JEWISH IN LEVEL
Immediately after entering Lviv, immediately formed the "Ukrainian police" together with the soldiers of the Wehrmacht (it is not actual that only the SS and Gestapo murdered Jews) threw a gruesome bloodbath in Brygidek. This event had its prehistory. Shortly after 22 June i941, a panic broke out among the Lviv Bolsheviks and many of them fled east in a panic. After a fewer days they came to their senses and any authorities, especially any of the military, militia and NKVD returned. Meanwhile, any of Brigidek's prisoners, most of all criminals, managed to break the target's door and escape. Some, as if not believing in the defeat of the Red Army, did so with any delay, possibly even suspecting any Bolshevik ruse. Among the second were political prisoners and intelligence. All those whose returning encavists were found in cells and in the yard, slaughtered with beastly series of device guns, respective 100 Jews were forced to bury these bodies, which were then shot at the site. The Bolsheviks, on the another hand, have since definitely escaped. This massacre became a threatening announcement of the destiny of the Jews.
It is worth adding that the unusual and indecisive behaviour of the Bolsheviks in these days was a consequence of Stalin's confusion. Listening diligently to the radio "Free Europe" we already knew for respective weeks about the concentration of the Nazi army in the alleged "Government", which was besides discussed by railway operators. Stalin besides specifically warned his Tokyo superspy Sorge. But the wiser Stalin aired in these news an English intrigue aimed at disparaging him with Hitler, to whom he had supplied oil and food for almost the last fewer days. True, in the Izwi-styki and the Truth, articles began to appear which praised the effectiveness of the anti-aircraft defence of London, of which - knowing the programal bias of russian media - we thought that any features appeared at the Soviet-Hitlerovian covenant. However, these suspicions were denied by Stalin himself, explaining in the radio speech the concentration of German troops in the Governorate the abundance of food in these areas. shortly the bombs falling at russian airports and factories were to convince him how far he was incorrect and how unsuccessful his fierce fight against espionage was. Cleverly utilized by Abwehr led him to slaughter his most capable generals, which, among others, led Hitler to strike the weakened russian Union. Let's go back to the Lviv Holocaust, whose first act we've already met. Its size is best illustrated by 2 numbers. By entering Lviv, the Germans found about 160,000 Jews, about 1 3rd more than they were on September 1, 1939. This increase in their numbers was due to the escape of many Jews from the alleged Governorate. erstwhile the Nazis left Lviv in 1944, about 700 Jews remained in Lviv, hidden by Poles or - exceptionally - rescued as essential professionals, by managers of German companies, sometimes anti-hitlers, operating for the Wehrmacht, for example sewing military uniforms (the alleged city workshops).
The methods of murdering Jews were different. Initially, they were shot, for example, close the Czartowska stone on the road to Winnik or in a camp on Janowska Street or in its neighbourhood. The execution of respective million people would not have been possible without the invention of the cyclone, the gas that was thrown into closed chambers in a solid form. People died in them within minutes of being tormented by shortness of breath. I was always amazed where so many people came from in the German people, who actively participated in these savage murders, comparatively agreed with them or pretended not to know about them. This last attitude was most common among the Germans with whom I spoke. I met only a fewer times to condemn or aid Jews. Moreover, in relation to Poles in Lviv and Warsaw, only very fewer Germans were powerfully opposed to Nazi persecution.
This issue concerns all totalitarianism. erstwhile talking to russian people, not only to organization officials, police officers, but besides to the alleged grey man, simple man or intelligent person, e.g. doctors, I frequently found that they were profoundly convinced about the historical condition of their hegemony over another nations. They were blind to their own cultural and civilizational backwardness, mostly due to the insane, completely unfit economical and social system, as well as the centuries-old Tsaric tyranny. There have been times erstwhile 1 could see the intellectual shock that was experienced by the more intelligent among them in cutting off capitalism, which, contrary to the doctrine that has been drained from their childhood, gave everyone, not only the rich, much greater opportunities for individual improvement than, for example, the socialist system. This strategy had nothing to do with the future mirages of Marxist prophets. The first large slaughter of Jews, which took the lives of about 80,000 people, was celebrated by Germany in August 1942. Until then Jews had died hundreds or thousands in prisons, labour camps, e.g. in Jaktorów and extermination camps in Bełżec, Oświęcim and Majdanek.
