get information. It was also soon shown how many friends, even
among the Orthodox, your father had had. Many attempted to
help and deplored wholeheartedly what had happened. But the
weeks passed by and we were still without definite news. Though
certain persons showed up from time to time who supposedly
knew something.
Chosen People Ministries . chosenpeople.com | 31
THE GHOULS OF WAR
One told cold-bloodedly that he had seen how Feinstein, together
with many others, had been shot! You can imagine how such
stories shook us up! There also came a farmer from the nearby
district and told in detail that he had seen our father in a camp
near Jassy and had been sent to us by him in order to get all sorts
of necessities: money, underwear, and foodstuff. He gave us such
certain signs that we trusted him, and full of joy we handed him
all the desired articles. Soon we had to learn that he had been a
faker. In those days there were many of that kind who made use
of the misfortune of others to enrich themselves. How sorrowfully
those summer months dragged by! The children ceased to ask
where Daddy had gone. The bigger ones bore their share of
care and continued hoping with me. We were forced to take in
German soldiers for lodging. Our auditorium was cleared out and
covered with sawdust for the troops. For the officers, I had to put
two further rooms at their disposal. With it all, the presence of
these soldiers furnished us with a certain amount of protection;
for in those days there was much plunder and theft, even murder;
and I often felt insecure, so alone with the children. We were still
being bombarded and had our night quarters for well two months
constantly in the air-raid shelter. Yea, what did we not go through
in that terror-stricken war summer of 1941? You children, too, had
to wear the yellow star of David on your clothing, and with that
you were freely exposed to the scoffing and unpredictable moods
of the Roumanians. The main street and beautiful parks of the city
were not to be used by Jews or half-Jews anymore. On the market
and in the grocery stores, Jews were not permitted to shop before
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