Looking back, the question arises: why did we go along with it? Why didn’t we rebel against the orders to leave our home? This is a complex question in retrospect, but the answer is simple if we examine it through the perspective of those days. The German methods prevented insurrection or refusal very simply. The authorities took local Jewish leaders - community officials and rabbis - and held them hostage. They were placed under heavy guard and word spread throughout the city that if the Jews refused to evacuate their homes, the hostages - whom we all knew - would be killed immediately. The
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