Brody is a town in in Ukraine, but before the war was part of Poland. The town was a famous Jewish community with, as of 1939, a Jewish population of about 10,000 out of a total population of about 22,000. The Soviet Union annexed the city in September, 1939, as part of the German-Soviet pact. The Germans captured the town on July 1, 1941, and were received warmly by the Ukrainian population. A Judenrat was established later that month. Thereafter, Jews were beaten an robbed on a regular basis by Germans and Ukaranians. In January, 1942, labor camps were set up for Jews, which housed ultimately about 1,500 persons. On September 19, 1942, the first major "Aktion" was carried out which resulted in at least 2,500 Jews being sent to the Belzec death camp. Another deportation of 2,000 to 3,000 persons took place on November 2, 1942, and shortly thereafter, a ghetto was established for the remaining Jews and Jews from surrounding towns, numbering about 7,000 persons. A new series of "Aktions" began in April, 1943, and the ghetto was liquidated on May 21, 1943, when more than 3,000 Jews were deported to the Majdanek concentration camp. Of the pre-war Jewish population, only 88 survived.
Below are thumbnails of the front and back of a postcard from a Brody resident, Mira Rothenberg, addressed to her sister, Lola Buchen, living in Cernauti (Chernovtsy, Czernowitz). The card is postmarked November 22, 1941, and bears Nazi censor marks, as well as a Cernauti handstamp dated December 10, 1941. The card bears the following message:
"My dear Lola, No message was received from you for a long time... we are very upset. We want so much to to know if you are healthy... what is you general state?... We are well.... I yearn to get just a few words of yours.... I kiss you and bless you... write how are you all.... Your father who loves you so much...."
The reason for the lack of mail from Cernauti was probably due to the fact that the ghetto there was recently created. Based on the Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims, Mira died at Belzec on August 21, 1942. Her sister, Lola, survived the war. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcard" in the left frame to return.
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Brody/brody.htm
http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/brody%20ghetto.html