Jack Diamond Shoah Foundation Testimony

April 26, 1996, interview with survivor Jack Diamond, D.I.A.M.O.N.D., his name was D-I-M-E-N-S-Z-T-E-I-N, Dimensztein. My name is Ben Nachman, N-A-C-H-M-A-N, conducted in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., in English. Can you give me your name, please?

Jack Diamond.

And what was your name before you immigrated to this country?

Zelik Dimensztein. Z-E-L-I-K, D-I-A-M-O... M-E-N-S-Z-T-E-I-N.

And when were you born?

June 26, '22.

And how old are you today?

74.

Jack, can you tell me about your life growing up before the war in Poland?

My mother was a housewife. My father was in cattle business. And I went to, as a very young, when I was about four or five years old, to heder. Then from heder, I went to a school called Tarbut. Bayit sefer Yehudi Tarbut. That was a Jewish school where we had to learn Polish. Everything that went in the secular plus religious things, in Hebrew.

What was the name of the town you were born in?

Dolhinow.

Can you spell that for me?

D-O-L-H-I-N-O-W.

And what cities were you located nearby?

The big cities what it was, we were between Vilna and Minsk, approximately in the middle.

How large a population were in Dolhinow?

Altogether, I assume it was 10-20,000? I don't know.

Was it a very large Jewish population?

Yes.

Did you live in an apartment?

No. We used to live in a house.

Was the house located in a Jewish area of the city?

Yes.

Who lived together with you in your house?

My parents, my sisters, three sisters. And also, there was a house that used to be rented out there, to a young couple.

Did you have a very large yard?

No.

And how religious was your family?

Very religious.

Can you describe a typical Shabbat with your family?

It was a common thing. The Shabbat was Shabbat. Friday was the preparing for the Shabbat. Friday night you went to the synagogue, came from the synagogue, said your prayers at supper. Shabbos morning was the same identical story. Went to the synagogue, came from the synagogue, had lunch, and then I used to go away and play with the kids. Sometimes we used to go and study quite often with a, whatever you want to call them, a teacher, rabbi. A religious man.

How were things economically for your family?

I would say pretty good.

Did you have a large family living in the area?

Yes, for my father's side and for my mother's side, in the same town. My father had in town, in town we had, he had two brothers and a sister living, and they have families.

Lots of cousins?

Yes, an awful lot of cousins. There was, but his sister had three boys and a daughter. The older brother, Aaron, had two boys and five daughters, and the older two were already married and they had kids. So we had a large family, yes, for my father's side. For my mother's side, in town, she had up there three brothers and one sister. One sister had six kids, and the older brother passed on, but his kids, they had only, the one was married only, and he had a son, and the younger brother had three kids, one didn't have any kids.

Did you have occasion when the entire family would get together?

Every day, we used to go to each other.

Did you live close together?

Yeah, within a walking distance, I would say approximately about three or four blocks.

Did you attend a synagogue?

Daily.

Was this a regular synagogue or was it a shtiple?

It was a regular synagogue, big synagogue.

Did you have any occasion to visit family outside of Dolhinow?

Yes. Yes, we had family in some other towns. Summertime on vacation, I used to go and visit them.

And how would you get back and forth when you would visit them?

Horse and buggy.

Economically, you say things were pretty good for your family?

For my family, yes.

How were you as far as your relationship with the non-Jewish population?

Very good.

Did you have non-Jewish neighbors?

Not too close to us. I would say about five blocks from us, yes.

But your relationship was good?

Yes, I knew them, they knew me. Of course I went to a different school than they used to go, but at the same time, we knew each other.

Did you have any interaction with the non-Jewish neighbors, any playing with them?

Not too much.

Can you tell me when things started to show signs of troubled times?

Troubled times started in 1939 when Russia and Germany went and were in Poland, and Russia marched in from one side and German from the other side, then when it all started.

Who came into your area?

Russia.

Can you tell me what life was like during that period of time?

I never understood the difference between communism and Nazism, but it was very bad, because as poor as Poland was, as poor as the life was there in Poland, when I said before, life was good for me, we had bread, we had potatoes, or something to it, and I called it good. And when they came, and if my father was in cattle business, he was a traitor to the government. We were on the list to be sent out to Siberia, although I wish they would now.

Did food become scarce during this period of time when the Russians were occupying your area?

I don't recall that much, because we had our own. So I would not call plus, even if we had to go to farms to get some, we knew a lot of people that we could get. So I don't recall anything that it was hard for me personally, for somebody else I don't know.

Was there any interruption with religious practices during this period?

