Isaac's Army (73 page)

20
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Poles had it pretty bad too”
Boruch Spiegel, author interview, Montreal, November 2007.

21
“Once I was on the run and went to Marisa [Sawicka’s] apartment”
Simha Ratheiser-Rotem, author interview, Jerusalem, March 2009.

22
The capital’s non-Jewish population had shrunk by more than a fifth since 1939
Szarota,
Okupowanej Warszawy Dzien Powszedni
, p. 78.

23
The daily rate for boarding a Jewish child, for instance, was 100
zlotys
Ringelblum,
Polish-Jewish Relations During the Second World War
, p. 140.

24
“Death threatened for bacon and gold, for weapons and false papers”
Paulsson,
Secret City
, p. 129.

25
Wolski’s ex-girlfriend tipped off the authorities
Kassow,
Who Will Write Our History?
p. 383.

26
a translation of her book about Saint Francis of Assisi
,
Blessed Are the Meek
,
was a bestseller in the United States in 1944
Martin Gilbert,
The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust
(New York: Henry Holt, 2003), p. 139.

27
Irene Sendler, who rescued three thousand Jewish children
Ibid., p. 142.

28
“I was so sure of myself, and the guard looks at my pass and says ‘Where did you buy it?’ ”
Simha Ratheiser-Rotem, author interview, Jerusalem, March 2009.

29
“I was always calmest whenever I was in the most danger”
Ibid.

30
“It was filled with women wearing all kinds of creams, curlers”
Tec,
When Light Pierced the Darkness
, p. 34.

31
in 1944, its budget exceeded two million zlotys a month
Kunert,
Zegota
, p. 35.

32
The five-hundred-zloty monthly subsidy from the Council prevented eviction
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 418.

33
“I contrived a system for myself for finding streets and people”
Ratheiser-Rotem,
Kazik
, p. 97.

34
“I was certain he had no chance”
Simha Ratheiser-Rotem, author interview, Jerusalem, March 2009.

35
“He bandaged his face and pretended to be mute”
Ibid.

36
He personally headed a cell that was sheltering 280 Jews
Gilbert,
Righteous
, p. 143.

37
“I can testify only that a lot of money did arrive”
Ratheiser-Rotem,
Kazik
, p. 99.

38
“I was a bodyguard”
Simha Ratheiser-Rotem, author interview, Jerusalem, March 2009.

39
In just one October 1943 cable to London, he acknowledges receipt of $10,000
and £10,000
Mark,
Powstanie W Getcie Warszawskim
, p. 181.

40
“The only luxury on the menu was a glass of vodka”
Ratheiser-Rotem,
Kazik
, p. 99.

C
HAPTER
36: Z
IVIA
G
ETS
H
ER
G
UN

1
saplings … would grow into a dense, dark forest
Author site visit, March 2008.

2
Boruch Spiegel became convinced that Hitler was going to lose
Boruch Spiegel, author interview, Montreal, November 2007.

3
an astounding forty-seven thousand copies a day
Ozimek,
Media Walczacej Warszawy
, p. 77.

4
In mid-May, German bureaucrats were issued handguns
Bartoszewski,
1859 Dni Warszawy
, p. 677.

5
“In the street markets … German military nurses are selling openly watches and cigarette cases”
Korbonski,
Fighting Warsaw
, p. 346.

6
327
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT ON ADOLF HITLER
’
S LIFE
Ozimek,
Media Walczacej Warszawy
, p. 83.

7
“He played the great socialist with our bourgeois money”
Joanna Olczak-Ronikier, author interview, Warsaw, December 2008.

8
“People of the Capital! To Arms!”
Zenczykowski,
Samotny Boj Warszawy
, p. 26.

9
Twenty thousand troops still remained in Warsaw
Bartoszewski,
1859 Dni Warszawy
, p. 711.

10
Mietek Pera, code name Frenchy, was in fact ferrying Sten guns
Mieczyslaw Pera, oral testimony, Warsaw Uprising Museum, online at
http://ahm.1944.pl/Mieczyslaw_Pera
.

11
“In the twinkling of an eye, the remaining civilians disappeared from the street”
Bor-Komorowski,
Secret Army
, p. 216.

12
Nearly forty thousand Home Army combatants had risen up
Ibid., p. 208.

13
“Most Poles saw the [People’s Army] as phraseologists or as aliens”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 525.

14
“It was obvious to us that the insurrection had twin goals”
Lubetkin,
Zaglada I Powstanie
, p. 149.

15
The Polish flag once again flew atop the Prudential Life Insurance Building
Bor-Komorowski,
Secret Army
, p. 221.

16
In the first twenty-four hours of combat, the Home Army lost two thousand men
Wladyslaw Bartoszweski,
Powstanie Warszawskie
(Warsaw: Swiat Ksiazki, 2009), p. 28.

17
“The People’s Army knew of our contacts with the Home Army”
Ratheiser-Rotem,
Kazik
, p. 66.

18
“They put me off with hemming and hawing”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 523.

