A JEWISH GIRL*
You were far from hope and made a vow
A young girl with raised eyebrows
Who lived in Death's spacious house,
Which longed for a housewife.
You lit its candles and carried its wounded,
And you stopped its infants from crying,
In the inevitable nights you stood at the window
With a rifle butt pressed close to your cheek.
And the house creaked and groaned and moved
And was on the verge of total collapse.
But while still a young girl there
You walked in a white dress
Working and toiling with your hands.
As your [sic] were then, in your father's old house,
Filled with hard work and burdens,
So you were in the doomed people's house,
At any time and place and need.
You hurried to arrange the smallest details
And trifles of the siege without medicine and water,
History will look upon you, young girl,
And remember and preserve your image.
They saw you, they looked at you, Jewish girl,
Also on the night of despair and revolt,
When you leaped from the gate and crouched
Like a prancing and bewildered "Zivia" (gazelle).
They saw you, young girl, and knew that very night,
That the edge over which you were falling,
Was one of the thresholds in Israel's history,
An edge of death and hope.
And like a father already used to endless grief
Who has buried all his loved ones,
The eternal people bent over the wooden coffin
Where your body lay asleep.
Although time will pass and year follow year,
And many sunrises will appear in the sky,
Your father will remember you, wise girl,
He will remember you always in a white dress
Working and toiling with your hands.
For you fell at its threshold with your head in his hands,
Since you left him and then you were taken back to him,
And you stood with him through days of woe and war,
And on days of unforgettable love.
Natan Alterman
*"Zivia is always near Mavetzky (death). Tossia is with Zivia." (A coded cable transmitted to Eretz israel during the Warsaw Ghetto revolt). Davar, 4.6.43
Daughter Of The Pioneering Youth Movement "Dror"
Training In Preparation For Another Way Of Life
In The Opposite Direction, In The Correct Direction
During The Days Of The Ghetto In Warsaw
Preparations For The Revolt: A Jewish Fighting Organization Is Set Up
The Last Days Of The Warsaw Ghetto
A Sad Meeting With The Land Of Her Dreams
In The Movement, Kibbutz And Family, In The State
Zivia as a symbol and
Zivia as a daughter of the people were a product of the 1920s, the "Sturm
und Dräng" years of the turn of this entury. zivia was an expression
of the elevation of Jewish national pride in the Israeli labor movement.
Zivia knew the limits and objectives of power which were practiced only
to defend Jewish honor which was creating and building a new society.
Zivia was a symbol of the moral strength of a long-suffering minority
in its rebellion against the phalanxes of force, violence, oppression
and racism.
Ideas and ways of thought have undergone change since then. It seems that whole
generations have changed their images and opinions, approaches and thinking.
But pure Zionist socialism was the only school of thought which guided Jewish
history on its path of changing the face and image of man towards an enlightened
world, and it was embedded deeply in the ideology which inspired and nourished
Zivia Lubetkin.
This is neither a history book nor an essay on an entire period in the long
record of suffering of the Jewish people. Zvi Dror did not have this in mind
when he set aboutwriting the story. Rather, the aim of this modest booklet
is to describe a Jewish girl who underwent infernal suffering as a symbol of
a people which was purified in the crucible of pain with the noble aim of uplifting
man in a just society.
Abraham Raban
A Daughter Of The People
Zivia was born in November
1914 at the beginning of World War I. In order to understand her personality,
we must take into account not only her birthdate but also a whole world
of concepts which undoubtedly seem foreign to us today. These concepts
were current in Polesie, a region in eastern Poland, noted for its swamps.
Most of its inhabitants, Ukrainians and Poles, lived in villages and
small towns in houses which were, in the main, made of wood with straw
and mud roofs. There was no running water in the houses and huts, and
the residents had to go down to the stream to do their laundry. They
drew their drinking water from wells which had been dug generations before
in the backyards. Zivia was born in a small town where a stream ran which
flowed into the Szczara, a large river which often flooded after the
melting of the snows. The town was called Byten. It had one road, the
main street, which was lighted by kerosene lamps (it was linked to the
electricity network years later during the period of independent Poland).
There were outhouses in the backyards since a sewage system was nonexistent.
There were only several hundred Jews in Zivia's native town. Most of the Jewish
families made their living in the services: merchants and tradesmen, shopowners
and white-collar professions which were so pitifully few in this town. Only
one or two Jews worked the land. In sociological terms, most of the Jews were
members of the middle class. However, this definition is relative and variable;
they were members of a middle class in small towns and cities, and eked out
a meagre existence for their large families.
The Jewish community of Byten was a world unto itself. Although small in numbers,
the Jews had many activities. Tney lived in two circles, an external one in
which they had business Contacts with the Gentiles, and an internal one where
Yiddish was spoken and many of them wore typical Jewish clothes. In addition
to the state schools, they sent their children to an independent educational
network. In this situation, even Jews who were not religious in their beliefs
retained their traditions. Cultural clubs and a public library were maintained,
and they subscribed to a Jewish newspaper which came from the capital, Warsaw.
Although the members of the Jewish community were not equal in all respects,
they were united. In this small town, the experience of living together in
the community flowed through the veins of Zivia. Care for one's fellow man,
mutual aid, and support for the stranger, orphan and widow were a part of everyday
life. Even the poorest were not forgotten. While a young girl, Zivia helped
to prepare festivities like bridal showers and paid calls on the sick, not
out of charity but as a way of life. Man does not live by bread alone.
The Lubetkins had five daughters and one son. The father owned a grocery store.
Although not wealthy, thefamily lived comfortably. All of the children studied
together in a local state (Polish) primary school. The brother was sent later
to a "yeshiva" (religious school) in Vilna and pursued further studies
in Warsaw. Although the father was a religious man who ran the household on
the basis of Jewish tradition, he was aware of the need to provide both his
son and daughters with some form of general education, and thus the latter
were sent to a state-run school, and in the afternoon took private lessons
from a Jew nicknamed "Berl the Teacher". The pupils gathered around
him in groups and learned Hebrew ("the holy tongue"), the "Pentateuch" (first
five Books of the Bible), and the other subjects related to "Jewish consciousness".
These study groups might be called a kind of modern "heder" (religious
school), where the seeds of renewal were planted. For example, they studied
Hebrew and about the building and rebirth of the modern Land of Israel and
not only the biblical one.
As in most households in Polish towns in those days, the father was the supreme
authority: it was forbidden to sit on his easy chair, to precede him to the
dinner table, and to talk back to him. But he was learned and scholarly, a
man of charity, respected and well-liked in the town. The mother did the housework
with diligence and prudence, Perhaps she was less strict or understood her
children's wishes more. In any case, she ignored supposedly errant behavior,
such as riding a bicycle on the Sabbath or eating with "non-Kosher" utensils.
The family comprised a kind of tribe and united group. Over the years, three
of Zivia's sisters married and left home, but the whole family continued to
celebrate holidays and festivals together. The mother and Zivia and her younger
sister prepared the house for the guests, and the joy of reuniting was great.
This Jewish family resided in far-off Polesie and discussed and debated all
possible topics from religious questions to modern philosophy, from political
matters to community problems. It turned out that the inclinations of the family
were varied: the father was a follower of the "Mizrachi" or religious-Zionist
stream; the brother tended towards Revisionism or nationalistic Zionism; and
Zivia and one of her sisters were members of the "Freiheit" (Dror),
a Zionist-Socialist youth movement active in Poland.
Zivia was a shy, introverted and modest child. The family would sometimes "take
her to task", as it were, for this. When there were guests in the house,
she was forced to stand on a chair and "deliver a speech". She would
blush and be embarrassed, and she could hardly utter a sound. Later, her family
was astonished, and they could not understand how their shy Zivia stood before
an audience and spoke. Zivia was born in a home unique for its pride in Judaism
and where the parents instilled a Zionist atmosphere. From what she saw and
heard at home, she concluded that the Land of Israel was a dream that had to
be fulfilled.
Like many other Jews, Zivia's father studied the Torah (Holy Scriptures) regularly,
either at home or with other people in the synagogue. The bookshelf was lined
with religious literature, although not exclusively. The home was ready and
willing to absorb modern ideas which the children brought from school. it should
be noted that in such regions the teachers wielded a significant influence
on shaping the character of the children. Zivia was never a skeptical or questioning
girl. She listened carefully to her teachers and the discussions of her elders
at home or in the community, but she sifted in her special intellectual filter
what she absorbed. Thus, she was not against religious customs and tradition
even before she learned one lesson of the theory of scientific socialism. Although
secular, she behaved and acted like a religious person.
The life in the community enriched her and developed her organizational skills.
At the same time, they almost irrationally sharpened her sense of opposition:
opposition to the very fact of living on a small Jewish island surrounded by
a foreign and alien world of Gentiles; opposition to a situation in which the
Gentiles did the manual labor while the Jews worked in the white-collar professions;
opposition to an unequal world which necessitated welfare organizations and
mutual aid. Over the years, this opposition turned into a kind of rebellion
of youth.