Very much so. They closed up the synagogues right away, and that was it. You cannot go anymore. For working people that, let's say, shoemakers or tailors, they would not allow them to have a day off on the Sabbath, so they gave them on Mondays. And that was the same identical thing for Gentiles. They could not take off on a Sunday, but on a Monday.

Did you have any direct contact with any of the Russian soldiers?

No.

Was there any movement of people? Did they send some people to Siberia during this period?

Yes, they did.

Any of your family?

No.

Were these mostly business people?

No. We used to have, we used to have there like farmers. But they fought for Poland in the First World War, and then they distributed to them a lot of land. I can remember very vividly that in one night they cleaned them out, all of them, and sent them away to Siberia.

What did they do with the land?

The land was there. Whoever did won, did plow and got at something.

Was there any registration under the Russian administration?

You had to register who you are, yes.

As this time went by and we got closer to the time the Nazis invaded Russia, can you start to tell me what happened to your lives at that time?

The life changed again. When the war started between Russia and Germany, Russia went back. Germany went forward to Russia. And the second they start coming closer, they start killing people.

How soon after the beginning of the war did the Germans come to your city?

Within a week.

Can you tell me what happened then?

For a while we couldn't go out from the homes. Just sneak out sometimes, til they established a government in the city. And the government was, most of them, from local Christian people. And immediately, some of them, they took it away. We still don't know where they are. So a lot of them were killed. They used to take people to work. Every day we had to go for the Germans up there. There were stations clean them and work for them and do anything they told you to do.

Were you compensated for any of that work?

No.

Did the Germans know who the Jewish people were in the city?

Yes, because there was, they gave out a law that we had to have a yellow star in front on the left side of the upper arm and in the back on the right side. On your clothing.

Did you know any of the Polish people that were in the administration of the city at that time?

Some of them.

How were you treated by them?

I was a Jew. And they embraced the Germans, so how could I be treated by them? No better than a prisoner of war or worse yet. Much worse.

How did this affect the economic conditions of your family?

Very much. You didn't have what you did. You had to stay to go out from the city and go out to people what you knew from the farmers and get something.

Were you able to move about freely?

No. Everything was in hiding, secrecy, but not really, no.

What kind of work were the people forced to do at this time?

We didn't had running water. We didn't had any gas, stoves. Everything had to be like to chop wood and cut lumber for them. You had to do that. Clean their shoes, clean their homes, clean their equipment, whatever that is. Not guns. They didn't give you guns to clean. No. But whatever there was there, any labor that I could imagine to give it to you, you got it. When it was wintertime, we had to go and clean the snow by hand with shovels that the trucks would be able to go. So the highways had to be cleaned, and that was done by hand.

Did you hear anything about the progress of the war during this time?

No.

Did you know anything that was going on in the rest of Europe?

No.

Had you heard any rumors of what the Germans were doing anywhere?

Sometimes we used to hear what went on about 20 kilometers from us where they killed somebody. That's the only rumor that we used to hear, is bad ones.

How long did this particular time take before the Germans made changes in your daily life?

Well, the changes went immediately from the day they came in. But the way the big change was two days before Passover, when they eliminated, they burned out, took the Jews and put them in, in a barn and they burned. And they put out the barn on fire about half of the community.

Prior to this time, were you ghettoized or were you still living in your own home?

I was living in my home, but the home was in the ghetto. So I was in the ghetto, but in my home.

How soon after the Germans came did they form the ghetto?

Approximately about six months.

Was the ghetto in a small area?

Yes.

Were there Jews that lived outside of this area that were forced into this ghetto?

Some of them, yes.

Were any of the living quarters within the ghetto occupied by Polish people?

No.

It was all a Jewish area?

Right.

Was there any religious activity going on during this period while you were in the ghetto?

No. If it did go on, anything is in secrecy and in hiding for momentarily, like, supposed to pray. But that's about all.

How was the food situation as times progressed in the ghetto?

Very bad. Everybody was on their own. Whatever you could get, whatever you had, you tried to struggle from second to second.

How often were the Germans organizing where they deported people?

In a town like that, they took them about three times til they eliminated the town.

What was the total number of Jews approximately in the town before the war?

I do not recall exactly.

Was it largest percentage of the citizens of the city Jewish?

Yes.

What was your immediate reaction when you saw people being taken away?

To go away, to run away to the woods. And that was a hard thing because you didn't know where to go. So you listen if somebody else wants to go, if somebody else goes, or something this, something that. But most of them, had to go to work.

What specifically were you able to do as far as work was concerned during this time?

