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Resistance type: rebellion in a
ghetto |
Country:Belarus |
Shalom Cholavsky
was born in Lida (Belarus) in 1914. During the war,
Cholavsky was one of the leaders of the Nieswiez underground movement and the
Nieswiez Ghetto uprising. After the uprising, Shalom fled to the forests and
joined the partisans; he fought with the Zokov Battalion until liberation.
He moved to Israel after the war ended. This is
the story of Shalom’s activities in the
underground.
Shalom
Cholavsky
Photo taken from the
Ghetto Fighters' House
site
Before
the war, Shalom Cholvsky was a teacher in the "Culture" school (a chain of
Zionist Hebrew schools) in Nieswiez. On September 17th 1939, the Red
Army marched into the city. The Jews, who had greeted the troops with cheers of
joy, were informed that they were no longer allowed to speak Hebrew. Cholavsky
continued to teach Hebrew while his students hid their
books.
The
youth in Neisweiz continued studying Hebrew secretly, and with the help of their
teachers they established an underground library of Zionist books. A Zionist
underground movement was established under the Soviet regime. The members of the
underground were members of the Hashomer Hatza’ir (The Young Guard)
movement and teachers from the “Culture” school.
In
the Ghetto
On
June 27th 1941, the German army marched through Neisweiz. The Soviet
troops fled. The Jews locked themselves in their homes, expecting the worst. A
refugee named Magalif headed the Judenrat, which was established on June
30th 1941. Two months later, on September 1st, the ghetto
was established.
On
the eve of the establishment of the ghetto, the members of the underground from
the days of the Soviet regime gathered in Cholavsky’s house. The Germans would
not allow them to open schools – what would become of the Jewish youth? They
decided to establish a school in the underground and reactivate the underground,
to provide guidance and studies for the youth.
On
October 30th 1941, all the Jews of Neisweiz were ordered to report to
the market square at eight o’clock in the morning. It was a cold day and rain
drizzled down on the gathering Jews. Within an hour, all the Jews of Neisweiz
had gathered, wearing their best clothing. The selection began. The square was
surrounded by Belarussian policemen; the German officer began calling out
professions. The officer sorted out the different professionals. 585 Jews,
Cholavsky among them, were taken from the city square. Some were sent off to
work and some were arrested and kept in the high school building. Approximately
4,000 Jews were taken from the square and led directly to the death pits where
they were murdered. The next morning, the ghetto was surrounded by a barbed wire
fence. The memory of October 30th haunted the ghetto citizens like a
ghost. They searched for the keepsakes and belongings of their loved ones who
had perished.
Establishment
of the Underground
In
late December 1941, Cholavsky called all his friends for a meeting in his home.
They discussed the state of the ghetto and what conclusions must be drawn from
the selection. They discussed fighting and decided: there cannot be another
selection. The last remaining members of the underground organized once more,
but this time – they were going to fight. They began collecting “cold” weapons –
knives, axes, etc.
But
it wasn’t enough. Cholavsky established an underground school for the children
of the ghetto. The teachers stood silent before the questioning eyes of the
children; however, they knew well that they must bestow belief in the young
hearts that there is good in the world, and that the good will overcome their
suffering and torment.
The
members of the underground wished to undermine the Judenrat. They began
evacuating Jews and establishing professional unions. The acting committee
headed the unions, and called for Magalif, the head of the Judenrat, to be
investigated regarding his involvement in the selection. And so, a public
organization was established to serve as a counterforce to the Judenrat.
Cholavksy’s organization joined another underground organization located in the
ghetto, and thus a unified underground movement was established; it was accepted
by the entire Jewish public. The underground movement began acquiring “hot”
weapons, constructing bunkers and conspiring with the
partisans.
The
Call for Mutiny
Despite
the underground activities and the general public’s acceptance of them, most
Jews still believed that the worst would never come and that the Soviet army
would come to their rescue. These false hopes were an elixir of life for the
Jews in the ghetto, until the dreaded day arrived. On July 17th 1942,
the citizens of the ghetto learned of the Horod'k death camp, a town not 14
kilometers from Neisweiz. This information stunned the Jews and shattered all
their hopes and illusions. That evening, many of the ghetto’s citizens gathered
in the synagogue of the ghetto to pray for the victims. For a moment it seemed
that the congregation was saying “Kadish” for itself.