Among Polish Jewry in the 1920s and 1930s, there were several main movements
or streams of thought. The leftist stream included Communists like those in
the Soviet Union and members of the "Bund", a popular Jewish organization
which was mainly active among the workers and which, like Communism, believed
that the solution for the travails of the Jews and Judaism must be found in
the Diaspora. The Communists were in favor of assimilation while the "Bund" believed
in a cultural autonomy with the Yiddish language. There were several organizations
in the religious stream, also, such as "Agudat Israel" which included
people from religious schools and rabbinical students who opposed Zionism and,
even more so, any kind of national rebirth. Alongside them, there were other
religious-Zionist streams. The right was represented by organizations, the
most famous being that of the Revisionists led by Ze'ev Jabotinski which had
an outspokenly nationalistic tint, as well as other allied organizations of
businessmen and members of the middle class.
The Zionist-Socialists made up the main bloc. In general, it was divided into two organizational structures: the political party and the pioneering youth movement. Indeed, the other streams had youth movements, also, which cooperated with the latter. The youth movements were united in a roof organization called "He-Halutz" (The Pioneer). The followers of the various streams -- Ha-Shomer Ha-Tzair, Dror and Gordonia -- were active in each one of the hundreds of Jewish communities.
Division plagued Jewish unity, not only along ideological lines but also according to customs and precepts (as, for example, concerning Zionism: to study Hebrew, to choose a Zionist Congress, to strive and immigrate to the Land of Israel).- The differences and disputes which temporarily arose created a furor and were the "spice of life" for these true believers since the devotion to this or that stream was the result of their faith in a leader, in the movement's mode of life, in the company of others and in ideology.
Daughter Of The
Pioneering Youth Movement "Dror"
Zivia's first rebellion
was connected to the "Freiheit" (Freedom) or "Dror" youth "movement.
A Jewish youth movement in Poland was a kind of second home, and for
many was actually a first home, not for the fulfillment of material needs
but for spiritual and idealistic purposes. The movement was initiated
and organized by the young people themselves. The movement's club served
as a cultural center, library, social meeting place, and an organization
which arranged trips and camping excursions during vacation. Zivia joined
the movement while still a young girl, and she remained in spirit a member
of the pioneering youth movement throughout her life.
The "Freiheit" youth movement was a combination of pro and con, rebellion
and building, Judaism and general humanistic principles, Zionism and socialism.
This was a movement for the children of the common people. Although its doors
were open for all classes, most of the children came from the lower ones. Zivia
chose this movement because of its popular nature. Its language was Yiddish,
and its name ("Freedom") gave an indication of its content. It had
two flags, the red one for socialism and a blue and white flag for Zionism.
One of the principles which distinguished the pioneering youth movement from
other ones was that of self-fulfillment while in other movements there was
no such restriction. This applies to Freiheit, Ha-Shomer Ha-Tzair and Gordonia.
This principle meant that each youngster had to carry out the principles once
he reached the "age of fulfillment". The members of the movement
were instilled with the principle that their entire life was a continuous quest
towards the final goal of immigrating to the Land of Israel and becoming pioneers
on a kibbutz. Zivia, who had already absorbed a Jewish-Zionist atmosphere at
home, found the movement a suitable place to fulfill these ideals. While still
in her teens, she became a counselor, would talk, sing and dance, and would
go to summer camps where she heard and discussed what was happening in Palestine
(Eretz Israel). It would be accurate to say that the movement in Poland was
a kind of spiritual fulfillment of the kibbutz in Eretz Israel.
The following story will illustrate Zivia's character as it was shaped in the
youth movement. As part of her function as a leader-counselor, she paid a visit
to one of the movement's branches. The local leadership decided to hold her
talk in an open field near a forest outside the city. The youngsters marched
in rows out of the city. Gentile youths began to heckle them, but the Jewish
boys and girls continued. After they reached the field, they lit a bonfire
and sang and talked about Palestine. Once again, the Gentiles approached. This
time they were violent. They threw stones, cursed and beat with sticks. The
group of young Jews fled, and when they gathered together at the club in the
city they noticed that Zivia was not there. They feared that something had
happened to her. Some of them went to the field to look for her. When they
reached the site of the bonfire they found Zivia sitting quietly on the same
stone just as they had left her. They were amazed and asked her: "Tell
us, they didn't do anything to you?" She gave them a piercing stare and
said: "I sat and looked them straight in the eye... and they went away.
They didn't harm me... They are afraid of perseverance and Jewish pride."
After leaving the movement, Zivia went on to a training farm where the young
men and women prepared themselves for their future life in Palestine.
Training In Preparation For Another Way Of Life
In her early twenties, Zivia came to realize that she had to undergo "training". It should be noted that among the upper classes in the towns of Polesie goina outfor "training" was considered to be beneath one's dignity. People would ask if ..-one had to send a daughter to 'training' because there was already nothing to eat at home". What's more, to find oneself in a "training" camp meant a departure for another, secular culture where young men and women lived together and worked for each other without parents. Her father was opposed. The more he made his feelings known, the more Zivia was adamant in her desire to leave. While she did not want to revolt against her father, she was determined to carry out her decision. She left home and joined the training in another city.
A short time later, Zivia unexpectedly returned home while her father was studying. Her family looked askance at her clothes. She was dressed in a leather coat, which was a kind of standard outfit for those undergoing training, and torn and worn-out clothes, and she did not look well. She seemed a different person. Her stories also seemed from another world. She told about her physical work, and how she had "stowed" aboard a train without a ticket, and was caught and arrested. She related how she had spoken before an audience of Jews and Gentiles and how the police came and put her under arrest. Zivia was already part of another world, very different than that of her town and contrary to her own home.
For Zivia and her friends, the "training" was their rebellion of youth. But it involved neither arms, nor words, nor barricades. It was a very unique "rebellion" and difficult to comprehend. These young men and women were uprooted from their homes in order to support themselves with their own fabor. There were several aspects to this work. It was a source of income so that they need not depend on their father's money. It made them independent and meant that they did not have to live at home. It meant living together and thus prevented egoistic tendencies. Physical labor and exercise harden and strengthen both body and soul.
Zivia did not disdain any kind of work. The members of the training camp baked their own bread. Zivia would carry heavy sacks of flour on her back and would spend hours at night next to the oven. But most of the time she worked in the laundry. It was located in a dark and dank cellar. It was not an easy task for the work foreman to find girls who were willing to do the laundry, but everyone was happy to work with Zivia. Between shifts at the laundry, she worked at jobs which girls usually did not do. One of these places was in a huge lot near the railway station where trees which had been brought from the forests were sawed into supports for the coal mines in the area. The men carried the logs and loaded them on the cars. Zivia insisted on doing this work, also. Her friends helped her put the plank on her shoulder and, accompanied by one of them, she walked to the car. One time a friend played a trick on her which annoyed her to the point of tears. While she was near the car, he crept up behind her, put the wood on his shoulder, and moved slightly and left her behind so that the load would not weigh on her. The rest of the group reproached him. She stood alongside, and they urged her to continue as if nothing had happened. She agreed and went back until the car was filled.
Zivia lived a nearly abstemious existence here and separated heself from anything which was not part of the training. Already in this camp at the age of slightly more than twenty, she was a source of moral authority for young people who had difficulty in adjusting to this new world, were tired of work to which they were unaccustomed, were homesick, and struggled through meals prepared by "novice" cooks. Zivia did not forgive "weaknesses" displayed by her friends. She was zealous and demanded the rftximum from everyone, and, above all, from herself. It is impossible to cast doubt on her motives for she never discriminated for or against anyone. Her friends put faith in the honesty of her opinions. In such conditions, when they slept on steel beds and straw mattresses and ate poorly, when the contacts between these people who came from different backgrounds were informal, narrowmindedness and pettiness would often crop up. Zivia would act as the mediator and arbiter, and would not forget the main goal. She would castigate the disputants or rebellious ones and ask them: "How are you behaving? Is this the way you want to live on a kibbutz in Palestine?"
Emissaries from Palestine (Eretz Israel) would visit the branches of the movement in Poland and the training farm. They were the human bridge over which the members of the youth movementwould pass on their wayto the other country. These representatives brought not only news and information, but also the spirit of the building of the Jewish settlement which strove to become independent while overcoming the difficulties imposed by the British Mandate government and In the face of attacks by the Arab inhabitants of Eretz Israel. When one of the emissaries asked a member of the training camp "What about Zivia? How Is Zivia with you?", the latter replied, "She is like a mother to us". Zivia was not yet twenty-one years old.
In one of the movement's seminars, Zivia met an emissary from Palestine, Leib Levita, a member of Kibbutz Ein Harod. She regarded him as a teacher, counselor and friend. After the seminar, she did not return to the previous farm but was sent to serve as a secretary in another one. Soon after her arrival at the new site, she sent him the following letter:
Kielce, March 7, 1935
Greetings!
