Told by Paltiel Lopata, born in 1916 in Zabludowa, near Bialystok. During the Occupation he lived briefly in Zabludowa. After the liquidation of the Bialystok Province, he hid out in the village of Solniki, Zabludowa district, Bialystok Province, with a Christian, Vladek Danieluk. He now lives in Bialystok.

During the occupation, I first lived in Zabludowa. I frequently stepped outside of the Jewish Quarter to do business without my identifying patch. In the autumn of 1941, while I was leaving the ghetto in the morning, the Polish police service assistant Sigmund Kozlovski met me (he knew me well even before the War), and wanted to go to the Gestapo. This occurred in a back alley. I didn’t want to go along, punched the policeman and escaped into the forest. The Gestapo then ordered the Judenrat to turn me in, otherwise they would take 750 Jews hostage. Since they couldn’t catch me, the Germans captured 750 men and women from the Jewish area in Zabludowa and held them in a barn for 24 hours. My entire family was among those arrested – parents and sisters. The Germans beat my father badly, and when the Judenrat brought them a lot of money and gifts they released the 750 people.

I then went into the Bialystok ghetto, and stayed there until 1942, when I again fled because a Jewish policeman reported that I was smuggling cows into the ghetto. He wanted to hand me over to the Germans. So I escaped to the Zabludow colony to a Christian named Piletski, though I didn’t have a permanent place to stay with him. I hid out in the field and forest. The entire Jewish community of Bialystok province still existed, and no one was searching for Jews in the villages. In the summer I grazed the cows for the Christian, and they would frequently come to me looking for my parents. This was what I did until Bialystok province was liquidated in November 1942.

When I awoke on November 2, 1942, Christians told me that the Jews were being taken away from Zabludowa. Soon I saw them myself being taken away on peasant wagons (the colony was located on the highway). Everyone from Zabludowa was taken away to the 10th regiment (in Bialystok), where some Zabludowa Jews managed to escape and get to Bialystok Ghetto. Among them were Ephraim Rubins, Yitzhak Koplinsky and others. They also told me that the Jews completely believed that they weren’t being led to their deaths. When they were passing by the colony where I was hiding, my father wanted to tell the Germans that his son was working for a Christian, and that I too should be taken along. (He didn’t say that however).

After the liquidation of the Zabludowa Jews, I wandered around the fields near Zabludowa. At night I would go to the homes of Christians I knew, and they helped me by giving me food to eat. I spent three weeks in the haystack of a Christian named Piletski, who didn’t know I was there. His sister-in-law would feel sorry for me and bring me some food once a day. Due to the cold winter we had to find a better place, and finally in November 1943 (after the first aktsia) I again went back to the Bialystok ghetto. I lived on Biala Street with my friends. Life was unsettled in the ghetto. People talked about an impending new aktsia, and even about the liquidation of the Bialystok ghetto. I then decided to leave Bialystok, and asked my friends to accompany me rather than remain in the ghetto where the Jews would one day perish. However, they didn’t want to go, and preferred to live comfortably in their homes, which they didn’t want to leave. By contrast, I was already used to suffering, and decided to leave.

I went in the direction of the Bialystok-Podlosk region and wanted to cross the Narew River. I met a Christian whom I knew, and when I asked whether it was calm on the other side, and whether it was possible to travel, the Christian scared me by saying that there were Germans on the other side who would certainly capture me. I then asked him to sell me some food, but he refused. I was desperate, and just stayed there. We were exhausted from traveling and were hungry, cold and had no choice but to decide to return to the Bialystok ghetto and throw my lot in with the rest of the Jews. In the meantime, I tried to go to several wealthy homes and ask for a piece of bread. Unfortunately, I was refused. When I got to within 6 kilometers of Bialystok, I again tried to go into a cabin to ask for bread. This was in the village of Solniki. Of the three cabins I chose the poorest, and again tried my luck. When I entered the house, I found a mother and a small child. At my request the Christian gave me some bread, a bowl of soup, and showed me warmth and mercy. As I was eating, I started weeping and told her that I was a Jew, had nowhere to go, and had to return to the Bialystok ghetto. The Christian advised me not to go back to the ghetto, but to wait for her husband to return and speak with him. Perhaps I would be able to stay with them. (I had never seen her before and didn’t know her). When her husband arrived, I spoke with him and didn’t say anything about staying with them. I stayed overnight in their house.

