The Krakow Ghetto Pharmacy ebook

I DEDICATE THIS MEMOIR TO MY COLLEAGUES, IRENA DROŹDZIKOWSKA, HELENA KRYWANIUK ANDAURELIA DANEK-CZORTOWA,WHO, FOR THE ENTIRE DURATIONOF THE KRAKOW GHETTO’SEXISTENCE, RISKED THEIR LIVES TO BRING AID TO ITS INHABITANTS.

When the “Jewish district” first opened, I unexpectedly became one of its inhabitants, as the owner of the “Pod Orłem” pharmacy at No.18 Zgoda Square. As only one of the four pharmacies in the Podgórze district was located within the ghetto, this fact initially escaped the notice of the German authorities. Later, the Germans tried to remove me from the ghetto by offering me one of the pharmacies in Krakow which had previously been owned by Jews.

I did everything in my power to put off the German authorities’ decision. This included employing the tried and trusted method of offering every form of bribe I could think of. For I understood only too well that the Germans would lose the war, and would destroy my pharmacy, and that I would have to return property that was not mine to its rightful owner or his family when the war ended. My conjecture turned out to be well-founded. My pharmacy would have shared the fate of every business or apartment in the ghetto during its liquidation – it would have been completely destroyed.

By playing for time and by a twist of fate I spent two-and-a-half years in the tragic little Jewish town.

For understandable reasons, I wrote down my recollections of these unforgettable and horrendous times once the liquidation of the Jewish district had already taken place.

Even while the ghetto still existed, many of its inhabitants repeatedly urged me to write a chronicle describing the “Jewish district”, as I was the only Pole to live and work among them there, from its inception to its liquidation. From the windows of my duty room overlooking Zgoda Square, I witnessed the most horrific crimes perpetrated by the Nazis against the defenceless Jewish population.

I have checked second-hand stories many times to ensure that my accounts of them are as faithful as possible.

In writing this memoir, I merely wished to present a chronicle of events and to recollect the atmosphere and emotions we experienced during that grim period of widespread cruelty and hypocrisy.

It has been almost thirty-five years since The Krakow Ghetto Pharmacy was first published. I have often been asked why the book has never been reissued, given that it sold so well. I have also received letters from abroad about this. In “particular” circles I have been accused of being a Zionist sympathiser, and I have experienced unpleasantness from some of my fellow countrymen who were entirely wrong in their assessment of my activities and the duties I performed during the nightmarish period of the Nazi occupation.

My friends have often urged me to publish my memoirs from that period of working at the “Pod Orłem” pharmacy in their entirety. When the first edition came out, it was abridged and incomplete for various reasons. This edition has been expanded and is not identical to the first. It includes everything that was in the first edition, as well as a large number of supplementary passages and several newly written sections.

Today, when I look through the yellowing pages of my manuscript from the historical perspective of all these years, the events and issues come to life with the same intensity as they did then, and I can see every character who came through my pharmacy as if they were alive. How many of them are no longer alive, how many survivors have been scattered across the globe?

I have accepted numerous invitations and travelled to many countries. In 1957, I stayed in Israel for three months. In 1965, I was invited to New York, where I took part in many meetings organised by Polish Jews, at which I compared their experiences and accounts with my memoirs.

I also met many of my old friends from the ghetto when we appeared as witnesses at the various trials of war criminals in West Germany.

My memoirs do not aspire to be a historical work, though they may be seen as a contribution to the history of the occupation and of the martyrdom of the Poles and Jews. They are a reliable, genuine and contemporary account written immediately after the war ended, when the people and events were still fresh in my memory. I also made use of the loose notes I made during the occupation.

In my memoirs I also wished to record the time which was a nightmare for the Jews in the Krakow ghetto, as it also was for me and those who were working with me, who helped the Jews as much as they could, often saving the lives of people condemned to die.

The atmosphere in the ghetto was so peculiar, so unusual, that it is impossible to describe how and what the people – the mere shadows of people – who spent time in this “inferno” really felt and thought. I think The Krakow Ghetto Pharmacy may shed some additional light on how human beings behave and act when exposed to danger and terror, and when being exterminated, as well as how those responsible for their misfortunes behave. Perhaps it will offer some contribution to understanding the psychology of criminals and their victims.

I have resisted the temptation to add autobiographical commentary on my own experiences, and I have not endeavoured to provide even an attempt at any kind of synthesis. I have tried as faithfully as possible, sometimes naively perhaps, to describe what I saw with my own eyes, hence a rather digressive style.

The present edition has not only been expanded, but also enriched with photographs, which are an eloquent record of that period too.

I wish to thank my friends for the initiative and for the efforts they have contributed to the publication of this book. I would particularly like to thank my colleagues Fryderyk Nedela and Dr Józef Wroński.

