, and has given permission for this translation.] return
*** [Editor's note: The original report in Polish includes some passages later deleted and not included in the Yizkor Book. These are denoted with straight brackets in this translation.] return
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text:
These notes were written in 1925, as a result of my frequent visits to the training collective near Rakov. It complements the articles about the HaHalutz movement in Rakov, and sheds light on an area which left its mark on the town, in general, and on its youth, in particular, and was an important instrument in facilitating the 'ascent' to Eretz Israel.
I closed my books, put them in the case, and said to them: That's it! As of today, the ax and the pick will take your place. With my knapsack on my shoulders and my staff in my hand, I walked to the 'collective'.
The last rays of the setting sun accompanied me on my way; everything was placid with the calmness of dusk; the trees stoodquietly, dreamily, as if uttering a silent prayer. My feet were light, and my heart full of song -- finally I overcame, made my decision... I felt easier.
In the house of the 'collective' I found only the two mamutchkes -- as we used to call the two women, the mothers and sisters of the 'collective' -- being busy, the one with mending and the other by the stove. The men were just returning from their daily labor, and were entering the office to report. Moments later, and they and they entered with great noise and commotion. We were introduced, and I looked at their faces, covered with dust and soot, and their tarred hands. Yes, I said to myself, they did real work. And I? Will I adapt? Will I be able to take it?
Two weeks passed. I was struggling, we all were. We were still searching for the right road. The work, sawing wood, was hard. Our enthusiasm was not what it had been. Our bodies were demanding their rest, and when we returned from work we would fall on our beds and smoke a cigarette, which never left our mouth. Doubts began to creep into the hearts -- am I capable, and worthy, of being a halutz [pioneer]?
And the collective way-of-life was not smooth either. It was very hard to adjust to the sharing, to the group-living. Friction developed, caused by the different customs and mores of the environments in which we had lived. This was a sign that the road ahead of us was still very long. For example, a new comrade came from the town V., a bit of a 'greenhorn', and immediately he became the 'doormat' of those around him. For a time, he suffered his humiliations silently, on the inside; but then his patience snapped, and one day he grabbed a pale of water and emptied it on the heads of his two tormentors...
[Page 74]
|Training Camp in Mikhalova next to Rakow
And here is a story that reached us from the 'collective' in G. D., a, about one of their best members, a conscientious halutz [pioneer], fluent in Hebrew, constantly talking of high ideals and moral behavior, and so on and so forth. They appointed him the treasurer. And lo, he was caught with his hand in the till, embezzling. He was tried by the members, and was thrown out of the 'collective'.
And here is an amusing episode: A young man, almost just a boy, came from the town D. to join us. One day we returned from work, sat at the table to eat, and the lad could not be found. We called him, searched for him, until he was found standing behind the wall, eating a strudel. We burst out laughing. And he stared at us -- so what?... that is, what's the matter? The strudel was his, his private property, and he was not going to share it with anybody else...
But -- I said to myself -- do not despair! This was only natural, and the 'collective' had to serve as a crucible for its members, so that they would emerge doubly purified, ready for the great mission -- the birth of a the new Jew, the new Man. For this purpose we had to undergo a cultural change, that is, a change of heart and mind.
These changes occurred after we were joined by G. He was an ideal halutz, expansive in his relations with others, of plain manners, and always happy and gay. Intellectually, he was only so-so, but with his open heart, common sense, and eyes full of wisdom, he exerted great influence on us. In a short time he became the 'living spirit' of the 'collective'. Indeed, this is the kind of people we needed. We turned more forcefully to our 'ideological training'. In the evenings, we read the 'ideological' literature: The Collective Settlement, The Life of Trumpeldor, The Writings of A. D. Gordon, the HaPo'el HaTsayir [The Young Worker], and, at last, we started receiving the daily Davar [the newspaper of the Jewish Workers Party], which had just begun its publication [in Eretz Israel].
One Saturday we conducted a discussion on the meaning of our way. I started by saying: The Halutz Movement is not based only on the national element, the liberation of the afflicted [Jewish] People, but also on ideals for humanity as a whole. The Halutz Movement, by realizing the collective way of life in Eretz Israel. Is leaving the paved road, which was traveled by previous generations, in search of other lanes and other ways of life. It loathes the life based on wars and competition, and strives for the way of life which enables equality between men. The halutz has to purify himself, to cleanse himself, to distance himself from all that is ugly around him. We have to uproot every semblance of egoism, we have to be reborn!