Whatever they told me. For instance, I, we went up there and they assigned us to go to a forest to put up 100 cubic meter logs. So we were up there about ten boys who went to cut a trees, chop them down, and put them up. And then it was the first aktion in the city, and they came after us in the evening undressed us naked on the snow. One boy, they took her away from us and they killed him. The rest of them, we managed ourselves to escape. And not the sheriff, I don't know what he was up there, he was the head of the village. He had the clothes, so we went back to him and he didn't have any ammunition and he gave us the clothes because we would take it already. We got it our clothes and we went farther away from there. And we walked about three days and I came to a man what I knew him on the farm. Me and my cousin up there, it was another man that was with us. And in the morning, we asked him to go and see if anybody from the family is still alive in the city. He went and he found my father. And he told him that we are alive and we are by him. And my father told him to tell me to come home. In the evening, we went on our journey. Nighttime we came home. It was still snow. It was Pesach time. As a matter of fact, it was the first seder. Snow was red. When I came home, I found out that the family is gone. And in the morning, I went with my father and we buried the ashes. That was the first thing. And then they took again the head up there, a labor camp called Gaginian.

Can you spell that for me?

The way it was spelled up there was K-N-I-A-G-I-N. And they took my sister up there and I went back to work outside again. I didn't like to stay in the ghetto. My sister got sick and she got swollen up there. And somehow the Jewish Judenrat walked out with the Germans that they will allow the sick people to come back to the ghetto if somebody will go and replace them. My mother got me word about that. And I told her that I'll go to replace her. And I did came back and I joined the group to go back to replace the sick people up there. And that was the last time I saw my mother.

You said that when you came back to your father's, to your home, and you had to bury ashes, can you tell me who in your family had been killed at that time?

In my immediate family was just dad and mom and my sister. I had two more sisters. They were gone already before. But my father's two brothers with his families, sister and the family. My mother's sister's whole family, the brother's whole family. When I say the whole family, I'm talking already, there was already grandkids. So there were large families on both sides of the family. They were going off with a lot of people.

Then later on, when you came back and you volunteered to replace your sister.

Yes.

Can you tell me more about that?

I went to that camp. And we were working, going everyday. They used to let us out with a gun, bring us in back with a gun, in barbed wire all the way around. And then they had another aktion, and my mother was killed. When I found out that my mother is killed, I gave up to my father that he should disappear from the ghetto, because I am going to disappear from here, too. But I never heard anything from my father. So it took me about a couple of weeks, and I decided I'm going and I left. I managed myself to go away from there. And we left, and I didn't know where he is, so actually I went back to the ghetto to see where my father is. When I came back to the ghetto, I didn't find my father because he took my sister and my cousin, one of his brothers' daughters, left. And they left. I had a hunch where I may find them, but I couldn't leave the ghetto, because they used to shoot around the ghetto at nighttime. But one day I decided that on a life I am going, and that's it. I cannot stay here anymore. So I took a couple of guys with me to take them out. It doesn't matter how far that was a day before the liquidated the whole ghetto. And I went and I found my father.

Did you have any idea of how your mother was murdered in the ghetto?

Yes. She was shot right by our house.

Was your father present at that time?

My father was hiding. When I left, when I left to go away to the woods, we dig. Me and my father, we dug out underneath the house and it was like a, you would call it here, like a basement, but actually it was a plain hole. And when they started shooting the action, there was my father, my sister. There was about 10, 15 people were hiding in that hole up there. My mother was with them, lack of water, air, and so on. My mother, after a couple more ladies, girls, decided to go out and go to the attic, maybe.

Tape 2 interview with Jack Diamond, Jack you were telling me your mother left this hiding place to find water.

Yes, and they went in in the house in the attic and then as I understand from what I heard because I wasn't there, there was some local boys with Germans, but they went searching for everybody in the homes And they found my mother and them they took them down and they shot them right by the door caught in cold blood. Til today, I don't know where my mother's bones are.

Was it shortly after this time then that you left the ghetto?

Yes.

Can you tell me where you went?

When I came to the ghet. . . when I left the ghetto I went searching for my father and I went on a farm, but I thought I'll find them, but I did find them. Came up there it was already daybreak, and we stood up there the day. The next day they eliminated the ghetto all together, they killed off everybody. In the evening even from that farmer we went in into the woods.

Was the woods very far away?

No. Up there the wood is Within couple kilometer.

Who were you with when you went into the woods?

When I went first I went with my father, my sister, and my cousin we go, and she lives now in Israel.

And can you tell me what happened then after you went into the woods?

