Operations Diary of a Jewish Partisan Unit in Rudniki Forest, 1943-1944

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

1 10/7/43 Destruction of telegraph link 35 I.Czuzoj & Aron

along the Grodno-Vilna road Aronowicz

in the section between Pirciupie

and Tetiance. More than 50

telegraph poles were sawn

through, the wires were cut and

the insulators broken. Three

units took part in the operation:

"Avenger," "To Victory" and

"Death to Fascism."

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

2 10/11/43 Destruction of telegraph link 25 [Name erased in

along the Vilna-Lida road in the original document]

section near Krzyzowka. More

than 70 poles were sawn through,

the wires were cut and the insu-

lators broken. Three units took

part in the operation: "Avenger,"

"To Victory" and "Death to Fascism"

3 10/23/43 The telephone and telegraph 25 Ch. Magid and Brand

were destroyed along the rail-

road from Lida to Vilna, in the

Jaszuny-Stasily section, not far

from Gudelki. Three units took

part in the operation: "Avenger,"

"Death to Fascism" and "To

Victory."

4 10/43 Three road barriers [were des- 55 Chaim Lazar, N.

troyed] at the approaches to Ring, and Aronowicz

Rudniki: two on the main road

and one on the road through the

forest. The action was carried

out simultaneously by three

groups. Three units took part

in the action: "Avenger," "To

Victory," and "Death to Fascism."

5 10/29/43 Sabotage operation in the city 4

of Vilna: Four transformers and

a mechanical water conveyor were

destroyed with the aid of English

mines. Carried out by a sabotage

party consisting of four partisans:

Witka Kempner, Matys Lewin,

Rozow and Chajele [Szapiro]

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

6 11/2/43 Sixty people were brought to 2

the partisans from Vilna. The

group was brought by Witka

Kempner and Chajele. It

arrived safely.

7 10/17/43 Destruction of two bridges in 40 Aba Kovner and ...

the village of Zagarino and [name erased]

blowing up of two engines on the

narrow-gauge railroad line.

There was a small force of Germans

stationed in the village at the time.

Fighters from three units took part

in the operation: "Avenger," "To

Victory" and "Death to Fascism."

8 11/3/43 The fighter Dobka [Debeltov Doba]

brought three armed fighters to the

partisans from Vilna: Druc, Mosto-

wicz and Anglenik.

9 11/43 Purpose: To take arms from the 7 Aba Kovner

village of Kursze. Four rifles were

captured from the Shaulists:* Wier-

socki and the forester. The fighters

of the "Avenger" unit took part in

the action.

10 12/14/43 Purpose: To take the arms from 40 Kaplinski Szmulka

the armed village of Posol. During

the operation [German] troops

stationed at Rakliszki were sum-

moned from the armed villages in

the neighborhood. A two-hour

battle ensued and as a result several

Fascists were killed or wounded.

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

11 12/43 In the town Olkieniki, where 5 Jacob Prener

a force of two hundred enemy

troops was stationed, 300 kgs.

of turpentine were confiscated

from the turpentine factory.

12 12/43 A bridge was burned in the 40 Aba Kovner & Chanan

village of Darguze. The bridge Magid

had been built on the new road

from Vilna to Orany, in the

section between Olkieniki and

Pirciupie. The operation was

carried out under fire from the

troops stationed in Olkieniki.

There were no losses. Fighters

from two units took part:

"Avenger" and "To Victory."

13 12/27/43 A train was blown up on the 6 Didalis [Isar Shmit]

railroad from Vilna to Grodno.

An engine and ten cars were

derailed: [the train] had carried

men and supplies.

14 12/31/43 A train was blown up on the 6 Aba Kovner

railroad from Vilna to Grodno,

near Landwarow station. The

engine and twenty-one cars

carrying troops and supplies

were derailed. The train had

been on its way from Warsaw

to Vilna.

15 12/31/43 Discovery and capture of 7 Chaim Lazar

Gestapo agent Uczkurolis from

Dajnowa village near Ejszyszki.

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

16 12/31/43 Discovery and capture of 2 Lipenholc

Gestapo agent Andriuszkiewicz

from Dajnowa village. Those

who took part: Lipenholc and

Witka Kempner.

17 1/44 Blowing up of a boiler and 100- 6 Misza Lipenholc &

horse-power steam engine at the Jacob Prener

cardboard factory at Olkieniki.

The factory, that is, the machinery

and the steam engine, were to

have been transferred to Germany.

18 1/44 Blowing up of a train on the rail- 6 Szmulka Kaplinski

road from Vilna to Grodno, in

the section between Matuzy and

Szarkiszki. It was not established

how many cars were derailed.

About two hundred Italian soldiers

returning from the front were killed.

