Object numberM2010/001:007
DescriptionFour-page typed testimony of Kopel Piekarowicz, born in Tykocin, lived in from Bialystok. It was recorded in the 'Refugee House' in Bucharest on 20 August 1945 by Jadwiga Sapera. The eyewitness account describes the arrival of the Germans on the 6th day of the outbreak of the Russian-German war when 3,000 Jews were taken to the synagogue and burnt alive. He then describes the setting up of the ghetto for 60,000 Jewish inhabitants, the murder of the Jews of Tykocin in the Lopochowa forest where children were thrown alive into the grave, escaping to partisans in the forest but it was too difficult to sustain themselves so they returned to the ghetto after 7 months of living in the forest. He then describes the first Aktion in February 1942 and the second Aktion (action) in June 1943 which lasted for 3 days and in which everyone was taken to Majdanek. He describes the trip to Majdanek where people were loaded one on top of the other, suffering terribly without air during the 8 hour trip. He describes his working camp - felling trees in the forest. Further accounts describe his arrival in Auschwitz, transfer to Buna, organizing food, being tattooed, two years of living in Buna, suicides, hangings, and then the Death March and liberation by the Russian army.
Jadwiga Sapera was born Hermina Silberfeld, to Polish Jews Nathan Silberfeld and Anna (nee Hollander) on 27 November 1914 in Miskolc, Hungary. In 1918, the family returned to their home in Stary Sacz, Poland. Hermina attended a convent, which gave her a knowledge of German and Catholicism that was helpful for her survival. In 1942, Hermina attained false identification papers of a Polish-Catholic woman, Jadwiga Eleonora Jarzemiszewska. As Jadwiga she was able to find new accommodation and work, and at the end of 1942, moved to Krakow to better safeguard her secret. In 1943 she moved to Warsaw and then to Budapest, until liberation. After the war she kept the name Jadwiga and got work in Bucharest typing the testimonies of concentration camp survivors for the Association of Polish Jewish Refugees. She found out her father had died of hunger and disease, but her mother and brother survived. She was reunited with them in Poland. She lived in Katowice with her husband Jan Sapera who she met and married in 1946. They immigrated to Australia in 1958 with their three children. In the last decade of her life she re-adopted her Jewish name Hermina.
Jadwiga Sapera was born Hermina Silberfeld, to Polish Jews Nathan Silberfeld and Anna (nee Hollander) on 27 November 1914 in Miskolc, Hungary. In 1918, the family returned to their home in Stary Sacz, Poland. Hermina attended a convent, which gave her a knowledge of German and Catholicism that was helpful for her survival. In 1942, Hermina attained false identification papers of a Polish-Catholic woman, Jadwiga Eleonora Jarzemiszewska. As Jadwiga she was able to find new accommodation and work, and at the end of 1942, moved to Krakow to better safeguard her secret. In 1943 she moved to Warsaw and then to Budapest, until liberation. After the war she kept the name Jadwiga and got work in Bucharest typing the testimonies of concentration camp survivors for the Association of Polish Jewish Refugees. She found out her father had died of hunger and disease, but her mother and brother survived. She was reunited with them in Poland. She lived in Katowice with her husband Jan Sapera who she met and married in 1946. They immigrated to Australia in 1958 with their three children. In the last decade of her life she re-adopted her Jewish name Hermina.
Production date 1945
Subjecttestimonies, survivors, survivors, survival, eyewitness accounts, deportation
Object nametestimonies
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 210.00 mm
height: 300.00 mm
Language
- Polish Testimony 7
This record of testimony was accepted in the "Refugee House” in Bucharest in Calea Mosilor 128, dated 20th August 1945. With the aim of submitting this testimony presents himself:
PIEKAROWICZ KOPEL born in 1910 in Tykocin and gives the following account:
Before the war I lived in Bialystok. My family comprised of a wife and four children.
The Germans arrived to us on the sixth day after the outbreak of the Russian-German war. Right away on the first day 3000 Jews were taken away and after placing (inserting) them into the synagogue burnt them alive together with the building. Six weeks later a ghetto was set up for the then 60,000 Jewish inhabitants, and during the year 1942 the number of Jews increased from the Bialystok region. Before the setting up of the ghetto I and my family travelled to my family home town Tykocin, a 35 kilometres distance from Bialystok. I wasn’t long in Tykocin. After four weeks of my stay in Tykocin around 3000 local Jews were taken away. Woman were separated from the men and transported with an auto (bus) to outside the city into the Lopochowa forest where everyone was shot dead over a prepared grave.
The elderly were shot dead and children were thrown alive into the grave. Seeing that I have nothing to lose I jumped out of the vehicle together with several others. Shots were being fired at us and several were killed but I came out unscathed (sound). During the entire period of the action I was hidden in the forest not far from the place of execution and I saw everything. After the war from the entire township scarcely 14 Jews remained alive.
