way to their bleak destination. The thoroughfares were crammed with humanity. Non-Jewish hooligans took advantage of the Jews’ calamity — attacking, beating and robbing them. Wit- nessing this, the Nazi soldiers laughed and ridiculed the Jews. The children of the “‘Aryan 2206" took photo- graphs to send to their families and friends in Germany, showing the tremendous German victory over the Jew- ish people. The ghetto was to be completely blockaded by August |. The Jews were required to obtain all the necessary materials to build a fence around the ghetto. They chopped and sawed wood to construct the barri- cade. How sad it was to watch a once-thriving com- munity forced to create a prison around itself, a massive jail for 60,000 Jews. The fence around the ghetto had three gates. The main gate was at Jurowecka and Szienkewycza Streets. The second was at Kupiecka Street, at the end of the marketplace. The third was at Czysta. They were guarded on the outside by Nazi soldiers and on the inside by Jewish guards wearing circular hats with an inscription in German reading ‘‘Jewish Law Enforce- ment Service.’” These Jewish police carried nightsticks or rubber truncheons. Many women and children, unable to tolerate the panic-provoking conditions in the ghetto, cried uncon- solably. Old men, tears streaming down their faces, lamented the bitter fate of the Jews of Bialystok. But finally people began to adjust to the new environment, comforting and reassuring one another. The hope that traditionally springs eternal in the Jewish heart did not die. People awaited Hitler’s speedy downfall. Inside the ghetto, wretched and miserable condi- tions prevailed. Many had no place in which to settle or facilities with which to wash themselves, no place to eat or sleep. Entire families had to squeeze into cramped quarters. Formerly well-to-do citizens descended into the pit of poverty. A writer later described the shouting, blood cur- dling screeches and bitter arguments contaminating the air. Little annoyances provoked blows among friends and relatives. Stoves were not to be found in the A ghetto street: no one survived. The Bialystoker Memorial Book The ravished Cooperative Bank (Founded 1901). cramped houses. Ghetto inmates built scores of fires in the streets to cook soup. Several days after the ghetto was established, a cemetery area was set aside, which was named Zabia Cemetery, located at Polna Street behind Katok’s mill. Each day thousands of Jewish men, women and children were taken out of the ghetto and sent to var- ious parts of the city to work. At night they were returned to the ghetto and locked inside. Everyone was stringently searched by Nazi soldiers on leaving and entering the ghetto to make certain that no one was carrying anything out or bringing anything in. The guards were especially strict about smuggled food. Thanks to Jewish ingenuity, however, food was sneaked inside, it helped sustain lives for a little while longer. Days of Uncertainty and Hope Although life in the Bialystok ghetto produced anguish and uncertainty among the Jews, they refused to give up hope. They concentrated on making it through each day. When the Polish peasants learned that the Jews would give away their jewelry for various necessities, the peasants brought all kinds of commodi- ties into Bialystok in return for the precious gems. But severe hunger prevailed, particularly among those who had no jewels to give. Because of this, the Judenrat opened two kitchens: one, designated a public facility for everyone, provided a watery soup for a min- imal charge, whereas the other, which offered the same fare, accommodated the ‘‘upper class’’ of the ghetto. People understood that the Judenrat could not provide better facilities. The two kitchens produced several thousand lunches per day. Furthermore, several small gardens were planted to grow vegetables for the kitchens. The ghetto also featured an old-age home, an orphanage, a school and other informal facilities. The Nazi command had previously forbidden the continued existence of the established social institutions in Bialy- stok before the war. 65