Small Riga Ghetto

104
Among the people who had been set aside I also saw Dr. Noim, Günsburg
and many others.
On Ludzas Street we met the Gestapo leaders Dr. Lange, and our Kommandant
Krause. As we marched past the German ghetto I noticed that it was completely
calm. At that point all of us realized that the entire catastrophe had
come down on us alone!
Now we had to pass through the second gate on Ludzas Street. There the
same procedure took place. Some of the older people tried to argue that they
were skilled craftsmen and had to get to their work sites, but this did them no
good. Our column got through without any losses.
When we arrived at our work site, what we had just experienced reminded
us of the "twelve bloody days". We were absolutely unable to calm down, and
at midday we sent a soldier from the command headquarters to find out what
was going on in the ghetto. He came back with the news that at that moment
(12 noon) things were once again quiet there. But we were still nervous and
finally managed to get released earlier than usual.
As we came back into the ghetto we noticed that our policemen were no
longer there. In their place were newly appointed German Jewish policemen
who had been stationed along the ghetto fence. They were wearing new armbands
bearing the letters OD for Ordnungsdienst (Order Service).
We also noticed that a large printed announcement had been put up. Because
we were marching fast we were unable to read it. Hardly had we entered the
ghetto than we realized what had happened there that morning.
On Friday afternoon a roll call of the Jewish police had been scheduled, as
always. At the last moment it had been cancelled. That same evening, the roll
call was ordered once again for Saturday morning. As all of the policemen
were gathering for this purpose in the courtyard of the command headquarters,
Police Chief Wand, and labor department heads Kassel and Maisel appeared.
The Kommandant, accompanied by high-ranking officers, also appeared and
gave a speech whose gist was that he no longer trusted the police. Wand, Kassel
and Maisel had to step aside, the policemen were surrounded by SD men,
and each of them was searched. When this was over, a march toward Blech
Square in the German ghetto began.
The senior policeman, Anatoli Natan, marched at the head of the group. Initially
he and the others seemed not at all uneasy. But as they arrived at Blech
Square on the Maskavas Street side, they already had a dim feeling that something
was about to happen.