When Leah was nearly ten years old, she woke up one bright morning to a loudhailer calling all inhabitants over twelve to congregate in certain places where the Council of Elders would communicate new instructions from the rulers.

All of Leah’s household members made it to the meeting spot, where a member of the Council greeted the crowd. “Fellow residents!” he addressed the gathering. “On behalf of the Council of Elders, I welcome you all to witness this momentous event and be informed of the news every one of you, ghetto citizens, has dreamt of since its creation.”

As Leah looked across the assembly, she could feel relief and curiosity. Before the news was announced, a cacophony of sighs, murmurs, sobs, and sniffles had started. Still, the mood went from wonder and solace to fear and anger as he went on.

“With the Soviets vanquished and ousted from our sacred homeland and the scourge of Typhus effectively suppressed by your remarkable efforts, our Führer has graciously permitted the resettling of the ghetto inhabitants in the eastern provinces of our great nation.”

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Hearing stories of Jews transported to death camps under the pretence of resettlement, several in the audience understood that the resettlement meant transfer to extermination camps.

The majority, however, either chose to live in denial about their own inherent social and physical status or outright refused to believe that such widespread barbarism was ever possible. Nearly 100,000 had already died from hunger or disease, and the prospect of resettlement lured many to fantasise about a better life.

Some in the audience got angry, and insulted the council member.

Without regard to age or gender, the ghetto police baton-charged the protesters. As the crowd dispersed, survival in the face of the impending extermination camps became the primary concern of many.

A number of ghetto residents attempted to flee that night. Just outside the wall, Nazi guards opened fire on all of them.