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USHMM Finding http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection Peska Verolska (RG-50.308*0014) Up until 1:20 interview is in Polish. Starting 1:20: In October 1939 Peska was in Krakow. She was a member of the youth organization HaShomer Hatzair led by Hersz Bauminger (described by Peska as a very knowledgeable and interesting man). At that time the Jewish holidays (Yom Kipur and Rosh HaShana) were observed as usual, life was quite normal; she attended Hashomer meetings regularly and had a boyfriend named Gustek Duitcher who was a member of the HaShomer Hatzair as well. In 1941 Krakow started to become a ghetto, it was very small and crowded. Peska sewed to help financially support her family in the ghetto. Back then, they knew of one deportation, but didn’t know that people were being sent to the gas chambers; 2 children from her family were taken. At that time people started to form an underground activity in the ghetto, she knew that Hersz Bauminger started to form some activity but wasn’t in touch with him at the time. Her boyfriend Gustek gave her some Aryan paperwork and asked her to meet Akiba’s leader‐ Dolek Liebeskind. She went to See Dolek in the ghetto, Vushka was there too, a beautiful woman with a long braid. Dolek gave her the address and password to an apartment in the city Tarnow. The same day she went to Tarnow, when she arrived to the train station in Tarnow, she saw lots of men and women being taken to Germany; Peska was able to escape. It was night and she was looking for the house in 4 Ulitza Prases street. She finally saw a guy she knew from Warsaw, said the password and he took her to the apartment. The password was Haaslo (??). Danka Tselmeister was in the apartment, a friend Peska from Warsaw. They told her of one more place that belongs to the underground movement, showed her the hidden weapons in the walls and told her that the weapons need to get out to the streets of Tarnow. She was there only for a few days until they heard a loud knock on the door, it was the Schutzpolizei. Danka wanted to take Ziankali (cyanide??), but Peska didn’t let her. The Schutzpolizei took them to the Gestapo, to prison (this was in 1941). In the prison she saw Israel Kanaw, Chella and Regina, they were interrogated and looked really bad, Tarnow was known for its cruelty. Peska was taken to prison in a fiaker (a horse‐drawn carriage), in attempt to escape she jumped out of the Fiaker but was caught and was beaten very badly for hours. When she woke up she was in prison. She was interrogated and asked about Dolek, she told them that she was indeed a member of the fighting movement but she didn’t know anything about their plans. After hours of interrogation they finally believed her and stopped the beating. In early January 1943, after a few weeks in prison, they were taken by train to Krakow (2 men and 4 women). They were brought to Montelupich prison (a big building, tainted windows, and bars on the windows). Peska and the others had to stand by the wall with their hands raised up, there was a lot of Gestapo yelling. After a few hours the women were brought to chamber 15 on the second floor. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection The women’s prison was an old monastery converted into a prison and the men’s prison was the original Montelupich prison across the street. 15 women from Akiba movement warmly greeted them (these women were caught after participating in an attack in Tsiganeria). The general atmosphere was good and warm, they became close friends liked to sit together and sing Shabbat songs. The atmosphere wasn’t radical until Gusta (Gusta Dawidson‐Draenger?) got to the chamber. The cell was quite big with benches and mattresses on both sides, in the center they had a toilet. When Gusta came everyone were so excited and wanted to hear the details about what happened, she didn’t tell anyone but Danka Tselmeister, who later told the rest of the girls what happened. After Gusta’s husband (Shimshon Draenger?) was arrested, she decided to give herself up to the Gestapo, she didn’t want to be without Simek (Shimshon Draenger?). Gusta was a gentle and noble woman. She started writing her diary right away; using toilet paper. Writing a diary in Montelupich wasn’t an easy task, the girls had to cover for her, and she used to write at night as well. She interviewed everyone in the cell but not all documents were saved. Peska later tells the interviewer that the documents were hidden it in a fire place, but when she went there after the war she couldn’t find anything. After a while (end of January), Peska’s friend Elsa and the Goldwasser sisters were brought chamber 15. Elsa was a good friend of Peska since elementary school. Peska describes the time in Montelupich as a special experience, surrounded by Gusta and the rest of the women who participated in the underground fighting. In February Gola was brought to the chamber (Gola was arrested for publishing an underground newspaper). She was in very bad shape, she was tortured; her head was shaved and she was held in a dark cell for a few days, but she didn’t break. Even after being tortured she was full of courage. The women in chamber 15 bonded and became good friends, they didn’t feel like they would soon be killed. They used to sing movement song together and felt strong, Peska thinks that the Germans were afraid of them because there were political prisoners in their cell. Peska was in charge of dividing the food amongst her prison mates; she used to divide one slice of bread in two, so they would have it in the morning and in the evening as well. For lunch they had soup. Peska didn’t worry about the hunger, she and the rest of the women felt the they had been involved in something important and if they would die, it wouldn’t be for nothing. Later on Peska’s sister was brought to the same cell; these were the last weeks they spent together. Peska was very emotionally close to her older sister (2 years older), she was the one who brought her into the movement and was a very special individual. She was very good friends with Hersz Bauminger and Salek Shine. http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection In her own words Peska describes her time in Montelupich as the most beautiful time in her life, being surrounded with women like Gola and Gusta and her dear sister. She used to talk with Gola a lot and shared everything with her. Gola wrote many songs in Montelupich. One day s(thi was still February) Elsa, Paula Goldwasser and her sister were taken away from the cell, they understood that their chamber is being eliminated. Nobody ever cried, Peska was the only one who cried, when Vushka yoles told her that her boyfriend was taken. She was embarrassed for crying because no one ever cried. In March, there was another transport of 15 cell mates from Akiba, Peska believes that this whole transport was killed in Montelupich. Gola, Gusta, Vushkayoles, Peska and Seltzer stayed in the chamber. After the last transport, Peska started to think about escaping, she was able to see many transports from her window during her time in prison. She knew that the women were taken from the old monastery to the men’s prison and that 2 guards were watching them. Gusta didn’t want to escape at first but after Peska spoke to Gola, she convinced Gusta to participate. They decided that Vushka yoles will give the signal, and they will all run. She remembers the stressed atmosphere in the chamber. When their jewelry was taken from them they knew that they were up next. The same night they had a farewell evening, they talked and sang songs all night and they knew that this was probably their last night (this was in April). The next day, they took Vushka yules, Gusta, Gola, Zeltser and another woman from Akiba. Peska gave her the address of a Polish woman she knew and hoped she would help her in need. Peska and her sister weren’t on that list. She stood by the window as they left and heard the shooting. A Polish man came her cell and told her that a few had escaped, but the women who gave the signal (Vushka) was killed. That guy used to help them some times and offered to help Peska and her sister escape from prison. Everything was ready for the escape but the next day Peska was taken to Plashov (Plaszow?). In Plashov the commander Gete (Amon Göth?) sent the young people to work, and the elderly were to be killed. In Plashov she felt like home, she saw Chesha, her good friend from home, and another sister. She worked there as a seem smith. After one week Peska saw that another transfer from Montelupich is arriving; her older sister was there. She yelled towards Peska, asked her not to worry about her and that the most important thing is that Peska is alive.
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