make up the total number of detainees. Therefore, they detained the “good” Mr Weiss a second time and he almost spent two years in Transnistria and everyone just called him “Weiss - the fool”.
This case demonstrates the consequences of naivety when it came to assessing the enemy and the political situation. In times of arbitrariness and lawlessness, Weiss believed that the enemy had a sense of order and justice. He probably saw the deportation as something normal, something legitimate, perhaps even something just - as long as it did not affect him but “only” the Jewish communists.
Despite the fact that our relationship with the camp commanders had seemingly improved, we had to keep in mind that the situation could turn nasty at any time. We walked in the courtyard in pairs, usually a man and a woman, and observed the commanders’ every move. We reported anything suspicious to our leaders.
Tragedy of Paralysis and Hunger Strike
As the harsh Ukrainian winter was about to begin, we were given permission to collect planks and other material from an abandoned building. We built bunks, glazed the windows and even put an oven into each of the large rooms. We were allowed to make these improvements because, in the meantime, the commanders had been convinced that they were dealing with political prisoners and that they could not do whatever they liked.
On the 13th of October 1942, a miracle happened in Romania, the cause of which was not clear to me. Antonescu, the “head of state” stopped the deportations to Transnistria. Notwithstanding German pressure to continue with the systematic “final solution for the Jewish question”, reasons were given as to why this wasn’t possible. Either there was either a total lack of railway cars, locomotives and engine drivers, or the cars were needed for other transports.
These times, which were somewhat calmer, did not last long. As early as December 1942, the first cases of paralysis of the feet were reported in the Vapniarka camp. More and more internees were affected by the disease, especially those who had come from jail, because their condition was weak and they lacked resistance. The number of ill people increased every day and in February 1943 there were more than 600 cases. More than 20 internees in the camp were doctors. In the beginning, they were unable find the cause of the disease, but it became clear after a short time. Twice a day, they gave us forage peas (Lathyrus sativus) as a meal. These forage peas caused the paralysis of limbs and attacked the nervous system as well.
We remembered what they had clearly told us when we arrived at the camp and we demanded that Colonel Murgescu, the camp commander, immediately replace the forage peas which were poisoning us with healthy food. Subsequently, this was also demanded by people on the outside. There was great panic in the camp, but Colonel Murgescu refused our request. After that, our internal leadership ordered all internees to a meeting in pavilion II and the doctors demanded that we refuse to accept and consume these poisonous peas, because we would otherwise die a slow but certain death.
Naturally, we listened to the doctors’ advice, and this led to the Vapniarka hunger strike. It was a dangerous decision as it could have been interpreted as an uprising against the regime with all the expected consequences. But we were not afraid,
This case demonstrates the consequences of naivety when it came to assessing the enemy and the political situation. In times of arbitrariness and lawlessness, Weiss believed that the enemy had a sense of order and justice. He probably saw the deportation as something normal, something legitimate, perhaps even something just - as long as it did not affect him but “only” the Jewish communists.
Despite the fact that our relationship with the camp commanders had seemingly improved, we had to keep in mind that the situation could turn nasty at any time. We walked in the courtyard in pairs, usually a man and a woman, and observed the commanders’ every move. We reported anything suspicious to our leaders.
Tragedy of Paralysis and Hunger Strike
As the harsh Ukrainian winter was about to begin, we were given permission to collect planks and other material from an abandoned building. We built bunks, glazed the windows and even put an oven into each of the large rooms. We were allowed to make these improvements because, in the meantime, the commanders had been convinced that they were dealing with political prisoners and that they could not do whatever they liked.
On the 13th of October 1942, a miracle happened in Romania, the cause of which was not clear to me. Antonescu, the “head of state” stopped the deportations to Transnistria. Notwithstanding German pressure to continue with the systematic “final solution for the Jewish question”, reasons were given as to why this wasn’t possible. Either there was either a total lack of railway cars, locomotives and engine drivers, or the cars were needed for other transports.
These times, which were somewhat calmer, did not last long. As early as December 1942, the first cases of paralysis of the feet were reported in the Vapniarka camp. More and more internees were affected by the disease, especially those who had come from jail, because their condition was weak and they lacked resistance. The number of ill people increased every day and in February 1943 there were more than 600 cases. More than 20 internees in the camp were doctors. In the beginning, they were unable find the cause of the disease, but it became clear after a short time. Twice a day, they gave us forage peas (Lathyrus sativus) as a meal. These forage peas caused the paralysis of limbs and attacked the nervous system as well.
We remembered what they had clearly told us when we arrived at the camp and we demanded that Colonel Murgescu, the camp commander, immediately replace the forage peas which were poisoning us with healthy food. Subsequently, this was also demanded by people on the outside. There was great panic in the camp, but Colonel Murgescu refused our request. After that, our internal leadership ordered all internees to a meeting in pavilion II and the doctors demanded that we refuse to accept and consume these poisonous peas, because we would otherwise die a slow but certain death.
Naturally, we listened to the doctors’ advice, and this led to the Vapniarka hunger strike. It was a dangerous decision as it could have been interpreted as an uprising against the regime with all the expected consequences. But we were not afraid,
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