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Remarks by Dr. Ball-Kaduri

A testimony by

Ernestine Rosengarten, Afula

The Fate of the Jews in Tarasivka "Beyond the River Bug

I present:

1/ Witness report by E. Rosengarten in the original and copies in German

2/ the Hebrew letter by E. R. to Yad Vashem from November 10, 1955 in the original and copies with attachment as well as a photocopy (letter of the military in Ukrainian language of 31 October 31, 1944)

3/ German translation of the above letter with attachment

4/ Copies of the Romanian letter, prepared by Heinz Rosengarten’s brother.

The testimony of Ernestine Rosengarten is of particular relevance, because it is one of the few reports about a camp beyond the river Bug, and apart from that because it confirms and complements another report.

So far it was only known from the first letter of Mrs. Rosengarten from November 10, 1955 that there is a book by Arnold Daghani (Korn), which deals with the camp Tarasivka and also contains sections about the son of Mrs. Rosengarten. We had tried in vain so far to obtain it for the library, because Dr. Weinstein, who is mentioned in the letter as the owner of a Romanian copy, once lent it to someone and does not remember to whom and did not get it back. Our library has so far also tried in vain to obtain an English copy through the Jewish World Congress, which is said to have helped to publish an English edition at that time in Romania. –

As a result, we then put a search note in the newspaper of the Bukovina Jews in Israel Die Stimme, and subsequently Dr. Fischer, who works at the URO in Tel Aviv, lent a Romanian copy to the library. However,

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I myself have not yet had the opportunity to take note of the content, as it has been lent for scientific work. –

Furthermore, as a result of my trip to Europe I became aware of another report on the Tarasivka camp, which is located at the Wiener Library and whose author is a Mr. Segall1Note 1: probably Nathan Segall, murdered in Tarasivka 1943, who wrote this report in Mogilev. An accompanying report by another author, who is not mentioned, shows that Segall wrote this report in Mogilev, whereto he traveled from Tarasivka in the company of an SS man. The SS man then continued to Bukovina and Romania to seek help for the Jews in Tarasivka, and later Segall returned there with the SS man, and, according to the accompanying report, died there during the liquidation of the camp on December 13, 1943. As I heard from the Wiener Library, the transmission of this Segall report to Yad Vashem with the next shipment of testimonies is imminent. The name of the author of the accompanying report is not given, and must not yet be given by the Wiener Library, because he himself intends to publish it. -

It is now very interesting that this SS Lieutenant Elsässer, who visited Chernivtsi according to the report of Mrs. Rosengarten and provided help for the Jews in Tarasivka, is the same who had previously been in Mogilev and about whom the Wiener Library has the mentioned report, because Mrs. Rosengarten told me in the course of her testimony that Elsässer first went to Mogilev with a Jew named Segall, but could not take him further, and then came to Chernivtsi alone with a sergeant. So one report confirms the other!

There are some more details to note about Mrs. Rosengarten’sstatement: the assumption of Mrs. Rosengarten that Elsässer is at the same time the head of the Todt organization and the camp

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is not very likely, because in general these functions were separate. On the other hand, the whole action of Elsässer and his behavior is something unique. There is no other case known that a German SS man or officer undertook such a journey, which was apparently officially approved or at least permitted. According to the descriptions of Mrs. R. and also of Segall he also seems to have really wanted to help in the first place, and not to make money for the SS or to go raiding.

It would be worth considering whether one should try to determine if he survived the war and to contact him.

[Signature:] Dr. Ball-Kaduri

April 1958

Dr. Ball-Kaduri

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The Fate of the Jews in the Tarasivka Camp Beyond the River Bug

Testimony of Mrs Ernestine Rosengarten in Afula, Shikun Owdei Solel Boneh, Mother of the engineer Victor Heinz Rosengarten, recorded in Afula 7 April 7, 1958 by Dr Ball-Kaduri

First 2Note 2: crossed out in the original, I present a Romanian copy and a German translation of a letter from my son Victor Heinz from the Tarasivka camp dated September 14, 1943 with a preliminary remark by myself. In my letter of November 10, 1955 to Yad Vashem, I already gave a brief account of my son’s fate. In summary of this information and for further details, I report:

My son and his wife Anni (Hanna) were taken out of their home in Chernivtsi on June 14, 1942 and taken to the camp Laidzin3Note 3: probably Ladyzhin in Transnistria. From there they were taken to work across the river Bug. On the way they came through Bershad from there we received a postcard with a greeting. My son was an excellent engineer, and beyond the river Bug, where they were probably in different camps, at least in the Tarasivka camp in the end, he worked for the Organisation Todt (as all other camp inmates did3Note 3: handwritten addition).

