Today, read memoirs written by a woman named Bluma Gedanken, in Ostroleka, Poland. Have you ever heard of Operation Tooth? Jewish occupiers were required by the Germans to form Judenrats, which were essentially enforcement bodies established to manage Jewish communities. Around September 23, 1940 - the Judenrat posted notices that within 24 hours, the Jews had to bring four kilos of gold, all valuables and silver objects, and an additional one hundred thousand rubles. She writes : Relief was felt to a certain extent, because it was clear from the notice that whoever would not turn in his jewelry of his own free will, would pay with his life for this. We asked for a three-day extension of time and put together a committee of representatives of all the towns in the area: Ostrolenka, Kolno, Lomza, Ostrowa, Wyszkow and others. The Ostrolenkans in the committee were Mosze Markowicz, Gercek, Jabek and Jankel Szafran. When the money was collected, there were unpleasant scenes, quarrels and blows – because of the exploitation of influence. Everyone wanted to avoid paying the sum determined that he should pay. After a great deal of suffering, quarrels and scandals – the capital demanded was collected. A wagon overflowing with gold, silver and Jewish property from past generations, escorted by gendarmes and police, rode slowly through the Jewish streets. Pearls and precious stones were carried separately in big suitcases. Gold weighing more than four kilos was collected. At a secret meeting, the Judenrat decided to give the Germans less than what they had demanded, in order to prove to them how very difficult it was to collect The Rutkowski brothers, who the Germans suggested should serve in the Judenrat, participated in the meeting. It was decided to hide the rest of the gold under a board in the floor, for future troubles. The silver and gold were given to the gendarmes and all the other valuables were brought directly to the S.S. chief commandant – Hick. Everything exceeded the amount demanded, except that the weight of the gold was three and a half kilos, instead of four! The enemy jumped up from his armchair, stamped his foot and shouted, “Warum?” (Why?). We tried to explain to him that the short period of three days did not permit the collection of a large amount. The murderer, however, did not calm down. He immediately shot the first victim, Munszkowski. The others went with Hick to the Judenrat. There, Hick immediately pointed to the place where the extra gold was hidden. It was clear that the Rutkowski brothers had informed. Hick, together with the S.S. people, burst into shouts, “If I do not see Jewish blood spill – I will go crazy, I cant live!” It is hard to describe the morbid impression his words had on everyone. We sat withdrawn and did not dare go out to the street. Deathly fear gripped us. Of course, Hick took the hidden gold. He sent all the members of the Judenrat to prison, where they were killed. He ordered a new Judenrat organized, composed of new victims, on condition that the Rutkowski brothers would continue to participate in it. The Germans placed complete trust in them … And again an order was given that, within 24 hours, we had to produce two kilos of gold for him. From where? First, no gold was left in the place, and second – it was not advisable to show the Nazis that it was possible to obtain gold with such great ease. The Judenrat advised them that there was no more gold in the Jews possession. The German commandant ordered that all gold teeth be pulled from the mouths of the Jews. To carry out this task, the Judenrat recruited the dental technician, Mosze Markiewicz, and others helped him. Anyone who had crowns or gold teeth in his mouth stood on line and waited for this painful and humiliating operation ... After “Operation Teeth” it seemed to all of us that, from now on, the situation would be calmer.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 02:39:12 +0000
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