The Remnant - Stories of the Jewish Resistance in WWII (14 page)

Finally after two hours, Moshe and Uri returned. With them were two Jewish families and seven other unrelated Jews. Theirs had been the voices on the cliff. They'd been living in the woods, migrating from the northwest of the country. Their intention had been to escape the occupation ahead of the German front. They had to restrict their movements to nighttime and through the forests. It was very difficult. By the time they reached this area, they realized that to reach unoccupied territory was almost hopeless.

The refugees had a meeting to decide what to do when Moshe and Uri came upon them. The two partisans had only to listen for a short while to become convinced they were escaping Jews. It took a little more convincing for the larger group to believe Moshe and Uri were what they claimed. Again, a demonstration of Moshe's davening became the "password." Recruitment was easy after that.

The partisan band now numbered twenty, twenty one if Ivan were included. And if Ivan were to be included, then Sosha had to be counted. Twenty two!

The two families contained five children between the ages of three and seven. Their fathers were twenty three and twenty seven, their mothers, twenty four and twenty five. The unrelated Jews among the new group were four men and three women between the ages of nineteen and twenty nine.

There were no elderly or sick among them yet, but one of the first things they decided was that no Jew would be turned away from the group. The partisans committed themselves to saving Jews as well as destroying Germans.

Their new growth was not without its problems. To accommodate the number of people now in the group they would need to reorganize. The cave was certainly too small to house them all. Maybe it could still be used for storage, but a new encampment would have to be found. And they would have to get more food and supplies. Irpen was the logical target.

For the present, Moshe was appointed leader. He picked his next in command from those he knew best; Sol, Uri, Boris and one of the new partisans-the one who seemed to be spokesman or rather spokeswoman, for them. Dovka was her name-an attorney from Minsk. Several of the newcomers had followed her in an effort to escape their town after the public murders. As they picked up others in the forests she remained their leader.

Rachel was another of the unrelated. At nineteen, she was next to the youngest of the girls. Shy and sensitive, she had developed a close attachment to Dovka, finding security in the woman's strength.

Moshe felt they had the manpower to carry out a raid against the supply depot at Irpen, with some training, but their entire armament was the gun which he'd not yielded to the Ukrainian partisans and its two clips of nine bullets each, plus an old rifle of Ivan's with a few rounds of ammunition. Among the new arrivals were three knives and these were kitchen utensils.

He called the group together early the next morning. Ivan was with them. He asked Ivan to go into Irpen to reconnoiter and report back. Ivan took Sosha with him. They were the only ones who had identity papers. That made them the intelligence arm of the band.

Sol and Boris were sent out to find a site for a new encampment. It would have to be a place where they could build shelters that wouldn't be seen from the air. Time was short; winter would be upon them too soon.

Late that afternoon, Ivan returned with his information. "The Germans are storing supplies in the trucks themselves. It eliminates the need for handling and more storage buildings. When the trucks come in they merely park them; then as the supplies are needed they drive the trucks on into Kiev. Seldom does a truck remain at the parking more than thirty six hours."

"How did you find that out so fast?" Uri asked.

"It doesn't seem to be a secret. Anyone can see what's going on. Everyone in Irpen knows the routine."

"Are you sure you didn't arouse suspicion-asking about..."

"I'm sure. It all came out in casual conversations."

"Do you have any idea what is stored there?" Sol asked.

"Apparently everything from canned food to office supplies. Few weapons, a little ammunition, small stuff, maybe. Clothing. I tried to find out more but no one but the Germans know that and I didn't want to ask them," Ivan said with a chuckle.

"Could you tell how the trucks are guarded?" Moshe asked.

"I walked around the area..."

"They didn't mind?" Dovka asked.

"I didn't try to walk in. Several people were walking there. No one seemed to care. There is a makeshift wire fence around the area, but no gate at the entrance. A guard was there, more to direct traffic, I think. A few more Germans were about the entrance; four or five at the most. They, too, seemed to direct trucks in and out of parking spots. They just don't seem too concerned about theft."

"It seems too good to be true," Boris countered.