In the middle or end of October 1943, a senior lieutenant of the SS came to Chernivtsi with a sergeant from Tarasivka to collect donations for the Jews in Tarasivka. He lodged with the grammar school professor Schwarz, the father of my daughter-in-law, he brought a general letter (of the Jews in ...5Note 5: crossed out in the original) from my son to the Jewish community in Chernivtsi in which he asked for help for all Jews in Tarasivka, and a second letter from my son to us.

Everything I report in the following is based on this lieutenant’s statements.

His name was Elsässer, in civilian life he was a contractor and came from Cologne. He came at the instigation of the Jews in the Tarasivka camp to fetch gifts for them. On his departure from

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Tarasivka with the sergeant he took two Jews with him, my son and another one called Segall. But my son had to stay on the other side of the Bug and was not allowed to go any further. The other one, Segall, accompanied him to Mogilev in Transnistria, where he also had to stay. The lieutenant and the sergeant continued to Chernivtsi

Elsässer was the leader of a group of the organization Todt, which was building roads in the German-controlled area beyond the Bug. Since he was powerful, I assume that he coincidentally was the leader of the camp Tarasivka, too. It was not only Jews coming from Transnistria working there but also two other groups, i.e. not only Bukovina Jews, but also Ukrainian Jews.

Jews who came from Ukraine (Transnistria), and Polish Jews. But in total there were only 300 people. The conditions in the camp can be seen from the enclosed letter by my son.

Elsässer brought a letter from the Jews in T. to the congregation. in Chernivtsi, with a cry for help. He also brought a letter from my son, whose transcript I have handed over. My son’s letter is written in Romanian. Since we only ever spoke and wrote German, so I can only assume that my son did not want the German officer to read the letter.

The Jews of the community of Chernivtsi behaved magnificently, although most of them were already impoverished. They donated food, clothes and shoes in large amounts. They also gave Elsässer a large shipment of champagne, ham, bacon, new shoes and fur coats for the SS in the camp, so that the SS was satisfied and refrained from taking possession of things intended for the Jews. Overall, it was a shipment of 4-5 trucks. (us personally, El-6Note 6: crossed out in the original) The jeweler Goldstein from Chernivtsi (whose family was together with my son) gave Elsässer, among other innumerable gifts6Note 6: handwritten addition,

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(sässer8Note 8: crossed out in the original) a golden watch for himself and other objects for his wife and daughter. From us personally, Elsässer received valuable gifts, leather goods, jewelry, etc..8Note 8: handwritten addition

Elsässertold us further: My son was his most outstanding worker. When a difficult part of the technical work was finished, a big party was celebrated. Elsässer had succeeded in having my son and daughter-in-law invited. At the end of the festival he and his wife were sent back to the camp on a sleigh. Elsässer gave the coachman the instruction: Go where Mr. Rosengarten wants you to go. Apparently he wanted to give him the opportunity to escape back to Transnistria via the river Bug. But my son did not take that chance. Because for every Jew who fled, 10 others were shot. Elsässer told us this, albeit not with these very words, and added: A Rosengarten does not do such a thing.

My son’sletter was dated September 14, 1943, but my statement in the preface to the letter, namely that Elsässer came to us in September, is inaccurate, he didn’t come until mid-October or late October.

After he had travelled back with all this things, a short time later, a message came from Tarasivka to Chernivtsi, in a safe way, that the things had been received there. We always said later that they could not even have eaten the food because the camp was liquidated on December 13. (if the date, which is mentioned in the later mentioned book of Mr. Korn, is correct10Note 10: handwritten addition)

My daughter-in-law once had a severe typhoid fever. My son gave her the only coat he still owned for covering.