[1982]

Despite the heavy workload in the pharmacy (which for a period of almost two years consisted of constant day and night duty), time flew by in the company of my friends and acquaintances, many of whom were very dear to me. Together we shared the pains and worries of the ghetto residents, we took an active interest in each Nazi or local authority directive which affected the ghetto and its populace. After every important event, every deportation, the pharmacy was the first port of call for our friends. I was rarely alone there, particularly after the curfew. Out of fear of arrest, many people stayed the night there. They would leave the pharmacy in the morning through the door in the annexe. We were glad to see those who remained after every deportation. We would drink to good fortune, to drown sorrow and dull the pain of those touched directly by fate. And then we would find out who was gone, who was wounded, who had perished, who had lost their closest friends and family. Here we told each other about the acts of destiny, the miraculous coincidences and the luck or misfortune of various people. With great excitement each person described their mishaps and adventures, expressed their opinions on a great number of matters to do with the deportation, and criticised or praised individual OD men.

Occasionally non-Jews would drop into the ghetto. I should mention one of them, Dr Ludwik Żurowski, a doctor who, as a so-called local physician, had permission to enter the ghetto. Taking advantage of this entitlement, he used to bring the ghetto residents foodstuffs, mainly fats, and... he also made them look younger. Thanks to an appropriate hair dye, grey-haired old people, who were considered as unfit for work (and therefore were at particular risk of extermination), suddenly became arbeitsfähig – capable of work. Hundreds of litres of liquid to restore natural hair colour and hide the grey was sold from our pharmacy laboratory.

My school friend, a lawyer named Mieczysław Kossek, often visited the pharmacy. When I was gathering materials for my memoirs, he handed me his own account of the period, entitled “An Encounter at the Pharmacy”. What follows is an extract from this account.

“The first time I found myself in the ghetto area was in 1941, on my way to the court in Podgórze. I was gripped by a strangely unpleasant feeling, seized by anxiety, sadness and a deep sympathy for the people who had to suffer so terribly there. I saw a small group of pale, emaciated children playing a game of hopscotch; at the sight of me – a stranger, perhaps a German – they stopped playing and watched me anxiously, waiting to see how I would behave towards them. I gave them a few sweets, which I brought with me to give to the secretaries at the court. Then I left because the trial was about to begin. The courthouse was on Czarniecki Street in the ghetto area. I walked past the ‘Pod Orłem’ pharmacy but as I was in a hurry I didn’t go in. Only once the trial was over did I go inside; I couldn’t believe my own eyes when I saw my friend, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, standing there in a white coat. We talked for a long time.

“From that day on, I would drop by the pharmacy several times a week, whenever I had trials at the court. Other friends came there too, and we used to chat and share news from the BBC and the underground press.

“That was when we agreed to find ways to help get our Jewish friends out of the ghetto. Now and then I provided Pankiewicz with two or three civil court summonses, which would be grounds for the German guards to allow Jews to leave the ghetto.

“These summonses had authentic court record reference numbers written in by the court secretaries, Aleksandra Wysocka and Mieczysława Kobylarz. The space for the recipient’s name was left blank, to be filled in later by Pankiewicz as required. Many people came out of the ghetto this way.”

Antoni Wroński, a teacher in Podgórze, also used to come and see me on his way to or from the court. Before the war, he and Bolesław Taszycki – father of the famous linguist, Witold Taszycki – would come to the pharmacy almost every day to get herbal medicines from my father. A popular character in Podgórze, Professor Wroński was a good man. Nicknamed “Goatee Beard” by his students, he used to teach illiterate inmates at the court jail as a volunteer; he also brought cigarettes and distributed them to the prisoners there. One time he came to me and, handing me a piece of paper, said: “Tadeusz, what are those rascals playing at? It’s not enough that they've pilfered cigarettes from my pockets, cigarettes which I'd intended to give them anyway, now they’re poking fun at me.” I read the piece of paper: “Dear Professor, thanks for the smokes. Please bring vodka next time and we’ll learn better.”

From time to time I would meet Professor Wroński’s son, Dr Józef Wroński, a friend of mine who organised clandestine secondary school classes in Podgórze (a proletarian district) because, as we know, the Germans had closed down all the secondary schools across the entire area of the General Government.

