Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
THE LICE BIT MY EARS OFF
Negotin, a small town in east Serbia, where the sun is
somewhat late in coming out atop the high mountain
peaks, was that morning bathed in sunlight. It seemed
that the sun itself was eager to brighten the morning
before the Negotin town folk were besieged by the occupation.
Soon all eyes were turned toward the dusty
uniforms of the Wehrmacht, the black SS ones and a
number of others that marched past. It was the uniformed
men who knew exactly what was to be done
with an occupied town. The citizens, on the other hand,
knew nothing of what awaited them.
Mita Todorović, a masonry worker when there was construction
work to be done, a farmer when mouths had
to be fed, came to town that morning to hear the latest
news. There were more uniformed men in the streets
than civilians. No bans for the civilians had yet been
imposed although the process of listing Jews was already
under way. Mita always had a coin to spare in his
pocket. One had to spend a few dinars in the local inn
for a drink if one wanted to hear the news.
On entering the inn, Mita saw Miroslav Schomlo, an
engineer who hired him from time to time for construction
work. The engineer was sitting at a table with some
friends when Mita came up to him and asked him about
his family.
“I don’t know where to hide my children,” Miroslav uttered,
visibly concerned. The look on his face spoke of
the gravity of his predicament. “Lists of Jews and Communists
are being made right now. It is only a matter of
days when arrests will begin.”
“Come to my farm in Dubrava,” Mita replied with assurance
as if there was nothing left to discuss.
Miroslav’s smile was faint, but he thanked him for the
offer. He was still hoping that the situation would calm
down and that he would begin to work again.
It was not long before the Schomlo family was thrown
out of the house they lived in. The house was requisitioned
for German requirements. They found shelter
in engineer Pantić’s garden-house which had neither
electricity nor water.
When Mita heard of the engineer’s arrest and that he
had been taken to the Jewish collection centre for their
district in Zaječar, he immediately set out to find his
family. At the beginning of 1942, taking turns with his
son Žika, Mita brought food to the garden-house for the
engineer’s wife and children: Milana - nine, and Ana -
seven years old. When engineer Miroslav was released
from camp, Budimka decided to send the children
to her brother in Vršac, thinking they would be safer
there. However, the situation was no better there with
volksdeutchers parading round town in new German
uniforms.
Miroslav was arrested once again and taken to the same
camp. Help came from a volksdeutscher, and former
pupil of the grammar school literature teacher, Budimka
Smederevac. The soldier cautioned him: “If they bring
you back here once again, you’re dead.”
Miroslav Schomlo, a decent man, respected in Negotin
and throughout eastern Serbia, would not abandon his
wife and leave her on her own. As if unaware of the imminent
danger he was facing, he stayed with Budimka
in the garden-house. It was not long before he was arrested
for the third time, but the prediction that he would
be killed did not come true. In the meantime, the camp
had been shut down and he was taken to Belgrade. God
only knows how he managed to escape from there. On
returning to Negotin, he finally realized that he had only
one choice left. Danilo Nikolić, a road supervisor from
Braćevac, took him to Dubrava. Making his way along
unmapped roads deep in snow, Miroslav finally found
shelter in Dubrava on Mita’s farm. The farm was situ-
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