Poland - Action 1938. - In the camp Sbonczyn1Note 1: handwritten addition

Report of the couple Mrs. Rosa Friedfertig and Mr. Koppel Friedfertig from Hamburg. Tel Aviv, Feierbergstr. 16

Stenographical record by Dr. K. Ball, early November 1944.

1.) We were Polish citizens and lived in Hamburg-Altona for over 30 years. Our eldest daughter studied in Frankfurt and already had a student certificate for Palestine. Her papers were in Frankfurt, she herself was just with us to say goodbye. Our second daughter was in Berlin on Hachscharah, the third went to school. We lived in Altona, Adolfstr. 164. Our eldest daughter temporarily helped out as a guide in the Wilhelmshöhe preparation camp in Blankenese. In this camp the Polish boys were picked up on October 28, 1938. Our daughter came home in the afternoon instead of in the evening, was very excited, but told us nothing.

2.) In the night from 28 to 29 October between 5 and ½ 6, still in full darkness, I heard footsteps in the hallway, then it rang and 2 police officers demanded entrance. They came with the order to pick us all up and called all by name. I said that the oldest daughter was in Frankfurt and the second in Berlin. In the end, however, they only demanded that my husband come with me. They also said that he should dress warmly, have breakfast and be allowed 10 Marks. They took their time to dress in peace, to pray, and came back after 10 minutes. They took the passport, but they should have taken me with them, too, but they wanted to refrain from doing so. Then my husband was picked up and taken to the police headquarters. We had asked what would happen to those arrested, the officials said we didn’t need to get upset, it wasn’t something that affected my husband personally, but a general action against the Polish citizens. At first he would come to the police headquarters, which would go on if they themselves did not know.

3.) Afterwards I brought my youngest daughter to school. When I came onto the street, a horrible picture appeared: everywhere policemen who led Jews of all ages and sex away. They even went into the synagogue and got the people out. Then I went to the congregation, where mainly women and children flocked together, as well as stateless men who had not been picked up. In the congregation we were told that they were in negotiations with the Polish consulates in Hamburg and Berlin, that we had to wait, that they could not say anything at the moment. From there I went to pick up my daughter from school and had the big daughter try to call the daughter in Berlin, so that she would come to Hamburg-Altona immediately and the family would be together. Then I went to visit my husband. I found him in a huge gymnasium where hundreds of people had already gathered, old people, men, women, babies in prams, etc., etc. The congregation had some representatives there, they had sent food and took orders from the individuals, which perhaps could still be done. Miss Ellern, who is now here in the country (note by Dr. Ball: working as a social worker in Bnei Brak), worked there alongside various board members of the congregation. After I had spoken to my husband and wanted to leave again, the guard did not let me through. I said I was not arrested at all, but only visited my husband. He replied that he didn’t think so, but if I hadn’t been picked up, it had only happened by mistake, now I had to

I'll stay here. I was very desperate because my children did not know where I was, I turned to Miss Ellern. She went straight to the door with me and said to me in a loud voice: Sheep, I told you to bring my files, they are in my desk in the study. Then the guard let me pass.

4.) At home I cooked lunch. There it knocked again and there appeared again

two policemen, this time to pick up me and the kids. I concealed that my eldest daughter was in the apartment, and went with the little one together. The officer said I could take anything I could carry, and I packed as many suitcases as I had, far too many of course. But then the officer let me go down the stairs several times with the suitcases, so that I could take them all. Downstairs, the Green Car was waiting, and we got up and were, too, were brought to the police headquarters and to the hall I already knew.

5.) From there we were taken by lorry to Altona station and to a train waiting there. It was a real passenger train, heated and illuminated. On the platform stood big tables and there were representatives of the Hamburg and Altona congregation, on the tables food packages etc., which were given along, also money. In the train were of Jews of all ages, often still with prayer shawls and prayer books, since it was just Friday evening. At the last moment my daughter came from Berlin, who had just left and was informed at home by some neighbours. In the police headquarters she was told that she didn’t2Note 2: handwritten addition have to join us, but she wanted to be with us and just reached the train. My other daughter stayed in Hamburg because she already had the certificate. That same evening she flew to Frankfurt and was able to emigrate immediately to Palestine.