These words were heard, and absorbed, silently. But G. begged to differ, he stood up and said: Comrade, you demand purification and reconditioning of the mind. Good! But I add to that, and demand, that the Halutz be, first of all, full of joy of life. We have to learn to sing with a Hasidic fervor, and that is what would lead us to the love of friends and comrades. We are Hasids! Modern Hasids! He posed his demands, and he carried them out. He stood up and started singing, and others joined him, cleaved to him, and the circle of dancers moved as a single body, shouting: El yivneh ha'galil [God will rebuild the Galilee -- a Hebrew song, popular among the 'pioneers' of the time]... just like on a kibbutz in Eretz Israel.
The Gentile workers stood at the door and looked with amazement: What are they so happy about? They could not understand how some Zhids [Jews], who were engaged in a hard and backbreaking work all day, were still so happy and gay. And they were not the only ones. The fathers could not understand why their sons left the shop, or the book, behind, and went to work for two gold coins a day. And the mothers were looking with amazement at their pampered sons, who got up one morning and went to work chopping wood, and then came back at noon with a shining face, as if they had won a victory over the whole world. And we? -- We were listening to the voice which came from the innermost parts of our souls: Be liberated! And it was our own strength that was liberating us.
|The Maccabi in Rakow 1925
The owner of the sawmill, Mr. M. R. was a 60 years old Jew. He, his wife, a son, and two daughters, lived in a large and spacious house, not far from the mill. His manners towards us were like those of a powerful lord. His family, too, kept their distance from us at first, and spoke to us in a patronizing voice. But things changed later. One day, the father and two daughters attended our meeting, which was devoted to the history of the Aliyot [waves of migration] to Eretz Israel. I, in my talk, mentioned the first migrants, and uttered the word Bilu [a pre-Herzl Zionist movement in Eastern Europe, which established the first agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel]. I saw that Mr. M. R. was suddenly shaking, and was paying more attention to our discussion; he was even listening attentively to my words. I understood this behavior later, when I learned that in his youth he was a member of the Bilu movement, intended to go to Eretz Israel but did not, married, started his successful business, and became very wealthy. His involvement in his business affairs made him forget Eretz Israel completely. Suddenly, after so many years, when he heard the word Bilu, a hidden string was pluck, and he heard the song of his youth coming out of the depth of his heart.
One day, later, we met and talked about our work; suddenly he asked: Do you really and truly intend to emigrate to Eretz Israel?
|Hashomer Hatzair Management Team in Rakow, 1934
One day, on the train to Vilna, I bumped into Mrs. M., our employer's wife. As we had known each other, we started talking. The conversation turned to personal matters, and she told me of their life in Moscow before the [First World] War, of their wealth and high position in those days, and then she sang the praises of her son, who was studying at the university in Vilna. But, she continued, she had only one fear, that he would be swept away by the torrent which was flooding the Jewish youth, and would decide to emigrate to Eretz Israel. She expected me to comfort her, but my heart was full with the shouts of victory: Yes! He would be swept away! All of you, and your children, would be swept away by this torrent, the torrent of the blood of the awakening People of Israel!
[Pages 78-81]
Edited by Ruth Wilnai
I spent three years in Rakov, in the Tarbut school as a teacher and as a principal. I worked with Malka Kazinitz zl. Ties of love connected me to the town's scene.
I was a young teacher, and had just graduated from the teachers' training school Tarbut in Vilna, and somehow I found myself in the remote town, Rakov, on the border of Russia and Poland.
I remember my first trip from Olechnowicz to Rakov. We were somewhere on the top of a hill, when the carter, Eli Eliyahu, turned to me, pointed to the lights glittering far away in the horizon and said:
This is Minsk!Minsk then was a remote, very distant world.
The town, Rakov, was small. Here was the market square with its shops. From the square, streets spread out in the direction of the four corners of the world with their wooden houses, a few more lanes-and that was the entire town.
It seems to me that Rakov hadn't even one brick house. The Jews lived around the market square and in the nearby houses, and the Gentiles -- at the other end of the streets, facing the fields.
The town was clean, and it stirred my heart with its calm way, and the cultural atmosphere which prevailed in the Jewish homes. I became attached to the town, to the children, to the school, to the youth and to the entire Jewish community. If there was a time when I really got to know the small Jewish town, its character and its life, it was during the years I lived and worked in Rakov. I had known a small Jewish town earlier, as a boy, before I reached the age of fourteen and left for school, but that was not the same as the knowledge of a grown-up emotionally involved in the town.
What a treasure trove of Jews and their spiritual wealth:
Feitel Bernstein -- with his pure and honest soul, and his wife -- pure as a dove, with a good, delicate heart. He would welcome his guests with his whole heart and soul. Once, on the eve of the Second World War, he read a fictional work written by Yaushzon, (pen name of the author Moshe Yustman - a Jewish, Polish author 1889 - 1942) about the establishment of an independent Jewish state and, for days, he walked as if in a dream. How much human grace was there in their home; how much love for all Jewish, Zionist and Hebrew causes.
