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forbade refugees in areas less than 50 miles from
the borderand Luboml was very close to the
border.
The residents of Luboml had to become accustomed
to the new regime, and some of them
adapted very quickly. There was even a small
group for whom things got better, but for most
people in the city it was hard to get used to the
Soviet authority. Business was completely
forbidden.Once the militia caught Hinde Dubetski
selling a kerchief to a village woman, and she was
sentenced to 12 years in Siberiathanks to which
she is alive today and living in Israel. Yocheved
Veyner also was sentenced to 15 years in Siberia,
and she, too, is in Israel. Jews greatly feared exile
to Siberia, ceased doing business, and started
doing manual labor.
As an example, I shall relate the following
incident: The commander of the border police,
whose post was in Luboml, had to bring several
hundred square yards of lumber from the Morava
forests.
A group was organized, consisting of my
uncle Yankl, Avrom Yoychens, Avrom
Grimatlicht, Avrom Sheyner, Yoel Gortenshteyn,
my cousin Asher Landgeyer and myselfand
overnight we became wagoners and got the job.
The pay was not highotherwise the non-
Jews would have gotten the workbut we made
do even with this. We left home at two or three in
the morning and carne back in the afternoon. We
worked hard, but were satisfied.
In 1940-41, the Russians started to build
army camps in and around the city. They also
started to draft people into the regular army and
the reserves. They drafted the reserves for a threemonth
course, which took place in the vicinity.
Most people from the town were located at a
station near Vishnyevethe closest village south
of Lubomlwhere there was a large encampment
of artillery forces. I, too, was at this camp and
Asher Leyb Zatz was in the same group; we
shared a tent.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF DESTRUCTION
231
On June 21, 1941a Sabbathmy mother
came to visit me at the camp and brought me some
sweets. I told her proudly that the following day
we were to have our swearing-in. But the next
day, at 4:30 a.m., German artillery began bombarding
the camp.
The attack was a total surprise. We had no
orders to counter-attack. Only at 11 a.m. did we
get orders to move out. We entered Luboml. Many
hoped we could still save the situation, but we
couldn't do very much because the Germans had
superior forces, far beyond ours. After suffering
numerous losses, we were forced to abandon the
city on June 23.
We left in the direction of Masheve at 9 p.m.
We did not see a living soul. On the way, near the
priest's garden, Asher Leyb Zatz suggested we
jump into the garden and return to our families.
I tried to convince him he would be endangering
himself, but he stood fast: "Whatever happens to
all the Jews will happen to me, too." And that's
what happened. He stayed in Luboml and met the
same fate as all the other Jews there. I still don't
know where I got the strength to abandon my
mother, my brother, and tens of other members of
my family and continue with the army, to which
I had been attached only a few weeks.
In our retreat, we met many Jews from Luboml
who already had left on the first day of the war.
And when we reached Mashevemy neighbor
Zecharyahu Fleisherand we continued together
to the Urals, where we met Nute Shternboim,
Zanvele Katzev, and others.
I spent the war years in the Russian army, and
that in itself is a separate story. After the -war, in
1946, I left Russia and went to Poland, but I did
not go through Luboml, where only ruins and
graves remained. From Poland I went to the DP
camps in Germany and from there I reached
Israel, on May 23, 1948, as a volunteer in Gahal.
I spent a year in the War of Independence and was
discharged in 1949. Since then I have been a
member of Moshav Sharona.