I am here in the training farm for a few days already. Although I don't like to complain, I must admit that I am a little depressed and I myself don't know why. Was I not aware of reality? The arrangements here are actually quite good, but something is missing, perhaps heart and joy. Each one lives in his own world, with his own interests which are really minor and petty, and amount to no more than "the problem", (that is, to look for a mate), or at the most, obtaining immigration papers.What really irks me is the loafing before the movement's leaders. How I wanted our people to be free, clearly and consciously proud of their way! I have been here for a few days and still feel out of place. Nor have I gone out to work yet. Right now, I am sitting in the reading room. It is filled with smoke from the blazing stove, and noise and confusion. People are shouting and joking, and I am sitting with a book open before me but I am not reading it. I am in an imaginary world. My heart is aching, and I felt the need to write you.
Yesterday I was in the nearby branch of the movement. I saw terrible poverty and want. There were small children who have no chance to go to school and remain uneducated. Their greatest pleasure is to come pale and starved to the branch and dance the "hora". I shall really do everything in my power to help them.
As for myself, I very much wanted to study more and read, but it is impossible here. It is only possible at night but that uses up too much electricity. In theevenings, it is impossible because of the din and uproar. itwewantto accomplish something in the branch or kibbutz, then there is no time for reading , and this fact really worries me.
I came here with the will and energy to act. On my way here, I had the chance to see the value of training. At one station, a Polish Jew came in white as a sheet, and sat down and began counting his money, Afterwards, a broad-shouldered chap entered. He was a pioneer from one of the training fams. He was a little sloppy, but was healthy and sun-tanned from the work, and I really saw the difference and was very happy.
I hope that the situation will change. I'll be with the group more, and I'll also go out to work and this will certainly encourage me in my work.
Yours,
Zivia
She was aware of the
difficulties. She was afraid lest the young pioneers lack motivation
and strength. They were, in fact, the cornerstone of Zionist fulfillment.
Without them, Zionism could not become a reality. They were the driving
force and the oil which ran the wheels of the Zionist revolution.
Zivia became hardened. She kept her worries to herself. She did not share with
her friends her personal pain or the doubts which plagued the young people.
She locked in her feelings and was like a a rock! Faith and leadership radiated
from her.
The young people followed her.
Activity In The Movement
Zivia was a pretty
girl with black hair and piercing eyes. From the start, she was attracted
by the need for fulfillment and carrying out the movement's precepts.
She rarely sang or danced, but if she did so she explained that "the
pioneers in Palestine (Eretz Israel) dance after a day of hard work".
The dances were a way to bring the people together and help them release
energy. They worked and danced and leaped for hours, but their minds
were in Eretz Israel. "Social dancing" was something to be
loathed. They were dressed simply in a blue shirt and red tie. Those
who wore fancy clothes were criticized. There was nothing special which
set her apart from the others, and only gradually was all of her charm
revealed.
An emissary friend wrote of her:
"Zivia was more outstanding than others in something which was unique with
her, a significant manifestation of her personality and activity. She had a combination
of virtues and traits in which the inclination for public service was joined
with an individual, deeply feminine and human experience. She was sensitive and
had an open mind, and liked to do manual work and felt the need for action. She
had will power and character. Zivia radiated simple charm and enjoyed a good
laugh. She was forceful in making decisions and full of energy. She knew neither
fear nor retreat. She was zealous in pursuing her goals. She demanded much of
both herself and others. This young woman was pursuing her goals. She demanded
much of both herself and others. This young woman was gifted with cleverness
and light humor which bordered on skepticism and a great wisdom of life. All
of these traits gave her from the beginning the self-confidence of a grown-up.
It was clear that she had the admiration of those around her."
In 1938, Zivia was summoned by her movement to the headquarters. She moved
to the Polish capital, Warsaw. The activists in the "He-Halutz" center
kept the character of the youth movement. They intensely disliked "hacks" who
spent their time in meetings and conferences, who fulfilled their ideas in
words and whose image was more important than their deeds. Zivia and her friends
lived in a commune and knew about living together in a training farm. In accordance
with her wishes, Zivia was appointed director of the network of training farms
throughout Poland. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of training groups were scattered
ail over the country. The training camp was the last stop in the Diaspora before
emigrating to Palestine (Eretz Israel). After several years of "training",
the groups of pioneers obtained Immigration certificates. However, the Mandate
authorities closed the country to Jewish immigrants from mid-1936 onwards.
Zivia handled the training activities. She saw to it that work was found and
that the trainees learned to cook. She made sure that there were beds and mattresses,
clothes, reading material, and lecturers and counselors. But all of a sudden,
the "pioneers" were arrested. The camps were filled to overflowing
since immigration to Palestine had been halted. Those who remained there lost
all hope of fulfilling their lifelong dream. The headquarters of "He-Halutz" struggled
to find some kind of solution.
One of the solutions proposed was to undertake Illegal immigration to Palestine,
the same immigration which became famous throughout the world following the
I Second World War. In its own way, quietly, secretly, and resourcefully, "He-Halutz" purchased
small vessels and the pioneers "stole their way" on them to Palestine.
During this period, Zivia travelled from piece to place. One of her friends
recalls her thus:
"She first appeared before us in a talk on the meaning of the eleventh of
the Jewish month Adar, the memorial day of the falling of Tel Hai and Joseph
Trumpeldor. I don't remember if she spoke Yiddish or Hebrew. But I do remember
that her appearance was a surprise. She did not sit at a table in the middle
of the dining room as was usual in such Circumstances, but stood in a corner
at the side and without further ado began to speak.
Quietly and clearly, she described the heroic stand of Trumpeldor and his Comrades
and the implications of that event on the future of the Jewish people in their
daily life in the Diaspora and in Palestine. it was clear from her appearance
that this young girl had roots and knew where she was going without any hesitation."
And her sister related:
"I remember how I once saw Zivia at work in the "He-Halutz" headquarters
in Warsaw. At that time, in 1938, the first groups of immigrant Youth were being
organized in Poland. Zivia sent a letter home in which she suggested that I,
the youngest daughter in the family at fourteen years of age, be sent to study
in Palestine. Not many people seized the opportunity to immigrate in such a way,
and what's more, those who left had to pay a lot of money. My parents had trouble
deciding, but in the end agreed. I then went to Warsaw to make arrangements,
and I met my sister Zivia in the "He-Halutz" headquarters. I saw her "in
another world", the togetherness at work, the social life, the work of the
young men and women, their commitment and faith in their aim, in immigration
to Palestine. I returned home excited. I told my parents what had happened and
asked them in amazement why they had opposed Zivia's leaving to undergo training".
Warsaw offered its residents a cultural life, also: theatre, concerts, "salons".
For Zivia, Warsaw was no more than a place to work; her heart was in the movement.
In August, 1939, Zivia was chosen, along with other "pioneers", as
a delegate to the World Zionist Congress which was held in Geneva. The followers
of "He-Halutz" in Poland held a key position in the Zionist-Socialist
bloc, the forerunner of the "Histadrut". The Zionist-Socialists broke
off from the other Zionist streams since they represented an active Zionism,
and the "pioneers" among them were at the forefront of this school
of thought.
Zivia, the young girl from Byten, arrived in Geneva and looked around her in
amazement. She was stunned by this meeting with the outside world in a city
which offered all the modern conveniences to its tourists. In her characteristic
sense of humor, she wrote to her friends that "if I, Zivia Lubetkin, will
once write my autobiography, I'll call it 'From Byten to Geneva'."
Zivia participated in the Zionist Congress in 1946, "aprés le déluge",
as a delegate from Palestine. In the packed hall, Zivia was called to the rostrum
by the chairman and was chosen to be a member of the Board of the Zionist Congress
which met in Basel, Switzerland. The moment she stepped on the stage, the entire
audience, Jewish delegates from all over the world, stood up and applauded.
Zivia did not understand and sat down. She turned to the chairman and asked
him what was happening. "The ovation is for you Zivia", he answered. "It
is the Jewish people's thanks to a rebel and fighter". But all of this
took place in 1946 after the war.
At the end of August 1939, she returned to Poland and on September 1 the Second
World War broke out.
In The Opposite Direction, In The Correct Direction
The Polish army retreated
after the German invasion. The pioneering movement was acutely aware
of the fate of the Jewish people under Nazi rule. The movement had no
illusions. It was clear that it had to adjust to the new circumstances.
The leadership of "He-Halutz", including Zivia, began to act only
a few days after the outbreak of the war. They operated a training farm in
Warsaw.
A group of young people from the movement in Germany, who, like other Polish
citizens, had been expelled from the territory of the Third Reich, were absorbed
In the camp. They faced immediate danger if they fell Into German hands. Zivia
and her friends loaded a few belongings on horse-drawn carts and began their
journey. In the midst of the war, they saw soldiers of the defeated Polish
army on roads clogged with fleeing refugees. But the pioneers had one thought
in mind: to escape the fire and reach the border on their way to Palestine.
