Original Message
Sent: Tuesday, 1 October 1996 3:21
To: fdobia@internex.net.au
Subject: cmielnik & stopnitz
My parents came from chmielnik and stopnitz (stopnica). I am interested
in finding out more information from you.
Stopnitz had three transports taking all the Jews out. The first went
to Maydanik, the second went to Kielce and the third went to Poniatow.
Are you familiar with any of the above occurrences out of Stopnitz? Do
you recall any names from Chmielnik and/or Stopnitz. There are many, many
survivors from those two towns (getting fewer every year) that live here
in Toronto, Canada. The people you spoke to are all related to the chmielniker
society here in Toronto. It is a real joy for me to be able to communicate
with you regarding this subject and I really hope that there are some names
that may jog the memories of my relatives here. Obviously all the survivors
are fluent in polish so please do not hesitate to send information in that
language since translation could be almost immediate.
.................
Response:
I do not come from Chmielnik or Stopnica. In 1941 I was forcefully evacuated
with my family to Chmielnik and lived there if you can call it as living
in " grojse tsores". The evacuation to Chmielnik was for us the 2nd time
round. The first was in 1939 from Dobrzyn on the Drvenz in Polish Pomerania
to Plock and in 1941 from Plock to Chmielnik. I was 15 years old at the
time. I must tell you (a bit only) about it so that you understand what
went on in those days. Because we were all starving from hunger and living
in the Ghetto (it did not have a fence around it) but ordered to live only
there. If caught outside the boundaries of the Ghetto the penalties were
very severe and usually they put the poor victim against the wall and shot
him. Twice a week Chmielnik had a "jahrmakt" a sort of market day were
the farmers from around the area came to town to sell some eggs, butter,
and such items, and buy in turn some articles that they needed. As a boy
I was watching some of the horse drawn carts of the farmers whilst they
attended the market place and in turn got a piece of bread for it. After
a few times of doing that I was offered by one of the farmers a job on
the farm. The village was called KARGOW and it was about half way between
Chmielnik and Stopnica. It was not a good situation on the farm for me.
A Jewish boy amongst goyim, not used to such work and the ill treatment
and abuse that one had to swallow was not the ideal situation, but it was
a lot better then in the Ghetto. At least I did get some food.
In Chmielnik the situation for the Jews was getting worse daily. I
used to get home once a month when I got one day off. One day the "SOLTYS"
(sheriff) came to the farmer to tell him to get rid of me and send me back
to the Ghetto as I was not allowed to be in the village. The next day I
had to leave for Chmielnik. On the way (on foot) I met up with another
Jewish man returning to the Ghetto. The distance from KARGOW to Chmielnik
was about 15km. It was a market day and on the outskirts of the town a
lot of farmers gathered with their goods for sale in the market. None of
the farmers that wanted to get into town were allowed in, as the evacuation
of the Chmielnik Jews was taken place. The cries, the yelling, the dogs
barking you could hear clearly. Me and my "met up friend" tried to get
through the cordon of Ukrainian and Polish police and get into the Ghetto
to be with our families. We now know that this was the day that the
Ghetto was liquidated and all the Jews were transported to Treblinka. The
guards turned their guns on us and shot my "met up friend" through
the arm. We pulled back into the crowd of farmers and split up. I returned
back to the farmer. It was already late at night and I slept in the hay
barn. Someone must have seen me returning during the night. In the morning
the sheriff came again and arrested me. He took me to his house and threw
me into a little shed under the house and in the afternoon took me to the
higher authorities in the Burrogh (Tuczepy). There I was put in a proper
jail and locked up. I was told that the next stop for me was the Gestapo
and what I could expect. During the night the door of the jail opened and
the secretary of the Burrogh (he was one of the farmers that I used to
watch over his horse and cart) and said, run son, my Jesus Christ be with
you. I took of like a hare. .
It was late at night (curfew time) and nobody was allowed out at that
time of the night. I laid down under a tree a few kilometres from the Burrogh
jail and as soon as dawn arrived I moved on. I found out that there are
still Jews in Stopnica. So I headed in that direction. When I got there
I was looking for somewhere or someone to take shelter with. I found some
people from my own town (Dobrzyn) that lived in the "Beth Hamidrash" with
many other Jews. They found a corner for me and I became the hero of the
Ghetto. Nobody was moving out of the Ghetto to anywhere. The fear was so
great.
In the yard where the Beth Hamidrash was, a few Jewish families lived
around it. I am mentioning this especially so if there are a few people
from Stopnica and remember the town they will know exactly the place I
am referring to. In that yard lived the "Judenalteste" the Jewish leader
elected by the Germans into this position. As soon as they've found out
that I've come into the Ghetto, I was approached by the Jewish police with
a proposal. Seeing that I knew the back roads very well, would I be prepared
to take a group of women and some children, to Chmielnik, during the night.
