Pietrasze Field

... While thousands of Jews were taken to Pietrasze Field for eventual transfer to Treblinka, my husband was spared early death because, as an expert shoe- maker, he was needed for Nazi factories. We were con- fined to the courtyard of the former Jewish social welfare agency. ...

... The 1,200 children who had been evacuated from Pietrasze Field were in several buildings, where they lived under quite good conditions with plenty of food provided by the Judenrat pantry. The children were cared for by a large number of women and received medical attention from physicians. ...

... On the third day a house near the Judenrat build- ing went up in flames. Some twenty-six Jews perished in that fire. Attempts were made to pinpoint the cause of the blaze, but no explanation could be found. Many Jews suspected that the Nazis set the fire, an ominous new method of liquidation in the hideouts. On Wednes- day, August 18, 1943, the task of emptying Pietrasze Field of its throng of Jews was completed. Most had been deported to Treblinka; some.10,000 others were dispatched to Lublin-Poniatow or Mayjdanek. ...

... At two in the afternoon the next day, several high- ranking officers of the Gestapo command, headed by Friedl, appeared at Pietrasze Field, demanding that eve- ryone fall into line. The masses, frightened by this group, refused to obey and pandemonium broke out. Suddenly a hail of bullets sprayed the field, increasing the panic. One Nazi officer ordered a cease fire and explained to the throng that if they failed to line up as usual, the entire population in the field would be exter- minated. His calmly delivered ultimatum quickly re- Stored order. ...

... The Massacre at Pietrasze Field ...

... s: Przejarz, Grochowa, Krakowska, Dambrowski, Kupiecka, Zamenhof, Bialystoczanska, Ruzanski, Zydowska, Bronska, Geldowa and Lipowa. Many foresaw what was coming and were able to hide. Approximately a thousand of the arrested men were lined up for ‘selec- tion.” [Who would live and who would die.] Workmen and artisans able to show callouses on their hands were separated from the rest and freed. The others, members of the intelligentsia and merchants, were detained. They were tortured all night and into the morning. Finally two hundred were loaded onto a truck that headed out of town. From that moment on, every trace of those Jews disappeared. It later became known that these two hundred were shot by the Nazis at Pietrasze Field, approximately two kilometers outside the city in the direction of Waszlykowa. They included: Dr. Jakow Rajfer; Wajnszel, instructor at Druskeniki Gymnasium; Aron Murkis, instructor at Zeligman Gymnasium; the merchant Rotsztejn and his son; Berl Zabludowski, 1161521 Maze, owner of a dairy; Becalel Frenkl, ““Macca- 066" sportsman; Orlowski, instructor at Druskenik1 Gymnasium; Lancberg and others. This tragic mass ...