Sometime before that, a letter from my son had arrived, obviously in his own handwriting, which contained a sign of life from T.. The letter was written on very good white stationery

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and sent in an equally good white envelope from a post office in Berlin, and addressed to his father-in-law, with the outside address Mr. B. Schwarz, Prof. a. D.. This was a very unusual formulation in the style of the German of the Reich, and the letter was also written in this style. Apparently he had given it to an officer who went on vacation to Germany, and the letter should not be noticed in an inspection.

Arnold Korn (Daghani), the author of the book Das Grab ist 1Note 1: handwritten addition im Garten der Kirschen (The grave is in the cherry-orchard), which describes the Tarasivka camp, escaped (on the occasion of a partisan attack11Note 11: crossed out in the original) with his wife11Note 11: handwritten addition a few days before the liquidation (with the partisans 11Note 11: crossed out in the original), and as far as we know he now lives in Bucharest. He and a few others are the only ones rescued from this camp. In his book he also reports quite extensively about my son. Korn was a painter and graphic artist, his book contains some drawings, too. A German officer was interested in his work and helped him with the rescue. On the occasion of a partisan attack11Note 11: handwritten addition, among the rescued was the Semmel family who is said to be here in the country. Perhaps they could be found through an announcement in the newspapers.

My second son, Leander Philipp, was sent to Romania to various forced labor camps in 1942. There he received a postcard from my son Heinz as late as 1942. It was in the autumn of 1942, and this card contained the 7 lines allowed at that time. The card was sent from the camp in Transnistria and contained the imploring request to send medicaments.

About my family, I make the following statements:

Adolf Rosengarten, born 15. 4. 1884 in Stanislau, since 1887 in Chernivtsi, occupation railway inspector, died here in the country in 1954.

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Ernestine Rosengarten, née Sternberg (myself), born April 25, 1888 in Chernivtsi.

Heinz Victor Rosengarten, born in Chernivtsi August 22, 1908, died in Tarasivka on December 13, 1943.

Anni Rosengarten, née Schwarz, born in 1918, daughter of Baruch Schwarz in Chernivtsi, a grammar school teacher of physics, chemistry etc..

Leander Philipp Rosengarten, born August 29, 1924 in Chernivtsi.

My husband and I stayed in Chernivtsi until 1946, then lived in Bucharest from 1946 to 1950, and immigrated here in August 1950.

My second son was from 1942 - 1944 in Romanian labour camps, then stayed in Romania, and immigrated here in December 1950. He is an engineer with Solel Boneh in Afula, and lives Shikun Ovdei Solel Boneh in Afula.

My sonHeinz was a student at the Technical University in Prague, and as the 8th student (and first Jewish student) there he passed the exams with distinction.

Ball-Kaduri

signed by Ernestine Rosengarten in April 1953

signed Leander Rosengarten (Dr. Ball-Kaduri)

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[Letter in Hebrew by E. Rosengarten to Yad Vashem, November 10, 1955, see pp. 11 – 12]

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[Hebrew translation of the annex in Ukrainian language to the letter of November 10, 1955, see p. 13]

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Letter from Mrs. Ernestine Rosengarten to Yad Vashem from November 10, 1955

(translation from Hebrew)

My sonRosengarten, Victor Heinz, and his wifeAnni (Hanna) were taken from their home in Chernivtsi on June 14, 1942 and brought to the concentration camp in Transnistria, camp Laidzin15Note 15: Ladyzhin. From there the Nazis brought them to work across the river Bug.

They passed Bershad, from where we received a postcard. They were sent to a Germancamp which had to provide manpower for the Organisation Todt.

Life was horrible under supervision of the SS, which was composed of volunteers from Lithuania and Ukraine. The last camp was in Tarasivka. The commander of the camp was a German, Elsässer (foreman in civilian life in Germany). He came to Chernivtsi in 1943 with a letter from my son to the community of Chernivtsi asking to help the few who were still alive. The Jews who had managed to stay in Chernivtsi donated food and clothing. The inhabitants of the camp in Tarasivka received the donation but as a result of the rapid progress of the Russians on the eastern front, the Germans decided to liquidate the whole camp. This action was carried out in the morning hours of 13 December 1943, when my son and his wife also died.

Only a few people were rescued from this camp, who were taken away by the Russian partisans during one of their actions against the Germans.

