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We didn’t even have proper potable water in the ghetto since the wells had not been cleaned for a long time. There were continuous epidemics of typhus: enteric fever, spotted fever and relapsing fever. Fortunately, my mother and I stayed healthy. There was no soap or other washing means in the ghetto.
In December 1942 my sister Anna’s former classmate came to where we lived. He told us he had seen Anna recently, he was in the same camp with her. He escaped from the camp and was telling Anna to join him, but she refused. The guy’s surname was Krupnik. He stayed with his parents in the ghetto. When Mogilyov-Podolskiy was liberated, he volunteered to the front. After the war he studied and graduated from the University in Chernovtsy and stayed to lecture at the University.
On the late night on 31 December 1942 my sister came to the ghetto. We were so happy! I’ve never had a better New Year present in my whole life. My sister told us about the camp and how she managed ton escape. Anna came to Voronovtsy at first. The living conditions were horrible. The inmates were hardly provided any food. The German guards killed weaker and sick prisoners. There was one German guard of French origin. [Probably from Alsace-Loraine.] He felt sorry for my sister and at times brought her some food. He was telling Anna to escape from the camp. My sister knew that those who tried to escape were killed, if caught, and she thought that his telling her so was a provocation. She told him she was not going to escape, but she was considering a possibility. Some time later the inmates were taken to the Zarubintsy camp guarded by Germans, Romanian soldiers and Ukrainian policemen. In the camp Anna made friends with a Jewish girl from Vinnitsa. My sister was very pretty and did not look like a Jew. Occasionally policemen talked to her. She made a story to tell them that she was an orphan, and her parents died and a Jewish family adopted her. The policemen believed Anna, and one of them even proposed marriage to Anna. They also helped Anna and her friend to escape from the camp. It took them few weeks to get prepared for the escape. They got winter clothes, home made vodka and meat – if they were to be caught, they could tell they were taking this food to their grandmother in the village. They were to wait till lunch time. The policemen gave them a signal, when there were no Germans on the post. Anna and her friend left the camp, crossed the river covered with snow and went on. At times they spent nights in villages. Anna’s friend burred and spoke with a distinguished Jewish accent and had to pretend she was deaf and mute. One night they came into a house where they intended to stay overnight. The owner of the house started telling them that he was to take part in the mass shooting of Jewish prisoners of the Zarubintsy and Varnovitsy camps, and the girls understood he was a policeman. They left the house unnoticed and moved on. Anna’s friend went to Vinnitsa and my sister returned to the ghetto. Later we heard that Germans killed over 1500 prisoners of these two camps and there were no survivors. Only four inmates managed to escape through the whole period of existence of these camps: Konis, who was the father of my future husband’s classmate, my sister’s classmate Krupnik, my sister and her friend. There is nobody to even confirm the fact of their imprisonment in the camp since there were no survivors.
In December 1942 my sister Anna’s former classmate came to where we lived. He told us he had seen Anna recently, he was in the same camp with her. He escaped from the camp and was telling Anna to join him, but she refused. The guy’s surname was Krupnik. He stayed with his parents in the ghetto. When Mogilyov-Podolskiy was liberated, he volunteered to the front. After the war he studied and graduated from the University in Chernovtsy and stayed to lecture at the University.
On the late night on 31 December 1942 my sister came to the ghetto. We were so happy! I’ve never had a better New Year present in my whole life. My sister told us about the camp and how she managed ton escape. Anna came to Voronovtsy at first. The living conditions were horrible. The inmates were hardly provided any food. The German guards killed weaker and sick prisoners. There was one German guard of French origin. [Probably from Alsace-Loraine.] He felt sorry for my sister and at times brought her some food. He was telling Anna to escape from the camp. My sister knew that those who tried to escape were killed, if caught, and she thought that his telling her so was a provocation. She told him she was not going to escape, but she was considering a possibility. Some time later the inmates were taken to the Zarubintsy camp guarded by Germans, Romanian soldiers and Ukrainian policemen. In the camp Anna made friends with a Jewish girl from Vinnitsa. My sister was very pretty and did not look like a Jew. Occasionally policemen talked to her. She made a story to tell them that she was an orphan, and her parents died and a Jewish family adopted her. The policemen believed Anna, and one of them even proposed marriage to Anna. They also helped Anna and her friend to escape from the camp. It took them few weeks to get prepared for the escape. They got winter clothes, home made vodka and meat – if they were to be caught, they could tell they were taking this food to their grandmother in the village. They were to wait till lunch time. The policemen gave them a signal, when there were no Germans on the post. Anna and her friend left the camp, crossed the river covered with snow and went on. At times they spent nights in villages. Anna’s friend burred and spoke with a distinguished Jewish accent and had to pretend she was deaf and mute. One night they came into a house where they intended to stay overnight. The owner of the house started telling them that he was to take part in the mass shooting of Jewish prisoners of the Zarubintsy and Varnovitsy camps, and the girls understood he was a policeman. They left the house unnoticed and moved on. Anna’s friend went to Vinnitsa and my sister returned to the ghetto. Later we heard that Germans killed over 1500 prisoners of these two camps and there were no survivors. Only four inmates managed to escape through the whole period of existence of these camps: Konis, who was the father of my future husband’s classmate, my sister’s classmate Krupnik, my sister and her friend. There is nobody to even confirm the fact of their imprisonment in the camp since there were no survivors.
Period
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Riva Pizman Biography