Tuvia Rubilnik -- clever with inner Jewish pride. On the outside he looked cold, but inside - he had a burning passion for the Hebrew school and Zionist education.
Bampi -- a Jew who could hardly make a living, shy and retiring; but one of the early Zionists in town, overflowing with knowledge of Judaism and Zionism. His spiritual roots were in Minsk -- a city radiating with national Jewish light. He was one of the founders of the local Hebrew school, and close to the Zionist youth movements. Greenholtz - the Zionist family par excellence in the town. The nerve center of all Zionist activities, from supporting the school to raising funds. The family was full of Jewish national pride.The extended Greenholtz family was very active and had a vital influence on the life of the town.
|Tzvi Shapira and his family
Heikel Oberzhanski -- One of the notable men of the town. His home brought learning and wealth together under one roof. He was full of common sense and his clever remarks spread like wildfire among the local Jews.
The Kaganovitz family, the teacher Goldstein, and so many more were among the distinguished members of the Rakov community. Above all were those wonderful Jews who would drink thirstily, with open mouths, the sweet, pearls of wisdom from their teachers, preachers, and rabbis. I do not remember their names, but their dear images are still hovering in front of my eyes.
Before the Revolution, the town was under the patronage of Minsk. They went to Minsk to study, and there they acquired a sense of their Jewish and Russian culture. One could still sense, in many homes, the deep ties to Russian language and literature, when from time to time during a conversation, someone would quote Pushkin, Larmontov, or Tolstoy.
Daily life was not easy - the keeping of the shops, the flax trading; but the homes were full of lights, and warmth.
The younger generation knocked on the gates of the youth movements, weaved dreams about immigration to Israel, engaged in Zionist activities at school--fundraising, and so on. Can we mention the young generation without mentioning its nerve center -- Aba Botvinik (who wrote the article about the youth movements in this book)?
Remember the school. I doubt I would get the same enthusiasm, the same satisfaction from teaching, as I was privileged to have in my earlier years -- the years I spent at the Rakov school.
The new Hebrew school Tarbut was located in the New Synagogue, in its Ezrat Nashim (women's section) and its foyer, all of its seven classes.
The teacher, Malka Kazinitz, who was much beloved by the children and the teacher, Kavertatz, who taught the first grade, and I were responsible for all the classes in the school. We worked in two shifts, from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, sometimes combining two classes for the same lesson. We were young then, full of energy. In the evening we were involved in public, Zionist activity, and so on; every institution in the community included the participation of the teachers.
The Hebrew school in the town was a small sanctuary for Hebrew, Zionism, and the pioneering spirit, overflowing with love and cherished by everyone. It was the center of Zionist activity, the source of nourishment for the youth movements, prompting the youth to immigrate to Eretz Israel.
The school adopted the Hebrew language and endorsed it as the language par exellence. It encouraged the community to speak only in Hebrew throughout the whole day: in the street, in the stores, and at home. Thus the children spread the Hebrew language to every corner of the town.
I remember how Haya Minya Ovrazhenki, a clever woman, was forced to learn the Hebrew words for the school supplies, lest her store be boycotted by the children.
Last, but by no means the least, the community children. What sparkling lights they were. I loved them all, all of them, very, very deeply.
The children were full of affection and love for the school, the Hebrew, the learning, and the teachers. Who could ask for anything else?
I remember how we studied Nevi'im Rishonim (the prophets - the part of the Bible which tells the history of the Jewish People from the conquest of Canaan to the destruction of the first Temple). The children wanted to make more progress, and suggested that we start school an hour earlier than the regular time, at seven o'clock in the morning.
During the spring mornings, in the silence of the school building, we studied portions of Nevi'im Rishonim. The students, childhood dew still surrounding them, their eyes still reflecting fragments of their night's dreams, continued their dreams into the stories about Saul, David, and Jonathan. How excited they were when we read the chapter about the dramatic confrontation between the king Ahab and the prophet Elija, when Elija cried : Have you murdered and also inherited?
They sat enthralled. Many times I left the classroom, while the students continued to sit in place, still thinking and daydreaming. Even though I was hired to teach only the schoolchildren, as the time passed by, I was asked to teach the adults also. I accepted, and began to teach the adults a chapter from the Bible, every Saturday afternoon.
The children studied the idyllic poems of the poet Shimonovitz, and the legends of Tzfat (a town in the Galilee). They were especially impressed by the poem about the ARY (Rabbi Luria Ashkenazi, a sixteenth-century Kabbalist) welcoming the Sabbath in Tzfat; the children learned it by heart, and each wanted to recite it, with the right accent and with full expression. They enjoyed the content and its captivating rhythm. Oh! The passion and the enthusiasm with which Frumale Lifkovitz read the poem.
