Evening star., 1961-05-03

Va SAAS 0AAAoAA Nl444O4 CIl. n piece
of bread, a piece of bread But
no one could give them a piece
OF bread. Only a few had bread.
Children would search the gar
bage bins for potato peels."
There were up to 300 funerals
a day, Mrs. Lubotkin said.
Bodies we're wrapped in paper
after the clothing had been re-
moved.
Within the core of the anti
Nazi resistance inside the
ghetto, the fighting spirit in
creased.
I'VE drew our strength be-
cause we were determined to
preserve the image of God, the
feeling Of Jewish PRIDE" Mrs.
Lubotkin said.
Food smuggling was a Sac
red enterprise" Smugglers
riSked being shot if they were
discovered by unbribed German
guards.
Children Aided Cause
THE breadwinners were chill
dren between the ages of Z and
IL. Twelve was considered an
adult age in the ghetto. Near
the gate of the ghetto, they
waited for a moment where they
could slip outunnoticed. The
Germans shot: some Of the
children were killed. But chill
dren are quick and agile and
hunger spurred their courage.
In the evening they came back
with food. Many parents
waited in vain"
Meanwhile, underground cells
spread through the ghetto.
Newspapers and pamphlets were
distributed.
II don't know whether any,
one of you knows what hunger,
what half-Starvation means,
when a man cannot think of
anything but of a slice of bread.
When we succeeded in drawing
the minds of young people
away from this slice Of bread,
this was a real achievement"
she said.
Then. the witness went on,
her resistance group heard the
first word of the Nazi eXter-
mination camps.
Many Jews could not be-
lieve that a whole nation was
to be annihilated. We were
educated to face the fate with
open eyes,"
Sent to Death Camp
In July, 1912, the first trans
ports left for the death camp
Of Treblinka. That winter
more Jews were taken away.
THE Jews who remained,
about 10000, were ordered to
gather in the streets. Those
who did not come out were
shot. Within one week some
$4,000 Jews were sent to Ire
blinka, children, the weak and
the DID," the witness said.
Mothers tired to put rouge
on the faces of their children
to make them look strong. They
gave the girls high-heeled shoes
to make them look adult"
Early in 1943, only 10000
Jews out of half a million were
left in the ghetto, Mrs. Lubot-
kin said.
In April, 1943, rumors swept
the ghetto that the Nazis were
preparing to liquidate all its
inmates.
Ghetto Surrounded
About midnight on April 1s.
l943," Mrs. Lubotkin continued,
we knew that the Germans
had completely surrounded the
ghetto. The Jewish under
ground was in a state Of readi-
ness to fight. The word
spread that anybody who had
arms was to fight. People
without arms were told to go
INTO bunkers or try to flee to
he Aryan areas of Warsaw or
20 the woods.
I'VE had waited for a long
time for the opportunity to
shoot Germans. The moment
had come. I was in an attic
md I saw thousands of Ger
mans armed with machine guns
enter the ghetto. We had a
'evolver, a grenade and two
runs in the group of 20 of
which I was a member.
we had some homemade
,ombs, very primitive. It was
trange to see those 20 men
md women standing up against
he great armed enemy, glad
'ecause we knew that the Ger
mans would conquer us but
hat we could make them pay
high price for our lives.
Nazis Retreat
Many Of you will not be-
eve that when the Germans
1arched by our post and we
brew those bombs and we saw
Ierman blood flowing over
ne streets of Warsaw after
'atching so much Jewish blood
n the streets, we rejoiced.
hose German heroes retreat
d, afraid and terrorized from
nose homemade bombs.
THUS on the first day, we
rove the Germany away. But
hey came back reinforced with
inks. We set fire to a tank"
Mrs. Lubotkin said Jewish
'sses on the first day were
ght but I'VE knew there we're
undreds of Germans killed.
THE fighting continued for
number of days at the same
ace. The Germans from time
time retreated. But we had
ore victims and the Germans
Ss."