And thus they headed east. On September 17, in accordance with a secret article
in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, the Red Army entered the eastern provinces
of Poland. Zivia and her friends found themselves under Soviet occupation.
Communism attracted many Christian and Jewish working and studying youth in
Poland. Being members of "Freiheit", Zivia and her friends were part
of the Communist vision of "the International Socialist Youth Movement." As
the wave of Fascism spread over Europe, the Soviet Union attracted more followers,
particularly those who thought of politics in terms of power. They thought
that the Fascist "axis" could be offset by the power Inherent In
the Soviet Union.
Zivia did not have any internal conflict in her attitude towards Communism
since the latter rejected, in principle, the "right of self-determination" for
the Jewish People to establish their own country. Indeed, she was a fierce
opponent of Communism. However, she and other people still held out the hope
that the Soviet Union and Communism would one day change their positions and
display an understanding of the Jewish liberation movement's call for a Zionist
revolution.
As far back as the Moscow trials and purges in the 1930s, it became apparent
that Communism took over the machinery of the state and there was a deviation
from original ideals. This was not the vision about which they had dreamed.
From her earliest years, Zivia held dear the concept of respect for one's fellow
man. A country in which freedom and respect for the individual was trampled
upon was not considered as socialist by Zivia. The key expressions in her vocabulary
were always: "Respect for man", "the image of man", "the
upright stand of the individual".
For Zivia, Zionism and Socialism were the warp and woof of the same pattern.
The first of May was a real holiday for her. Zivia loved the marching rows
of masses, and she was not the kind of a person who liked to stand on a podium.
However, like in any other "mass" activity, she went along with her
fellow members in the movement In demonstrations on the first of May. The symbol
of their movement was knitted on the red flag and, alongside, the national
flag of Zionism waved.
A kind of anarchistic thread went through the socialism of Zivia and her friends.
The mere fact of living in a commune posed a challenge to the structure of
both the capitalist and Communist world. She was an avid follower of the Kibbutz
Ha-Meuhad movement in Palestine led by Yitzhak Tabenkin. Zivia was attracted
by this activist movement which set its sights high and envisioned a large
collective village and a general federation.
Since she was a member of the "He-Halutz" central committee, she
had to participate in many "unproductive" meetings. She avoided them
as much as possible in order to spend more time with the members in the branches
and training farms. She was annoyed by "this thing" called administration.
Being part of the "administration" clashed with her personality.
Her unique spontaneity and intellectual honesty found it difficult to get accustomed
to organizing an agenda, meetings and rules of procedure.
However, it should not be interpreted that she was an "anarchist" in
spirit. On the contrary, she was compulsively neat. But she was angered by
anything which bothered her from doing, which slowed down momentum, or which
led in a roundabout way. She was constantly at loggerheads in her dealings
with the officialdom of the institutions of the Jewish community in Warsaw
and, in the 1960s in Israel, as a member of the Jewish Agency executive. She
looked upon them as "do-nothing", unproductive "squares".
She argued with them intensely and harshly, and did not give in to them. Her
attitude towards the public was different. She asked herself such questions
as: "What do my colleagues think about this?"; "How was a particular
thing done in a camp, kibbutz, or elsewhere?"; "My colleagues must
be consulted". Her concept was based on regarding her colleagues as individual
human beings.
Thus, unwittingly, she was put under the thumb of Soviet rule. There were Jews
who either celebrated or feared this situation. Only a few took some kind of
action. Zivia devoted her months in the Soviet zone to rescuing Polish pioneers
who wanted to reach Palestine. She headed for the Rumanian border to look for
legal and illegal ways to smuggle groups and individuals into a country from
whose shores on the Black Sea people could still leave for Palestine. All of
this was done in the underground because Zionist activity had been forbidden
in the Soviet Union since the 1920s. She cared for her friends who had been
uprooted from their homes. She sought any way to offer help, and she secretly
set up training camps. Zivia spent about three months in this area. From the "He-Halutz" leadership
across the border in Germany there was a stream of refugees, and mail arrived
which demanded a return to there of the activists in order to run the movement.
On December 31, 1940, on the eve of the New Year, the activists met secretly
in an apartment in the city of Lvov. They considered and examined the situation.
Since they were members of an on-going movement they divided the work among
themselves. Some remained to lead the movement in the Soviet zone and some
returned to the territories annexed by the Reich. At this time, they established
some of the basic principles which were to accompany them throughout the war:
Standing firm, which was the Jewish people's raison d'etre for resistance;
that it was better to die standing up for one's rights than to surrender on
one's knees; that Jewish pride and the image of man must be preserved at all
cost. Zivia took this message there.
While most of the leadership of Polish Jewry, which numbered more than three
million, made their way out of the territories seized by the Nazis, Zivia went
in January 1940 in the opposite direction - to Warsaw, to her fellow Jews who
were on the verge of the worst possible situation, to the movement which was
in distress. She sneaked over the border and reached her goal through short
cuts.
Zivia Lubetkin had distinctive Jewish features.
Nevertheless, she did not change her identity under Nazi rule even though her
friends had arranged for her a forged "Aryan" identity card. She
continued living as a Jew and did not retreat from her personality.
At this very crossroads, Zivia began her book entitled "In the Days of
Destruction and Revolt." Zivia was not a writer by nature. Her book, which
was published posthumously in accordance with her wishes, is based on eye-witness
accounts which Zivia gave in various forums from her arrival in Palestine in
1946 "apres le deluge" until her testimony during the trial of Adolf
Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961 and 1962.
During The Days Of The Ghetto In Warsaw
During the Eichmann
trial, Zivia related: Upon my arrival in Warsaw at the beginning of January
1940, I found many decrees which the Germans had already issued against
the Jews: the wearing of a badge or Star of David, the marking of stores
with a Star of David, the prohibition of holding foreign currency or
more than two thousand zlotys in property, the prohibition on the purchase
of work tools, the forbidding of Jewish doctors to give medical assistance
to non-Jews or the contrary, the prohibition to change one's apartment.
The curfew, which affected the entire Polish population, was moved up
two hours for Jews. During my first days in Warsaw, I already felt what
the rest of the Jews felt in the ghetto, that we had been outlawed. In
fact, in addition to the above decrees, many other prohibitions had been
made for a short period. Houses and businesses had been seized from the
Jews, they could not travel on trains or streetcars, and they could not
do business. From the earliest days, we were abandoned to our own devices
in the ghetto.
The Germans arrested the Polish intelligentsia immediately after their conquest
of the country. Jewish intellectuals, public figures, doctors and engineers
were especially singled out in lists that had been prepared beforehand. These
people were seized at night and taken to an unknown destination.
I must also recall the edicts in the field of cultural life: schools could
not be opened; prayers in synagogues were forbidden; public bodies and Jewish
political parties were decreed illegal; libraries were closed.
I remember one morning when I went out to arrange a few things. The streets
were filled with Jews hurrying to find employment. Suddenly, a column of Germans
passed and began shooting indiscriminately in all directions for no reason
at all. At that moment, I saw tens of men, women and children sprawled on the
ground.
On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in 1940, we heard an announcement on the
radio which declared the establishment of a "Jewish quarter". I think
that at the beginning of the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto there were about
a half a million Jews there. Where had they come from? The stream of refugees
to the city of Warsaw had begun from the first days. Already upon my arrival
in Warsaw in January I found a flood of refugees. Some of them had been expelled
from their homes, and others were Jews from smaller towns and cities who were
naturally attracted to the large metropolis during the first chaotic days of
the war. They wanted to be together with their fellow Jews during the Holocaust
which they all felt was coming.
For entire days and nights Jewish families stood on the street without any
place to go to. For lack of an alternative, the Jews began to crowd together.
At that time, it was said that an average of eight individuals lived in one
room. In fact, the entire city of Warsaw could be called a haven for refugees.
Sanitary conditions were lacking in such overcrowding. From the beginning.
there was neither water nor electricity in the Ghetto. I went into a shelter
for refugees to look for a certain family. I knew that the family had been
well-off before the war. The husband was a teacher and the wife a doctor. They
had children who were in the youth movement at school. They were like any other
people. When I entered, I found them lying on top of each other on the floor.
They were in a corner and I could not reach them because the floor was covered
with people. This four-story building had no lavatory. People had to go to
the bathroom in the courtyard. There was not even running water in this house.
Tens of thousands of people thus remained and wasted away. They could not obtain
work, and they suffered from hunger and lack of hygienic facilities, The typhus
epidemic in the Ghetto began in such buildings. Although attempts were made
to separate the ill from those dying of hunger, especially children in their
mother's arms, it was impossible to do so.
After the Ghetto was sealed off, most of the Jews remained without any possibility
of sustenance, work and income. It was then that hunger began to claim many
victims. The familiar pictures which we know began to repeat themselves. Entire
families - the father, mother, children, as many as eight or ten individuals
- sat on the street distended by hunger. It is difficult to say that they looked
like human beings. I particularly remember the evenings after the curfew when
the Ghetto fell silent and each person hid in his own corner, and the little
children who cried out for a piece of bread. But no one could provide them
with it and only a few of us had a crust to eat. The situation was so serious
that they grubbed the garbage for things like potato peels. People died helplessly
from hunger and disease.
