Conference of representatives of the Hebrew gymnasiums in Bialystok, held in 1939. In moments, almost all the 40,000 Jews left in the ghetto found themselves in the streets running to and fro in the darkness in a state of virtual madness. Ques- tions were asked: Is this the end? Is there no more hope? Will the entire ghetto be liquidated or only a por- tion? No one had answers. At 3 o’clock on the morning of August 16, several hundred well-armed Nazis moved into the ghetto, immediately occupying the factories and the Judenrat building. At 5 o’clock, it was learned that Barasz had been told all the Jews of Bialystok, together with the machines and the factories, would be transferred to Lublin, where they would carry on their work. An order was issued that all Jews who lived on Polna, Neu- welt, Czestochower, Bialostoczaner, Okrongle, Szlia- checzke, Linas Hatzedek, Czysta, Zytnia, Zamenhof, Kupiecka, Geldowa and nearby streets, must report to depots at Jurowcer, Fabryczna, Czepla, Nowogrudska, Chmielna and the Judenrat gardens at 9 o’clock in the morning for transfer to the railroad station. Those not complying with this deadline would be shot if found in the prohibited areas. It thus became clear to everyone that the entire ghetto was targeted for destruction. Already at seven in the morning, it was impossible to pass through the streets because so many thousands of Jews were painstakingly making their way toward the depots. The sudden Nazi attack caught the resistance for- ces inadequately prepared. Moreover, since the Nazis took over the factories right away, the plan to wage the fight from them and later to set them on fire had to be canceled. Well before 9 o’clock, the deadline, leaders of the resistance decided it was imperative to let the people know they were not going to Lublin but to Treblinka. One leader of the resistance made the following 88 announcement to a mass of Jews: “Be aware that you are being taken to Treblinka for gassing and we, to our great misfortune, will share the bitter fate of the entire Jewish people in Europe. The only way out of this hopeless situation is to burn our homes with all of our property, in order to deprive our enemy of any benefit. Take weapons in your hands, which you will find aplenty, and let us try together to escape into the forests, where our brothers in the Resistance are hid- ing.’ When he finished his speech, the young people, inspired by his words, grabbed their weapons. It was also decided that in order to facilitate the burning of the fence around the ghetto, it would be necessary to torch all the buildings nearby. Perhaps in this way a small number of Jews would be able to escape. TELL THE NEW GENERATIONS OF THE HOLOCAUST AND RESISTANCE The Bialystoker Memorial Book