Small Riga Ghetto

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bly have to pay for my flight with their lives, I decided to stay on until the
end.
During this period a small Aktion to exterminate the children was carried out
in the HKP and the other satellite camps. This is why I had taken young
Kamenkowitsch out of there, said he was older, and integrated him into the
Park work camp. I still regret that it was impossible for me to save more children
at that time.
In order to find Jews who were hidden, many house searches were made in
the city during that period. Seven people were arrested at the home of a Mrs.
Pole at 15 Peldu Street. They defended themselves with automatic machine
guns and killed three of the Latvians who had forced their way into the apartment.
The Jews themselves had four casualties, including Josef Grundmann,
Lipmanowitsch and Sergej Gurewitsch. The other three, including Dr.
Herzfeld's son, escaped.
In May 1944 Sauer visited our camp. When I heard about the visit it was
clear to me that nothing good was in store for us. I immediately made sure that
all the divisions would stay in their places so that they would be working when
Sauer inspected them. He made his first visit to the laundry. There he saw two
women who were not occupied at that moment, and he immediately slapped
them. He then went directly to the construction section of the mechanics'
workshop. The head of this section was the Nuremberg Jew Salaman, a strict
German captain who wore an Iron Cross. On his inspection tour Sauer discovered
that various types of food, including strawberries, had been concealed in
the large kettles that were standing there. He was so angry that he slapped
Salaman resoundingly, just as he had done to the two women. After that he
had his helpers fetch our comrades Duchownik and, later on, Rosenthal. He
also ordered the entire work crew of the construction section to assemble, including
Magarik, Lewin, Juli Ariewitsch and Chatzkel Abram. All of them
were arrested and transported to Kaiserwald. He also took the German Jew
Schneider, who was the former helper of the ghetto policeman Wand. Only
Jascha Landmann, who "fortunately" had broken his foot, escaped this destruction.
He survived. We found out later that the real reason for Sauer's visit was
that he wanted to have Salaman, Duchownik and Rosenthal transported because
they were still in contact with their Aryan wives in the city. Because he
accidentally found the hidden food in the course of his inspection, he had the
entire work crew arrested.
The "great man" also inspected my bed; although he found nothing, I definitely
did not feel my life was safe.