Life in the woods, it's not to go on a pleasant thing you're hungry your [body] is flying and you are afraid for it because you don't know who comes, any movement disturbs you. There is no food beside what you can go maybe during the summer you find couple berries. Who you pick. Nighttime we used to go out sometimes and go away to people what we knew them farmers some of them used to give us couple potatoes and a piece of bread and some of them even didn't do that either.

How were you treated by some of these people that you knew?

It all depends, some of them that I knew treat me very nice and some of them very rough.

Were you with any other people besides your immediate family?

For awhile, no. Later on we found more people where we got together.

Can you tell me about your life at that time?

There was no life you try to... You exist from second to second not to from hour to hour because you don't know what the next hour will bring to you. And hour went by, it's fine. You are waiting for the night more than the day, at the night you could move little bit. Daytime was terrible. You're afraid somebody will see you somebody will come somebody will see and so on.

What time of year was this that you went into the woods?

During the summer.

How long were you in this wooded area before you got together with other people?

Couple months.

Was this a larger group that you came together with?

There was... larger groups than we alone, yes.

Were these mostly people from your town?

Some people from our town, yes.

Had you heard rumors then about what had taken place in other ghettos?

No.

Were there any contact with the Polish people at this time?

No.

Were there any non-Jews in this wooded area?

No. Later on I did find some people, but they were actually, prisoners of wars from the Russian army but they escaped and they took place to the woods and sooner I tried to join them which I joined them.

Were these armed soldiers?

Some of them did had a rifle some of them didn't had.

And you joined them as Partisan organization?

Um hum.

Did this organization have a name?

Yes Zelezniak, Z-E-L-E-Z-N-I-A-K

Was that a Polish word?

No, that wasn't a Polish- that was a Russian. As As I understood and I may be wrong, that there was in the first world war was a man by the name of Zelezniak. And they adopted his name. For one reason or another I don't I don't know.

Did this Partisan group organize you into a fighting unit?

Yes.

Can you tell me about that?

We used to go nighttime, on try to, we later on used to get already the dynamite and so on so you used to go dynamite the railroads tear them up. Never bother them at the the population, never bother men women and children. We never bother them, beside coming to ask something to eat.

Where was this dynamite coming from?

Some of them you used to get them from the Germans, if you were able to attack them. Some of them later on we had contact with Russia and they used to wrap us up ammunition.

Were you armed at this time?

With a rifle.

And where were you able to get your rifle?

From a German.

Can you tell me about a typical evening out with the Partisans?

You go to do the job and you come right back. It's a, like they say here hit and run. You cannot you cannot stand up against anybody because you don't have the the ability. You don't have the... the backup you don't have anything with that. So whatever you can to to tear it up to break it up you do it.

How did the Polish countryside treat you knowing that you were a partisan?

Actually where I was there was White Russia not Poland and then people I didn't have much what to do with them. I tried to avoid them. I didn't come to rob them. I didn't come to kill them. I had people that I knew them better. I used to come to visit them sometimes yes and they used to give me a piece of bread.

On these groups that you would go out with on a mission, were they very large groups?

In the beginning, no, we used to go out about three four people at a time. Later on in... about a year or before the end of the war two years before the end of the war we used to go lot then, because we used to take on bigger missions.

Did you have a large group of partisans where you were located this group you were in?

Yes.

How large was it?

I never, I would say in the thousands.

They were all in the same wooded area?

The woods, they are big and I was in about about hundreds of kilometers, they were spreaded out.

Were these partisans made up primarily of Jews and Russians?

Most of them Russians.

Were you treated, badly by the Russians?

No.

Did they know that you were Jewish?

Yes.

Did the Jews tend to stay to stay together?

Not necessarily, no.

In this group in the forest were there any women or children?

In the beginning yes, and then when we approached fall they took the women and children and elderly and try to march them, on a long march on the other side of the front lines back deeper in Russia.

During this time were you with any members of your family?

Til they left, til my father went to go over the lines. I was, I saw him my sister quite often. Soon as they went I didn't see anybody no.

Did you completely lose track of your father and your sister at this time?

Yes. I knew that they are dead, so did they, had word that I was dead.

How long did this go on when you were separated from this and, you assumed that they were no longer living?

About couple years.

And during all this time you were with the partisans?

Yes.

How wide an area did you cover in your partisan activity?

I would take a guess and I would say approximately about... 100 to 200 kilometer.

Did you have a commander?

Yes.

Do you remember any of the commanders of your organization?

There's one name Timchuk I don't know even how he spells his name, but the rest of them I forgot already it's a long time.