From the first day of the outbreak of the war, the Jewish youth movements continued
to function. They thus did their work in one form or another until the final
days of the Warsaw Ghetto. The movements adapted themselves to the new reality.
At the very beginning, when it seemed to us that German policy was to degrade
us and turn us into ignorant slaves, I must admit that even then we did notthink
that this was total extinction. Thus, our activities in that period - until
the news reached us of the concentration camps - focused on the war against
the decrees. As I stated earlier, we thought the decrees were aimed at obliterating
any image of man, and thus our war was directed at preserving the image of
man, and at developing the spirit of rebellion against those decrees. When
I say rebellion, I mean preserving the human, cultural and social face of the
youth. There were Jews in distress, and the pioneering youth movements had
to be with them. our strength lay in the fact that we were organized in communes,
that we had "bases" (apartments), and that we had faith in each other.
Most of our initial activity involved organizing the youth in order that they
preserve, as I have said, the Jewish image of man so that they would be able
to Withstand the decrees. And thus, it was these young people who took up arms
when they realized that it was a matter of the extermination of the Jewish
people.
In June 1941, war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union. At first,
we were greatly encouraged. For some reason the Jews believed that the Russians
would advance, rout the Germans, and the war would come to a quick end. I was
not one of the optimists in the Ghetto. In other words, I was completely confident
that the forces of evil would one day be destroyed. But I knew that we would
have to resist for years. Yes, those were years, as I have said, when the Germans
conquered all of Europe. We thought that, after the outbreak of hostilities
between Germany and Russia and the subsequent chaos it would cause, the retreating
Germans would take revenge first of all on the Jews as usual. Thus, we set
up an organization whose task was to respond if such revenge should take place.
We did not yet have weapons. It was a matter of sticks and anything that we
could get our hands on.
We began to forge links with the "Polska Armja Krajowa", but the
Polish underground was then only being organized and did not undertake any
real fighting. Its main tasks were to organize, unite the ranks and provide
encouragement, and it did not use arms at that time. We established a group
called "The Anti-Fascist Organization". This organization was very
valuable since the relations with the Polish underground were then weak and
in the meantime matters developed in an entirely different direction. In the
first months, it trained people to use sticks. More importantly, the organization
strengthened the resolve of the young people and prepared them for the future.
We also formed relations with the Polish fighting camp, the leftist one which
was called "Armja Ludowa". The first fighting squads were set up.
The program was aimed at leading partisan and sabotage operations alongside
the Red Army in its war against the Germans. But we also felt that it was the
task of the armed force to defend the Jews.
Outside the city, there were pioneers in a camp. With the assistance of the
Polish owner of the camp, they obtained licenses to stay there. We took advantage
of the fact to strengthen the newspaper store-room and then the arms store.
We received a telephone call to the Ghetto from the camp - the Cherniakov Camp
- that the weapons had arrived and that we should come over for a "meeting".
We were overjoyed of the announcement. We had various ways to leave the Ghetto
despite the very watchful eyes of the Germans. Of course, once we left the
Ghetto we removed the badge and the Star of David and went about like "Aryans".
Although many of us fell into German hands, we maintained contact with the
camp. I arrived at the Cherniakov Camp just before nightfall. We sat in an
unlit hut and a friend told his story. For the first time we heard how thousands
and tens of thousands of Jewish men, women and children were being taken from
Vilna to Ponar where they were put to death.
Preparations For The Revolt
Zivia told her friends
in Palestine:
In order to understand the revolt in the ghettos, in order to know why it unified
and included so few people, the period before the revolt, the nature of the
enemy and how it operated must be understood.
From the beginning,
from the first day they conquered Poland, the Germans had a clear and
well-thought out plan for extermination. German scientists, experienced
in repression and extermination, met to improve the techniques and adapt
them to the changing circumstances. Even our movement, which had been
educated on the values of freedom and national and human pride, made
the mistake of being late. The "He-Halutz" youth movement,
also, which had initiated and carried out a rebellion, did not realize
at first that the German goal was total annihilation. We knew that the
Germans wanted to break us and wipe away any vestige of humanity from
us. Thus, we said that our main task was to preserve our human image.
In its early stages, the Jewish underground dealt mainly in educational
and cultural work. In fact, in the first years of the war, the social
and cultural life in the Ghetto flourished. There was a general feeling
that we would overcome all the difficulties. We knew that many of our
brothers would be killed or die of hunger or disease, but we felt that
most of the Jews would survive. Thus, our chief worry was to take care
that those who would survive, our Youth, would be spiritually and physically
healthy in order to be able to take up the tasks awaiting them at the
war's end.
In those years when the Germans were preparing the extermination of the Jews,
there was no armed resistance because the Jews did not think such a fate would
befall them. The Polish underground, also, dealt mainly in educational work,
propaganda, relations with overseas, etc. Thus, when the first "He-Halutz" emissaries
reached Warsaw and told about the slaughter of the Jews at Vilno, the Jewish
leaders did not want to believe them. And we did not believe a refugee who
had been a gravedigger at Chelmno who told us that Jews were being gassed to
death. The Jewish leaders who met in Warsaw, also, did not believe him. We
in "HeHalutz" who heard about Viino understood that the aim of the
Germans was extermination and that this fate hung over all of us. But the general
public closed its ears, did not understand, did not believe and did not want
to believe. In that first meeting of key Jewish figures in Warsaw, in which
the gravedigger from Chelmno spoke of what he had seen and done, some of the
people present did not believe him and others explained that the event took
place on the border out of identification of Soviet Jews. But here, and in
Warsaw, in the heart to Europe, such a thing could not happen. Let the whole
world know about this matter! Is it possible that the world would hear and
keep silent? Thus, it was better not to speak about this.
We despaired of receiving assistance and began on our own. We looked for friends
and sympathizers among the Jewish public. At the initiative of "He-Halutz",
a meeting of the proletarian and Zionist-Socialist parties and the "Bund" was
called in which we demanded the immediate establishment of a Jewish military
organization which would begin to defend the lives of the Jews. The "Bund" claimed
that we were panicking and acting like children. In addition, they said that
the Jews' battle was linked to the war for the freedom of people everywhere
- including Poles - and the latter had not Yet even declared an armed struggle
on the Germans.
And so we met, and a limited number of members of the pioneering movement set
up the Jewish Fighting Organization, which later became known in Poland and
around the world by the initials Z.O.B., which in Polish mean Zydowska Organizacja
Bojowa".
This took place on
July 28, 1942, exactly one week after the beginning of the "Aktion".
At this meeting, some people argued that there was nothing we could do.
We had no arms, and the Jewish masses and their leaders were still under
false illusions and were against us. As well, the Polish underground
did not pay any attention to us. These people wanted us to do everything
possible to save Jews. They wanted us to move Jews from Warsaw to other,
quieter places, and see how things would develop.
We did not accept this view. We wondered how many could really be saved in
such a way. A handful? We asked if there was any logic in saving a few people
when millions were going to their deaths. No, we said, we all have the same
fate, and we must stay with the Jews until the end. The main point was to try
and reorganize resistance. At that time, it was already absolutely clear to
us that it we did not do anything, then the entire Jewish people would be killed
without raising a voice of resistance. This realization inspired us to try
again and not to commit suicide. The decision was taken at this meeting. We,
the young people, took upon ourselves the responsibility.
We experienced a very difficult period. After the "Aktion" ended
and only hundreds instead of thousands of members remained, we met one day
and were ashamed to look at each other. Although we knew that the Jewish youth
was not guilty for this situation, the fact remained that tens of thousands
of Jews went to slaughter while we were alive. We were ashamed to be alive.
At this meeting, we all agreed that there was no point in continuing to stay
alive and that we must commit suicide collectively. We said that we still had
ten liters of kerosene from the burning of the houses and two pistols. We proposed
going out into the street to burn and kill as many Germans as possible and
then die ourselves. This was the general opinion. But then one person rose
and said: Are we not private individuals and is the real question how will
each person put an honorable and decent end to his life? Is not the question
how to take advantage of the respite between this "Aktion" which
has just ended and the next one which will certainly come in order to prepare
for a deed which will be more than the deaths of individuals and which will
also save the honor of the survivors?
The plan to commit suicide collectively was cancelled.
If it were not for this fellow, who, by the way, was Yitzhak Zuckerman, "Antek",
Zivia's life-long companion, there would not have been anyone to lead the revolts
of January and April.
Despite Everything, Others
Resistance movements
arose in various parts of the Continent during the period in which the
Reich controlled much of Europe and set up its "new order." The
character of these undergrounds was determined in accordance with local
conditions and the human composition of the members. Although they were
fighting the same enemy and had the same goal, differences could be discerned,
for example, between the partisans in the regions of the Soviet Union
conquered by the Germans, and the Communist Party in France, or the partisan
underground in northern Italy.