For 3 days I loitered around, not knowing what to do and I was hiding (was hidden by) with a familiar peasant, but after getting to Bialystok where there was a ghetto in which was the wife of my brother with two children. I succeeded in getting in to the ghetto but at the first opportunity I took the advantage (benefited) so as to get out of the ghetto and join the partisans in the forest which was in the vicinity. The partizan group was made up of 17 persons, all Jews. Admittedly the group was armed but the conditions became increasingly harder. There was no opportunity to continue to sustain ourselves and we decided to return into the ghetto after 7 months of living in the forest.
The first action occurred in the month of Adar (February) 1942. I managed somehow to protect myself from it. 2500 Jews perished. A portion (part) were shot dead on the spot. They were mainly those who tried to hide. The rest were transported to Treblinka. Basically those that remained worked in factories and had a work certificate.
After the first action I managed to obtain work as a bricklayer. And this was with the aim of helping my sister-in-law whose husband (my brother) did not return from the army. My sister-in-law had two children, one of which was called “Ghetto” because she was born on the day that the Ghetto was set up, but after she perished on the day the ghetto was liquidated I couldn’t support myself from my work, I had to manage in a different way (by different means).
I bought coal from the caretaker of a familiar textile factory for various objects he needed and I provided the coal to the Jewish population in the ghetto.
The next action was the second one but it was the last one. It occurred in the month of Tamuz (18th of June 1943) and lasted for 3 days. Everyone was taken to Majdanek and a section was shot on the spot. There were a lot of suicides. Three weeks before the action I took up work with a Gestapo as a bricklayer where there worked 176 Jews (men and women). I escaped the displacement (transfer), however four days after displacement, when no one was left in the ghetto we were all transported out with a train to Grodno, where we stayed for two days, and later transported with busses (trucks) to Lomza and put into goal. The trip with the busses (trucks) was terrible. These were so-called “death vehicles” in which people were transported for execution (by shooting) as a result we thought we were taken to Majdanek. The vehicles travelled twice taking on 90 people in total per trip. People were loaded one on top of the other, suffering terribly without air during the 8 hour trip. Our wish was to arrive to our destination as quickly as possible - even if it was to Majdanek.
In Lomza we were placed into a goal 5 to 10 people to a cell. The conditions were terrible, without water to drink and wash. We frequently washed with coffee. After 2 months of sitting in goal we were taken to work in the same building as the goal was in. We worked in cellars preparing poultry which were sent to Germany. It then became better for us. The heads and other parts we pulled off, and though we had nowhere to cook them, we managed to nourish ourselves a little by eating it raw. With time we managed in the following way; we secretly cooked by managing to make a fire on the brick sand the rest was easier. Apart from this we were getting 12 dekagram of bread daily, one litre of soup and one cup of coffee daily.
Following three months of sitting (in goal) we were transported to Sztutowo near Gdansk. This was a working camp. Our activity (work) was felling trees in the forest. We were the only Jews in this camp, numbering around 176. The rest were Poles, Czechs and Lithuanians. The overall number of people was 8000. The camp was surrounded by a barbed electric wire. We were greeted with stick. Those in charge of the blocks were mainly Poles who particularly mistreated (tormented) Jews and Russians who were also in the camp. Not one day passed without victims. The person in charge of our block was a Pole Berman, a very bad person, who tormented, beat us, yelling at us constantly that because of the Jews the Poles are suffering. The camp was guarded by SS-men and the Ukrainians.
After arriving into the camp we were carrying the heaviest blocks of wood to the saw mill located 1 kilometre from where we worked with no equipment at our disposition to transport it. Whilst working we were beaten for no reason.
On the terrain of the camp was a crematorium. Some of us were sick during this period, but we were afraid to report (go to) the hospital as being sick because from there (from the hospital) no one came out. Few of us were able to withstand this. Of our group of 176 persons after 3 months only 43 remained. Nutrition was very poor. Twice per day we received 6 dekagram of bread in the morning with margarine and in the evening with a piece of salami and at noon some soup.
In January 1943 only the Jews were sent to Auschwitz. We were being told that we were travelling to work in Germany, and that the trip would last 6 days. However, after three days we arrived at Auschwitz together with a transport or foreign Jews: French and Italian. These transports were sent the next day to the Crematorium, and we were sent to the baths and we were given striped clothing and we were taken for quarantine to Birkenau, where we spent 6 weeks. During this period we were living in one block with Russians, Gypsies and we lived through 6 selections. We from Bialystok somehow did not suffer during the selection because we were considered as professional workmen and therefore considered as needed.
