Note on Transliteration and Translation In transliterating foreign words, I use the standard Library of Congress system for Rus sian and the modified one (lacking diacritics) for Hebrew. The YIVO transliteration system is employed for Yiddish. Proper names of people and of places introduce some additional challenges. I have en- deavored to transliterate people’s names according to the language in which they wrote. Thus, the biblical name Rachel might appear as Rokhl in a Yid- dish document, Rahel in Hebrew, and Rachela in Polish. With people who published in more than one language, I have chosen the language they were most associated with or the most common spelling of their name. When appropriate, I have relied upon the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Eu rope for the proper spelling of the names of prominent East Euo r pean Jews. However, at times a less consistent form of the name has been employed b ecause it is more widely known: thus, Peretz Markish in- stead of Perets Markish. In an attempt to avoid both politics and anachronism, I spell place names according to their chronological appearance in the narrative. Thus, if someone was born in a Polish city before the war, it will be spelled as it was then (Kowel, Białystok). However, if someone e lse traveled through that same city while it was u nder Soviet rule, a transliteration of the Rus sian name will be used (Kovel, Bialystok). Parenthetical notations list previous and current names in alphabetical order. The Yiddish alternative is offered only when it differs significantly from the others. The only exceptions are names given in direct quotations or when dealing with cities with an ac- cepted En glish form (Warsaw, Kiev). ix x • NOTE on TRANSLITERATION and TRANSLATION Although t hese same standards apply to cities and regions within the old borders of the USSR, I have often followed the lead of the Polish Jewish refugees in referring to Central Asian areas. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was not an in de pen dent country at the time of study. Yet, t hose who passed through there invariably describe having lived in Uzbekistan. For clarity, I will use the standard name of Soviet regions rather than the Rus sian adjectival forms (i.e., Altai and not Altaiskaia). Translations are my own, except when cited from English- language or translated sources. SOVIET AND GERMAN DIVISION OF POLAND AND THE BALTIC STATES, 1939-1940 150 miles FINLAND 0 Regions of Poland annexed by 200 km the USSR in November 1939 City and region of Vilna given to Lithuania by the USSR in October 1939 Baltic States annexed by the USSR in August 1940 ESTONIA Regions of Poland annexed by Germany in October 1939 Poland border before the joint 1939 invasions SWEDEN a LATVIA e N S c i t l a Biržai B Anykščiai LITHUANIA Vitebsk Glubokoe Raseiniai Smolensk Kaunas Orsha Vilna Virbalis Danzig GERMANY Ive EAST Lida Minsk WEST Berezhani POMERANIA PRUSSIA Grodno Od PRUSSIA Graevo Kuznitsa Mysh Nova er Sokolka Baranovichi U.S.S.R. Rutki Slonim Bialystok Svisloch Kletsk G Vistula Małkinia Bug WESTERN R Jadów Kamenets Zbąszyń Poznań Sompolno Warsaw BELORUSSIA Pinsk E Oder Brest A Radzyń GENERAL GOVERNMENT W T Łódź Ryki WESTERN E Radom N Rovno e Tomaszów Bielsko Kovel UKRAINE i R s Chełm s Piotrków e Lublin G Breslau Trybunalski Horodło Vladimir-Volynskii San Hrubieszów E Tarnobrzeg Zamość Olyka Kiev R Bełżec Lutsk Tuchin M Sosnowiec Krzeszów Krasno Sokal A Kraków Przemyśl Brody Prague Brzesko Jarosław Berdichev N Oświęcim Lvov Zolotchev PROTECTORATE Y Tarnów Dynów Peremyshliany Podvolochisk OF BOHEMIA Sambor Tarnopol AND MORAVIA Stanislov Kolomea SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA Vienna HUNGARY ROMANIA UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, CIRCA 1940 SFSR Soviet Federal Socialist Republic N o rwegi a n A R C T I C OCEAN Svalbard N SSR Soviet Socialist RepublSic e a B e rin g S e a SWEDEN Barent s Murmansk S e a FINLAND Tallinn LATVIAN SSR Riga ESTONIAN KARELO- LITHUANIAN SSR SSR FINNISH SSR Vilnius Leningrad Arkhangelsk Grodno Warsaw BELORUSSIAN SSR Magadan VOLOGDA Minsk Smolensk OBLAST KOMI ASSR Kotlas S Yaroslavl N Syktyvkar I Volga UKRAINIAN SSR A YAKUT ASSR Moscow T S e a o f Chernovits Kiev Yakutsk N O k h o t s k Gorky Yoshkar-Ola MOLOTOV MOLDAVIAN Kirov OBLAST U SSR MARI