At one time, we studied an act from a play, by N. Bistritsky, about Rabban Yohannan ben Zakkai [a Talmudic sage, a disciple of Hillel, who saw the destruction of the Temple, and was the founder of the Yavneh Academy]. It was in the women's section of the synagogue, upstairs. The building was empty, and Elka Shapira read, with her excellent accent and with the right emphasis, the section describing how Yohanan ben Zakkai, fearing for the fate of the Jewish People in the future, suddenly felt as if the interior of the Temple was shaking. In her velvety voice, full of sadness, in complete identification with the play's character, she read:
Temple, Temple, why are you shaking?!And the sound of the words, from the mouth of the girl, still echoes in my ears today. Then we did not sense the approching earthquake.
|Rakow Tarbut School - 21 June, 1936
Tamar, Hela Lifkovitz, Moshale Rubinlik, Frumale, Alkale. All of them were pure young angels.
And the four that survived: Aharon, Nahum, Ziva, and Tsipora.
All of the children were assembled together, on that bitter, dark day, in the synagogue, their school. There they were burnt alive, and their bodies and souls went up in flames. They will remain imprinted in my heart, and live there, to my last day.
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Key resources
Brady M
Department of Health and Ageing
This book was developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who want to tackle the effects that grog has on their communities. The book has eight chapters on: history; alcohol; action; prevention; controls; strategies; care and handouts. For each chapter there is:
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
In the last chapter there are handouts that can be photocopied or put into overheads; these can be used for providing information to a community. Page 246 of the book has a list of key resources that will be useful in finding out more, or keeping up to date with new information.
Australian Department of Health and Ageing
GPO Box 984
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: (02) 6289 1555
Fax: (02) 6281 6946
Freecall 1800 020 103
Email: email@example.com
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Collect-and-Connect Parallax wave this summer...
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Spell Extending (3.5e Equipment)
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Spell extending [Synergy]: A spell extending weapon has all of the benefits of a spell storing weapon. In addition, it automatically extends any spell stored in it. If a weapon with this enhancement also has the manyspell storing enhancement or the greater manyspell storing enhancement, use the original level of any spell(s) stored in it for the purpose of spell storing capacity.
Prerequisite enhancement: Spell Storing.
Strong evocation (plus aura of stored spell); CL 6th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Extend spell; Price +2 bonus.
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President Barack Obama says in the coming days he'll be inviting House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders back to the White House for more meetings on the federal debt limit.
Tuesday, the House passed the so-called "cut, cap and balance" bill which Republicans say they want on the books before voting to raise the debt limit.
The bill would cut spending by trillions of dollars, cap future spending and begin the process of amending the Constitution to require a balanced budget.
MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Republican 2nd District Rep. John Kline, who is one of the sponsors of the bill.


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House of Holland founder and lead designer Henry Holland has quickly become one of the most prominent names in high fashion, and his signature brand has developed a reputation for luxurious apparel, accessories and more. Initially gaining exposure with his "fashion groupies" line of tees, Holland has since collaborated with industry leaders including Levi's, Le Specs, Superga and many more. Drawing inspiration from a wide variety of sources including music and pop culture, Holland's pieces have become a must have amongst the London fashion set. The future looks exceedingly bright for House of Holland, as the brand's status as a trend-setter in the fashion world is further cemented with the release of each bold, innovative collection.
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HEREFORD United face the threat of liquidation next month after their CVA proposal was rejected by creditors.
HM Revenue and Customs, who are now owed £170,000 by the Southern League Premier Division club, had already rejected the arrangement, which was voted out.
The Bulls are now effectively an insolvent company and, unless the remaining directors can raise the money to pay creditors before September 1, the club will be wound up in the courts.
It was announced this week that Tommy Agombar had failed the owners' and directors' test by the FA and told he was not allowed any involvement with United.
His shares have since been bought by Alpha Choice Finance Limited, which is owned by Alan Gerald McCarthy.


text:
I wonder why Leake gets the first start. I would think they would want to limit his innings.
I wonder why Leake gets the first start. I would think they would want to limit his innings.
Mes pops out to Brantley in CF leaving two stranded. 2-0 Tribe after 2.
Ron Mahay is now pitching.
Choo grounds to Phillips. One down.
Santana with a base hit to CF.
Hafner with a liner to RF. Santana held to second by the fear of Bruce's arm.. Men on 1 and 2.
Kotchman with a double to Right Center. Santana scores. Men on 2nd and 3rd. 3-0 Native Americans.
Chisenhall pops to shallow right. Bruce makes the catch. 4-0 Indians. Mid 3.
Phillips strikes out swining. 2 down. Cozart up.
Northern Buckeyes cruising 4-zip. At least we get to hear some baseball.
Cozart pops to the wall, Choo grabs it. Three up three down. 4 to zip Tribe. top of 4 coming up.
