Object numberM1993/045:003
DescriptionOne of three diaries, handwritten in Yiddish by Dr. Leon Berk (Berkowicz) whilst in hiding in the forests of Belarus with Russian partisans, 1943. Green/grey cover, numerous pages left blank.
Leon Berk’s diarized accounts add to the accumulated knowledge of Jewish response to Nazi atrocities and challenge the belief that Jews were passive sheeplike martyrs. They provide powerful eye witness descriptions of sabotage operations carried out against the German army by his partisan detachment. It describes the harsh living conditions of the cold, thick and swampy forests, the raging typhus epidemic and his attempts to treat the illnesses with the few medicines at his disposal. There is a wealth of intimate information on his inner life, his feelings of rage and a desire for revenge. Despite his grief, Dr Berk is strong, capable of hard work and emotionally able to carry on looking after the medical needs of his fellow partisans. He participates in many acts of sabotage such as dynamiting railroad tracks, making hit-and-run attacks on trains that are carrying military supplies to the front, ambushing German military cars, and constantly harassing German troops.
Leon Berk (Berkowicz) born 10 February 1915 in Baranowicze, Belarus to Ephraim and Miriam Brevda. He had four siblings, Israel, Moshe, Yitzak and Rivka Shilo (nee Berkowicz). Leon married Beile Berkowicz. His father was a timber merchant. Leon attended a Polish public school. ‘Numerus Clauses’ and ‘Numerus Nihlus’ prevented most Jews from studying medicine in universities in Poland. Consequently, his father subsidised his studies in Italy at the Politecnico di Milano.
In June of 1939, Leon went home to his family. His father’s business was confiscated. The Germans occupied Baranowicze on 25 June 1941. A ghetto was established in December 1941. The family moved into the ghetto and were given space in an apartment that already contained three other families. After the first Aktion in March 1942 Leon’s thoughts focused on ways to leave the ghetto and join the partisans. An ex-employee of his father’s, Pashka, offered to take him to partisans in the forest. Leon smuggled himself out of the ghetto and stayed with Pashka for two to three months until he had contacted Russian partisans and they were willing to take him. Leon was assigned to work with the feldsher—Fyedik Solovey—those trained to recognise basic illnesses and how to give injections. After successfully amputating the arm of one of Commander Bobkov’s “best scouts,” he was permitted to stay. Leon’s responsibility became the welfare of the camp and the soldiers; excursions into the villages to dispense medicine for food and support. Leon was forced to operate with basic instruments, without anaesthetic and in doubtful sterility.
In the forests the partisans carried out their war of ambush and raid, to wipe out German convoys and to destroy their lines of supply. They blew up trains, blocked roads and killed Germans. Leon’s unit was liberated on 10 July 1944. He returned to Baranowicze. The Jewish quarter lay in ruins. A Polish school friend told him where to find the mass grave of his family.
Leon was awarded the ‘Medal of the Great Patriotic War’. He saw out the rest of the war with the 9th Hospital of the Second Polish Army. He left Communist Poland as soon as he could, for Israel where his older sister had been living. Shortly after he joined the army. When the 1948 war ended, he joined Tel-Hashomer Hospital where he worked in the surgical department for 6 years. He was discharged from the army in 1955. He landed in Australia in February 1956. In time, due to his surgical experience, he was granted full right to practise.
Leon Berk’s diarized accounts add to the accumulated knowledge of Jewish response to Nazi atrocities and challenge the belief that Jews were passive sheeplike martyrs. They provide powerful eye witness descriptions of sabotage operations carried out against the German army by his partisan detachment. It describes the harsh living conditions of the cold, thick and swampy forests, the raging typhus epidemic and his attempts to treat the illnesses with the few medicines at his disposal. There is a wealth of intimate information on his inner life, his feelings of rage and a desire for revenge. Despite his grief, Dr Berk is strong, capable of hard work and emotionally able to carry on looking after the medical needs of his fellow partisans. He participates in many acts of sabotage such as dynamiting railroad tracks, making hit-and-run attacks on trains that are carrying military supplies to the front, ambushing German military cars, and constantly harassing German troops.
Leon Berk (Berkowicz) born 10 February 1915 in Baranowicze, Belarus to Ephraim and Miriam Brevda. He had four siblings, Israel, Moshe, Yitzak and Rivka Shilo (nee Berkowicz). Leon married Beile Berkowicz. His father was a timber merchant. Leon attended a Polish public school. ‘Numerus Clauses’ and ‘Numerus Nihlus’ prevented most Jews from studying medicine in universities in Poland. Consequently, his father subsidised his studies in Italy at the Politecnico di Milano.
In June of 1939, Leon went home to his family. His father’s business was confiscated. The Germans occupied Baranowicze on 25 June 1941. A ghetto was established in December 1941. The family moved into the ghetto and were given space in an apartment that already contained three other families. After the first Aktion in March 1942 Leon’s thoughts focused on ways to leave the ghetto and join the partisans. An ex-employee of his father’s, Pashka, offered to take him to partisans in the forest. Leon smuggled himself out of the ghetto and stayed with Pashka for two to three months until he had contacted Russian partisans and they were willing to take him. Leon was assigned to work with the feldsher—Fyedik Solovey—those trained to recognise basic illnesses and how to give injections. After successfully amputating the arm of one of Commander Bobkov’s “best scouts,” he was permitted to stay. Leon’s responsibility became the welfare of the camp and the soldiers; excursions into the villages to dispense medicine for food and support. Leon was forced to operate with basic instruments, without anaesthetic and in doubtful sterility.
In the forests the partisans carried out their war of ambush and raid, to wipe out German convoys and to destroy their lines of supply. They blew up trains, blocked roads and killed Germans. Leon’s unit was liberated on 10 July 1944. He returned to Baranowicze. The Jewish quarter lay in ruins. A Polish school friend told him where to find the mass grave of his family.
Leon was awarded the ‘Medal of the Great Patriotic War’. He saw out the rest of the war with the 9th Hospital of the Second Polish Army. He left Communist Poland as soon as he could, for Israel where his older sister had been living. Shortly after he joined the army. When the 1948 war ended, he joined Tel-Hashomer Hospital where he worked in the surgical department for 6 years. He was discharged from the army in 1955. He landed in Australia in February 1956. In time, due to his surgical experience, he was granted full right to practise.
SubjectHolocaust, hiding, partisans, resistance
Object namejournals
Dimensions
- width: 148.00 mm
height: 209.00 mm
depth: 20.00 mm
Language
- Yiddish needs to be translated
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Dr. Leon Berk