In the pharmacy I worked alongside three qualified ladies: Irena Droździkowska, Helena Krywaniuk and Aurelia Danek-Czortowa. From the very beginning of the ghetto’s foundation, they all joined the effort to bring aid to the people imprisoned inside it. As long as the Jews could leave the ghetto with a ghetto pass, they could deal with many of their own personal affairs. But when the ghetto was closed and leaving was no longer possible, these three women began to play a distinct role. They carried out requests, delivered mail, and mediated in various matters between ghetto residents and Poles living outside it. They did food shopping for people, bought gifts required by the Jews for various purposes, and tried to get medicines which were difficult to obtain (and which were often smuggled from the Reich). They brought in various little items which the Jews had entrusted to their Polish friends when they were forced to leave their home district and move into the ghetto. Not knowing what conditions in the closed ghetto would be like, or whether or not they would be subject to searches, many Jews had left money and valuable objects with Polish friends for safekeeping. As it later turned out, many managed to survive hard times both in the ghetto and at Płaszów concentration camp – and even at camps further afield – thanks to deliveries of money and other trinkets they had safely deposited beyond the ghetto walls. One person who acted as a go-between was Dr Michał Weichert, who became the head of the JUS (Jewish Social Aid organisation) and who had access to a number of smaller camps outside the ghetto and Płaszów.

Everyone knew that helping the Jews, delivering smuggled notes, letters or valuable items, was a dangerous business.

I can say without the slightest exaggeration that we were well-liked by everyone and that throughout the entire existence of the ghetto we never had a single altercation, disagreeable squabble or unpleasant experience with any of the ghetto inhabitants. At every step of the way we met with extreme gratitude, which was perhaps not even entirely justified. The dozens of letters we received from the camps and, after their liberation, from countries all over Europe are proof of the enduring nature of the friendships forged during our time together in the ghetto.

In the first few weeks of the ghetto’s existence, the pharmacy was sometimes closed on Sundays (the directive ordering the pharmacy to be open day and night, including holidays and Sundays, was issued eight months after the ghetto was established). This allowed the ghetto residents to apply for a pass to leave the ghetto to go to another pharmacy. In the initial period they were also permitted to leave the ghetto if we stamped and wrote a note on the prescription stating that we didn’t have a given medicine in stock. We did this for anyone who asked.

On those Sundays off, I would sometimes go with friends to a café on Limanowski Street which was famous in the ghetto for its exquisite whole bean coffee and delicious home-made cakes. There was a great restaurant on Lwowska Street, right next to the entrance gate, serving ferfel with black pudding, Jewish-style fish and, on Saturdays, cholent – a traditional Jewish stew and a ghetto speciality. On warm, sunny days, people would spend their free time in the square on Józefińska Street (next to the OD building) or on the hill at Krzemionki (a tiny section of which lay inside the ghetto walls). There they took in the fresh air, surrendering themselves to an illusion of freedom, if only for a short while.

At this time the ghetto was rocked by some sensational news. We found out that the eminent Krakow ophthalmologist, Dr Edmund Rosenhauch, had been brought here one evening. He was living in a flat on Zgoda Square. He was being kept under house arrest and OD guards were posted to ensure he didn’t go anywhere. It was said that SS General Krüger was going to be his private patient. However, the anticipated consultation did not take place – Dr Rosenhauch mysteriously disappeared from the ghetto. It later transpired that he had gone to Warsaw and survived the occupation there by dressing up as a monk and hiding in one of the capital’s monasteries. Rosenhauch’s escape to Warsaw was also believed to be the work of Aleksander Förster.

In the autumn of 1941, the administrative district of Krakow was enlarged to incorporate surrounding districts. As a result, the Jews living in those areas were forced to move into the Krakow ghetto immediately. I can still recall that Yom Kippur – one of the most important Jewish holidays – was designated as the last day for the move. The Germans’ predilection for spitefulness knew no limits. That day it was exceptionally cold and rainy in the evening. Dozens of people, many with small children, stood in the freezing cold, buried under stacks of parcels and pots and pans, waiting to be admitted to a ghetto which was already bursting at the seams; the population was an estimated seventeen thousand people.

Life went by here in a strange way. From the early hours of the morning, people gathered at the entrance gate, getting ready to go outside. The unemployed, the sick and the elderly stayed behind in the ghetto. In the evening, the ghetto would fill up again, and people stood around or walked in groups, chatting, telling stories, commenting on the latest news from the front, or shopping; the restaurants and bakeries were full, and street traders did great business selling cigarettes, biscuits and sandwiches.

And that is what it was like every day – each day was similar to the next. People started to get used to the new conditions, and even began to believe it would be possible to survive like this, provided things stayed the same, as long as it didn’t get any worse. Weeks and months went by...

9. Tadeusz Pankiewicz’s colleagues in front of the pharmacy entrance [→]

10. Tadeusz Pankiewicz in the back room at the pharmacy [→]

Cover photograph – Tadeusz Pankiewicz in front of the pharmacy (during the period of the occupation); cover photograph and illustrations 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 courtesy of the Museum of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University; illustration 28 from Andrzej Chwalba, History of Krakow, vol. 5: Krakow from 1939 to 1945, Krakow 2002, p. 120; illustration 29 courtesy of the Jagiellonian Library; remaining photographs and illustrations are taken from Tadeusz Pankiewicz, The Krakow Ghetto Pharmacy, Krakow 1995.