The rebel and underground movements of Holland and Denmark were not at all
like Tito's partisan army in Yugoslavia. The Polish underground consisted of
two "armies”: the "Armia Krajowa", which was the underground
military arm of the Polish governmentin-exile in London; and the "Armia
Ludowal' whose members sympathized with or came from the ranks of the P.P.R.
and was subordinate to the Soviet Union. The former was larger than the latter
and had, relatively speaking, more financial sources and combat means.
However, the "Jewish Fighting Organization" was unlike the rest.
Unfortunately, It can be said (and this was the opinion of the "pioneers" there)
that the Nazi sentencing of the Jewish people to death did not contribute to
the deepening and broadening of the underground among the masses. The ghettos
were not, in fact, the most suitable site for operational underground activity.
The J.F.O. was noted for the human make-up of its members, most of whom had
been in youth movements and party activity. This characteristic cut across
all the political streams of Judaism. The J.F.O. was active not only in Warsaw;
its activity was spread throughout the cities and forests of Poland. As stated
earlier, the character of the people was the determining factor and not the
site, The members of the youth movements had a tradition of modes of life,
internal discipline, youthful daring and most importantly, organized branches
and training camps. These sites became bases for tt)e fighting detachments.
Twenty-two such companies took part in the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Zivia was a member of the J.F.O. headquarters whose commander was Morcfechai
Anitevitz. Yitzhak Zuckerman, nicknamed "Antek", was another member
assigned to the headquarters, "Antek" and Zivia had been friends
even before when they were both in the "He-Halutz" headquarters.
From that time on, they would be unseparable until Zivia's passing.
Zivia was never inclined towards the military, and she had no pretensions in
deciding tactical matters. In those difficult hours, each person knew his own
limitation, Zivia was an inspiration for her comrades, Like everyone else,
she was a member of a "quintet". She learned how to cook and fire
a pistol and how to hurl a Molotov cocktail. She stood watch and saw to it
that the members ate properly and had something hot to drink. Zivia was never
a "dancer" or a "singer", but she sang with her friends
in order to raise their morale. The battle detachment was stationed in the
Jewish ghetto and surrounded by a wall. In the heart of Europe controlled by
the Gestapo and S.S., they would sing pioneering songs from Palestine. They
also sang "workers' songs" and revolutionary songs. Many of them
wrote down the words. Those who survived recalled that Zivia sang with them.
The J.F.O. operated a group of girl signallers throughout Poland, It should
be remembered that girls, unlike Jewish boys, do not bear the "accusing
sign" of circumcision. The Germans would often strip suspects to check
it they were Jewish. These girls were very young, in their early twenties and
sometimes less. They went wherever they were sent and carried messages, information
from the underground, money, oral reports and weapons. Each mission endangered
their lives. The girl signallers regarded Zivia as their "Mother".
Before they left, they went to receive her blessing. The headquarters was worried
about the fate of each girl. The girls who survived later told how they felt
when they were on a "mission for Zivia" and this fired them with
courage.
Zivia was a wise woman. Not only did her personality dominate the people she
was with, but she also had the wisdom and ability to make decisions and she
was consulted in all matters concerning the J.F.O. Later, when the rumor spread
Outside Poland that Zivia fell in the Warsaw Ghetto, her initials became a
code word in Poland. In all the correspondence which were a between the Jewish
organizations in the free world operating along with the Allies and the surviving
members of the underground in occupied Poland, "Zivia" was a password
for the area of Nazi-occupied Poland, also called "the General Government."
April 19, 1943, Announcement No. 1: From a publication of the J.F.O.
"Today, the second of April, a new, murderous "Aktion" of the Germans began in the Warsaw Ghetto. The Jewish Fighting Organization is displaying active resistance. House-to-house fighting is going on between the Germans and the Jewish fighters. In the afternoon, a convoy of cars of the German Red Cross left the Ghetto carrying dead and wounded gendarmes and S.S. men. The resistance was stronger and fiercer than that in the January revoli. The aim of the German "Aktion" is the total annihilation of the Warsaw Ghetto. The latter is the principle point of resistance of the Jewish fighting population. At the time of our broadcast, the battle is raging".
From the besieged Ghetto, the members of the J.F.O. headquarters - through the Polish underground which was associated with the government-in-exile in London appealed to the free world, to world Jewry and to the Jewish community in Palestine. For example, the following two telegrams were sent to Palestine and were published in the press of June 1943, two months after the cessation of fighting in the Warsaw Ghetto.
1. To: Tabenkin - Ya'ari
"The members of the movement who have survived are continuing to fight for the honor of the remnants of Israel in Poland."
2. To (Eliyahu) Dobkin - (Yitzhak) Tabenkin - (Meir) Ya'ari "The battles in the ghetto have ended; hundreds of our comrades have died. Tens more have committed suicide. "He-Halutz" and the "Ha-Shomer Ha-Tzair" were the backbone of the war waged by the Jewish Fighting Organization.
The commander of the Jewish organization, Anilevitz, fell in battle. In Bendin, Jews were exterminated. Fromke is in Bendin. Mordechai (Tamruf Tannenbaum) is in Bialystok. (Abbe) Kovner is in Vilna. Will you help to save the youth?
Try and obtain possibilities for exit. Send money. Warn the Jews of Belgium, Holland and France that they are going to their deaths if they come to Poland."
Zivia Lubetkin
The Last Days Of The Warsaw Ghetto
Zivia continued her
story:
The Ghetto was ablaze. It burned for days and nights and the fire consumed
each and every house. House after house and all the streets were put to the
stake. Columns of smoke billowed upward, sparks flew and the sky turned into
a natural, red hue.
And nearby, on the other side of the wall, life went on as usual. The residents
of the capital strolled, enjoyed themselves, acted boisterously and saw at
close-hand the smoke of the flames In the daytime and the fire at night. Children
played games and whirled on the'merry-go-round with joyous innocence. Country
girls who happened to be in the city came here, also, and rocked themselves
on the merry-go-round while watching the flames, and they knew that "Jews
were on fire". The wind carried the soot in their direction. The flying
sparks sometimes set a house ablaze on the other side of the wall, but the
fire was extinguished immediately. Yet here, in the Ghetto, no one took the
trouble to save, to put out fires. Everything burned and there was no one to
extinguish the blaze.
The Warsaw Ghetto - the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe at that time - burned.
And the few thousands of Jews who were still there were going through their
final death throes.
Only a few days ago, in April 1943, detachments of the "Jewish Fighting
Organization" which were on street corners and hidden in the ruins advanced,
scattered mines and hurled grenades on the military convoys which were streaming
and celebrating. The Germans were shocked, taken aback and retreated. They
had never expected such thing to happen. They tried one day and then the next,
but the Jews surprised them with fire each time. After ter! days of fighting,
they were not eager to go inside. The enemy then set the Ghetto on fire, first
from the air and then in the tumult of the thrust inside. They put the four
corners to the torch. The enemy was certain that this fatal fire would choke
and suffocate the Jews who had not been defeated in the hand-to-hand fighting.
The Jews took refuge in their last remaining strength, and they ran among the
ruins and the flames. The fire forced them out of their hiding places and their
subterranean strongholds, and many of them were burned to death and suffocated
in the smoke. But many men, women and children left these underground bunkers,
pleaded for salvation and wandered while loaded down with their last scraps
of food, pots and pillows. Mothers clutched their babies to their breasts,
and parents dragged their older children whose hollow eyes expressed sadness
and gloom - pain, confusion and a plea for salvation.
I shall never forget that night when the Ghetto was put on fire on all sides.
I ran outside from my hiding place, and the night was turned into day. The
bright light left me dumbfounded. All around me I heard the crackle of uncontrolled
fires, the roar of collapsing houses, and broken glass. Clouds of smoke climbed
skyward and the fire spread and consumed everything.
This took place in early May 1943. Outside in the streets spring was probably
in full bloom but here we were being put to the stake. We had no idea if we
could escape. Small and large groups of Jews walked about stealthily, and went
carefully from one backyard to the next avoiding the flames. A part of one
house was on fire, and yet the other part had not yet been touched by the flames
and one could climb and pass through the cracks. At first, we would slip from
house to house through the attics and thus we could cross whole streets without
being discovered by the Germans who stood on the other side of the wall and
fired on any Jew walking in the street. Now the attics were on fire. We continued
to go through the cracks from cellar to cellar, and afterwards we simply wandered
through the ruins, avoiding the flames as much as possible. The heat singed
our faces and eyes, and some people choked on the smoke. Sparks flew all around
us, but the end was not yet in sight.
The Ghetto was burned and consumed. Thousands of people spent their days in
unventilated cellars, and at night Jews from the different bunkers went outside
and spoke to each other. The Ghetto was completely cut off from the outside
world and faced a long, slow death from starvation. For weeks the people had
no bread to eat, and only a weak soup which they cooked at night somehow kept
their weakened bodies functioning.
