Meier Lenz Testimony (doc. 301/805)

Original, manuscript, 6 pages, 225 x 285 mm, Polish language

Autobiography

Mein Iberliebung 1Note 1: (Yiddish) – my survival

by Lenz Meier son of Nachman, born 1926 (November 10) in Sokal. Since he was 7 years old until the Soviet-German war he went to school. During the occupation he was forced to work for various bestrzelecs: 2Note 2: Probably „bandits”; exact meaning has not been establishedGerman and Ukrainian ones.

Apart from that, I had to hide from the jewrejski 3Note 3: (Rus.) - Jewish militiamen who wanted to catch and send me to a Lager.

In September 1942 we were taken to a ghetto:

In the ghetto (Ordnungsdienstmänner) came every day (at 5 a.m.); they smashed doors and windows, rushed into the small, dark apartment and frequently beat me up with hunting crops (for trying to take a piece of bread with me), and they took me for labor. At work, people were beaten by the Germans on the one hand, and by a Jewish militiaman on the other. After work we were herded back to the ghetto, where I had to stand guard all night, to prevent an unexpected action.

On 28. 10. 1942 they made a pogrom against us, that is an action, in which they took my father; I managed to get to the attic; I found a 60 cm3 hen house there, where I stayed all day.

At about 2 p.m. a woman with a little child in her arms climbed to the attic where I was hidden with my sisters, and sat near the hen house. Presently the child began to cry; Schupo men 4Note 4: in the text: „szybowcy”soon heard him and ran to the attic. In the attic they took that woman as well as 20 other people who were hiding in the attic (that woman begged a Schupo man: Mein liber Heer, los mich liejben, 4Note 4: (Yiddish) - My dear sir, please, let us live.and he answered: mir musn mach ein zwek mit di Judn alle kaput) 4Note 4: (Yiddish) – We must achieve one goal: finish off all Jews. Me in my hen house and my sisters under planks remained in the attic. At night we went down; our daddy was gone, that is the Germans had taken him. And we became orphans.

And so, as a poor prisoner - a young orphan – I had to go on suffering and working for the fascists.

In March 1943 I was taken to a Gestapo Lager in Sokal. In the Lager I had to work all day, and at night drunk Gestapo men came, beat us mercilessly and they even beat some people to death.

On 27. 6. 1943 the Germans made Sokal Judenfrei

I escaped from the Lager and naprawiłem 7Note 7: (Rus.) – took directionto run away to Volhynia. And so I had to cross the border: Volhynia – Galicia. I was crossing the border near the village of Józefka:

The night was dark; it was very dark; I was crossing that border at 11.30 p.m. and I ran into a German ambush, which consisted of 35 Germans and Uzbeks. They lighted the field with [signal] rockets; I began to run away from the place. They surrounded me and began to shoot at me. I didn’t pay attention to that shooting (as I knew very well it was death all the same) so I began to run away even faster. I ran until two Germans grabbed me by the hands and neck.

Soon, more Germans and Uzbeks izmienniki Rod’iny 8Note 8: (Rus.) – traitors of the state – text written in Cyrillic alphabetcame running and they dragged me to Józefka to the station – the border one, where they stripped me naked and beat me terribly and wrote a report. I didn’t answer the questions so they beat me all the harder till 5 a.m. Then the commanding officer of the zastawa 8Note 8: (Rus.) – a border stationcame and said I should be hanged. Then they talked between themselves and I was sentenced to be shot.

At 5.30 I was led out under the escort of 2Germans and 2 Uzbeks and the commanding officer himself, and they drove me to the forest to shoot me.

In the forest they surrounded me; they gave me a shovel, and the commanding officer outlined a pit for my size and told me to dig.

So I turned to the Uzbeks and said Shto ya vam sdelal? Za shto vy budete mne molodogo strelyat’? 10Note 10: (Rus.) – What have I done to you? Why are you going to shoot me, a youngster? – text written in Cyrillic alphabet And they answer Ladno, kopay. 10Note 10: (Rus.) – OK., dig! – text written in Cyrillic alphabet.

So I decided to take my revenge before death. Then they told me to take off my jacket.

I stood the shovel in front of the commanding officer, took off my jacket and handed it to a German. I took the shovel into my hands, sprang up to the commanding officer and chopped his head open. That moment the fryc 12Note 12: (Rus.) - a pejorative term for a Germancame down to the ground; I jumped over him, sprang 2-3 m away, got caught on a bush and fell. Suddenly, I heard shots; I jumped to my feet and wanted to run further so that the Germans wouldn’t catch me alive and cut me up, but only shoot me during the flight (from behind).