Was he a Russian soldier?

Yes, yes.

And had escaped from the Nazi captivity?

I assume so.

Were you able to converse with the Russians?

Yes.

You could speak Russian?

I spoke much better than now.

How about your food at this time were you able to get by on the food?

You have to get by. You eat what you can find if you find enough potatoes, and you fill up yourself, and that was a very good meal. If you find some times some, a cow you can butcher up, and it was a better meal. And that way you live from day to day from hour to hour.

Did the... Organization that you were with did you move around a great deal?

Very much so yes.

Over this area that you described?

Right.

At any time were you attacked by the Germans?

Many times.

Can you give me a typical example of, sabotage operation against actual German...?

You go away, for instance, most of them what you can do is tear up railroad tracks, so you find out where most of them the railroad tracks go, but I send more most ammunition to the front lines. You go up there, you're hiding the woods til you come up there in a certain place get dark, watch out if nobody is there, put up your dynamite put up a match to the little cord, and it takes it up and you run. You don't wait for anybody.

Did you ever have an occasion to go back to salvage anything from the damage?

No.

You left the area?

You go away, you're happy that you are alive still.

Can you give me an idea were you well organized in the woods?

Yes.

Did you have a certain job to do other than going out on a mission?

No, you didn't have any jobs to do. No, you could not go and rob anybody you couldn't go you to rape anybody.

You couldn't go steal something from somebody.

Yes, you were allowed if I didn't had a pair of shoes and somebody else had a pair of shoes I was allowed to take them, or a jacket or pants. I was not allowed to take a woman's dress. If I would take a woman's dress, I would get a bullet in my head.

So you had strict discipline within this organ-?

Oh yes, you had to live with the people, you were allowed to take necessities. But not to take something for the sake of taking.

During most of this time, how far were you away from your hometown?

Actually, I was not away too much. I would say approximately about, between 50 and 100 kilometer.

Did you have any occasion while you were a partisan to return to your hometown?

During the war?

Yes.

Once.

Was that on a mission?

That was on a mission.

And what was that mission?

In town, there was a German, German base. And we were going to we were going to attack that base. So when we came around the base with, we put up the town on fire. And whatever we could, eliminate we eliminate and the night is getting short. Until you come til you have to go then you run, you cannot hold on a front line.

Were the Germans pretty adamant as far as attacking your organization?

If they could they would, if they knew where you are they would. Once a year, they used to take off a whole brigade, from the front lines, and come at us.

Were you able to escape deeper into this wooded area?

We used to, yes.

What was the Germans feeling about going into the woods to try to... stop you?

I don't know their feelings, but I have a hunch they, they wouldn't go to go far in the woods, because to go up there with things first of all, it's wood, it's forest. You cannot go through the trees. Second of all, most of them that we, use to be muddy places that you cannot drive through. Even to walk was hard to walk. And most of all, when you live in the woods, you are just like an animal the animal knows you, their place in the wood. We knew every tree where we walk. If you don't live there, you don't know. So you may stay right next to the tree and you walk on and you get a bullet.

What kind of sleeping conditions did you have while you were in the woods?

Wherever you stay you lay down and you sleep, right on the floor.

You had no permanent caves or holes in the ground?

The first year we dug out some caves, yes. Later on, later on we got bigger already. We used to live little bit in homes too in villages. We used to occupy a village.

How are you treated by the people in some of these villages?

Very nicely. Because they didn't see any Germans up there where I was. They saw us we occupy that thing. We would fight against to let in the Germans there. So they didn't- whatever they thought themselves I don't know, but they didn't had any other way how, what to do. They had to let us come into their lives.

Was this organization primarily made up of the Russians and the Jewish people?

I would say that 99% Russian, or maybe a little bit more yet. Jews, unfortunately, it was very few.

How about Poles, were there any Poles?

Not, not where I was. If it was one or two, which I don't, I didn't know that he's Pole or whoever he was.

Did you have any occasion to work with other partisan organizations? Coordinate activities?

No. No, everybody, was for on their own on their own.

Were you ever attacked by planes while you were in the forest?

Yes.

Was that pretty destructive?

That is, but that, as I hear on the news today planes today and planes what used to be that time, that was different, you're going into the forest and the plane cannot see you where you are. Even if they drop a bomb, you don't, they don't know where you are and you don't know where the where the bomb was.

For how long a period were you lo- located with this organization in the forest?

About three years.

During this time. Did you have any information about what has was taking place in Europe?

No.

Any rumors at all?

No.