The next morning I wanted to leave, and heard the husband tell his wife that it was very cold, and wherever I would go I would be killed because I was a young man, so they ought to let me stay with them for a while. During the day I stayed in the attic, and at night they let me sleep in the house. I spent three weeks like that. Eventually their daughter Liuba fell in love with me, and thanks to that they treated me like their own child. The Christian woman would come home every day and tell me the news. Once, when she returned from town, she reported to me that the Jews were still in the ghetto and things were quiet. When I heard that, I wanted to go to the ghetto myself right away to see my friends. The Christian woman wouldn’t let me, but I insisted on going, and went on my way. She gave me food to take along, and told me, as if I were her own child, that I shouldn’t stay there more than eight days, because they would worry.

When I got to the ghetto, I met my friend Moshe Flicker. I told him what happened to me, and told him that I had a very good place with some Christians who wanted me to marry their daughter, and who treated me like their own child. As I was leaving, I left him my address at the home of Vladek Danieluk, and told him that in the case of an aktsia, they should come to me.

A month after my last visit to the ghetto, I heard that the ghetto was closed, and all the Jews were being taken away. We also heard some shooting for a few days. On the second day of the liquidation, Yitzhak Kuplinsky came to me and stayed with me in the barn. The landlord, Vladek Danieluk, would drive Germans to work in the ghetto every day in his wagon. When he returned he said that there were no more Jews in the ghetto, and just property and furniture were now being removed.

At the beginning of 1943, while I was sleeping in the barn, I suddenly felt as if someone were waking me up. I saw the shadow of a man, and I had trouble recognizing him. It was Moshe Flicker. He told me that he was hiding out with Yisrael Bramson in a [illegible] in the area of the small ghetto on the factory street. After hiding out there for two weeks they were able to get out of the ghetto, and now along the way he got separated from Yisrael Bramson. At the same time that Flicker came to the barn, Yisrael Bramson went to see my landlord, and told said that Flicker also went with him, but that Flicker had gotten lost along the way. Bramson had given him a sign – that his daughter Liuba was living with me, and that I was going to also marry her. The Christian, Vladek Danieluk, came into the barn yelling that I was bringing misfortunate on him because the entire ghetto was now coming here. He said he wouldn’t let them stay there. I tried to calm him down and convince him that the two [sic] Jews had money with them, and because the war was going to end in a few weeks, if he didn’t want them to stay I would leave together with them. With tremendous effort I managed to convince him.

We dug out a [illegible] in the barn and four of us sat there. Each night we slept in the house, and in the meantime the war continued. My landlords were sick of us staying there, and the old lady (Mrs. Danieluk) told me to take the three Jews into the forest and return alone, and they would keep me until the end of the war. Their daughter Liuba came to tell me that she totally refused this, claiming that in any event whether I were caught by myself or with the three other Jews, her family would be killed. Finally, her mother and she argued, and Liuba decided to leave the house. She told me that she was leaving the house and was going to look for a job with a peasant. Since I knew that if Liuba left, we would be pursued, and there wouldn’t be anyone to bring us food or wash our clothes, I decided to go with her. I left the three Jews in the [illegible], and left with Liuba in the direction of the Zabludowa colony. Along the way I met a Christian I knew. He pointed out to me the Germans passing by. I then realized that there were some Germans looking for me, and warned Liuba not to say anything about the fact that there was a Jew here. I then left. The Germans pursued me and shot in my direction. However, I was able to escape into the forest and hide out there.

After that incident, Liuba went back home, and told her parents that the Germans were shooting at me and probably captured me. My three friends already mourned over me. At 10 pm on the same day, I returned to the [illegible] and remained there until the end of the war. After the liberation Liuba and I lived together in Bialystok.

