Loading the Jews in cattle cars at the Poljeser Railroad Station. worst fear was failure to fulfill a demand for man- power. This would surely mean doom for everyone.) Order No. 235 — The German Labor Department announces: it has been established that discipline among the Jewish workers is lax. That is why in all workplaces productivity lists have been instituted recording how many hours the Jews are working per day. It appears that on certain days, people do not show up at all for work, or work only part time. The exact reasons for these violations are unknown. The Labor Department acquiesced in the Gestapo’s punish- ing these shiftless Jews. In the future anyone found not discharging his work obligations will be turned over to the Gestapo for severe punishment. A Warning: Order No. 157 — The Judenrat issues the following warning! Report punctually for work! Do not leave your place of work without permission! For leaving work without authorization, the following have received corporal punishment: Moysze Nowokolski, Josef Lew, Jakow Racki, Mojsze Stupnik, Ben-Cyon Lipnik, Chaim Talinski, Binjomin Halpern, Chajkel Glas. Those who continue violating this order face pos- sible execution. Judenrat, Bialystok, November 18, 1941, Order No. 173 — For lateness and unexcused absences from work, the following received severe forced-labor assignments as a penalty: Josef Korn, Mordecha) Galant, Mojsze Ridak, Aron Bernsztejn, Lejb Galant, Hirsz Berezowski, Hilel Furman, Lejb Wayjnsztejn, Fajywel Wajnsztejn. We warn you to fulfill your work obligations. Do not leave your posts. Avoid harsh punishments. Judenrat, Bialystok, December 3, 1941. Order No. 166 — The following received severe corporal punishment for avoiding slave labor: Isroel Kagan, Mojsze Sapirsztein, Krawic, Hirsz Grochowski, Szya Feder, [zchok Melamed (Malmed), Nochum Nowik, Szymon Szwecher. Judenrat, Bialystok, November 25, 1941. Order No. 225 — For lateness at work, the follow- ing received corporal punishment and were assigned to 76 the penal brigades: Mates Gniazde, Lejzer Sokolski, Anszel Kaplan, Dowid Bereslowski, Gedalja Klajn- sztejn, Hilel Rudeler, Lejzer Macher. We warn: Come to work on time! Do not leave your posts without per- mission! Protect your lives! Judenrat, Bialystok, Febru- ary 21, 1942. Order No 383 — The Labor Department announ- ces that the following were whipped for (a) leaving the ghetto without authorization: Izchok Note, 10 Chmelna Street; Mordechaj Nisebojm, 12 Smalne; (b) for not reporting for forced labor: Isroel Naszelski, baker, 19 Polna Street; (c) for not showing up at the assigned workplace: Melech Dinersztejn, 12 Neuwelt, construc- tion; Hirsz Nisebojm, 39 Fabryczna; Awrom Palanski, 1 Bialoscaner; Ludwik Cytronenberg, 13 Fabryczna; Gerszon Kantrowec, 19 Chmelna, construction; Izchok Kadysz, 22 Kupiecka, construction; Fiszl Rozenberg, Gedawe Street. For further violations, harsh punish- ment awaits the perpetrators. These acts can lead to ghetto-wide reprisals. Labor Department, Judenrat, Bia- lystok, January 18, 1943. On the Eve of 1942 Generally speaking, life in the ghetto at the end of 1941 seemed to stabilize. People had already grown accustomed, more or less, to the chronic misery in which they were forced to live. Jewish men, women and children were able to pass through the ghetto unharmed as long as they wore their yellow badges. The Judenrat was functioning like a well-oiled machine, thanks to the impeccable integrity of its Chairman, Efrajim Barasz. Two new orders were issued by the Judenrat on December 31, 1941, which stand in stark contrast to one another. Order No. 194 concerns registration of children in Jewish schools, while Order No. 195 imposes confiscatory taxes upon the Jews. In one announcement, the Jewish community expressed the wish to teach its children Torah and secular subjects, entrusting to the next generation the glorification of the human mind and spirit. The Germans, on the other hand, revealed just a small part of their plan to plunder The Bialystoker Memorial Book