Brantley singles with a grounder up the middle.
Against RH starters, Cleveland has 8 of 9 men in lineup hitting lefty (including SH).
Reds (with Francisco) could have 3 of 9.
Zero lefty starters for Cincinnati.
Just a really imbalanced team. And that's on Jocketty. I wonder if Mesoraco could have replaced Grandal/Boxberger in the Latos trade...not that I would have made that trade anyway.
Brantley advances to second on a balk, Cabrera then grounds out to Phillips, Brantley moves to third.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Infectious Diseases
Mono transmission
in order to get mono....does the person whom I made contact with have to have full blown mono or can they just have ebv too?
Most individuals exposed to people with infectious mononucleosis have previously been infected with EBV and are not at risk for infectious mononucleosis. In addition, transmission of EBV requires intimate contact with the saliva (found in the mouth) of an infected person. Transmission of this virus through the air or blood does not normally occur. The incubation period, or the time from infection to appearance of symptoms, ranges from 4 to 6 weeks. Persons with infectious mononucleosis may be able to spread the infection to others for a period of weeks. However, no special precautions or isolation procedures are recommended, since the virus is also found frequently in the saliva of healthy people. In fact, many healthy people can carry and spread the virus intermittently for life. These people are usually the primary reservoir for person-to-person transmission. For this reason, transmission of the virus is almost impossible to prevent.
Pamposh Kaul, MD
Assistant Professor
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati


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WEBINAR: Q1 Expectations and Our Best Ideas
Join Pete Najarian and Stephanie Link as they give you their outlook for first-quarter earnings and how to trade around that.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 15 ...57 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
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A menagerie of animals has invaded the ANTIC stage for two weekends, as the theater stages a charming rendition of "Dr. Dolittle."
The show, which can be seen March 14 and 15 at 8 p.m., and March 16 at 3 p.m., tells the story of Dr. John Dolittle (played by Mark Brown), a congenial but absentminded doctor who discovers one day that he can communicate with animals (and often with more success than with people). The good doctor finds his talent leads him to new adventures and hazards -- both at home and abroad.
Director Liz Hickman said this was the first family gala the theater had staged in some time.
"We had our first family gala in 1996," she said. "This is one of the first shows in a long time where we've really spotlighted the kids. It's been a lot of fun."
Hickman said there were about 45 people in the cast, playing about 50 characters.
"The costumes were a lot of fun," Hickman said. "Pushmi and Pullyu was the biggest challenge. I searched everywhere, and even the theaters who have done this, and they didn't have [a costume]. So finally, Stephanie Gallagher sewed one.
"So many people were involved," she added. "I asked for help, and I always got it.
Pushmi-Pullyu is a two-headed llama-like creature, played by Aneya Schvartz and Mackenzie Schneider.
Gallagher, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, said sewing the costume was a challenge.
"There was fur everywhere," she said, and laughed. "But the girls are so adorable."
Another point of interest in the show is the ship - or, actually, ships - created by Don Howdyshell, who plays Mr. Jenkyns (Dr. Dolittle's attorney) and Howdyshell's brother Craig. The ship piece shows as both a small schooner Dr. Dolittle sails on for one side, then is flipped to represent the pirate ship sailed by Ben Ali (played by Claus Siebenhaar) and his crew.
"It took us about two hours to do," Howdyshell said. "It was great fun. This was my first play since sixth grade, and that show was here, too. So I'm back, about 60 years later."
"Dr. Dolittle" is at the Newell Theatre at the Quirk Cultural Center, 1201 Grant Avenue in Cuyahoga Falls. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for Students, $6 for seniors and children under 12. Tickets will be available at the door.
In August, ANTIC will stage a nonmusical version of "Les Miserables."
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 330-541-9438


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I hope Isiah sticks around as head coach simply because I enjoy having a team to hate. I've despised the Knicks for some time now, but it's harder when they suck. If the Knicks started getting good AND had a coach that I loathe... now then we'd have ourselves a villain.
Maybe I remember the rivalries too fondly, but I know I went out of my way to watch them. I want a rivalry or two. Of course, to have a rivalry, it helps if you're relevant.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Wellness Center
Healthy cereal
I wish to eat healthy cereal. However, I understand that most major cereal brands are heavily laden with sugar and presumably not very healthy. For example, Cocoa Puffs lists sugar first in its list of ingredients. I understand that this means that sugar is the largest ingredient. It says that it has 120 calories per cup. In contrast, Kashi Heart to Heart cereal is supposed to be very healthy. Sugar is not listed as an ingregient (it does list evaporated cane juice which may be a form of sugar). It says that it has 110 calories per 3/4 cup, which equals 146.666 calories per cup. That is more than the unhealthy Cocoa Puffs. I will gain more weight or loose less with Heart to Heart. Which cereal is healthier? What cereal do you recommend to lose weight?
