Murder Story of Turzysk Jews at the Brick Factory near Turzysk

…On August 15 [sic], 1942 a murder operation was carried out in our town, during which all the residents of the town were murdered. The murder operation was carried out as follows: in the morning trucks with several Gestapo men arrived [in the town] and ordered the Ukrainian [auxiliary] policemen to collect all the Jews of the town. Since in the town's vicinity there were no forests and no places to run away to, those who did escape were [subsequently] caught by the Ukrainian [policemen] and returned [to the town]; they were severely beaten and tortured. But there was almost no one who ran away. Therefore, they [Germans] had an opportunity to gather all the Jews and take them outside the town, to the [abandoned] brick factory [previously] owned by Shmuel Himmelfarb. There all the Jews, from young to old, were shot to death and their bodies were thrown into a pit that had been dug there beforehand. When the Jews were taken [to the collection point], Zalman Zilbertest, a pharmacist, was hiding in his cellar. He set his house on fire and that resulted in the burning down of almost the entire town. This pharmacist was also burned to death because of the fire. When the Jews were shot to death, one [Jewish man] named Segal took a Gestapo man's machine-gun and began to shoot [the Germans], but he did not succeed [in this action]. … [Along with the Jews of] our town, Jews from the surrounding villages that had been brought to our town the day before the murder operation were murdered as well [at the murder site]. Three days before the murder operation they [Germans] ordered all the Jews to wash themselves, and then they cut off the beards of those [Jews] who still had beards. When all [the Jews] were taken to be shot, the first ones who were taken were a young, 24-year-old woman named Susa Mintsberg and another young woman (whose name I don't remember). Both of them attacked the [German] commander and tried to bite and strangle him, but both of them were shot to death. …

… On August 23, 1942 we were gathered in the center of the town: myself along with my grandmother Bassia, my grandfather Mort Hirsch Opeliner, my mother Rochel Bojmel, my sisters Reisel and Malka, my married sister Chasia, my brother-in-law Motel Perkel and their two-month-old son, Zelig Perkel, my uncles Schlomo, Yonah and Leibel Opeliner, their families, and the other Jewish residents of Turzysk. We stood with suitcases in our hands and hope in our hearts. The Germans promised us that we would be relocated to the city of Kowel for work, with the excuse there was no more work in Turzysk. … We began the arduous, grueling walk towards Kowel along the cobblestone streets. Ukrainian police escorts watched over us, as well as German soldiers. As we reached the outskirts of Turzysk, we were suddenly turned uphill toward the Walner brick factory. Something was not right. Why were we walking towards the brick factory instead of Kowel? The situation was now marked by fear, as realization swept through us: we were being herded toward our own deaths. Panic surged. Shrieking and wailing grew louder and louder. … Ours was a march toward death, and many were killed on the way. I saw rabbis being taken by the Gestapo, their beards cut off and their bodies beaten to a bloody pulp. I saw a pregnant woman shot right in front of me. The girls had all been ordered to strip naked. I saw my sister Chasia holding on to her baby boy and a slim prayerbook. She frantically covered the baby with a piece of paper because they were taking the babies away. The Ukrainians rode up on their horses, grabbed the babies as if they were nothing more that tattered old dolls, and threw them in a wagon. I saw many of the babies slip through the cracks in the bed of the wagon and fall underneath, where they were trampled to death by the horses. The Ukrainians had us younger boys crawl behind the horses to pick up the bodies of the dead babies and throw them in the grave. … Chasia was able to hold on to her baby boy for just a little bit longer, before he was noticed by a soldier and snatched from her arms. She looked on as he was thrown into the wagon with the others. We had reached our grave by then, and were standing beside it. Chasia recognized her baby boy just above the horse's leg, and ran toward him. My mother screamed: "Chasi, why are you running?". I saw the tears that streaked down her face. I was crying too. Chasia caught up the wagon. She grabbed her baby, still alive, clutched him to her breast and covered him up with the paper again. I saw my sister run back to the graves, back to us. And so did the Ukrainians. I saw them grab her by the grave. I watched as they took away the piece of paper that she had hoped would hide her baby. Chasia screamed at them in Ukrainian and in Polish and in German, "Please don't kill my baby! Kill me!" Then I saw them beat her with sticks. Her words meant nothing to them. All they said was, "You'll be dead too." I saw them tear her baby away from her breast and throw him in the grave. I saw my baby nephew die. They said, "Now we're going to throw you in on top of the baby". I saw them grab her by the breast, throw her on top of the baby and shoot her. I saw my sister die. … Surrounded by madness and slaughter, my mother turned to me. She grabbed me by the arm and said, "Shulem, my child, take my sweater. I don't want you to catch a cold". I took the sweater from her. She said, "In a minute you'll be in the grave next to me. Run, my child! Run! I was paralyzed with fear. I didn't know where to go. My mother told me to go to Fastov, to Petro. He was a Gentile who had always been good to us. She tore off my yellow Star of David. "If you live through the war, don't forget where you came from!". I obeyed her, and I ran. I ran as fast as I could. Shots were fired at me, but I did not stop. My mother and Reisel were pushed into a grave. They weren't shot at; they were still alive and dirt was being thrown on top of them. Malka tried to run with me, but a bullet caught her, killing her in an instant. I know if I had just grabbed for her, I could give gotten her into a safe place. But I did not stop. …