I broke 20 to 30 meters away from them and saw I was still alive and would be able to run away perhaps. So I began to run faster. I flew like a bird between the bushes. I had run some 2 km, so I stopped to find out where I was. Where should I run? I crawled under a bush, covered myself with moss so that nobody would notice me. I lay there for a few minutes; suddenly, I hear a clatter of a wagon; I look and see a farmer driving one horse; he’s driving very slowly and looking all around him. I sneaked out of those bushes, went up to the road and asked him very quietly: Which way should I go to Gruszów, mister? The farmer pointed it out to me. So I ask him: And what are those houses near here?

The farmer answered: It’s the border station in Szarpańce. So I ask the where is that border? So the farmer turned around and showed me a plate with the inscription Grenze, 13Note 13: (Ger.) – borderthat was stuck to a thick oak.

So I thought to myself Oh God, I’ve run more than 2 km and I’m still on that damned border; I’ve almost run into another damned Nazi station.

I also asked the farmer to give me something to cover myself with, as I was naked. But the farmer wouldn’t give me anything. He only said: run away quick because some Germans are coming near here. I ran across that forest, ran out into the fields and reached Gruszów. I went to several cabins there. I pretended to be a Ukrainian running away from a German Lager. I asked several farmers to give me something to put on, but nobody took pity on me. I asked if the Germans came [there] or the police. So they told me nobody came there except for Banderites. After all, it was samostyjna Ukraina! 14Note 14: (Ukr.) – independant Ukraine

So I thought to myself: I’ve run away from one hell but got into another. I left the village, went into the fields. I saw a scarecrow in the hemp; I took that scarecrow; took off its torn jacket, cap and a piece of thin wire; I went into the rye, dusted that uniform, sewed it up with the wire (as I didn’t have a needle) and the uniform was ready.

When I put that uniform on, I felt much better - better than in good clothes when I left the Lager. I pulled the cap over my head; I let the visor down on my eyes; the bottom got torn and my hair hung on the cap. Dressed in that uniform, I went to look for employment. I went to Kuczków in Poryck district. I was in Kuczków as a servant for 3 months.

After the 3 months I joined Soviet partisans of Kowpak’s Otryad 15Note 15: (Rus.) – Kovpak’s detachment. General Semyon Kovpak was a famous Soviet partisan commander, active in Ukraine. I was uniformed and armed right away.

I went with the partisans to the vicinity of Lwów. On the way we fought with Banderites, policemen and Germans. While crossing the Galicia-Volhynia border the same Uzbeks that caught me on the border when I was running away from the Lager were taken to plen (16Note 16: Rus.) – taken prisoner. Awiezu Rozi (an Uzbek), who stood guard over me when I was arrested, was with them.

Near Rawa Ruska the 1st and 4th regiment were given the order to seize 2 villages and a railroad station, and to chase the Germans away from there. After the railroad station was taken, I met the Uzbek Awiezu Rozi Shargarinsky district, III international, Uzbek SSR, 17Note 17: III International is the name of unidentified locality (Shargarinsky district didn’t exist) who guarded me when I was arrested in Józefka. But Awiezu was already a more decent man at the time, as he fought with us against the Germans.

Then Awiezu told me what happened when I ran away.

Awiezu relates: The commanding officer whose head I chopped open lay at the pit I was digging for about half an hour.

That German who was holding my jacket fell into the pit as he was running after me and broke his rifle. And the rest ran after me. Then they came [back], took the wounded commanding officer and carried him to hospital. After 3 days the commanding officer died in hospital.

Those Uzbeks who escorted me for the shooting were killed. Awiezu was with me in the same regiment for more than a year and he was my good buddy.

From Rawa Ruska we went to Biłgoraj; we approached Lublin, Warsaw; we went to the border of Eastern Prussia through the Western Ukraine and Byelorussia. In Byelorussia we met the front.

I was on the front for 6 months. Then, as a veteran master sergeant, I was sent to the Ukraine to fight Ukrainian nationalists. Awarded medals: Krasnaya Zviezda, Za odvahu medal and Partyzana Otechestvennoy voiny 1 stepeni medal. 18Note 18: (Rus.) – „Red Star”, „For Bravery”, „Partisan of the Homeland War, first degree”

After a few months I managed to come to Józefka with my squad (otdelenije). We went to the forest; they found the pit that I had dug for myself. And I told my boys that I had been supposed to be killed and buried in that pit. As a memorial, the squad fired a salute from their awtomats 19Note 19: (Rus.) – an automatic (gun or rifle)and rifles.

In a few weeks I was wounded as a master sergeant.

Lencow Majer syn Nachmana

Born on 10. 9. 1926 in Ilkowice, Sokal dis.[rict], Lwów voiv.[odship] 20Note 20: The account contains a great number of spelling errors and Russian borrowings