Small Riga Ghetto

60
strewn with belongings that had been thrown out, and feathers from burst bedding
were flying around everywhere. There was only one topic of conversation:
the evacuation and preparations for the journey.
The larger Kommandos were told they had the possibility of staying in the
newly formed small camp and rejoining their families later.
Three hundred women were registered as seamstresses and sent "to work" at
the Terminal Prison.
II.
I now conferred with my wife and my older brother about what I ought to do.
We decided that I should go to the Kasernierung * so that I could later have the
possibility of helping my family through my connections with the outside.
My son was to remain with my wife to give her support. On Friday evening
I went once more with my wife to Dr. Eljaschow. In his room we met many
acquaintances. I told him of my decision, and he also thought it was good. Of
course nobody really knew the right thing to do.
I spent the last evening with my family at home. My wife made supper using
the best food supplies we still had, and we talked till late that night. We agreed
that if we should be torn apart, each of us would send his address in a letter to
the Abe Siew family in Palestine immediately after the war.
We didn't sleep all night, and in the early morning hours I went one more
time to my many relatives to bid them farewell, as though I already suspected I
would never see any of them again. I had to go to work, and I now said farewell
to my wife and my son. For a long, long time we stood there, our eyes
filled with tears. My dear wife tried to comfort me by saying repeatedly that
we would certainly meet again soon.
I went to work, and my son accompanied me for a short distance.
III.
Very early on Saturday morning, 29 November 1941, the columns of people to
be resettled assembled on Sadovnika Street.
Our Kommandos, which were also standing there, did not know for a long
time whether they would be let out at all.
The first resettlement column had to stand next to the ghetto gate. Its leader
was Dr. Eljaschow. He was wearing his elegant black fur coat with a blue-andwhite
armband. The expression on his face showed no disquiet whatsoever; on
* [Ed.: Kasernierung – satellite camp located outside the ghetto.]