During Easter, 1945, Liuba, Moshe Flicker, a few others and I traveled to our "saviors" in the village of Solnki to celebrate our liberation. At 12 am a group of Christians knocked on the door, claiming to ask for directions to Saltim. We refused to open the door. Among the group was a relative of the Danieluk family, and because of him we then decided to open up. When they came in we saw that they were armed; they ordered everyone to raise their arms. They started firing machine guns, and killed seven people, among whom was Liuba, her father Vladek Danieluk, Moshe Flicker, a Soviet and a few neighbors. I was wounded and hid under a bed. After the murder, the thieves covered the house with benzene and started a fire. When they ran away, I jumped out of the burning house, but the other wounded were burned with the house. The thieves did this out of revenge for the family having hidden Jews during the Occupation. The only survivor after the massacre was Mrs. Danieluk and a young daughter, who both now live in Bialystok. Yisrael Bramson and I support them as much as we can.

At the end of 1945 the Polish, Service-Assistant, Sigmund Kozlovski was arrested because of my accusation. As witnesses I provided a few surviving Zabludowa Jews. The court case took place in the Bialystok judicial district. Over ten partisans testified against the accused. The partisans also emphasized the bad and inhuman attitude of the accused against both Jews and frequently against gentiles as well. When the prosecutor heard my accusation and the testimony of David Piura, he demanded the death penalty for Kozlovski. Everyone was utterly amazed when a Jew, Ephraim Rubins, declared to the court that Kozlovski was a good person, often helped Jews and was innocent. Based on Ephraim Rubins’ testimony Kozlovski was given a mere eight months jail time and two years without citizenship rights for having worn the uniform of a Polish service assistant.

It is worth noting that Kozlovski’s family made their way to the victim Paltiel Lopata to request the cancellation of the accusation, and offered Lopata two million zlotys. The war victim refused. From what I heard, Ephraim Rubins was supposed to get 80,000 zlotys from the Kozlovski’s family for his "good" testimony. (Rubins is now on his way to Australia.)*

After his eight-month term, Kozlovski was released. Lopata filed an appeal in Warsaw court, which ordered Kozlovski’s re-arrest. Unfortunately, he can’t be found and is hiding out.

*As far as we know the allegation in this testimony towards Ephraim Rubins is unsubstantiated. The owner of this website has no intent whatsoever to lessen the memory of those who we in fact hold in such high regard.

 

Click here to read the testimony of Israel Bramson

 

Yad Vashem Righteous of the Nations Ceremony

Yad Vashem Letter to Danieluk Family, Click to Enlarge

 

Click here for Yad Vashem press release

 

Click photos bellow to enlarge

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The Righteous of the Nations Ceremony at Yad Vashem was a very profound and moving event for all of us. Raisa and her two sons first visited Kibbutz Mizra the home of one of survivor Israel Bramson's daughters. From there they toured the Gallille region. In Jerusalem after the ceremony we gathered at the home of one of my relatives. Hebrew, Polish, and English were flowing freely. People spoke openly about their very emotional feelings about the days events. The following day we accompanied Raisa and her sons on a primarily Christian site tour of the Old City including most of the Stations of the Cross. Finally Raisa, her sons, and the Bramson daughters left Jerusalem, and planned to spend a few days together at a Dead Sea spa.

Raisa spoke of her satisfaction that her families deeds had been recognized in such an honorable and moving fashion. The event received wide coverage in the Israeli TV media and print press. In fact during our tour of Jerusalem several people recognized Raisa and her sons, and spontaneously approached them with congratulations.

The Danieluk family is of the Russian Orthodox faith. They were simple people who were not politically motivated. Raisa told us that the family was not that concerned about the Germans because Solniki is a very small remote crossroads, and the Germans rarely passed through there. What concerned them was that their neighbors would find out that they were hiding Jews, and that one of them would inform the Germans. After the war the four survivors lived openly with the Danieluk family for about four months. She says that during this time it became obvious to the neighbors that the family had rescued Jews. Raisa explained that the attack after the war during Easter 1945 in which her father, sister, one of the survivors and four other were killed was carried out by "The Eagle" from Zabludow Poland. He was likely a leader of a partisan band who after the war was resisting Russian consolidation of control over Poland. She stated that his intention was to "mix the blood of the Orthodox and the Jews". She reported that eventually he was captured and hung.

Bonds have now been formed between the Raisa and her sons, the Bramson and Lopata connected families that will not be broken.

 

Click here for number of "Righteous Persons" by country, honored by Yad Vashem

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