Thanks for your question. Despite the number of sugar-coated, "kiddie" cereals available on the market, there are quite a few healthy ones available. When shopping for healthy cereal, keep these points in mind:
1) Go for whole grain. Whole grains (or unprocessed cereals) typically contain more fiber and less sugar and than most cereals. Fiber is beneficial in keeping your bowels regular and may also aid in weight loss, cholesterol reduction and blood glucose control. Good sources of whole grains include oats, oatbran, corn bran, shredded wheat, wheat bran, Muesli and low fat granola. Be careful with granola however, as it may contain a lot of added sugar.
As for your question above, Kashi is one brand that is very high in fiber and typically moderate in sugar. As far as the calories go, it may be a bit higher than sugar-coated cereal, but it will keep you feeling fuller longer (because of the fiber) and will likely help in your effort to lose weight (not hinder it).
2) Keep sugar content low. You are correct that the first 3 ingredients on a food label make up the majority of a food's contents. When choosing cereals, choose those that contain 5 grams of sugar or less per serving. There is 1 tsp. of added sugar per 4 grams of sugar. So a cereal with 24 grams of sugar per serving would contain ~6 tsp. of sugar per serving.
3) Limit processed cereals such as Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes or Puffed cereals. Although these may be low in sugar, they are not very high in fiber and are therefore digested quickly. You may find yourself feeling hungry within 1-2 hours of eating these types of processed cereals.
4) Choose 1% or skim (fat-free) milk over 2% or whole milk. The milk you choose can add a significant amount of fat and calories to your cereal. For example, a cup of skim milk has ~90 calories and zero fat, while an 8 oz. cup of whole milk contains ~150 calories and 8 grams of fat.
5) Add fresh, frozen or dried fruit to cereal to increase the vitamins, minerals and fiber of your breakfast. Sliced bananas, berries or dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries) are great additions to a boring bowl of bran.
6) Choose healthy foods the rest of the day. A healthy bowl of oats or shredded wheat cannot make up for burgers, fries and candy bars consumed later on. Be sure to choose low fat, high fiber foods throughout the day for weight management and optimal health.
For more tips on healthy eating, check out the American Dietetic Association web site and Dietary Guidelines for Americans (click on the links below).
Related Resources:
Lisa Cicciarello Andrews, MEd, RD, LD
Adjunct Faculty
University of Cincinnati


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I'm looking to run another contest being as I'm back home for the holidays. This one will go the same way as the last few of my contests have gone. Just make a post in this thread and you'll be automatically entered. This time, though, feel free to list your two favorite current Pacers players names into your post, because I may add a couple extra items to this prize for the winner. This contest's prize is a Paul George game-used jersey trading card. Here's a pic of it:
All PD members are welcome to enter this contest, even the international members. I just do this because I can give back to others and because it is fun to me, so I appreciate everyone that participates. I'll pick a winner tomorrow night (Sunday) at 8:00 PM Indianapolis time. I will PM the member for their mailing address, and I'll mail the prize this upcoming Monday to the winner.
Thank you and good luck to all!


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For many westerners and western companies, it's hard to figure out why some Chinese have gone to the US for their graduate degrees, worked at name technology companies such as Intel and Microsoft, then come back to China, their homeland, start their own businesses, and fall flat on their faces. How is this possible? They […]Read More...
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Corbett keeps campaign promise on 'walking around money'
Tom Corbett campaigned for office on a promise to eliminate the use of "walking around money" known as WAMs.
But Pennsylvania's governor says it's come back to bite him and his legislative agenda.
WAMs have been derided as lawmakers' way of buying political support back in their districts. And Corbett was adamant about ending the kind of grants that used to grease squeaky wheels in the state House and Senate.
Still, he acknowledges how effective they could be.
"You know, there were some bills, and I'm not going to go into which ones, all I needed was five votes," he said. "But I had nothing to negotiate with, without the WAMs.
House GOP spokesman Steve Miskin takes issue with the governor's argument, but he dodges the question of whether the absence of WAMs has changed the Legislature.
"It's always easy to criticize and complain or specify what was not done," he said. "But the fact is, a lot was done."
Miskin says the difference between the Legislature before Corbett and after Corbett is not the absence of WAMs.
"Now you have true leaders who don't need the power of money but the power of a principled argument and better negotiation – better negotiation skills, or good negotiation skills," he said..
The spokesman for the House Democrats has a different take.
"I think the governor's difficulty in getting things done has been weakness in his ideas rather than a lack of negotiating tools such as WAMs," Bill Patton said.
Patton says the governor needs better arguments and policy ideas, not WAMs.
Corbett takes issue with the idea he hasn't been the best at communicating with the Legislature.
