One day, Ewa visited her older brother Nehemja’s home and took Leah along.
There was a loud pounding on the door as they sat for supper. Everyone looked horrified while Nehemja went to the door to answer. There was an angry argument in Yiddish, as the men who had come wanted to enlist him to clear the rubble in the city caused by the German bombing.
Ewa went outside in support of her brother, “Please spare him. I am Symeon Poznanski’s wife. Since Symeon is sick, my brother Nehemja is also looking after our family.”
“We have instructions from the Council of Elders to take one sturdy male from each household in this sector to clean up the debris in the city,” one of the men replied firmly.
“Why don’t the four of you come inside and have hot soup? We can talk there.” Ewa guided them to the table, where they greedily gulped everything. She reached for her purse and gave the leader some money she had brought with her as a donation to establish a secret school for teaching young girls in their neighbourhood.
“I am sure we can have some kind of understanding,” Ewa remarked politely.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Your husband is a decent man.” Turning then to Nehemja, he stated sharply, “You and your son disappear for a week or so.”
Everybody sighed with relief when they left.
“Thank you, sister.” Nehemja faced Ewa.
“Go to your friend Aleksander’s workshop with Jozef and hide there for a week,” Ewa said, hugging her brother. In the meantime, Urjasz will deliver food.
Months before the invasion, Ewa had sold her jewellery and other valuable possessions from the house. She persuaded her husband to take all the money out of the bank. Ensuing events proved her right as the Germans froze every Jewish bank account.
The four visitors were members of the Jewish Ghetto Police, Jewish residents of the ghetto who were responsible for the internal security of the ghettos and enforced the directives of the Council of Elders, or the Judenrat. The latter was a committee comprising influential Jewish citizens representing the ghetto’s inhabitants.
Despite the Judenrat’s claims to manage the ghettos for the benefit of their residents and act as a mediator between them and the Nazis, it mainly served to enforce Nazi rule in its area of responsibility. Its role in uplifting the community was minimal. Occasionally, it distributed food and set up a few schools and orphanages. However, Jewish charities and the masses organised most of these services, with the black market serving as the backbone of the ghetto economy. In reality, the Judenrat helped deport fellow Jews from the ghettos to their deaths in the extermination camps.