In order to maintain contact with the Jewish communities in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe — all of which had been concentrated in sealed ghettos — the Germans ordered the establishment of "Jewish Councils," known in German as the "Judenrat." The quality of the Judenrat depended on the caliber of the leaders who had survived in each community. For us, in Pruzhany, fortune smiled, and the Jewish Council was composed of individuals who were respected by the public and who acted to the best of their ability for its benefit.
Among the members of our Judenrat was Avraham Bersky, a Zionist and editor of the local Zionist newspaper, who was a neighbor and friend of my parents. The friendship between him and me continued in Israel, until his passing.
While we were in the ghetto, we did not know what was happening at the front, but as the Germans absorbed blows at the front, they became crueler toward us.
The tasks the Germans imposed on the Judenrat were heartbreaking.
The Jewish Council was required to fulfill the demands and orders that were received almost daily from the German military commander. The Council took on diverse organizational and economic responsibilities in order to ease life in the ghetto and manage relations with the authorities.
In our region there were many forests, in which partisan units were active. Those who fled from the ghetto hoped to join them. Few of them were accepted into the partisan ranks. Others were turned away harshly.
On January 28, 1943, at exactly six o’clock in the morning, the head of the Gestapo appeared at the Judenrat office and announced to the Council members that the residents of several streets — 2,500 in number — were to prepare for deportation within a matter of hours.
"They will be transferred to Silesia, for labor," the Gestapo commander announced. "They must take with them all members of their families, including the elderly, infants, and the sick. They are permitted to bring small bundles — and it is advisable that they take their money, jewelry, and all their valuables."
Thus began the liquidation of the Pruzhany ghetto, which lasted four days.
The ghetto was evacuated in four transports organized by the SS. Of the 9,161 Jews who had been living in the ghetto at the time of the evacuation, 1,775 men and women from Pruzhany entered the camp.