I was offered some money which for a boy that had nothing, destitute, and
hungry, was a fortune. I grabbed that idea and made arrangements to meet
in the evening. The Jewish police knew or had some knowledge of what was
happening during the deportation to the surrounding little towns around
them. They knew that usually after a deportation, that most of the Jewish
police and some tradesman that were engaged in making riding boots and
fur coats for the Germans, were left behind to finish the work that was
in progress for the Germans and additionally to clean up the Ghetto. They
were left there for a few weeks and this prompted some of the Jewish people
that were hiding during the deportation to return to the few buildings
in the Ghetto left especially for the clean up group. From the Ghetto a
smaller Ghetto was created with only a few buildings as a Ghetto. This
was also a trap setup, practiced by the Germans, to leave a small group
of Jews after a liquidation to entice as many hidden Jews back to a place
were they can grab them again, whenever they were ready, to include them
into a deportation from a neighbouring town. What was happening during
the deportation the Jewish police knew. What followed later they did not
know. So the thinking was to take the wives and children to a safe place
where the deportation has already taken place and bring them back to Stopnica
when the deportation was over
We now know the next chapter of what happened after a deportation.
A false feeling of security grew over the few remaining Jews left after
such an action. The talk was that the devil has had his fill, so he will
leave us now in peace for us to do his jobs that he needs done. And it
was like that for a few days or a few weeks. Little did they know that
after a deportation, that within a short time, they will also be deported.
They probably did not know of the final destination. We were always told
that we are being resettled to the East. I found out much later where the
final destination was.
We gathered in the evening as arranged and I led the group out of the
Ghetto and stopped on the outskirts of town. A Jewish policeman was with
us. The women had some food with them for the children and themselves.
Some bread was given to me and a little money. A photograph was cut on
an angle, with a signature on the back of the photo and signed by someone.
Half the photograph was left behind with the policeman, to pass on and
to remain in care of by the "Judenalteste". The other half of the photograph
was given to one of the women in the group. I had to bring the other half
of the photo back with me and if it would match up with the half left behind,
I would get the balance of the money. We arrived safely in Chmielnik
early in the morning and the remainder of the clean up group accepted them
into the small remaining Ghetto. The women knew some of the people or some
of the families that lived in Chmielnik. They lived in close city neighbourhood
all their life. Some had relatives in Chmielnik and asked about their whereabouts,
to be told that they have been evacuated. (Another term the Germans used
for deportation) I was the outsider coming from Dobrzyn, from a different
area altogether. I collected half of the photograph and the chief
of the Chmielnik clean up group gave me a sealed letter to the "Judenalteste"
in Stopnica. They must've known one another. I returned to Stopnica with
half of the photo and the letter and became the hero again. I was terribly
frightened doing what I did. But for a kid to do what I did, it was great
stuff. I was given the balance of the money and everyone seemed satisfied.
Within the letter that I brought back with me, was the description of the
deportation that has already taken place in Chmielnik and what to expect
from the Germans during the deportation. The advise given in the letter
and planned among the elders of the Ghetto was, that after the deportation
in Stopnica a group of them will be left behind and mainly the Jewish police.
After the action they would bring their wives and children back from Chmielnik
to Stopnica as previously planned.
Being the hero and everyone pointing at me, that it was me that took
the women across to Chmielnik gave me also a kick of achievement.
I did not go to sleep as I should've after 2 nights of very little sleep
but paraded around in the Ghetto. The same day about lunchtime, I was caught
together with another 9 Jews by the Germans for work. The job consisted
of unloading 2 trailers of wheat drawn by a tractor at the railway station
that was about 40 Km away. Stopnica was not on the railway track.
I am writing this with all the gory details that I remember. Amongst
the 10 of us was one man that pleaded with the German to let him go, because
his mother died and he wanted to bring her to "Keiver Uvos". His pleading
did not help and as soon as the tractor moved he jumped of and fell unfortunately
under the wheel of the trailer. Needless to say that there must've been
two burials together, of mother and son. The German stopped the tractor
and with his whip he layed into the poor man wriggling on the ground. The
poor fellow’s wife was standing on the other corner of the street screaming.
Her crying and long wailing yells, I remember to this day. I repeat again
that I must tell you all the details, in case there is a survivor from
the Ghetto in Stopnica and remembers some of the incidents that I tell
you now
The tractor with the trailers went on with us on them to the railway
station. We went through a little town called Nowy-Korczyn. The town was
empty of people. A strange feeling went through us. The people that were
with me were from Stopnica. They knew the area and felt like me very disturbed.
When we got to the railway station that was a few km on, we could not drive
into the station. All the Jews from Nowy-Korczyn were there waiting to
be transported to their final destination. It was getting dark and the
guards that surrounded the people lit carbide lamps to keep the people
together and make sure that nobody escapes. What we saw there was the cruelest
treatment that I ever experienced. The tractor was about 50 metres away
from the people. The screams, the shouting we could clearly hear. The guards
called for the "oberjude". They made them all sing. All that time the guards
kept on shooting, stirring even greater terror and panic among the trapped
Jews. Many many shots were fired, cries, screams and finally the train
arrived and the loading took place. This picture stands before my eyes
continually. I don't think that apart from the Germans and Ukrainians that
carried out these barbarous jobs of deportations, that there ever was another
eyewitness during the physical loadings of the Jews, destined for the gas
chambers. That night there were 9 eyewitnesses. As soon as the first wagon
was closed up the pleadings and the screams for water was continuous. The
whippings, the barking of the dogs, the savageness and cruelty, that these
poor Jews from Nowy-Korczyn had to endure, I am unable to put it into words.