19 1/44 In the operation to destroy the 30 Jacob Prener

armed village of Koniuchy, 30

fighters took part, of the units

"Avenger" and "To Victory."

20 3/44 Obstruction and mining of the 30 Abrasza Resel

Grodno-Vilna road in the section

near Nowe Macele. Fighters

from two units took part,

"Avenger" and "To Victory."

21 3/13/44 In the course of an operational 12 Lipenholc, Brand

patrol near the village of Skorbu- Szlomo

ciany the following were

captured: a Dutchman Henk

Dekker, a

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

Pole, Gestapo agent Rysiek

Luksza, and two Turkomans.

22 3/44 As part of the general plans of 38 Ch. Magid

the "Lithuanian Brigade" two Lipenholc

units of "Avenger" and "To

Victory" destroyed 120 poles

along the railroad line Vilna-

Lida, in the section near Merecz.

23 3/18/44 The Vilna units were ordered to 36 Chaim Lazar

carry out the destruction of tele- Ch. Magid

phone and telegraph links between

the town Ejszyszki and other

centers. The two units, "Avenger"

and "To Victory" sawed off 75 poles

on the road from Grodno to Orany.

In the operation wires were cut

and insulators broken.

24 3/44 During a patrol near Cieciorka 3 A. Resel

four men were caught who had

escaped from a concentration

camp for prisoners of war near

Suwalki. All four were accepted

by partisan units.

25 4/16/44 On "Railroad" day** and as 40 [erased]

part of the general operations

which the Vilna units had been

ordered to carry out, 300 rails

were blown up by our units on

the Vilna-Lida line, in the section

between Stasily and Jaszuny.

26 4/44 Barricade on the road from 20 Ch. Magid

Zygmunciszki to Niewojniance.

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

27 4/44 The building of the "White 40 I. Czuzoj &

Poles"*** was burned down ...[erased]

in the village of Niewojniance.

28 5/10/44 Ambush on the Grodno road in 70 Pietrujtis

the section between Pirciupie Ch. Magid

and Zygmunciszki. Two units, Brand

"Avenger" and "To Victory," took

part. Eleven Germans were killed.

Booty captured: 6 rifles, 4 hand-

grenades, 4 grenade throwers, and

2 "Degtyarov" machine-guns.

29 5/23/44 At the turpentine factory in 3 Ch. Magid

Olkieniki 360 kgs. of turpentine

were confiscated and 2,000 kgs.

were destroyed.

30 5/27-28/44 Capture of arms from the village 35

of Jurkiance. Twelve rifles of

different types were confiscated,

with ammunition. At the same

time an arms search was carried

out in a number of houses in the

village of Krumince. Two rifles,

a pistol and a hand-grenade were

taken. On the way back two "White

Poles" were taken priand the

following arms in their possession

were confiscated: one semi-

automatic rifle, one rifle, one

revolver, two hand-grenades and

ammunition.

31 6/3/44 At Melachowicze protection 15 Natan

was given to the arrival of a Celnik

group of survivors from Vilna,

who are about

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

to join the partisans. Eight

persons arrived, four of

whom were accepted by our

unit: Nisanelowicz, Basia

Nisanelowicz, Bielic, Rund-

baken; four were accepted by

the unit "To Victory."

32 Near Rudniki a patrol found 4 [erased]

a group of some tens of persons

engaged on building a short

railroad line. Working tools

were taken from the group and

they were ordered not to continue

with the work. Eighteen spades

were taken back to the base.

33 6/7/44 In the town of Olkieniki the 8 Jacob Prener

turpentine and tar factory

was blown up.

34 6/22/44 An engine and two railroad cars Szlomo Brand

were derailed on the Vilna-Lida

road.

35 6/25/44 In the town of Zagarino one Benia Lewin

German was killed and one

wounded.

36 On the Vilna-Lida railroad line Szlomo Brand

the rails were blown up for a

distance of one kilometer. There

were 40 explosions.

37 7/3/44 Burning of bridges used by troops Jefremow

stationed in the town of Rudniki.

Serial Date Operation # of Name of Commander

No. Fighters

38 7/4/44 Train blown up on the Vilna- 30 Szlomo Brand

Lida railroad line. One engine

and cars carrying men and

supplies were derailed.

39 7/8/44 Vilna-Lida railroad line blown Szlomo Brand

up for a distance of two

kilometers. Three units took part.

Moreshet Archives, D. 1.4650.

* Members of a Lithuanian nationalist organization that collaborated with the Germans. Armed members of this organization took part in Jewish extermination Aktionen.

** "H-hour" for a widespread operation that was to strike simultaneously against the railroad network and behind the lines of the German front-line army.

*** A.K. Command.