REFOEL RAJZNER THE “ACTION” OF FEBRUARY 1943 At the end of January 1943, rumors spread that Chairman Barasz of the Judenrat had received an order from the Gestapo to put together a list of 12,000 Jews, ostensibly for work assignments. These disturbing reports only increased the tension among the people, who already understood that catastrophe was near. The young people active in self-defense and plan- ning armed resistance feverishly prepared. Certain trustworthy people were clandestinely sent out of the ghetto to obtain more weapons. A large quantity of acid was distributed among the more daring Jewish women to hurl in the faces of the Nazis, should they attack. Not much more could be done. Too little time remained. Many others constructed new hideouts, working surreptitiously night and day to complete them. The more resourceful stocked up on water and electrical power. In fact, some shelters were built with exits lead- ing outside the ghetto and could each accommodate about one hundred people. It quickly became known that the Judenrat had already compiled the lists of the 12,000 Jews. The first to go would be the elderly, the ill and the mentally unbalanced. After them would be the unemployed. It was unknown who was included in the third group, a secret closely kept by several members of the Judenrat. The atmosphere in the ghetto was as tense as could be, for tragedy lurked at the door. At the moment it was learned the Judenrat had already selected the 12,000 and was ready to give their names to the Nazis, a well-known Partisan and Judenrat member, Cwi Wider, decided to end his life. After leav- ing notes for the council and his wife, he hanged him- self in his own home. His heroic deed was talked about for a long time thereafter with awe and reverence, Wider from then on was considered a martyr of the ghetto. On February 3, 1943, a Gestapo committee arrived outside the ghetto to inspect its walls and fences. All exit permits held by Jews, which had authorized them to work outside, were confiscated on February 4. On the same day the Gestapo took possession of the list of the 12,000. In isolated instances, a number of leading local members of the Nazi party, including managers of the factories outside the ghetto, confided to their Jewish slaves what awaited them. Some even suggested that Jewish workers remain in the factories, where they would be safe as long as the forthcoming slaughter continued. Most of the Jews, however, refused to follow this advice, not wanting to leave their families alone during such a difficult time in the ghetto. Only a few The Bialystoker Memorial Book accepted the recommendation, thereby saving them- selves during the “February action.” On the night of February 4-5, 1943, most of the Jewish inmates of the ghetto could not sleep. On that night, at 2 A.M., many cars with Nazi soldiers, led by Gestapo Commander Gustav Friedl, entered the ghetto. Friedl stopped at the Judenrat build- ing and ordered the Jewish police to bring Chairman Barasz immediately so that he could observe. In a few minutes the Nazis surrounded the main streets of the ghetto, and launched a barrage of machine gun fire. With lists of the 12,000 in their hands, they broke into the houses of the intended vic- tims but failed to find any of them. The targets had found out they were selected and managed to disap- pear. When the Nazis discovered they had been foiled, they started an indiscriminate bloodbath. Attacking house after house, they dragged anyone found into the streets. Jews who were unable or unwilling to go with them were shot on the spot. As soon as the firing began, the 50,000 Jews in the ghetto fled to their hiding places. The rush to hide pre- vented people from taking anything with them, even drinking water. Valuable possessions were left behind, only to be stolen by the Nazis. Izchok Malmed Heroically Throws Acid into the Face of a Nazi Soldier When the Nazis attacked the house at 29 Kupiecka Street, rounding up all of its residents into the street, a bold young man, Izchok Malmed, whipped out a jar of acid from his pocket, hurling it in the face of a Nazi soldier, who was blinded at once. Seeking revenge, the sightless Nazi fired his revolver several times, hitting another Nazi soldier and instantly killing him. In the melee, Malmed vanished. Commandant Friedl, after learning what had hap- pened, ordered that one hundred men, women and children living in the area where the incident occurred be rounded up and force-marched to a nearby garden, where they were lined up against the wall of an adjacent bet hamidrash and shot with machine guns. Afterward Nazi soldiers captured another group of Jews, forcing them to dig a large pit for the bodies of the one hundred martyrs. A thin layer of earth covered them. Some were still alive, their hands groping upward through the earth.

The Nazi soldier accidently shot by his colleague whom Malmed had blinded was carried to the Judenrat building, and his body was placed on Barasz’s desk. Fried! then proclaimed to Barasz, ''566 what your Jew- ish criminals have done. Now we shall take revenge. 83