In the book The grave is in the cherry-orchard), written by one of the rescued, Arnold Daghani (Korn), in English, and in Romanian under the title Groapa este intre, livada de visini, one can read

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about life in Tarasivka. Some chapters of this book, written in the form of a diary, are dedicated to the character and behaviour of my son Heinz Rosengarten.

A copy of the book can be found at Dr. Weinstein from Chernivtsi, today Tel Aviv, POB 4003, editor of the newspaper Die Stimme. The book is contains additional drawings by the author about life and work in the German camp Tarasivka.

If you want to know additional details more precisely about a number - relatively few - of Jews from Chernivtsi who were taken beyond the river Bug, I am at your disposal, being convinced that every detail about this dark epoch in our days will serve to pass on the memory of our victims to future generations.

Afula, November 10, 1955

Respectfully

Ernestine Rosengarten

Afula

Shchunat Ovdei Solel Boneh

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Annex to the letter of November 10, 1955

Translation from Ukrainian To Rosengarten Adolf Philipowicz

City of Chernivtsi

Georgi Schandri st. no. 9, Apartment 6

In view of the fact that the grave of your children is in the Vinnica district, in order to obtain permission for exhumation, you must contact the Vinnica district commander

M. M. Commander Chernivtsi District

Kwitanabaski

Remarks

After the Russians had liberated Chernivtsi, my husband turned to the district commander of Chernivtsi to obtain the permission to exhume all the graves of the murdered, who were all buried together with our children

(because we knew exactly where their brothers were buried).

The document, which I attach here in photocopy, is the only answer we got to our request. The original is with me.

November 10, 1955

Ernestine Rosengarten

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Notes by Mrs. E. Rosengarten16Note 16: handwritten addition

The following letter, written in Romanian, was sent by SS officer Oberleutnant17Note 17: Senior Lieutenant Elsässer from Cologne, leader of the Tarasivka concentration camp, to the parents of the engineer Heinz Victor Rosengarten s[eligen] A[ndenkens] in Chernivtsi at the end of September 1943. Oberlt. Elsässer took a large transport of clothes, shoes and food with him for all camp inmates, only Jews. The things were donated by the Jews still remaining in Chernivtsi, most of whom had been robbed. In order to make the SS guards in the camp more favourable, Elsässer took with him a large transport of champagne, ham, bacon, new shoes [and] furs, most of which were found by the remaining Jews. It was also [un]counted Christians who gave donations, and it would be right to mention that the Polish-Christian food manufacturer Podzudek donated several hundred kilograms of smoked goods. The Jewish community in Chernivtsi actively participated in the collection despite the bad situation.

Translation from Romanian

Tarasivka, September 14, 1943

My Dearest!

My wife and I are still healthy yet, but death lurks for us every moment. We are completely destitute and have nothing to dress in. Send us a lot of money and warm clothes for the winter, for me and my wife. Last winter my wife was seriously ill and I sold everything to save and cure her. We are both still healthy, but death awaits us every moment. Go to any trouble, spare no expense, even if it has to be begged for by strangers, to get us out as soon as possible by official means through a messenger, beyond the river Bug, to Transnistria. If You do not succeed

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as soon as possible, You will lose hope of seeing us again. The colours in which I describe the situation to You are not blacker than in reality. Even millions You must get together by begging to take us out.

Every day we see death before our eyes. If we are saved, I will repay everything. Be sure about this. My wife is not here. You can see her handwriting on the note for Poldi Fleminger.

Again, if you want to see us resurrected, do everything, more than what is possible. In any case, we are waiting for money, socks, warm clothes, trousers, dresses, gloves, caps, etc.

We cannot know how much the provisions and the money collected from strangers can achieve.

I have faith in You, Dolin and Tina (father and mother), Willy and Andy (brother-in-law and brother).

With strong faith in You, with love

Your unfortunate

Heinz and Anny

Once again, certain death lurks for us at every moment. Save us by official means, at all costs and at all risks. We are convinced that You will understand our last cry for help at the last moment.

Note: Since his mother tongue was German, and we only spoke German in our house, I am convinced that the only reason that my son wrote the letter in Romanian is that the letter was delivered by a German officer, and my son, God bless him, did not want him to understand the contents.