Each night the number of Jews diminished, and the destruction became general.
When going through the Ghetto, you would step on bodies which had been lying
for days in the yards, on street corners, at the sides of the ruined houses.
I already knew them and where they were lying, and when I walked at night I
was afraid of stepping on them. Here there was the burned body of a woman and
there an entire family - a father, mother and their two children. We would
watch as flocks of ravens landed on the bodies. The fear of the dead trickled
in our veins and was greater than our fear of the living Germans. Zivia was
part of a group which left the destroyed and burning Ghetto through a sewage
canal to the Polish, "Aryan" part of Warsaw.
In this part, members of the J.F.O. disguised as Poles had been active the
entire time, They maintained contact with the Polish underground and trartsferred
supplies and fighting materiel to their friends in the Ghetto. They adopted
Polish names and established "points", that is, apartments where
Jews could hide. At least twenty thousand Jews found shelter and refuge in
such houses in Warsaw. After the collapse of the fighting in the Ghetto, the
surviving remnants were transferred to other hiding places. Unfortunately,
there were only several hundred such people.
From May 1943 until January 17, 1945, Zivia and a few of her friends lived
and worked in a double underground: an underground against the Germans and
an underground - although different in character - against the Poles.
In The "Aryan" Part Of Warsaw
The members of the
Jewish underground were "divided" amongst themselves into two
kinds: the "Aryans" and the "Jews". The "Aryans.'
were those who acted as Poles while the others, who looked Jewish and
spoke poor Polish, were forced to live in hiding.
Zivia had a distinctive Jewish look. Although her friends had provided her
with an "authentic" identity card under the name of Yanina Vizinski
and called her "Zelina", Zivia did not permit herself to go about
freely during the day. It should be remembered that in any case a night curfew
was imposed throughout the war even on the Poles themselves.
Zivia spent about a year and a half in the forests, in Warsaw and in outlying
cities. Some of the recollections of a girl who was with her at the time are
related below:
"We lived in an apartment with two rooms and a kitchen. More people than
the apartment could hold were crowded into it. The apartment itself was rented
by two young girls who had disguised themselves as Poles. Suspicions were not
aroused since it was only natural that people would come and visit the girls.
These people were, in fact, the "Aryans" among us. Two or three people
slept in the same bed or on the floor.
Zivia "took command" of the house. We lived a completely communal
existence. Even after all she had gone through, she still smiled sometimes,
especially when she thought that this would help someone. The "Aryan" girls
brought the food. Zivia would do the cooking. She tried to make the food as
tasty as possible in wartime conditions. We ate horsemeat with great appetite.
On holidays she would bake a cake with ingredients she had stored "in
hiding". She remembered the birthdays of her friends. When there was a
knock on the door and the "Jews" had to hide, she felt ashamed but
she curled up silent and angry in her "cell".
Zivia was also the treasurer. The money collected in the underground was intended
for many purposes, including the sustenance of thousands of hiding Jews. It
was not easy to be trusted by everyone. They knew that she did not show favoritism
and divided the money fairly among all. She would give it to the "Aryans" who
came and went. Each one of them was responsible for maintaining contact with
a group which was hiding in Warsaw or outside. She managed the accounts flawlessly.
The signallers carried with them not only money but also underground publications,
regards and information. They remembered that the people in hiding wanted to
know above all how Zivia was getting along. Personal regards from Zivia encouraged
and inspired them and gave them the will to live."
There, in the same apartment, activities of the Movement took place. They discussed
the future all the time, and what the world would be like after the war, and
what they would be doing. it should be pointed out that they cared deeply about
what was taking place in the Jewish community in Eretz Israel and in the kibbutz
movement. Although weak connections were maintained through the underground,
they had to "guess" what was going on, and doubt was more common
than certainty.
And they were filled with anger "to tell the world what had happened".
They thought that they were the only Jews surviving in the world, a thought,
by the way, of every Jew or group of Jews who lived in complete isolation.
Zivia would sit with her comrades and spur and encourage them to write "memoirs" and
reports. The reports were sent to Palestine via the Polish underground. They
were unsigned. Zivia herself did not write articles and reports, but rather
personal letters to many friends. Even her speeches were unwritten and came
from her heart and soul. She certainly did not write memoirs. but without her
urging things would not have been done. What's more, she often set the "tone" for
this or that document. They placed faith in her as they would in their own
conscience.
Zivia lived a life made up of "circles". Her immediate, personal
contacts, particularly in the movement, made up the first circle. This was
her home and fortress. She did everything in her power so that the members
of the movement would not be forgotten, so that their part in the "history
of the people" would not be diminished or erased.
Nevertheless, at that time, in this apartment in wartorn and semi-destroyed
Warsaw, the circles were broken. Every Jew and every Pole who had fought and "stood
their ground", in Zivia's words, were her allies. She called them "the
fighters". Until her death, she regarded these "fighters" as
her true friends.
During this period, contact was made between the J.F.O. and the Jewish community
in Eretz Israel. Through offices which the Jewish organizations established
in Geneva and Istanbul, attempts were made, which unfortunately were only partially
successful, to deliver means of sustenance and information to the remnants
of Jewry in Europe.
After the collapse of the Warsaw Ghetto revolt, the members of the "committee
of salvation" in Geneva and Istanbul thought that Zivia, also, had been
killed. They decided that "Zivia" would be the code name for Nazi
occupied Poland. When it was learned that Zivia had indeed survived, a special
messenger was sent from Salonika to the area of Warsaw who carried a personal
message to Zivia and Antek. This Christian girl made contact with them through
the Polish underground. In the message she and Yitzhak, or at least Zivia herself,
were ordered to leave Poland for one of the free countries and reach Palestine.
The response of Zivia and Antek was found in the organization's archives. They
stated categorically and explicitly that they would not leave the remnants
of their people, that they would remain with the survivors with whom they would
re-establish the movement, that they would care for and lead the people, and,
if and when the day of liberation came, they would all immigrate together to
Palestine.
On April 19, 1944, one year after the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, some of the "Aryan" members
of the J.F.O. wanted to go through the ruins, stop at the remains of the bunkers
and silently salute the bases of the battle detachments. It should be recalled
that after the fall of the Ghetto Warsaw became one city and there was no division
between the "Jewish section" and the "Aryan section", although
people avoided the former. Several of the fighting pioneers took upon themselves
a great risk when they decided to "tour" the Ghetto. Zivia begged
to join them. But the danger involved prevented the plan from being carried
out.
The following year, on April 19, 1945, Zivia stood with a group of the few
surviving fighters. In the Ghetto, they fixed a sign near "Mila 18",
which was the bunker of the former headquarters. They remained for more than
an hour on the rubble where the Jewish people had been killed.
The Revolt Of The Poles
In mid-1944, the advance
of the Red Army was stopped east of the Vistula river. On August 2, a
revolt broke out among the Poles in Warsaw. Although it was declared
by the "Armja Krajowa", members of the "Armja Ludowa" joined
it, also. Members of the J.F.O. who were in the area established battle
groups led by Yitzhak Zuckerman ("Antek") and joined the rebels.
Anyone who rebelled against the Germans was considered an ally.
Zivia related to the delegates of the convention of the "Kibbutz Ha-Meuhad":
A group of members of the J.F.O. crowded into the living quarters of the organization's
headquarters. A day after the revolt broke out, we made contact with the regional
headquarters of the "Armja Krajowa". We immediately sent them messengers
and informed them of our willingness to participate in the battle against the
Germans. The response was apathetic and cool. They would think the matter over,
check it out, and then contact us.
Meanwhile we found
out that nearby, in the Old City, large forces of the "Armja Ludowa" were
concentrating, and in, their headquarters there were people with whom
we had had close contact in the days of the underground prior to the
outbreak of the revolt. In the headquarters, we got a warm and openly
sympathetic reception. That very day we left our quarters and went down
to the Old City. Although small in number, the very fact that we joined
them gave them invaluable moral strength.
We were not a serious military force. In all, there were twenty-two of us.
Although we brought with us a few arms like pistols and grenades, the Polish
rebels lacked neither people nor weapons. The importance lay in the fact that
the Jewish Fighting Organization also participated in the revolt.
The Poles in the area of the Old City received us as you in Israel would probably
have received Jewish fighters who had survived the killing. I refer mainly
to the leadership, in which there was a really nice, pioneering group. For
example, they said that, in their opinion, if several tens of people from the
Jewish Fighting Organization had already survived it was not proper that they
fall in battle in the Polish revolt. It was the task and obligation of the
Poles to'do everything to help us survive, and they said that we could join
in operations where there was no direct danger to our lives. We did not accept
their offer. We had joined the revolt in order to fight and not in order to
give the impression of being fighters. But for its part, this reception gave
us a great deal of encouragement. I must say that the civilian population also
showed sympathy for us. We did not experience anti-Semitism. But unfortunately
this was not the case in other parts of the divided city.