19
a brass plaque on the building informs visitors that double Nobel laureate Marie Curie had been born there
Author site visit, January 2008.

20
“It would be too great a historical responsibility to send the few survivors of the Ghetto Uprising back to war”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 534.

21
“Finally we can start living again”
Edelman,
I Byla Milosc w Getcie
, p. 130.

22
“I hid in a store that was burning”
Mark Edelman, author interview, Lodz, May 2007.

23
“ ‘Jew, you set the building on fire’ ”
Ibid.

24
delivering $40,000
in U.S. currency
Edelman,
I Byla Milosc w Getcie
, p. 132.

25
The pariah National Armed Forces, with 72,439 members nationwide
Sebastian Bojemski,
Narodowe Sile Zbrojne w Powstaniu Warszawskim
(Warsaw: Fronda, 2009), p. 32.

26
Only one in ten Home Army soldiers was properly armed
Ciechanowski,
Powstanie Warszawskie
, pp. 116–17.

27
the Gestapo had seized a stockpile of 78,000
grenades
Luczak,
Dzieje Polski 1939–1945
, p. 427.

28
“I wasn’t going to fight with people trying to kill me”
Beres and Burnetko,
Marek Edelman
, p. 208.

29
each intricately decorated with pastel murals and glass mosaics depicting folk tales
Author site visit.

30
“It was twice her size”
Ibid., p. 210.

31
The Home Army had only one thousand rifles in all of Warsaw
Bartoszweski,
Powstanie Warszawskie
, p. 22.

32
“all the Gentiles knew that this was a Jewish unit”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 535.

33
which enjoyed a seven-to-one numerical advantage over the retreating Germans
Zenczykowski,
Samotny Boj Warszawy
, p. 56.

34
“Mein Führer … the action of the Poles is a blessing”
Norman Davies,
Rising
’44:
The Battle for Warsaw
(New York: Viking, 2004), p. 247.

C
HAPTER
37: S
IMHA
’
S
S
ECOND
S
EWER
R
ESCUE

1
That Saturday they murdered twenty thousand residents in Wola alone
Bartoszweski,
Powstanie Warszawskie
, p. 38.

2
“If I changed the Polish names, it would sound like a Jewish story”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 523.

3
“They drove us from the cellars”
Central Commission for Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, eyewitness testimony record no. 57, online at
http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/atrocities4.htm
.

4
“Between 11 and 12 noon … the Germans ordered all of us to get out”
Ibid., record no. 63.

5
was supposed to be fighting in the 6th District, third region, as platoon number 693
Oral testimony, Warsaw Uprising Museum, online at
http://ahm.1944.pl/Mieczyslaw_Pera
.

6
“To the credit of the Poles … they were brave people”
Zuckerman,
Surplus of Memory
, p. 538.

7
“I have been scared many times in my life”
Ibid.

8
the Home Army’s
Information Bulletin
was receiving over one thousand new missing persons reports
Ozimek,
Media Walczacej Warszawy
, p. 145.

9
two million rounds of ammunition airlifted to Warsaw by converted RAF bombers
Davies,
Rising ’44
, p. 311.

10
“Cinders were flying everywhere. You couldn’t see the sun for all the ashes”
Ibid., p. 256.

11
including the Holy Sacrament Monastery in New Town, where a thousand people who had taken shelter all perished
Bartoszewski,
Powstanie Warszawskie
, p. 91.

12
Spam and Philip Morris cigarettes
Permanent exhibit, Warsaw Uprising Museum, Warsaw.

13
Gradually the two German forces were closing in on the five thousand defenders caught in the middle
Bor-Komorowski,
Secret Army
, p. 285.

14
“A single house could change hands several times a day”
Mark Edelman, author interview, Lodz, May 2007.

15
German losses during the latest push exceeded 1,570 men
Rozwadowski and Ignatowicz,
Boje o Warszawe
, p. 153.

16
a kilo of butter soared in cost to a staggering 2,400
zlotys
Bartoszweski,
1859 Dni Warszawy
, p. 781.

17
In fact, “the opposite was true”
Paulsson,
Secret City
, p. 171.

18
“I have to say that everyone, including the civilians, treated us cordially”
Lubetkin,
Zaglada I Powstanie
, p. 150.

19
so-called Bear Cubs, Chevrolet Suburbans retrofitted
Permanent exhibit, Warsaw Uprising Museum, Warsaw.

20
“The carved oak beams in houses burned like matchsticks”
Bor-Komorowski,
Secret Army
, p. 286.

21
The only food left was tinned tongue and wine
Ibid. p. 290.

22
“It became clear that no one was going to survive much longer”
Simha Ratheiser-Rotem, author interview, Jerusalem, March 2009.

23
“I was placed in charge of a unit of mainly sergeants and officers”
Ratheiser-Rotem,
Kazik
, p. 125.

24
“My nostrils were assailed by a well-remembered repulsive odor”
Borzykowski,
Between Tumbling Walls
, pp. 179–80.