6.) The train left at about ½ 8 o'clock in the evening and at 5 o'clock in the morning we arrived to Bentschen3Note 3: completed, not legible in original. There we all had to get off, then we were examined for money, where several people had to go through posts next to each other. It was not examined however very exactly, I could e.g. keep several hundred Marks with me. Then a terrible march of about 7 kilometers began, without consideration of the physical abilities of the individual. If somebody could not carry his luggage or fell behind, the luggage was taken from him and thrown away. If somebody could not keep pace, he was beaten. Finally we reached the border. There is about 100 meters of no man’s land on both sides. On the Polish side there was a single guard with a rusted rifle. Nobody wanted to let him through. But the Germans pushed from behind and pushed and said: You won’t let a single man stop you! Finally a few younger men formed a chain, went under the barrier and shouted to the Poles: Shoot us. The Polish side then shot into the air a few times, but since the crowd was pushing and the barrier was already raised, the whole procession finally reached Polish territory.

7.) In the meantime, negotiations were going on there somehow and everyone first came to a little wood on the Polish side, where they sat down tired to death, ate what they still had with them, and so on. From approx. 10 - 1 o'clock we were in the wood, in the pouring rain. Then the permission of the Polish government arrived to let us in to Sbonczyn. So we were able to leave again, and there were horde stables provided for us, which happened to be empty. We were accommodated there, as good as it could be, and some people from other cities had already been there from the day before. The station Neu-Bentschen was already black from people who had been there from the day before, the first 20 to 30 had been able to continue, but then the onward journey was generally blocked. At the station there was no more space for anyone, because it was completely overcrowded. We spent the night in a horse stable, or more correctly, we started to spend the night there. My husband stayed on the ground floor, I and my two daughters went up to the hayloft because it seemed warmer to us there. But afterwards other people lit lights there, and it became too flammable for us to go down again. Meanwhile my youngest daughter got very sick and I went outside with both daughters. There, my older daughter also collapsed.

Then, in the pitch blackness, I groped my way further for some help and accommodation. I heard voices and saw a light and finally found an inn. I came into a room smoked with tobacco in which there were many refugees. The children, who were almost unconscious, were immediately put on two cane chairs and we got hot coffee. Here I was discovered by chance by an acquaintance from Duisburg, who had got a room in this hotel only yesterday. He said there was unfortunately no space in his room because he had his two children there and his wife was ill. But there was another vacancy next to his room, because the owner had gone on a night’s journey. I replied - still in old ideas - that I could not stay in a strange room. But he said that that was not the point now. Then he opened the room with a randomly matching key, and we found a wonderful room with a tiled stove, electric light, two large beds, etc., and so on. There I first put the children in their beds, and then I went in search of milk. Finally I found a farm and asked if I could get some milk. They even warmed it up for me, and I brought the milk to the inn. When I came back, the children had already recovered to some extent.

8.) The accommodation was such that everyone had to put themselves in places and had to pay for them first. It was not a common camp, but accommodation with families in the village, but the whole place was sealed off by the police and none of us was allowed to leave it. Who had no money at all or in a collection camp, which was set up in two mills. On the second day, large lorries with food came from the Jewish places in Poland, distributing bread, butter and eggs. Gradually the whole thing was organized, committees were formed, delegates of the organizations came from Warsaw, and the head was Prof. Ginsburg. The committee then took over the payment of all rents, field kitchens were set up, clothing for the winter came, etc., etc. Of course it took a long time until the distribution was organized properly. We couldn’t stomach the food from the field kitchen, but since we still had some money, we were able to manage the necessities ourselves.

9.) There were some young people together who belonged to the Mizrahi. Their meeting room was our room, the largest and brightest. They thought of writing to the Palestine Office in Warsaw and asking for certificates. After some consideration they changed the plan and asked for certificates for the parents. We adults considered this attempt to be ridiculous. The children prepared 15 applications and sent them to Warsaw. Already after 3 days an emissary from Warsaw, Dr. Wilhelm, came and recorded more detailed personal data. And after a very short time we were informed by telephone that our certificate had been approved. We don’t know why our certificate was granted, maybe it was connected to the fact that we were known from Mizrahi work in Hamburg, maybe also with the fact that our eldest daughter was already in Palestine and that we had two children here.

In total, however, only 5 certificates were given for the approximately 6500 refugees in Sbonczyn at that time. We got one of them. The passports were immediately taken from us, sent to Warsaw and so on. At the last moment it turned out that our older daughter, because already over 18, could not come with us. So at first I didn’t want to travel, but I was forced at gunpoint and my daughter demanded that we should travel, she herself would somehow get through. In fact, about 3 weeks later, she arrived with the so-called Aliya Bet, on the first Greek ship to dock in Nahariyya. We left Sbonczyn on December 22nd, we didn’t have any money left at all, and the whole trip and equipment was paid for by the Jewish public authorities in Poland. I received the cheque - 5000 zloty - myself. Ship Konstanca 29 January.