The stubbornness with which the Nazis were their Ausrottung decided at the beginning of the war at the gathering of the authorities of the NSDAP in Wan-see, frequently interfered with the needs of the war fought in the East, absorbing, for example, crucial transport potential, especially in freight wagons. In both pre-Hitler's Germany and present Germany, anti-Semitism, neither authoritative nor "people's" was and is not. Although many historians and publicists analysed the causes of Nazi madness - a convincing answer was not found. Personally, I think the victories of the German army on all fronts have mostly contributed to the support of Nazism by the nation. Today, we know that Anglo-Saxon policy has mostly favoured Nazi causes. Their calculating was to make Nazism and Bolshevikism devour each other. But Stalin had a akin calculating attitude toward all Western Europe, and he actually realized his plan, thanks to which the russian sphere of influence reached all the way to the Elbe.
Returning to the Lviv Jews, it is worth mentioning that a tiny part of them chose to cooperate with the Gestapo to save themselves. There were respective 100 judaic militias who worked closely with German and Ukrainian police. Their boss, Goliger, a peculiar bastard and drunkard, was murdered in his own bed by Jews returning with russian power. There was a kahal which thoroughly downloaded from the Jews a contribution, confiscated their furs, jewelry, works of art, furniture, and all this supplied to Germans, which did not prevent the officials of the canal from being destroyed, or even from hanging its CEOs Pamas and Rothfeld on the balconies of the canal building on Bemstein Street in Lviv. In order to facilitate extermination and to prevent any thought of the resistance, Germany has utilized terrible mass and public panic to completely paralyze the persecuted. Each hebrew was trying to save his own household and skin. It was only in a hopeless situation that the Warsaw Jews kidnapped themselves to emergence in the Ghetto. But this political movement never happened in Lviv. The conditions were besides more hard here. First of all, the Ukrainians' hostility towards Poles worsened the situation of Jews, but nevertheless Poles of Jews hid, despite the support given to the Bolshevik authorities by judaic youth in Lviv.
Therefore, 1 way to save Jews, primarily assimilated intelligents, was to go to Warsaw, where any of them became victims of blackmailers. The delegates of the London Government and the Home Army had exterminated these informers, issued death sentences on them and carried out a fewer of them, but the German police were protecting them and it was not easy to get to them. Thus, the Lviv Holocaust proved effective, just as almost everywhere where Nazi power spread, and especially where Jews in their mass were not assimilated. For example, he was far little effective in Denmark and France, where there were no death sentences for storing Jews, despite the close collaboration of the Vichy, Petain and Laval authorities with Abetz, the Nazi ruler of France.
It is worth remembering that Polish culture owes much to the Lviv Jews. Biochemist Parnas, physicists Loria and Infeid, polonist Kleiner, lawyer Allerhand; neurologist Rothfeld-Rostowski, philologist Auerbach, composer Koffier, artist Lilie - are only a fewer of the chosen names. Among the Jews were many lawyers, judges, doctors, engineers who contributed to the improvement of the city. Many of them were active in the City Council, the vice president of the city and his patriot was banker Chajec. The Holocaust completely eliminated this part of the population of Lviv. At the moment, they have no function there. The fewer who are there are a foreign, inflowing russian element, as well as almost the full population of this city, which erstwhile constituted the last east bastion of European culture.
The Lviv Jews were mostly Polish-speaking, any utilized only judaic (so-called jargon), Ukrainians did not usage at all.
Aleksander Szumański "Lvivian Meetings"