After 6 weeks we were transferred to Buna (Buna was one of Auschwicz camps – sub-camp). The camp numbered around 12000 persons of various nationalities. Here, (this period) it was difficult to live through. We were walking around naked, barefoot and hungry. Those who managed were only those who were able to “organise” for themselves food. I worked as a bricklayer constructing buildings. We were moved from one group to another. When on the building sites we met up with Polish civilians from the City when things became for us a little better. For money and things they were bringing us a little food.
We were tattooed. I had the number 171842. Selections occurred every 4 weeks and every time numbers of people were declined. There were many who felt (had a feeling) that they would not live through the selection, they would walk up to the electrified barbed wires and in this way they ended their lives. On return from work there were searches. If they found a piece of bread on anyone he would be taken away and publicly hanged during the assembly. Every week there were incidents of 2 – 3 hangings, but not only Jews.
I lived through Buna for over 2 years. When in July 1945 the Russian front was fiercely coming closer, the Auschwitz camp was evacuated to Germany. We set out on foot furnished with 30 dekagram of bread per person. From my group (the Bialystok group) only 17 persons remained. During the journey people were shot for the smallest omissions. In this manner we walked 47 kilometres to Mikolaj before Gliwice.
We rested in brickworks (brickyard). During the journey around 3000 people were shot dead. Seeing what was happening and what I can expect during the continued journey I decided to hide in the brick works and not walk any further. I marked out for myself a large oven 300 meters in length to hide in and I tried to convince my friends to do the same. They didn’t want to take the risk. They felt that they wouldn’t be able to sustain (support) themselves in the hiding place and that it would be safer for them if they continued the journey. I remained alone. Fifteen minutes before the transport was to leave I went into the oven, removing the bricks and after going further in I placed the bricks back blocking the entrance back with the same bricks. It was very cold for me there in spite of the fact that I had a blanket with me and I covered myself with it.
The winter was sharp (very cold), the vents of the oven were open and it was inside frosty and draughty. The draught was troublesome as well in the yard, but for a period I had to withstand it. I heard my number being called out. The Kapo wondered (was surprised) that I wasn’t around saying that a few minutes ago he saw me. The transport was halted and they were looking for me, but finally they left.
After three hours a new transport arrived. Being convinced that they were Jews I came out of the oven as it was already becoming very difficult for me to withstand being in the oven. They were from the camp Janina as well as from Auschwitz. Not everyone was able to walk further. The stronger ones were to continue the journey, and the remainder, 23 Jews and 1 Pole remained.
The caretaker of these brickworks was a Volksdeutch, who appeared to be not a bad person. He cooked for those who remained soup and brought food... I somehow did not trust him and my uneasiness (my feeling) was telling me to hide again back in the oven and as it occurred this was the correct decision. The caretaker informed the police about the Jews being present in the brickworks, and as a result the military police arrived taking away with them 10 persons to dig a ditch. After a certain time they arrived to pick up the rest. From that group no one was left (survived) except for the only Pole who was with the group but remained hidden by the caretaker.
The following day after I went out of my hiding place I met up with that Pole and we both decided to hide in that oven. We laid there for 3 days without food. We heard and we saw through the cracks the retreating German army; the front apparently (visibly) was close by. Not having any choice because I was threatened with death from hunger I left the hiding place looking for food. I got closer to a house, the only one (solitary one) in the field and I met a maid who happened by chance to be Polish, and I asked her for food. She brought me bread with butter and ordered me to quickly run away because the owner of the house was a German and to meet up with him would have been for me very dangerous.
When I returned to the hiding place I did not find my friend there. The next day I went out of the hiding place again to search for food. In the yard of the brickworks was a big mound which contained potatoes. I decided to check it out (ascertain if it had potatoes) because the hunger was painfully annoying me. In the brickworks I found tools for this purpose and during the night I began to dig. After three hours of work I saw the potatoes I longed for – and my joy had no limits.
In the brickworks there were various instruments and tools left there because of evacuations, they had no strength to carry these things with them. I took one bucket of potatoes into the brickworks and after many different attempts I managed to start a fire to cook the acquired potatoes. This was during the night. During a particular moment two people in civilian clothes walked into the brickworks. I was surprised from this visit but in the end it turned out that these are French Jews who were escaping from a transport from Gliwic. They were telling me that the entire transport from Buna were shot dead (executed). Together we remained to live through the last difficult time (moments). We ate more and remained together in the brickworks for a further 3 days. A period of terrible shooting followed because we found ourselves already at the front sector. We decided to move because we were terribly cold in the brickworks. The cold was worse than in the court yard.
During the day we hid in a barn which was located around 100 meters from the nearby yard and we slept covered with straw and during the night we cooked in the brickworks. On the seventh day the passing German army came into the barn to rest. The soldiers walked over our heads but luckily they did not notice anything, The next day the Russian armies arrived freeing us. They moved us to the court yard where there was no shortage of food for us. The Russians were surprised that we were Jews because during their entire time they met not one “jewreja” (Jew).
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Jadwiga Sapera