Did you think that what had happened in your town was much, was pretty much localized rather than a general situation?

No, I knew because I met some people from other places too that it was the same identical thing. So we had an idea that, that what it is.

Had you heard anything about concentration camps at that time?

I did not.

As the war started to wind down, w- how did you become aware that things were changing?

We did not. Til we were, liberated I suppose you have to say it or we met each other with the Russian army.

And how did they treat the partisans?

Good.

Did the partisans continue to fight at that time?

Some did some was sent to work on the railroad stations from other places.

And what happened to you?

I went to work.

Where did they send you?

Minsk.

Doing what kind of work?

Railroad. Railroad jobs, to put up the lines, the tracks.

At that time were you aware of what had taken place in Minsk as far as the Jews were concerned there?

No, I didn't go to find out, I knew there is nobody there. So, we didn't go to find out anything about it.

How long after you were in Minsk did you attempt to go back to your home?

Within a month. They wouldn't give me anything to eat they promised me to give me a kilo Bread, noontime soup, and in the evening tea. I never seen the soup, I never seen the tea, I had my ration card I used to go and take a piece of bread it was like a piece of rock, and I remember very vividly there used to be a pump with water and I used to stay by the pump, it took me two seconds, I swallowed up the piece of bread and I was hungry all day long. So later on I decided that's no life I'll go home, and I'll see. So actually I deserted. And I went.

Now how did you go to you home?

By... with my feet.

And how far distance was it?

Approximately about eighty, ninety kilometer.

At this time were you aware of anyone surviving?

From my family?

Yes,

No.

What did you find when you came back to your hometown?

I found, my lovely wife.

Did you know her before the war?

Yes I did.

And she had survived?

She and her sister and her father did survive yes.

And who else did you find?

At the moment that that's about all.

Did you have any information at all of your father and your sister?

No, not yet.

How late in the war was this?

That was already the end of 1944. I met in Minsk a man, where he, he told me that he saw my father and he knew he had the address and he gave me an address. And I went and I took out one ration bread for a day and there used to be a black market and I threw the bread to the black market, and I sold it, and with the money I sent a telegram. I thought I sent the telegram to my father because he told me which I did which it was. And about a month later approximately I met my father and my sister.

Was, you, when you sent this telegram were you still working for the Russians in Minsk?

No- yes.

And where did you send the telegram? Where did you have an address for your father?

My father was in Siberia.

And did he receive your telegram?

Yes.

And can you tell me about that reunion?

I didn't know that my father is coming. They came by railroad, about 15 kilometer from Dolhinow they came to Budslaw where there was a little town there was a railroad. And my sister managed to come before him the same day, but she had a ride she came and she did find me outside, a metal, and she told me that my father is behind. I took a horse and bug- buggy went to meet him and I saw an old man, walking, I was hesitating to recognize him. Because the last time I saw him he had dark hair, and teeth, here I met the man with white hair, no teeth, cannot be him. Finally we convinced each other that's we. So I met him right in middle, in middle the highway. Halfway, I was, I came in, from one side and he came from the other side.

Had to be a very joyous reunion.

Yes.

And a sad reunion.

Yes. I remember the first night we went to sleep and we slept. My neighbor at the time, gave us a bed. He put me up on his chest, kissing me and he was scared saying you're all that I have left.

What kind of work was your father doing when he was in Siberia?

As I understand it was working in the factory.

Was this because he was able to, escape into the rear areas after the ghetto had been destroyed?

That's because he had to work to make a living. You have to go to work, because the, the larger population w- went to war.

No, I mean when he left the ghetto,

Yes.

and walked toward the Russian the back part of Russia.

Yes.

did they pick him up then and send him to Siberia?

I would imagine so.

And he was with your sister, during this period?

Yes, yes.

The two of them were together then?

Yes.

So they had no idea that you had survived at this time?

As a matter of fact from my knowledge what they told me they had, they had some kind of way information that I got killed. So I was a surprise to them that I'm alive.

Tape 3 interview with Jack Diamond. Jack, how long had it been since you had last seen your father when you were reunited?

About two and half years.

Can you recall when you when you parted?

