Tewele Wrubel

... ing what it meant to be really alive. The following sur- vived with me: Tewele Wrubel, Isroel Felder, Awrom Izchok Lew, Wolf Szyf, Mejszel Gerszuni, Anatol Rabi- nowic, Zalmen Edelman. Szejme Lyfszic also escaped, but we later heard he was taken away and evidently perished. Six months later, Awrom Karasik was found alive but wounded in Russia. He then returned to ...

... On the fifth day we were placed on trucks and transported to a farm that reputedly belonged to the head of the Bialystok Gestapo. The officer in charge of our transfer was a sadist; he beat us with canes, wooden boards and anything else he could get his hands on. The police ridiculed and beat us, and some even poked sharp objects into our abdomens. They beat up young Nochum Kozak, whose father, Herszel, a printer, was sent away with other printers to a camp in Germany. The most difficult work was being forced to load steel bridge sections onto wagons, which demanded superhuman strength. Many of us contracted infections during work, including Tewele Wrubel, whose fever raged for four weeks; Boczkowski, a lock- smith and jazz musician; and Zylberblat, who owned a house near Druskeniki Gymnasium. Those who were deemed unsuitable for labor were immediately shot, while those who exhibited stamina continued living for the time being. ...