Tag #116414 - Interview #78774 (Fania Brantsovskaya)

The underground organization of the ghetto united all parties and trends such as communists, revisionists, Bund etc. Their common goal was to fight against fascists. Vittenberg, a communist, was the leader of the underground movement. His deputy was Aba Kovner, a Bund member. The organization consisted of groups of five members who only knew their comrades in the group. In our group the password was 'Lisa's calling' commemorating Lisa Roft, who had been a member of the underground, but perished. The younger members of the ghetto were instructed on how to survive in the ghetto, how to bring in food without the policemen noticing. We were also supposed to assist our teachers, who weren't used to physical labor. We also gave people information about the situation at the front line and provided homes for people. The enemy was defeated near Moscow and the Soviet army was in offensive. The senior members brought weapons into the ghetto risking their lives. We were instructed in shooting in basements with brick walls. I visited one of these basements recently. We were also trained in making explosives, but it never came to action.