Yes, that was in 1942 when they start, when the partisans start sending all the people women and children to go deeper into Russia, behind the front lines. We were expecting a harsh winter. And I got sick on the typhus. So I was in the woods laying under a tree. No medicine, no shelter, no food. No clothes nothing. Nighttime, they tell me that I used to carry on all kind of... things, I didn't know what goes on with me. But daytime I used to come back to my senses, because the fever, the fever used to drop. I knew that they are trying to make the journey. My father didn't want to leave me. And I remember very vividly what I told them. You should take my sister and my cousin. And go, and forget about me. But that I'm going to. Because if I'll die, he cannot stop me. If I'll survive I cannot stay with him either. So he has an opportunity to go, go. And I remember when he left me under the tree, I did had... my mother's... from sheep skin jacket. He covered me up with that jacket. He kissed me and he left me. And I was under the tree. About a day or so later. I heard that they were attacked, which they were. And I thought that they're gone, in that attack my fever broke and I start feeling better, but very very weak. I didn't had anybody to bring me some food give me some food. So I start crawling away from that place where I was and crawl away deeper in the woods to find berries. Which I did. For several days, I used to live on the berries, finally I find a horse, and I climbed up on him, and I went to people what I knew, and they gave me a little bit flour, piece of bread, potatoes. I came back to my place. Got a little bit stronger and I joined my my boys.

At this time were you all alone Jack?

Yes.

You were alone. So from that time when you left your father it had been about two and a half years since you had seen one another.

42, 43, 44, yeah.

What did you find when you got back to your hometown?

A diaster. 90% of the town was burned and broke and gone. As far as Jews, all that was up there myself. A wife a sister and a father. And that's about all.

Did your cousin survive with your father?

Yes.

Your cousin and your sister?

Yes.

And you were all together at this time?

Not yet.

Who was with you?

Me.

You were just by yourself. How long did you remain until the rest of the family gathered there?

Couple months.

How were you treated by the people of the city?

To be honest I didn't pay much attention how well they treat me. They were they were... The, the shoe changed now they were afraid for me. They were under the Germans with the Germans, when I was against the Germans. So that was already a different ballgame, they- I had different feelings toward them because they took part by destroying us, positively. But as far as them treating me bad, they didn't treat- at this time, but I don't know was it from fear, that they didn't treat me bad or what, but they didn't treat me bad.

Was there any food available at this time?

Not to go buy, no. Somebody gives you some food.

But the farmers that had sheltered you at the beginning of the time when you first left the ghetto, were you able to make contact with them?

I did, yes.

And did they treat you well?

Very well.

How long did you remain in Dolhinow?

Approximately about a year.

And what were you doing during this period of time?

Nothing.

Your family was together at this point?

Yes my father came. And we did plant some potatoes, and we lived off from those things, yes.

Was your original home destroyed?

I would call it, yeah, the home was standing but everything was broke out, the windows, the doors, the ceilings, everything tear'n apart.

Where did you live during this time?

My uncle's house, was there. So we lived in that house.

Had it been ransacked?

Everything yes.

When did you decide to leave Dolhinow?

Immediately.

Did you have any idea where you wanted to go?

No.

Can you describe what happened from this point on?

We went to Poland. And from Poland we went to Germany.

Where did you go in Poland?

Lodz.

Were you there very long?

No.

Were you able to find out what had happened or what had taken place in the Lodz during this period?

You meet people, you know that there is nobody left, you find remnants, couple people where they came from the ghettos where they came from the concentration camp.

Was it during this period that you started to learn about the concentration camps?

When I came to Lodz, yes.

And how long did you remain in Lodz?

Couple weeks.

And then where did you go?

Germany.

Where did you go in Germany?

Berlin.

Was this to get to the American zone is that. . .

Yes.

what you were trying to do? And what did you, where did you go there in Berlin?

There used to be a camp, Schlachtensee. We came up there and from that camp they send us to Frankfurt am Main, and we came to Frankfurt and practically the same day they send us to Hessisch Lichtenau, but there I was already couple years, til I left there.

What were your feelings going into Germany knowing that you were going into the country of the people that had persecuted your family?

The feelings of the Germans they, I didn't change now and yet, very bad naturally because they destroyed my life and the life of my family and the life of my people. But you have to be there you have to be there, but no, I didn't want to stay there I did want to go farther, whatever I did no.

Were you with your father, your sister?

Yes.

Your future wife at this time?

Yes.

And you went to this, to a displaced persons camp?

Yes.

How long did you remain in that camp?

About two and half years.

At that time were you making any effort to go to any certain country?

We did want to go to America because my father had here two sisters.

Were you able to make contact with these sis- with your father's sisters?

Yes.

To let them know that you were still alive.

Yeah.

Did they then attempt to bring you to this country?

Yes.

What did you do while you were in this displaced persons camp?

Actually, you don't do nothing, but, later on you find that someplace they had to go cut wood for the camp. So we used to go, otherwise, you don't do anything.