"What I haven't had with me is, 'And here's what I can give you right now.' OK? That's the WAMs," he said.
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text: Quilter known for hands innovates on computer By Jill Wilson June 15, 2013 Story Share Award-winning quilter to lecture at festivalCHARLESTON, W.Va. -- To her grandchildren, Anita Shackelford is just Grandma -- a great cook who spends time with them when she isn't running that business she has. One grandchild opened his eyes a little wider when he realized a customer wanted Grandma's autograph in a book she wrote.He had reason to take notice: Shackelford is an award-winning quilter and author with an international reputation and more than 45 years of quilting experience. She also has made the transition from being a renowned hand-quilter and hand-quilting pattern designer to a pattern designer for digitized longarm sewing machines.You might say there are a lot of stitches from there to here.Shackelford headlines the 2013 West Virginia Quilt Festival, June 20-22 at the Summersville Arena and Conference Center. She will teach classes to registered quilters, but she also will be delivering a lecture and trunk show that is free and open to the public at 7 p.m. June 20.Her quilts have been exhibited in shows across the United States and in Australia and Japan, and have appeared in more publications and books than many libraries have on the subject. Books and quilting tools are marketed under her business name, Thimble Works."I didn't see it coming at all," Shackelford said of her career and business in quilt making. "But on the other hand, when the door opened, I was ready for it because I had done the work to improve my skills. I told my children and now tell my grandchildren, you have to be ready."Shackelford grew up with quilts and has some of her grandmother's creations. It was her Aunt Gini, however, who taught her to quilt. Gini was also a quilt collector, although in the 1950s and 1960s the term "collector" wasn't really a common term for quilt lovers. "I was attracted to her quilts," Shackelford said. "She would get them out for me and we would talk about different patterns. It was my senior year in college that I said I wanted to make one."Gini took Shackelford shopping to choose the fabrics. The pattern she used was a template of Shackelford's grandmother. Shackelford calls that shopping trip "one of the greatest gifts in life." The result was a hand-stitched quilt that she acknowledges probably would not win any awards for exacting workmanship. But it remains cherished because of its history and what it represents.It was just the beginning.Shackelford spent nearly two decades making quilts for family members and giving some of them away. Then, in 1984, she entered two of her quilts in the National Quilting Association show. One won second place. "I could barely breathe. I had no idea that would happen," Shackelford said. "My reaction was not that I was 'hot stuff,' but that I needed to work harder. I wanted to be able to do those 'very best' quilts. I wanted to be that good."She is that good. Shackelford since has won dozens of awards for her needle workmanship, including 12 Best of Show honors, and twice won a major hand-quilting award.The importance of attending quilt shows, she said, is learning where the bar of quality is. Shows also are a source of inspiration. Entering a quilt in a show is highly educational because judges provide feedback on your creation, she said. The American Quilters Society asked her to write a book about the techniques she was using, techniques that she had developed by studying "Baltimore Album" quilts. They involved appliqué -- stitching pieces onto a quilt top to form flowers and leaves and other designs -- with dimension.These techniques became the subject of "Three Dimensional Appliqué & Embroidery Embellishment: Techniques for Today's Album Quilt," the first of eight books by Shackelford.She has appeared on just about every quilt show on television as well. Quilts by her and antique quilts from her collection have graced several galleries and museums.Then she received a request from a person who wanted to digitize her feather patterns on a computerized longarm machine called a Statler Stitcher. When she met Paul Statler to talk about the process, she was mesmerized and amazed."Since I was a hand-quilter, I don't know what the attraction was. It was kind of crazy," she laughs. "I bought a Statler Stitcher and then I had to figure out how to make it work. ... I guess I was ready for a new challenge and that was a really big one. It has opened up a whole new way of working for me. It has brought me a new audience. It's the fastest-growing market in quilting."Today, Shackelford teaches the computerized longarm stitching technique and markets her computerized designs. She also has started a hobby, a kind of quilt rescue project, in which she picks up unfinished quilt tops or misfit quilt tops and finishes them. Using her new computerized design skills, she re-conforms the quilt tops to what she envisions they were intended to be. The enjoyment, however, is just as intense."The first message I have is for quilters to enjoy what they do. Don't worry about trying to follow too many rules. There is personal input in a quilt. Love it. Make it your own," Shackelford said. "The second message I have is for you to use the techniques that appeal to you. Today, we have so many options. Make the quilt any way you want it to be. If you are entering a quilt in a show to be judged, there are some rules; that's the nature of it. But enjoy the journey."Jill Wilson, of Ripley, is a former Associated Press reporter and a quilter. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Teen pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 2 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 3 Toyota announces new $115 million project for WV plant 4 Man allegedly cuts father in Rand over argument about a sandwich 5 'Report for America' pilot project begins in Appalachia Dads in the kitchen Previous Story Award-winning quilter to lecture at festival Next Story


