Solomon Lapidus - A Concert On The Rails
Interview
Solomon Lapidus - A Concert On The Rails
Solomon Lapidus - A Concert On The Rails
Transcript: They told me that it's gonna be a, what do you call it, a train will go, and on this train will be a lot of prisoners. A lot of people for the concentration camp, you know. And they told me that I'm not gonna be by myself, there's gonna be a whole group, from different groups. They're gonna go, everybody will have a mission. (Eh, listen carefully...) I said, "What is the mission?" We're gonna call this a concert on the rails. A concert on the rails. How many people do you need? I said, "What? I have my own people." "No no no no no, we're gonna give you a lot of people." "Who are a lot of people?" You're gonna mention Bielski. Bielski. We're gonna bring you boys that can do something, that they're gonna be under my supervision. [...] There was Alexander Nevsky, there was Kirovsky brigade, there was Stalinsky brigade, and everybody will send a group. And it's gonna be more than a hundred people that will take part of this operation. You hear? I'm telling you the way it was, I still memorized the way it was. You see? I see from [afar], a horse -- a white horse -- and it's coming to me. He [makes] the group, with him, he goes in front, and the group goes after him. And he is part of this operation. You see? And I have had Zorin group [ ] And we went out on this operation. They got it, the...crowbars... Everybody came with a crowbar. [ ] Now, where I come in over here, I told them that I'm going to put in boxes, all over boxes. We're gonna take out the r...demolish the rail, and we're gonna put in boxes. A box here, a box there, a box... "Why do we need the boxes?" So I told them, we're not gonna demolish the railing. We're gonna unscrew them only. When the [ ] first train will hit it, it's gonna go in the air, and this, the boxes will make noise. Noise! So the Germans will think that we are a thousand people over there working, you understand? The boxes was just to make it...noise. The air pressure made it. And it was Bielski's people there, a lot of people, and maybe about 10 miles. Ten miles, I'm telling you. Demolished everything, nothing was there. And the people that were there on the train, they went to the woods. And that was from the ghettos, from a lot of ghettos. Jews, most of them were Jewish people. Yeah, a lot of Jewish people. And my commanding officer...[I'm not]...my wife, she told me to listen to it. He said to me, "Sol, you see how many people gonna be saved from the ghettos. Mark my word..." - and he was not Jewish, you hear? And that's what happened. The people from all over came -- from all over, from the small ghettos to the big ghettos, they start running to Bielski, to Zorin. And they spread it out so far that already, near the line -- in the front line, you know -- they knew that there is a Bielski and all the Jews hiding [by] him in the woods. Propaganda -- that's what it is, and that's what I did, that's how I got involved with Tuvia. He became like a friend -- he was older than me, and he was so close to me, you have no idea.
Transcript: They told me that it's gonna be a, what do you call it, a train will go, and on this train will be a lot of prisoners. A lot of people for the concentration camp, you know. And they told me that I'm not gonna be by myself, there's gonna be a whole group, from different groups. They're gonna go, everybody will have a mission. (Eh, listen carefully...) I said, "What is the mission?" We're gonna call this a concert on the rails. A concert on the rails. How many people do you need? I said, "What? I have my own people." "No no no no no, we're gonna give you a lot of people." "Who are a lot of people?" You're gonna mention Bielski. Bielski. We're gonna bring you boys that can do something, that they're gonna be under my supervision. [...] There was Alexander Nevsky, there was Kirovsky brigade, there was Stalinsky brigade, and everybody will send a group. And it's gonna be more than a hundred people that will take part of this operation. You hear? I'm telling you the way it was, I still memorized the way it was. You see? I see from [afar], a horse -- a white horse -- and it's coming to me. He [makes] the group, with him, he goes in front, and the group goes after him. And he is part of this operation. You see? And I have had Zorin group [ ] And we went out on this operation. They got it, the...crowbars... Everybody came with a crowbar. [ ] Now, where I come in over here, I told them that I'm going to put in boxes, all over boxes. We're gonna take out the r...demolish the rail, and we're gonna put in boxes. A box here, a box there, a box... "Why do we need the boxes?" So I told them, we're not gonna demolish the railing. We're gonna unscrew them only. When the [ ] first train will hit it, it's gonna go in the air, and this, the boxes will make noise. Noise! So the Germans will think that we are a thousand people over there working, you understand? The boxes was just to make it...noise. The air pressure made it. And it was Bielski's people there, a lot of people, and maybe about 10 miles. Ten miles, I'm telling you. Demolished everything, nothing was there. And the people that were there on the train, they went to the woods. And that was from the ghettos, from a lot of ghettos. Jews, most of them were Jewish people. Yeah, a lot of Jewish people. And my commanding officer...[I'm not]...my wife, she told me to listen to it. He said to me, "Sol, you see how many people gonna be saved from the ghettos. Mark my word..." - and he was not Jewish, you hear? And that's what happened. The people from all over came -- from all over, from the small ghettos to the big ghettos, they start running to Bielski, to Zorin. And they spread it out so far that already, near the line -- in the front line, you know -- they knew that there is a Bielski and all the Jews hiding [by] him in the woods. Propaganda -- that's what it is, and that's what I did, that's how I got involved with Tuvia. He became like a friend -- he was older than me, and he was so close to me, you have no idea.