Gita Abramson of
Kaunas, Lithuania
ROOM 4: FACES OF THE GHETTO
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First-Hand Account |
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This narrative has been
excerpted
from "The Horrible Days: The
Story of Gita Abramson Bereznitzky,"
as told to and translated by
Regina Borenstein Naividel |
"Before the liquidation
of the Ghetto, we, the surviving members of the organization, stayed
in the Ghetto in a hiding place...On July 13, 1944 the Germans
discovered our hiding place. They ordered all of us to leave and to
stand up in lines of four people in a row, and told us that we would
be led to work...I quickly threw away my coat with the yellow star,
got up and continued to run. While I was running, a young Lithuanian
ran after me and told me to stop. I thought that this was my end. He
came running up to me and asked me whether I knew a woman named Sara
and where she was. I answered him that I did not know her and
continued running. In this moment, I saw that Nina Finkelstein was
running with me, and both of us turned in the direction to Mania's
house. Mania was waited for us at her door, so that she could take
us immediately to her hiding place, which was under the steps
leading to her house. All this happened on July 13, 1944...
While standing in the
row, I decided I would escape given the first opportunity. Each of
us had one bottle of water, and a loaf of bread, but I gave this
away. I didn't take it so that I could run more quickly. While
running, I heard a shot, and at that moment I threw myself into a
field of tall potato plants......In the same night, Lucy Zimmerman
came to us; she had run from Alexot. All of us were very happy to
have escaped and to be together. We slept over night and the next
morning, one of us saw two German soldiers through the window.
We crept into the hiding
place, but Lucy went out through the door. (She looked Jewish). She
crept through the fence into Mania's garden and hurt her foot.
Later, she went to the Ghetto and saw that the Ghetto was burning.
All this we heard only later.
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While
there, the Russian collaborators recognized her. She was a
very good looking, dark-haired, Jewish looking woman. Her
foot was bleeding. They approached her and asked her for her
documents, but unfortunately, she did not have any
documents. She pointed to the house and told them that she
lived there. When they came back to the house, Lucy asked
Mania for the document, and said that Mania was her sister.
'Mania, you are my sister' she cried, 'give me the passport,
help me.' We were lying in the hiding place, and heard all
that was being said above our heads. Mania called in one of
the soldiers and offered him money, but he said that the
older one was the commander and if he would take money, he
also would agree. Unfortunately, when the second one entered
the house, and heard that she offered him money, he shouted
at her and said 'you are a Jew too and you have to come with
us.' Mania also looked Jewish. Mania with her little son,
Lucy and the soldiers left to the Ghetto. They were already
standing against the wall waiting to be shot, when a
Lithuanian neighbor of Mania's came after them and swore
that she was not Jewish. Then, a German approached her and
asked her for her passport. Mania answered that it was in
her house in the cupboard. The German soldiers, Mania with
the child and Lucy came back from the Ghetto to the house.
The door of the cupboard was pulled open and Mania showed
the Germans her passport. The Germans said to her: 'Sorry,
dear lady.' Afterwards they left with Lucy to go back to the
Ghetto. Lucy was shot afterwards. Lucy had called: 'Mania,
you are my sister. Give me the passport.' Until today, I can
hear these words in my ears, but nobody could help her. This
was the end of the second day after the escape..."
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