Legal Papers for Palestine
I gathered my possessions and joined the children’s organization, one of many Jewish organizations trying to sort things out. I moved into a nice home run by survivors of the Warsaw ghetto up- rising who were connected with Israeli organizations. Many Jew- ish refugees were still coming to Bitom. Suddenly, we felt safety in numbers. Since I was one of the older boys in the group, almost eighteen, and spoke Hebrew fluently, I became a Hebrew teacher and a leader. I felt good about becoming a useful person again. I was very fortunate to have already lived with my uncle and aunt for quite a while, so I did not show signs of distress from my wartime experiences. Most of the other kids appeared to be normal, but were still suffering from traumas. They had lived in the group’s home for a while and were well fed, clean, and dressed in decent clothing, but they had nightmares and often cried. Some of them remained withdrawn and were unable to communicate or express themselves. Part of my job was to help them. We started to teach them Hebrew with singing lessons, dancing, and games, so it be- came a happy place for them. After staying with the group for some time, we were notified that we were ready to set out for Israel. Meanwhile, the war had ended. The British controlled Palestine, and because of oil inter- ests and political interests, they went along with the Arabs to limit the immigration of Jews into Palestine. The British White Paper allowed only 1,500 legal certificates per month for immigration to Israel. Because most of the thirty-two children in our group were under eighteen years old, we were told that we would be able to legally go to Palestine. That made life easier because we did not
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