Post on 15-Feb-2020
Interview with Exequiel ben Dov Pollak
August 13, 2009
Interviewer: Karen Codner
Exequiel ben Dov Pollak was born in 1924 in Rumania, in a town called Borsa Maramures. The town had
3,000 inhabitants. The Jews lived in the lowlands and the gentiles in the mountains. Relationship with
the gentiles. Arson destroyed ¾ of the Jews’ wooden houses. Aid arrived after the fire had consumed it
all. (The Iron Guard was behind it. Cadriano (?) Was at its head.) Jews lived better because they did not
drink their income. Games children played Shabbat. Yiddish only spoken at home. Grandparents also
spoke Hungarian because the town was near Hungary. Exequiel’s bar mitzvah.
Father had two other brothers and a sister: 41 people of his family died in the Shoah, including the
paternal grandmother and aunts and children. They were all shot to death in front of their home.
Exequiel’s childhood. He was orphaned of both parents by the age of 4. He was raised by his loving
paternal grandparents. Grandfather. He lived with them until the age of 13.Public school, heder. More
examples of cruelty against the Jews. Short yeshiva sojourn (he was reading Max and Engels (!) before
he was expelled.
At the end of 1939, at age 13, maternal grandparents took over as had been agreed. They were from
Bukovina, from the city Gura Humorului. Shock at seeing civilization and a more modern life (electricity,
cars.) Grandparents had a textile plant, and Exequiel helped some. In 1940, Russians entered Chernivtsy.
He was offered to go to a university, where he was to study for three years. Money was offered. He
went. 20 train cars full of Jews (about 2,000) departed. Russians with accordions greeted them. Slogans:
“Hail to the Revolution”;” Hail to the Proletariat”;” Hail to comrade Stalin”. Everyone was happy. “Lomir
alle …khaym, ya, ya…far dem khaver, khaver Stalin, ya ya ya ya.” They were given lists of items to take
(against the cold, for example.) They took very few things, in backpacks. The happy train ride. The
barracks were ready. Russian food (potatoes and milk cooked in the oven.) In three days time they were
going to the last destination to study, as per contract. The leaders were two Russians and a German. (In
Bukovina they spoke German.) After the three days, they were taken to the station where a train of 20
cars (and two locomotives!) was waiting. It was a cattle train with bunk beds. Food consisted of
sardines, hard‐boiled eggs, 250 grams of bread and hot water. Also some soup. They travelled 23 days!
Many died of dysentery. Many were left on the way, and sent to replace soldiers in factories. When they
asked about their studies, the people in charge (Russians) claimed not to understand the questions.
Exequiel arrived in a place Chevarkul e Kostriende (?), to build wooden houses on dirt. Many died
because of inadequate clothing and food. After three days he was transferred to the Urals, to
Chelabinsky (?) to a” tractor” factory that ended up being a tanks’ factory! He was given heavy clothes
(Ch.T.Z.) Winter was very harsh. Exequiel got sick, had a fever. Doctors pronounced him well enough to
work. He couldn’t work as he felt too weak. Went back to his barrack. Missed two days of work. He was
ordered to an office. After a long time, a soldier took him to a large room, full of workers of the factory.
http://collections.ushmm.org Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection
This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy.
Presiding the group were three officers. It was a trial. He was condemned to 8 years in jail for
abandoning his job during the war. He was to be an example to the other workers present. He was taken
to prison immediately. He was first imprisoned in Chilevinske(?) together with 600‐700 prisoners .There
were 3 small barred windows on top of the wall; one lamp in the middle. Overly crowded iron bunk
beds. Stench was unbearable. Teaching German to another inmate and learning Russian. They found a
job in the kitchen for Exequiel, from 7a.m. to noon. Stealing food for the barracks. The library.
One day he was sent to the North Pole to a place called Barkuta. (50 degrees centigrade’s under zero.)
When temperature was that low, they did not go to work. But if it was 40 under zero, they did. Another
job was to hollow a mountain, not known for what purpose. He worked in cutting trees down. Selections
there consisted in checking if there was some muscle left in the thighs. If there wasn’t, the inmate was
sent to rest for a couple of weeks. Exequiel was not so fortunate. He was there for 4 years. One day,
news arrived that his punishment was reduced. About 8,000 were freed out of 60,000. They were given
some money and were sent to their place of work again. They left on sleds for about 200 km. Then, they
took a real passenger train. He decided to escape. Every night he decided which train to go where, but
always in the direction of Chernovitz. He wandered for over 20 days, including Moscow. It was
November 7, the day of the revolution. He saw Stalin and all of them from a block away. Continuing his
quest, he climbed on another cattle train and saw it was full of weapons and a soldier watching them.
He hit him with the back of his rifle. Arrival in Chernovitz. Trying to locate the house of his relatives he
jumped the fence of the park, laid on a bench and fell asleep until the next day, at 3p.m. He found the
house but a woman asked him in Ukrainian what he wanted. Pollak family reunion. Exchanging their life
stories. Aunt Perla Pollak managed to get him false papers, by the name of Katz and then Kalisher to
leave Seret. In Rumania. Then, he went to his family in Gura Humorului. There, he decided to go to
Israel. Training in face‐to‐face combat (with sticks) to go to Israel. Moving to Bulgaria to board two
illegal ships (Pan York and Pan Kresh (?) that were going to take them to Israel. 15,000 were set to go. In
the Burgas port, Bulgaria, they waited for the passengers arriving from Rumania. Singing Hatikva at
boarding. Exequiel worked in the kitchen (with just food tins) Meeting his cousin Yosel Pollak with his
family. Spotted and surrounded by four British ships and taken to Cyprus, where he was separated from
his newly found relatives. Exequiel stayed there between 1947‐1949. Learning to shoot there, in
preparation for the Haganah.He was a judo trainer: had over 100 students. Meeting an uncle, Moises,
whose wife and 4 children were murdered in Auschwitz. Arrival in Israel, in a nucleous formed in order
to be in a kibbutz. They went to Givat Brenner. Worked in the kibbutz juice factory: Rimon. Moving to
Tel‐Aviv, to an ice factory. Army service. He fought in the 1956 war. He suffered hearing loss. Invitation
to his sister’s wedding in Chile. Being greeted in Buenos Aires by his Pollack and Katz relatives, who took
them to see Edith Piaf that night. Arrival in Chile to the family, where he stayed because he could be
with family.
http://collections.ushmm.org Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection
This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy.