Rybnitza, Grossulovo, Olgopol
In June 1943, an order was issued to release all those who had been deported without sentencing “into freedom”. Freedom meant returning home to us. However, the authorities had another definition of freedom. They deported this category of prisoners to ghettos where these prisoners could move around “freely” in a restricted space, guarded by the Romanian military. Prisoners who had been deported from Tirgu Jiu to Vapniarka were sent to the Grossulovo camp.
It may be that the internees were divided and sent to Olgopol ghetto, Grossulovo camp and Rybnitza jail because the authorities had recognised the power of unity among the internees and wanted to counteract it. Their motto was: “Divide et impera!” (“Divide and rule!”). The situation at the front certainly influenced this decision as well.
The German army’s decisive losses, which reached their peak with the capitulation of the 6th German army in Stalingrad on the 31st of January and the 2nd of February 1943 and with the Soviet army victory, underline this claim.
New, experienced leadership groups were formed in the three new units. The fate of those who had been deported to Rybnitza jail was especially tragic. On the 18th/19th March 1944, Vlasov’s troops killed them at night in a massacre. Laci Schönberger, the brother of my wife Zsuzsi, was among the victims. Only three prisoners survived, among them Matei Gall who has written a book about his deportation.
Life in the Olgopol Ghetto
We, who had been deported to the Olgopol ghetto, were actually accommodated in little houses and could at least move around freely in the alley which made up the entire ghetto. However, in this “free” space without fences or soldiers we were far more exposed to the authorities’ arbitrariness and the arbitrariness of retreating German and Romanian troops. During the entire period of our deportation, we were considered “fair game” and exposed to the threat of extermination at any time.
Nevertheless, our lives had changed fundamentally. The mere fact that we were able to move around freely in a street in a town gave us a good feeling and boosted our morale. We were in contact with ghetto inhabitants who had been living in their “better” houses in Olgopol for some time.
The ghetto inhabitants - about 150 when we arrived - were mostly elderly people, women and children. They were the survivors of approximately 700 inhabitants of the town and were in an indescribably desperate situation. We were told that many of them had been shot for something they had allegedly done and that they had to dig their own graves before their execution. Our group from Vapniarka began to look after the old ghetto inhabitants. For this reason, their lives improved as well.
Naturally, we also organised ourselves appropriately in Olgopol. Our leadership consisted of three comrades. They were the only ones to make decisions about what to do, and only the leadership was in contact with our police guards. A manageable unit was formed.
We, or rather the internees' committee, took over all organisational tasks which affected our lives and had previously been assigned to us by the police. This way, we were able to organise our lives without direct intervention by the “authorities”.
In June 1943, an order was issued to release all those who had been deported without sentencing “into freedom”. Freedom meant returning home to us. However, the authorities had another definition of freedom. They deported this category of prisoners to ghettos where these prisoners could move around “freely” in a restricted space, guarded by the Romanian military. Prisoners who had been deported from Tirgu Jiu to Vapniarka were sent to the Grossulovo camp.
It may be that the internees were divided and sent to Olgopol ghetto, Grossulovo camp and Rybnitza jail because the authorities had recognised the power of unity among the internees and wanted to counteract it. Their motto was: “Divide et impera!” (“Divide and rule!”). The situation at the front certainly influenced this decision as well.
The German army’s decisive losses, which reached their peak with the capitulation of the 6th German army in Stalingrad on the 31st of January and the 2nd of February 1943 and with the Soviet army victory, underline this claim.
New, experienced leadership groups were formed in the three new units. The fate of those who had been deported to Rybnitza jail was especially tragic. On the 18th/19th March 1944, Vlasov’s troops killed them at night in a massacre. Laci Schönberger, the brother of my wife Zsuzsi, was among the victims. Only three prisoners survived, among them Matei Gall who has written a book about his deportation.
Life in the Olgopol Ghetto
We, who had been deported to the Olgopol ghetto, were actually accommodated in little houses and could at least move around freely in the alley which made up the entire ghetto. However, in this “free” space without fences or soldiers we were far more exposed to the authorities’ arbitrariness and the arbitrariness of retreating German and Romanian troops. During the entire period of our deportation, we were considered “fair game” and exposed to the threat of extermination at any time.
Nevertheless, our lives had changed fundamentally. The mere fact that we were able to move around freely in a street in a town gave us a good feeling and boosted our morale. We were in contact with ghetto inhabitants who had been living in their “better” houses in Olgopol for some time.
The ghetto inhabitants - about 150 when we arrived - were mostly elderly people, women and children. They were the survivors of approximately 700 inhabitants of the town and were in an indescribably desperate situation. We were told that many of them had been shot for something they had allegedly done and that they had to dig their own graves before their execution. Our group from Vapniarka began to look after the old ghetto inhabitants. For this reason, their lives improved as well.
Naturally, we also organised ourselves appropriately in Olgopol. Our leadership consisted of three comrades. They were the only ones to make decisions about what to do, and only the leadership was in contact with our police guards. A manageable unit was formed.
We, or rather the internees' committee, took over all organisational tasks which affected our lives and had previously been assigned to us by the police. This way, we were able to organise our lives without direct intervention by the “authorities”.
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