The Ghetto I watched the Jews build the Ghetto with their own hands. I
knew then that some horrific trap was being prepared. I kept a
diary, I checked all the facts, and I felt compelled to be everywhere and
see everything, even though this took me to some very dangerous
places. Some irresistable desire was pushing me to witness the
History. At times this desire placed me in situations dangerous to my own
life. On the outside, I was calm. I never gave any reason for suspicion
to the authorities, and --nder various pretexts-- I kept on visiting the
Ghetto.
I observed the life of the stifled Jewish community and I
returned to my studio, where I sketched compositions which I intended to serve
for future works in oil. I lived right next to the ghetto and
very close to the anti-aircraft observation point. One night I was awakened by
the rattle of a machine gun. In the morning, I saw a few corpses lying
before my windows. The same thing happened in other parts of the town.
The Jews realized that extermination was
approaching. They attempted a mass escape through the weakest
points in the fences, after preparing the way in advance. [However], it is highly likely that only one of them avoided death, because the
Germans had posted machine guns to guard all the weak points of the Ghetto.
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From that point on I began to carry a camera, which --unfortunately--
I never used at the right moment.