ASSR O Toryal Berezniki RUSSIAN SFSR Kharkov UDMURT M ASSR Molotov L Kremenchug A Kherson R Voroshilovgrad U Stalino VOLGA Kuibyshev CRIMEAN GERMAN Saratov Sverdlovsk Sakhalin ASSR ASSR Volga Buzuluk Chelyabinsk B l a c k S e a Rostov Kachalino Stalingrad CHKALOV Magnitogorsk Asino OBLAST Tomsk Omsk Mariinsk Astrakhan Novosibirsk KEMEROVO GEORGIAN SSR OBLAST Staliniri Caspia n Barnaul Irkutsk S e a Tbilisi ALTAI KRAI Yerevan KAZAKH SSR Semipalatinsk ARMENIAN SSR Aral AZERBAIJAN SSR Sea JAPAN Baku S e a o f MONGOLIA UZBEK SSR Japa n TURKMEN SSR Alma-Ata Ashkabad Tashkent Frunze IRAN KIRGHIZ SSR Stalinabad 500 miles 0 Yello w CHINA TAJIK SSR 1000 km S e a UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, CIRCA 1940 SFSR Soviet Federal Socialist Republic N o rwegi a n A R C T I C OCEAN Svalbard N SSR Soviet Socialist RepublSic e a B e rin g S e a SWEDEN Barent s Murmansk S e a FINLAND Tallinn LATVIAN SSR Riga ESTONIAN KARELO- LITHUANIAN SSR SSR FINNISH SSR Vilnius Leningrad Arkhangelsk Grodno Warsaw BELORUSSIAN SSR Magadan VOLOGDA Minsk Smolensk OBLAST KOMI ASSR Kotlas S Yaroslavl N Syktyvkar I Volga UKRAINIAN SSR A YAKUT ASSR Moscow T S e a o f Chernovits Kiev Yakutsk N O k h o t s k Gorky Yoshkar-Ola MOLOTOV MOLDAVIAN Kirov OBLAST U SSR MARI ASSR O Toryal Berezniki RUSSIAN SFSR Kharkov UDMURT M ASSR Molotov L Kremenchug A Kherson R Voroshilovgrad U Stalino VOLGA Kuibyshev CRIMEAN GERMAN Saratov Sverdlovsk Sakhalin ASSR ASSR Volga Buzuluk Chelyabinsk B l a c k S e a Rostov Kachalino Stalingrad CHKALOV Magnitogorsk Asino OBLAST Tomsk Omsk Mariinsk Astrakhan Novosibirsk KEMEROVO GEORGIAN SSR OBLAST Staliniri Caspia n Barnaul Irkutsk S e a Tbilisi ALTAI KRAI Yerevan KAZAKH SSR Semipalatinsk ARMENIAN SSR Aral AZERBAIJAN SSR Sea JAPAN Baku S e a o f MONGOLIA UZBEK SSR Japa n TURKMEN SSR Alma-Ata Ashkabad Tashkent Frunze IRAN KIRGHIZ SSR Stalinabad 500 miles 0 Yello w C HINA TAJIK SSR 1000 km S e a CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS AND KAZAKHSTAN, 1940s S N Tokushi RUSSIAN SFSR I N A im h s T I Barnaul N Ir Buzuluk ty lga sh Vo U O Atbasar O Akbulak b Uralsk Akmolinsk ' M Semipalatinsk Leninogorsk L U r a A l R KAZAKH SSR Zaisan U Lake a b V m Balkhash E ol ga Lake Ushtobe Aral Kyzyl-Orda Sarysu Syr Darya I Sea li C Turkestan A U Dzhambul Merki Alma-Ata C A Karabulak S Caspian UZBEK SSR Frunze U Chimkent GEORGIAN SSR S Sea Belovodskoye Karakol Tbilisi Tashkent KIRGHIZ SSR Jalal-Abad Naryn A ARMENIAN SSR Baku m Kokland Andizhan u Kermine Yangiyul Yerevan D Leninsk a Krasnovodsk r Bukhara AZERBAIJAN SSR y Samarkand a Fergana TURKMEN SSR Khanabad Stalinabad CHINA Ashkhabad Guzar Kyzylkishlak TAJIK SSR Bandar-e Pahlavi 150 miles 0 Teheran IRAN AFGHANISTAN 200 km PAKISTAN CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS AND KAZAKHSTAN, 1940s S N Tokushi RUSSIAN SFSR I N A im h s T I Barnaul N Ir Buzuluk ty lga sh Vo U O Atbasar O Akbulak b Uralsk Akmolinsk ' M Semipalatinsk Leninogorsk L U r a A l R KAZAKH SSR Zaisan U Lake a b V m Balkhash E ol ga Lake Ushtobe Aral Kyzyl-Orda Sarysu Syr Darya I Sea li C Turkestan A U Dzhambul Merki Alma-Ata C A Karabulak S Caspian UZBEK SSR Frunze U Chimkent GEORGIAN SSR S Sea Belovodskoye Karakol Tbilisi Tashkent KIRGHIZ SSR Jalal-Abad Naryn A ARMENIAN SSR Baku m Kokland Andizhan u Kermine Yangiyul Yerevan D Leninsk a Krasnovodsk r Bukhara AZERBAIJAN SSR y Samarkand a Fergana TURKMEN SSR Khanabad Stalinabad CHINA Ashkhabad Guzar Kyzylkishlak TAJIK SSR Bandar-e Pahlavi 150 miles 0 Teheran IRAN AFGHANISTAN 200 km PAKISTAN POLAND, 1946 Riga Polish territory annexed by the USSR LATVIAN SSR German territory annexed by Poland Other territory annexed by the USSR a e Poland border in 1946 S c LITHUANIAN SSR i t l a B Kaunas KALININGRAD OBLAST Vilnius Kaliningrad N Gdańsk GDAŃSK OLSZTYN SZCZECIN Olsztyn Grodno Szczecin POMERANIA BIAŁYSTOK BELO- Bydgoscz Białystok Odra Narew RUSSIAN SSR WARSAW Berlin POZNAŃ Vistula Bug U.S.S.R. Poznań Warsaw Odra Radzyń Biała Podlaska W Łódź Ryki LUBLIN N ŁÓDŹ Tomaszów e is s WROCŁAW (Mazowiecki) Elbe e Lublin Zgorzelec Wrocław POLAND Lubań Hrubieszów Wałbrzych Kielce Dzierżoniów Częstochowa KIELCE Zamość Ziębice SILESIA San Katowice Prague Kraków Rzeszów Bielsko Lvov KRAKÓW RZESZÓW C UKRAINIAN Z E C H SSR O S L O V Danube A K I A 100 miles 0 AUSTRIA 200 km SURVIVAL ON THE MARGINS .