"I don't know," Moshe said, thinking, "Perhaps because there hasn't been any type of resistance yet, their guard is down. They're complacent. If there were weapons stored there maybe it would be different. Anyway, I think we should take advantage of the situation-as soon as possible-before things change."

"There didn't seem to be many guards there last night either," Sol reminded them.

"No, you're right," Moshe agreed. "I think the way to do it is simply go in and drive out as many trucks as we can."

"It sounds too simple." Boris said.

"Let's hope it will be." Moshe said.

"There is one problem that may make it more difficult," Sol said.

"What?" Moshe asked.

"Who can drive?"

"Oy! A good question. That will dictate how many trucks we can steal," Moshe said. "I drive. Uri and Boris learned in the army."

"I drive," Dovka said, to everyone's surprise. "But I've never driven a truck."

Of all the others, only one of the men, the oldest of the parents, had driven before. Not only could he drive, but he'd been a mechanic. He taught the others how to start the trucks without their keys. At best, it looked as if they'd be able to steal five trucks and they'd have no way of knowing what their contents were until after the job was done.

Easy or not, it would be a risky mission.

Ten partisans would enter Irpen. Five would take care of the guards while the drivers would go to work wiring the trucks to start. The remainder of the band would wait at an appointed place to unload, should the mission be successful.

The supplies would then have to be carried to the cave for storage. The empty trucks would then be abandoned, far away, to mislead the Germans. The drivers would have to walk back.

Moshe, Uri and Boris gave the others a quick lesson on how to kill a guard silently. The plan seems simple, Sol thought, but there are so many ways it can all go wrong. "Dear God, don't let me panic..."

One hour after darkness, the ten left for Irpen. It took them about two hours to get to the parking area. They were amazed to find only six Germans guarding the trucks. Uri decided to make his way clear around the area, to make sure there weren't one or two more in the vicinity. He was back to the others in less than five minutes. They turned to the unpleasant task of eliminating the enemy. Moshe changed the plan. He appointed one German to each of four groups of two partisans. He and Boris would take care of the remaining two guards, one each. Each team crept off into the darkness. They had learned well. Only one of the Germans had a chance to cry out and fortunately he was the last to die. No one heard his brief yell except the other partisans, who had already dispatched their victims in silence. So far the mission had gone perfectly-too perfect, perhaps.

They dashed to the trucks. Within three minutes all five had started. They pulled out on the road without headlights and proceeded to their rendezvous. Dovka's truck lurched a few times as she tried to coordinate the clutch and gears, giving her passenger, Sol, a jolting ride. It was the first time he'd ever ridden in a truck or a car.

There was no traffic on the road. No one followed them. The raid had not yet been discovered. Six Germans lay dead, stripped of their weapons and ammunition.

"Beginner's luck!" Moshe confided to his partner.

A few minutes later, they were at the rendezvous with the rest of their comrades. Quickly they emptied each truck. When they got to the last truck, the one Dovka had driven; they came across their first bit of bad luck. In retrospect, it was humorous. Dovka and Sol had risked their lives to take a truck loaded with condoms.

From the time they had stolen the trucks until they were emptied had taken only thirty five minutes. The raid had gone so well, in fact, that Uri suggested they go back and steal five more.

"You're crazy!" Moshe exclaimed.

"Sure it's crazy," Uri agreed. "It was crazy the first time too. But when will we have a better chance than right now? After tonight the security will be ten times heavier."

"He's right," Sol said. "If we go back, cautiously, we can do it. If they've found out about it we'll know it. There will be activity. They would never think we'd try again tonight, so they wouldn't be setting a trap."

"Let's take a chance on it," Boris added.

"It is crazy," Dovka confessed, "but I think it might work. If these five trucks have not yet been missed we can surely get five more."

Moshe considered, then said, "All right. But only the five drivers go this time. I'll not risk ten lives for this insanity. Maybe God has given us this night. Let's make the most of it."

"I should go with Dovka," Sol interjected. "She should not go alone."

"I don't need any help," she said, a little insulted.

"Probably not, but I need a ride."

Moshe gave the okay.

Thirty minutes later they were back with five more trucks. Twenty minutes after that, those trucks stood empty behind the first five.