Our task was to defend one of the key barricades at the corner of Ribaki and
Mostova streets, facing the Vistula opposite a fortified German stronghold.
The times were very
difficult. The arms were insufficient, and there was neither food nor
any other kind of aid. The revolt had not been properly planned. The
rebels could not offer resistance to the airplanes and cannons of the
German enemy. The Polish youth fought well and courageously in the battle
for the "Stare Miasto", the "Old City". This was
a shining chapter in the history of the war. The battle for the barricades
posed difficulties for the German attackers and was made easier for the
defenders because of the narrow lanes found in the Old City. The Germans
were forced to take each house separately. The battle lasted for more
than a month until it was no longer possible to resist and the order
was given to retreat. We retreated to the Zoliborz quarter. Some members
of our group were killed or wounded. The revolt lasted another month
until the Germans finally put it down. In their war to suppress the revolt
the Germans planned methodically the destruction of large sections of
Warsaw, house by house, in bombing raids by day and night.
The Germans began to remove the entire Polish population from the capital.
The city became empty. There was neither food nor water. After wandering for
hours on the banks of the Vistula, we found a camouflaged cellar where we hid
for six straight weeks. One day our friends who had found refuge in the vicinity
of Warsaw learned that we were still alive and that we were in constant danger
from the enemy. They organized a delegation of the Polish Red Cross which entered
Warsaw on the pretext that it had to remove from the destroyed city the wounded
and those ill with typhus. The members of the Red Cross came with stretchers
and those of us with distinctive Jewish features were bandaged and placed on
them. The rest of us wore Red Cross tags and helped like any member of the
team to remove the "ill". There were young girls among us, and the
sentries complained to the stretcher bearers that we had said we only wanted
to remove one or two ill old men and women. We answered that these girls had
come to help in transferring the sick. We finally succeeded in leaving. Fate,
apparently, wanted us to survive.
Several months went by and we remained in the town of Grodzisk near Warsaw
until the Russians came. That was on January 17, 1945. In the afternoon, Soviet
tanks arrived. A large crowd of people surrounded them in the town market.
They kissed each other and shouted with joy. But we remained mournful and dejected.
We felt isolated and alone.
And they immediately continued. Although they kept up their activities, it
cannot be said that they shook themselves off like a phoenix. They were now
acting under new conditions in a whole new world.
The pioneering activists built a new movement. They knew that this time there
was only one way: to hasten and immigrate to Palestine which was closed and
sealed off to Jewish immigrants, survivors of the Holocaust, by the British
Mandate authorities.
In Poland, "immigrant kibbutzim" were set up and they formed a precursor
of the movement.
A Sad Meeting With The Land Of Her Dreams
In 1946, after she
separated from the movement and her husband who remained in Poland, Zivia
immigrated to Palestine.
She stepped on the yearned-for land in the spring. The Jewish community greeted
her with a sad countenance, but it gave her full recognition of its appreciation.
Festive receptions were avoided as much as possible. She first went to meet
her friends and the leaders of her movement. She spent her first night in the
country with a unit of the Palmah. She told them her story and they listened
intently. They derived from her a great deal of encouragement in preparation
for their own war, the War of Independence.
Her kibbutz movement, the "Kibbutz Ha-Meuhad", called a special meeting
in the largest kibbutz, Yagur. It was at Yagur that Zivia began her life as
a kibbutz member. A large tent was set up. People from all walks of life came.
This representative crosssection of the Jewish population listened to Zivia's
eye-witness account for a whole day and one night. The following, was published
in her book, In the Days of Destruction and Revolt:
Zivia opened her talk and said:
This is a sad meeting for me.
I have dreamed about it for twelve years. Many of you undoubtedly remember
how you felt when you saw the country, your friends, the kibbutz.
Nevertheless, you cannot imagine what this meeting means to me, when in addition
to everything else I have gone through six such years. They never thought that
one of us would meet you one day.
This forum, this meeting, certainly can give us encouragement, and I can even
experience a certain feeling of strength. Nevertheless, I cannot say that my
heart is filled with joy. I see before me images of friends and strangers,
of hundreds, thousands and millions of Jews who are no longer with us. This
bitter memory accompanies me over every inch of this country.
It's sad. I didn't think that we would meet like this. A few who survived from
millions. Nor did we ever think that those who survived would not sit with
us here. We did not believe that once we left our closed existence we would
find the world as it is.
All of this is difficult to express in words.
There is apparently a certain maximum amount of experiences and shocks which
a human being can absorb. I did not believe that I could bear all of this and
continue to live. In that reality, when all around us there was death and destruction,
without any glimmer of hope, without any sign that the image of man still existed
on the face of the earth, while we ourselves were lacking the ability to feel
and be shocked, the one force which kept us going, which gave us strength,
were you here: the country, the Jewish community, the workers' movement, the
kibbutz, the home.
In The Movement, Kibbutz And Family, In The State
Zivia was thirty-two
years old when she began to fulfill her lifelong dream, to be a kibbutz
member in Israel. For thirty-two years, she lived a different life in
Israel. Not one day passed without her thinking about there. She was
among the founders and initiators of the Institute for the Remembrance
of the Holocaust and the Revolt which was established on her kibbutz,
Lochamei Ha-Getta'ot. Her house, where she lived with her husband Yitzhak
Zuckerman, became a place where Jews and non-Jews from all over the world
streamed in order to be with the leaders of that revolt. The mass media "loved" this
couple, but the latter were willing to deal with the one and only subject
which they had vowed never to forget - testimony from there.
Over the years Zivia was chosen to the institutions of her movement and party.
She was a delegate to conferences and congresses. But it must be said that
she found it difficult to find her niche in institutionalized activity as a "public
figure". If she had to act, she said, she wanted to do so as a Messenger.
Thus, she answered the call of the movement and was chosen to be a member of
the executive of the Jewish Agency, but only on the express condition that
she would handle a subject which was part of her life from her youth: she was
put in charge of the Youth and Pioneer Department. She oversaw the activities
of the pioneering youth movements throughout the world.
Nevertheless, above everything else, she was a kibbutz member at heart while
using to full advantage her organizational talents.
First of all, she was a diligent worker. She worked in the poultry house and
managed the branch. For years she was a cook and prepared food, mostly for
the kibbutz children, Each day she left her kibbutz job for "public work" was
considered as a waste of time. She had pangs of conscience which she "atoned" for
by working extra the following day.
Perhaps her life on the kibbutz can best be summed up in the eulogy delivered by one of the members at her funeral:
You were like an older sister to us, Zivia. Together we fulfilled one of your greatest dreams: the establishment of a "free" kibbutz in honor of the Ghetto fighters. Here, with us, you carried on your head, as you put it, the wreath of thorns of your movpment, "Freiheit", which had been destroyed, and the past wars of the ghetto. Here with us you began anew.
With us, you were a mother, secretary, poultry farmer, cook, accountant. You were a wife. You would sit with us in the general assembly and at parties. In our service, you performed functions in the movement and in the Zionist Federation.
You were like a mother to us. In your last years, you were a grandmother to Eyal, whose initials (in Hebrew) stand for the Jewish Fighting Organization. With boundless energy, with devotion to the goal, with ability, with great Will power, you fulfilled the idea which took shape as a youthful dream when you were a member of the youth movement. Here, in the Western Galilee, on this black soil, we built our communal home. We often felt deep pride that we were members of the same kibbutz with a person like you.
Zivia, your fellow kibbutz members are laying you to rest today, those with whom you worked side by side, in communal education, in the laundry room, in the dining hall, and our hearts are weeping. We saw you suffer greatly from your malignant disease.
Word spread about how you fought and resisted it.
Within our hearts, we paid tribute to you.
For pioneers, there are no salutes but only those who follow in their paths.
This soil knew you as the mother of Shimon and Yael, as the wife of Yitzhak. All of your days with Yitzhak were good ones. This last part of your life illustrated the greatness of your soul and the limitless devotion of Yitzhak. They did not give you succor but rather comradeship. They radiated on you the best in humankind. Your children and the mother of your grandchild helped you as much as possible and perhaps more than this.
You found your piece not among poetry but among prose. You settled among workers and not poets. You were a support to us, a stone from which we drew strength. You were a person to whom others adjusted their ways, ever though you were sometimes tough with them.
A determined individual, firm in her belief, frugal, sometimes to the point of self-punishment. You were like granite rock. It seems that every corner of the kibbutz is bowing at this moment.
In the kibbutz diary, milestones in Zivia's lifetime are made public after her death. The following are the last lines:
The first days of illness.
Has the good fortune to give away her son Shimon in marriage. Enjoys a few days of happiness with her grandson Eyal.
Days of suffering. The incurable illness. The struggle to keep the image of man. The revolt against destruction.
July 11, 1978: Zivia passed away.
On July 13, 1978, Zivia Lubetkin-Zuckerman was laid to rest in the cemetery of her kibbutz.
The journey from Byten to Lochamei Ha-Getta'ot has ended. A sixty-four year journey which left its imprint on the history of the people.