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text: OverviewBack to top Triloka - Wooden Incense Holder Palmwood OM - 10 in. Item# :121188UPC# :726078501996 Brand:Triloka Size/Form:10 in. Ship Weight:0.10 Triloka Palmwood Incense Holder with OM Design - 10" Triloka's Palmwood Incense Holder with OM Design is handmade from sustainable, responsibly harvested woods by Triloka's Fair Trade cottage industry partners in India. Triloka's Palmwood Incense Holder is handcarved with a wooden OM design tile inset. Triloka's Palmwood Incense Holder with Mandala OM Design is ten (10) inches in length. Triloka's Wooden Incense Stands Most of Triloka's Wooden Incense Stands are made in India from Sheesham wood, an inexpensive hardwood which is commercially grown. The harvesting process is carefully monitored by the Indian government and it is actually illegal for anyone other than foresters to cut down a living tree. The manufacturer of these items is a small cottage industry with three generations of wood crafters. Designs are enhanced by carving, saw work, and brass or wood inlay. Aromatherapy and the Triloka Difference Aromatherapy is an ancient science of alternative healing that uses the positive influence of aroma on the mind and body to promote helpful mental and physical healing effects. Triloka provides a complete line of natural aromatherapy products and accessories. Triloka herbal stick and cone incense, essential oils, anointing oils and smudges are of the highest quality from natural sources. Triloka's unique handmade incense holders, soapstone diffusers and smudge vessels provide a complete solution to your aromatherapy healing program. The holistic healing science of aromatherapy dates back to ancient times when healers used plants to heal the body and lift the emotions. Aromatherapy uses several mediums of delivery to achieve this end. Incense, essential oils, perfume oils and anointing oils are all avenues to achieve a healing balance both physically and mentally. Ayurveda, the science of life, is the oldest recorded system of medicine in the world. Within the Ayurveda the use of natural plants consisting of herbs, grasses, woods, gums, resins, seeds and flowers makes up the body of the science of aroma. Closely allied with Ayurveda, the discipline of yoga applies fragrance to enhance relaxation and promote the meditation experience. Positive influence obtained through aromatherapy comes from aroma and its impact on the olfactory system having pharmacological effects on the brain. Aromatic compounds alter mental state, mood, cognitive function and health in the most natural manner without disruption of the functions of mind or body. Balance of energies, relaxation and clarity of mind all are addressed through this science. Triloka brand of natural products are made using the principles of aromatherapy above, transforming ancient science into products for use as simple alternative healing tools. The reason Triloka incense is ideal for aromatherapy is that it is made traditionally according to the masala method. This ancient method combines natural herbs, gums, resins, woods and oils that are kneaded into a paste and hand-rolled onto fine bamboo sticks and sun dried. Burning these real, high quality ingredients, releases the properties desired in aromatherapy. Triloka's incense is never dipped in perfumes or oils, and will hold fragrance for many years. Triloka natural herbal incense, smudges, perfume oils, essential oils and anointing oils are complemented by Triloka's classic incense holders, soapstone diffusers, resin burners and smudge vessels to bring a complete solution to ones aromatherapy needs.


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Viewer Video: Horrible Cat Attack
A Fox 2 News viewer sent in video using the upload tool on myFOXdetroit.com and titled it 'a horrible cat attack.'
Play the video in the player above to see the startling attack. FOX 2 News app users, watch the video here.
Also play a video report from Fox 2's Amy Lange who met with Maxx, the attack victim, to find out what happened.
Melvin, Michigan resident Maxx says all she was trying to do was protect her mother's dog.
This summer she had taken in a stray cat, whom she named 'Buddy.'
On November 30, 'Buddy' attempted to attack the dog and that's when Maxx tried to shoo him away.
As you see in the video taken by a security camera, she tries kicking snow at him. 'Buddy' responds by leaping at her head.
He sinks his teeth front and back teeth into her forehead, causing a gash. He also claws her face, leaving marks on her cheeks.
"Your first reaction was to get him off and when I went to go pull, I could feel his teeth," says Maxx.
Maxx ended up in the hospital and says she ended up getting an infection that manifested into cellulitis, causing her face to swell. (See the photo she submitted.)
Sanilac County officials picked up the cat and tested it for rabies. To do that, 'Buddy' had to be put down. The tests came back negative.
Maxx, who owns three other cats says, "I actually saved him from someone who was going put him down and he was sweet as pie. When they came to get him I couldn't even watch because even though he did that to me, I couldn't see them take him away because I knew what they were going do to him."
Maxx says she is still a cat lover and that she would try to save another stray if she could.
See the original upload of the video.>>
Share your video and photos here.>>