The Roundup at the Ostra Mogila Forest

In July of 1943, the well-known partisan group under the command of General Kolpak was surrounded and crushed in the vicinity of Delatyn in the Carpathian Mountains.

Under the orders of the Soviet command, their remnants, divided into small units, began to track back to their initial bases deep in Russia. By the end of July, several of these partisans stopped by in the Ostra Mogila Forest. They participated with us in the raid on an estate in the village of Torowka. Afterward, the Germans organized a roundup in the forest. Toward evening, we heard the sound of a trumpet and immediately realized that we were surrounded. We found ourselves in a young, but dense wood which gave us good protection. The Koflers, a husband and wife, two partisans and I hid behind a boulder which protected us from the bullets, at least from one direction. We were ambushed, fun of fear, and we saw death before our eyes. Our only wish was not to be caught alive but to die from the bullets.

Voices of the Germans calling to one another became clearer and clearer. Suddenly, a hatless SS officer, with his revolver in hand, ran behind us but did not notice us. In front of us, two silhouettes of policemen appeared. The partisans loaded their guns. We waited, tense and fearful, aware of the fact that these were the last moments of our lives. The two policemen, to see better through the dense trees, strained their heads through the growth. Both partisans shot at them and we saw the policemen fall to the ground. Wild shooting erupted all around us. But after a while, the shooting stopped. It became dark and quiet. We were sure that the Germans would put guards around this part of the forest and in the morning would begin the roundup again. Trying to save our lives, we decided to run to another part of the forest. When it became completely dark and quiet, we formed a single-file to get to the road. To avoid the crackling of the dry leaves and branches, each step that we took had to be careful and well executed. It seemed like an eternity before we reached the road across from where the taller trees grew. We did not see or hear anyone. One behind another, we ran into the older forest.

It turned out that the Germans caught only one of us, Dolek Tennenbaum, while they themselves suffered two casualties - one killed and one wounded. They returned to Skalat the same day. Next day, they publicly hanged Dolek and buried the dead policeman.

Translated from Polish by Adam Kanarek
Hillel (Henek) Weinberg
Israel, 1992

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