Alicia Appleman Jurman

Alicia Jurman was a young Jewish girl who grew up in the southeastern Polish city of Buczacz. In that city about a third of the people were jewish. Alicia had four brothers including her mother and father. Alicia was only 9 years old when the german's began their invasion of Poland.
Out of her four brother's Moshe's brother was the first to die. In 1941 Alicia's father was killed by German's. Zachary at 17 years old was a beautiful blonde boy and was Alicia's only older brother remaining. She also still had little nine year-old brother , Herzl and her mother. These four were the only ones left of the Jurman family. Zachary's anger at not being able to do anything led him into loosely organized resistance activities. He became active in a group of friends who were trying to find a way to fight back. Then one day...Zachary was betrayed by a Polish friend. He was caught and hanged right in front of the police building for everyone to see. Alicia was brought to the place by her friends and that night, they returned, cut him down and buried him in the Jewish cemetery.Alicia had been the closest to Zachary of all the brothers she had....the utter devastation she endured overwhelmed her eleven year-old mind. Her feeling of loss was complete and she found herself wishing she were also dead. However, at that moment, a new resolve came over her. Alicia then swore on her brother's grave that she would protect her mother and little brother with her life.One terrible day...the Ukrainian police made a sweep....it was now time to take away the mothers. As they came to the Jurman's ghetto house, they requested "Frieda Jurman". Alicia wrapped up in clothes and a shawl from being outside and fearing the worst for her mother, told the policeman, "I am Frieda Jurman". Alicia was taken away to Chortkov Prison where she was beaten badly after calling an SS man a "devil". All the prisoners were beaten, led before dogs to be attacked and barely fed over several days. Alicia became very ill. The Germans, it was found out later, were giving them water laced with typhoid germs. Each morning in the prison, the guards came and removed anyone who died in the night. One day an SS man came into the prison cell and crushed Alicia with his boots. She had been reduced to such terrible conditions, this 12 yr old girl...that in her starved and ill condition, she did not respond. Alicia's unconscious body was thrown onto a pile of corpses in the prison's courtyard. Jews from the local ghetto would come in to bury them at the cemetery. One of these men found Alicia still alive and with a high fever. They pretended to bury her and then sneaked her under some straw in their wagon back into their ghetto (for Chortkov Prison was in another city). There...for weeks...she fought off typhoid and soon recovered. The couple who nursed her back to health saw their dead child in Alicia...their child had been killed by the Germans and this couple was determined to save Alicia. Somehow Alicia Jurman Survived in the spring of 1943.