On Friday, September 1 st , there was no longer any doubt; the war and its horrors were already raging before our very eyes. But all the roads were blocked. Tuesday we heard the call on the radio: All young men must try to get to Warsaw. We decided to try to get home together. It was a perilous journey. German planes were bombing the roads. They took me to their [Page ] army unit, gave me a loaf of bread and told me to keep running, because even the Polish army was in full retreat.
So we kept on running. And then, one awful night, both Hoch brothers were killed. During our flight we developed blisters on our feet, and having no way to heal them, they became more and more painful. As if to spite us, the heat during the golden Polish autumn was merciless. Evenings turned cool and we slept in the fields. The highway to Warsaw has been cut. The main roads were being used by the military. The first German tanks rolled into view: they were frightful.
Farber's son-in-law and I decided to head to Biala-Rowske. We arrived there on a Friday night. The Jews there made us welcome, but the general mood was low.
We rested only a few hours; we wanted to get to Szydlowiec as soon as possible. On the road we were stopped by German soldiers who asked us if we had seen any Polish tanks. I said no. My companion said yes. The soldiers started to beat me, but luckily the tanks appeared at that moment and they let me go. Sunday, we got to Radom, where I looked up an uncle of mine. They found clothing for us; by that time, whatever we were wearing was dirty and torn. The Jews there were in a panic; the Germans were settling in there as if they were planning to stay a long time.
They advised us to keep on going. By the time we go to Szydlowiec we were utterly exhausted. Everyone was happy to see me, of course; it was a miracle that I was still alive, but they were still worried about my father, whom the Poles had taken away somewhere. It was a day of miracles, however. His trip home had also been a dangerous one, but there he was, despite everything.