Were you treated well during this period? In which way?

In which way?

As far as given food and so on.

The American [Unclear] used to give us food. I do thank him for that very much.

Was there any organization of Jewish life in this camp?

The HIAS, American HIAS, yes.

And you were starting to realize at this point the tragedy that had befallen the Jewish people?

Unfortunately, we got used to it already because, it's already a couple years and you live in that daily. And I'm still living with the tragedy.

When did you arrive in the United States?

February 27, 1949.

And you went to where, to New York?

We came to New York.

To the, to your aunts then at that time?

No, I came to New York with my wife.

Oh you had gotten married?

I got married already.

In the displaced persons camp?

Yes, and we came to New York, and my wife's... father's, the cousin, picked us up. And took us to New Haven, Connecticut, and we came to New Haven, Connecticut and we were there about a month three weeks or a month. I contacted our relatives here, in Omaha. I remember where we were when my uncle told me through the telephone he's a sick man. Can it come that you want to meet me and he did send me... $20 a check, and a one-way ticket by the railroad. He want to meet me, so we, we came. And here I am.

Did your father and your sister come to this country at the same time?

No, they came later.

And when you came to Omaha, what kind of work did you do?

My first job was the Metropolitan Utilities District.

And doing what kind of work?

Labor work.

How long did you work there?

About... four years, four or five years.

Then what did you do?

Actually, I went back to New Haven, Connecticut, I had some other plans to what to do up there maybe I can work but that didn't, worked out so I came back to Omaha. And I found a job at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. And I'm still there.

Still working at the same job then?

Right.

When you reflect back Jack on your life growing up in Poland, your time in the partisans, then meeting your wife again when you came home marrying and coming to this country. Do you have a message? That you can gather from all that?

I don't know what kind of message I could have. Unfortunately, my life, and hundreds of others like mine, there's no message to leave there, no message to give them. We have to try to rebuild our nation. Our people. I always was a proud Jew. I fought for that, still am, and I'm, the best message that I have, we raised a family... Thank God it went the right way. And when the time will come for me, the pot is full. I know now, to carry on our Jewish tradition. that I leave good kids...

Jack if we could assemble all of your grandchildren right now in a room, and you could leave them with just one thought what would that one thought be? Something that you would like to have your grandchildren remember you for.

Be good and a strong Jew, and help anybody you can. Help your fellow man.

Jack I want to thank you In behalf of the Survivors of the Shoah of Visual History Foundation for allowing us to come into your home and to tap into your memories, many unpleasant, many pleasant but with the love that you've been able to show to your family. Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming.

Jack, can you tell me who this is in this photograph?

Them are my father's parents. My Grandparents. His name was Abba Her name was Faigy Hinda.

Do you have any idea where this picture was taken?

I don't. I assume it was at home in Dolhinow.

Do you have any idea when it was taken?

No I don't.

How were you able to get this photograph?

My aunt had it here, and when she departed, died, the kids gave it to me the picture.

Can you tell me about this photograph?

Yes. That is my mother and her family. From left is my mother, Eska Feigel. Her father my grandfather Motke Leib. Next to him is the brother Zelick. In the middle is a brother Herschel, the youngest one is a brother Meisel Moshe. Then is my grandmother their mother Freide and to the right of her is a daughter, they are my aunt Ruchel Leia.

Do you know where this photograph was taken?

That's way before I was born even.

Can you tell me about this photograph?

Yes, that's my immediate family. From left is my mother Eska Feigel. The little girl is my sister Sonja. I am behind her. Zelick, and that's my father Leibe. Zelick, and that's my father Leibe.

Your father and your sister and yourself were able to come to this country. Is that correct?

That's correct.

Do you know when this photograph was taken?

I don't remember even, But it was taken in Dolhinow.

Jack can you introduce your wife for us?

Yes, this is my lovely wife Mindel. Its going to be, this summer, August 20th that we are 50 years together.

That's a wonderful thing. You've had a wonderful life together haven't you since the day you were reunited in Dolhinow.

Yes.

Is there anything you would like to add as the parents and grandparents of such a lovely family?

We got married, when we were very young. My wife was very much younger than I am. Plus five years. We struggled together, we raise a beautiful family together. I couldn't find a better mate in my life if I would want to. I love you, honey.

And Mrs. Diamond, what do you have to say?

Well just about the same, that we are fortunate to have such a wonderful family and we have wonderful grandchildren and they are giving us lots of pleasure and we hope we'll continue to have that pleasure from them as long as we will live and we should only be together with much health and happiness.

To our children and grandchildren with love.