Finally the train with the unfortunate cargo left the siding and the German
driver of the tractor returned very drunk and with some girls. While all
this was going on, he was in the railway station entertaining the girls.
He pulled the trailers up on to the ramp, where a railway wagon was waiting
for us to offload the wheat. He unhooked the tractor, switched on the headlights
and gathered with the girls some of the parcels the unfortunate Jews left
behind. He went back to continue his drinking and we started our offloading.
We couldn't help but notice some of the people that were shot during the
action. We took from the bodies the "Kenkarte" identity cards and when
we finished the unloading of the trailers, we pleaded with the German to
let us take the bodies home with us for burial. He refused, so they were
left there. Late in the morning we returned to Stopnica. Very soon the
Ghetto knew what we witnessed. We were arrested by the Jewish police and
belted by them for causing panic in the town.
We were eventually released and it did not take very long, that I was
awakened whilst sleeping in the "Beth Hamidrash" to listen to the distant
noise. Some suggested that " the big hero" should go and have a look what's
going on.
Only G-d knows how frightened I was. I went to the market place, to
see that the women and children together with some other Jews from Chmielnik,
were brought back by horses and carts to Stopnica. By the time I returned
to the "Beth Hamidrash" to tell them what was going on, the Germans together
with the Jewish police were screaming "Juden raus" I hid in a little shed
under the "Judenaltestes" house on the side of the "Beth Hamidrash". I
don't know what made me hide in that little shed. I suppose that after
what I saw at the railway station, the loading of the Nowy-Korczyn Jews,
did have the desired affect on me, not to go to the market square for the
deportation. I had a terrible cold and lying in the shed I was afraid to
cough in case someone hears me. The shed was just on the boundary of the
Ghetto and the town. The guards after the deportation of the Jews were
returning back exactly alongside the shed I was in. I was practically choking,
holding back the cough. That night I slept in a Jewish house in the courtyard
of the "Beth Hamidrash". I knew that I had to get up before daylight. Nobody,
by order of the Germans was allowed into the area of the Ghetto. If caught
within this area one risked being shot. I slept like never before and woke
up late in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny day. I looked around the
house and found a little bag of flour and another one of grits. I jumped
out through the window that bordered on to the open space that did not
belong into the area of the Ghetto. I was too afraid to walk anywhere inside
the Ghetto boundary. The jumping out of the window seemed to me a lot safer.
I walked to the nearest village and could smell bread being baked. I walked
into the house and offered my bit of flour and grits for some bread. The
farmer’s wife did the deal. She did not suspect that I was Jewish, as I
spoke perfect Polish with a farming accent. During the deal and the conversation
that took place, I was told that some Jews are still left in the Ghetto
I went back to Stopnica and being an outsider not from Stopnica I was not
accepted. Local people that somehow hid during the liquidation of the Ghetto
returned to be with the local Jews. Again, the same trap as in Chmielnik,
was set for the Jews in Stopnica that saved themselves from the deportation.
I did not have to leave and could have stayed. The people were so frightened
and made it so unpleasant for me that I decided to leave not knowing where
I was going. I finished up back in Chmielnik where 6 Jewish tradesman (bootmakers
and tailors) were still working for the Germans finishing of their boots
and clothing. Within one day we were all bundled of to the Kielce Hasag
and from one camp into another finishing up in Buchenwald and segregated
into the children’s block 66 were I stayed until I was liberated on the
11th April 1945.
This is all I can tell you about the 2 towns that are of interest to
you. It was a horrific experience and I've decided to write to you, so
that you can pass on this chapter of ones life to the generations that
will follow you. It's a history of a people that are no longer here. All
this happened in this century and not some hundreds of years back, and
during our lifetime.
There was another incident that comes to mind whilst I am writing this.
Prior to the liquidation of the Ghetto in Stopnica, the Germans wanted
some young people for work. I was in the market square and made myself
available for that operation. Some people were taken away by trucks to
Skarzysko. There were not enough trucks and in the evening after the carbide
lights were lit by the Germans, the order was given to disperse and shooting
took place. We all ran for our lives. I ran into a double story house and
the people were so frightened and nobody would let me in. I slept on the
staircase. I mention this incident specifically, because amongst your people
in Canada, maybe someone that was there during this particular operation,
or survived the Skarzysko Werk A, B and C, with that experience and remembers
this particular event.
Regarding your personal questions within your E-mail. I do not remember
any of the names from Chmielnik or Stopnica. I was there only very briefly
during the war. There may be some people here in Australia from the 2 places.
I don't know. Your family could even be in touch with some of them here
in Australia. If so, it would be nice to know who they are.
I can write to you in Polish if you like, but it's a lot easier for
me to express myself now in English after such a long time in an English
speaking country
All the best to you all, Happy New-Year
Frank