Ernestine Rosengarten

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[Letter by Heinz V. Rosengarten from Tarasivka, September 14, 1943; Romanian transcription,]

…

I the undersigned E. Rosengarten, resident in Afula – Israel, Shikun

Ovdei Solel Boneh, certify that this copy is in conformity with the original.

Ernestine Rosengarten

May 3, 1952.

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Additions to the testimony of

Ernestine Rosengarten

Beyond the river Bug

In this statement, which I recently handed over, the book by Arnold Daghani (Korn) Das Grab im Garten der Kirschen1Note 1: The Grave in the Cherry-Orchard is mentioned, which, as Mrs. Rosengarten said, should have been published in Romanian and, with the help of the World Jewish Congress, in English. In the meantime, the following has emerged with regard to this book:

1. As is known at Yad Vashem, a copy in the Romanian language was found through an advertisement in the newspaper of the Bukovina Jews Die Stimme, in the possession of Dr. Fischer18Note 18: handwritten addition, who works at the URO in Tel Aviv, and who lent this copy to Yad Vashem.

2. Recently I learned of a second copy in this country. Dr. Litani, who works at Hitachduth Olei Rumania in Tel Aviv, Nachlath Benyamin st. 44, and who also does special work for Yad Vashem, owns a Romanian copy with a personal dedication by Daghani (Korn). She reports further that Korn is a gifted painter and graphic artist and that he now lives in Bucharest.

3. The husband of Dr. Litani, who is also here in the country, is a member of the Assirei Zion and was the chairman of the Romanian section of the World Jewish Congress in Bucharest. With his assistance, Daghani's book was published in Romanian. The original manuscript is written in English, but both spouses report that the original manuscript was available in English only, however, an edition printed in English was never published.

4. Dr. Litani has heard that the English manuscript is said to be here in the country with the sister of Daghani. She

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now tries to locate the address, and if she finds the English text, she will contact Yad Vashem.

I would like to add a further addition to the report.

I said in the accompanying report that no other case was known to me that an SS-man had sought help for Jews. That is not correct. I had parts of Daghani's book translated for me orally by Mrs. Roll in Tel Aviv. Mrs. Roll comes from Chernivtsi, and she knew quite a few of the people mentioned in the book personally. She told me that relatively often SS-men from Bukovina and Transnistria came to Chernivtsi who brought news about the deportees, and took food for them, not infrequently even free of charge. Her own father was interned in Djwin and died there, and she had sent him help through an SS-man who did not accept payment.

At the same time, I forward the copy of Heinz Victor Rosengarten’sRomanian19Note 19: handwritten additionletter, which could not be included in the first shipment.

Dr. Ball-Kaduri

in June 1958

(Dr Ball-Kaduri)

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[Manuscript of the letter from Heinz Victor Rosengarten and of the additions, pp. 14 – 15]

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[Manuscript of the letter from Heinz Victor Rosengarten and of the additions, pp. 14 – 15]

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Supplement to the statement by Ernestine Rosengarten.

In a transcript of a letter of Mr. Jaegerndorf to Dr. Fildermann from 1944 contained in our archives in volume O-11/12-2, I found a remark referring to the family of the engineer Rosengarten as well as to the family Segall.

The remark reads:

Dear friends!

... nevertheless, I feel compelled to warmly 20Note 20: word missing, probably recommend to you again the matter of the Tulcin Jews, and I will assume that he has not only discussed this case with you, but that he will also bring something concrete with him. I myself wrote to you in detail at the time, after Mr Segall’s visit, and asked you to send an urgent order from there to the Tulcin Prefecture to demand the return of all Jews who had been sent to work on the other side of the Bug. Unfortunately, my pertaining request was unsuccessful and today there is nobody left to bring back. My personal intervention in Tulcin in this matter probably was successful in so far that the order was given for the families Segall and Ing. Rosengarten to bring them back, but unfortunately as a result of a chain of circumstances they were already dead two days before that, just like all the others ...

Jaegerndorf

February 21, 1944.

Tel Aviv, December 21., 1958 21Note 21: handwritten

Dr Ball-Kaduri 22Note 22: handwritten

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[Ukrainian original of the Annex to the letter of November 10, 1955, see p. 13]