Now they realized a blunder. With only five drivers they would not be able to take the trucks to a distant place to throw off the Germans. "Let's take them back to nearer Irpen." Dovka suggested.

"I guess that's better than leaving them here," Moshe agreed.

They took the trucks back to the edge of Irpen, including the truckload of condoms.

Dovka said, "I only regret having taken back all those condoms. If we'd have only destroyed them, maybe the whole German army would get syphilis!"

They carried supplies all night. They couldn't begin to get everything back to the cave, but what had to be left was hidden for transport over the next few nights. An hour after sunrise and about ready to drop, they finally heard Moshe's order to rest for a few hours.

While the others slept, Moshe, Dovka and Sol started taking inventory. From the guards they had taken six automatic rifles with twenty rounds of ammunition for each. They had taken one pistol with three clips of bullets. Five knives and six bayonets were also obtained. But when they started through the other supplies they realized the full measure of their success.

Moshe made an inventory list in the order the items were discovered:

• Blankets, wool #260
  
• Canned field rations #50 cases of 96 tins each.
  
• Dynamite #50 boxes of 24 sticks each.
  
• Lentils #50 bags 50 lbs. each.
  
• Bullets, 5,000 (wrong caliber)
  
• Oil lamps, 48 (no oil)
  
• Medical supplies #8 cases, assorted
  
• Pencils #1 case of 1,000
  
• Typing paper #10 cases of 12 boxes of 500 sheets.
  
• Shovels #1 case of 24, short handle.
  
• Emery boards #1 box of 1,000
  
• Soap #5 cases of 48 bars.
  
• Handkerchiefs #6 cases of 60
  
• Dinner bells #1 case of 60
  
• Table salt #10 bags 50 lbs.
  
• Light bulbs #10 cases of 48 bulbs.
  
• Coats, winter #70, all medium size.
  
• Flour #6 bags 100 lbs each.
  
• Coffee beans, #4 bags 60 lbs each.
  
• Soup ladles #60
  
• Shoe polish, black #4 cases 60 tins each case.
  
• Mouse traps #3 cases, 100 per case.
  

Moshe was disappointed there were no weapons. There were neither blasting caps nor fuses for the dynamite, but he thanked God they'd lost no lives on the mission. And they still had the hidden supplies to go through. He was grateful.

The children had been asleep in the cave while the adults worked the night away. They awoke to find the grownups in exhausted slumber. Rachel chose the entrance of the cave to lie down. She was awakened by the children as they came out into the day. To keep them from waking the others, she decided to take them for a walk in the woods before their breakfast. Quietly, they slipped away down the ravine until they found a place where they could get up the side easily. Once on top, they walked into the woods on the side of the ravine away from Ivan's farm. She pointed out the different trees she could identify. They'd gone only a little way when they came across thousands of chestnuts lying all over the ground. It was an abandond grove. Rachel told the oldest child to run back to the cave and bring some empty boxes.

An hour later, the triumphant children and Rachel returned to the cave with two boxes filled to the brim with chestnuts. All day long the children went back to the grove with one adult and then another, until by mid-afternoon they had brought thousands of nuts from the forest floor to the cave. The children were little burden to the partisans.

As head of the intelligence arm of the small group, Ivan started to look for sources of information. He decided to talk to "the priest" who had spoken out against the Germans. There had been no more inflammatory remarks since the first, but Father Peter Rochovit was still one of the biggest topics of gossip in Kiev. Ivan thought something might be gained by carefully opening a dialogue with him.

During the last week of November 1941, almost eight weeks after the slaughter began at Babi Yar, Ivan made his trip to Father Peter's church. There had been no let-up in the gunfire from the ravine. Ivan had put off this inevitable visit because of concern that the priest might be under surveillance. Furthermore, many of the Jews indicated they did not trust any gentile. "Isn't it possible that the priest might have made that first sermon just to attract partisans and Jews for the Germans?" some asked. It was not a majority opinion, but it had to be considered. "The first sermon was probably legitimate, but what if he takes the opportunity to reingratiate himself with the Germans by turning us in? What do Jews mean to a Catholic priest? Instigators of pogroms ...they hate Jews as much now as during the Crusades and the Inquisition!"