During
the service, Cholavsky rose and spoke to the congregation:
“Jews! We are
disconnected and isolated from the Jewish world, the wide world. Perhaps none of
our cries will be heard. We may be the last existing ghetto and the last of the
Jews. Only these silent walls will tell what they have
endured.
Jews!
We will fight for our lives. We will protect the ghetto – the land of suffering.
We will fight as the last Jews fought for their land. We will be prepared – the
end may come at any time.”
“Defense”
was the ghetto’s motto and the motto of the entire public.
Uprising
The
tension in the ghetto reached a new level on July 18th 1942,
following a visit by the German forces. The following day, Cholavsky gathered
the fit members of the underground, divided them into fighting units and
assigned posts. Weapons were distributed and a machinegun was placed in the
synagogue. The plan was to set the ghetto on fire when it was surrounded by the
Germans, and to flee to the forests together with all of the Jews. In the
evening, all of the Jews gathered in the synagogue to receive the final
instructions. The ghetto was prepared for battle.
As
evening fell, the ghetto was surrounded by the Belarussian guard. That night,
the leaders of the underground gathered for a meeting and the fighters took
their posts. A sudden, random burst of gunfire opened towards the ghetto. At
dawn, the Jews gathered near the ghetto gates. The German officer appeared and
called for Magalif. He announced that there would be another selection; the
essential professionals would not be killed. However, the Jewish mob led by the
underground answered: “No! No selection! If we are to live, we shall all live!
If not, we shall fight!”
The
Germans opened fire on the ghetto. The fighters posted at the synagogue fought
back. German troops entered the ghetto and the Jews, as planned, set the ghetto
on fire. Everyone fought back, whether with knives, or with axes, or stones or
their bare hands. There were Jewish and German bodies everywhere. The fire
spread throughout the ghetto, and many of the non-Jewish citizens of Neisweiz
ran towards the ghetto to rob the Jewish homes. The Jews broke out of the ghetto
through the flames.
Cholavsky,
who had gone out on a patrol of the posts, came across the Anotshnik family
bunker. Their youngest child had begun crying; they escaped into the attic and
together with Cholavsky, lay on the floor armed with knives – prepared to storm
their attackers. A group of Germans entered the house. One of them began
climbing the ladder. They held their breaths. One of the soldiers said: “I have
already searched the house”. The soldier climbed down the ladder and left the
house. Cholavsky and the others in hiding escaped the
ghetto.
They
found food and shelter in the house of a Polish woman named Volodka. They
escaped to the forests outside the city. As they looked back at the burning
ghetto one last time, they could still hear the cheers of the Belarussians. The
hills of ash sparkled in the dark of dawn like memorial candles for the mutinous
community.
After
the Uprising
Cholavsky
and his friends joined the Rayobka partisan unit. They established a Jewish
partisan fighting unit – the Zokov unit that fought the Nazis in the forests for
two years. On June 23rd 1944, the Russian summer attack began, and on
July 12th Cholavsky and his friends ventured out of the forests into
freedom.
In
July 1944, Cholavsky met with Itzhak Zukerman, one of the leaders of the Warsaw
Ghetto uprising. Together they formed the P.S.P
(Partisans-Soldiers-Pioneers) movement. The movement’s objective was to
locate survivors and help them immigrate to Israel. The
movement developed the “escape” routes (illegal immigration to
Israel) and established residences in
which to absorb the remaining survivors.
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In
1948, Cholvsky moved to Israel and joined Kibbutz Ein
Hashofet.
Dr.
Shalom Cholavsky is a Holocaust researcher. He has published many articles
on the research of the Holocaust and the Jewish resistance in
Belarus
. He has been an active member of the Partisans
Organization in Israel for many
years.
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Photo
taken from the
Ghetto Fighters' House
site
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Based on:
·
Shalom
Cholvsky, “A City and a Forest Under
Siege”, Hapo’alim Heritance and Library, 1973
·
Shalom
Cholvsky, “Oh, the Longing, Oh the Beauty…” Partisans Organization, 2000
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