The spread of epidemics looked set to wipe out the already decimated population when, in March 1942, people grouped together and with mutual encouragement began a huge clear-up operation. The effort for these malnourished people was superhuman, but together they found a shared sense of purpose and determination. Using improvized tools and sledges for removing the debris, the work was slowly, very slowly done, and it was carried out with immense pride. Vera Inber wrote of her greatest fear, ‘Not the bombing, not the shells, not the hunger – but a spiritual exhaustion.’ The effort – and final
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