Statement of Sarina Feta

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SARINA FETA, born as KONFORTI, in 1941. In Novi Pazar, from father Samuil and mother Sunha, housewife, FNRJ citizen, married, permanent residence in Pristina, Gilanska street number 8. At the request of authorities from Internal Affairs in Pristina, I declare all I know about the arrests, persecutions and executions of Jews.

STATEMENT

In Martch 1942, Ilijaz Agushi, former minister of Albanian government, suggested some Jews in town that is best for them to move to Albania where they would be allowed to work. This proposal some Jews accepted and some didn’t. In this way Ilijaz Agushi wanted to force the richest Jews to remove from Pristina so he and his friends could take over their property. Later, some Jewish families were getting official orders with exact date when they had to remove to Albania. Displacement of Jewish families was in groups, without an escort, but with exactly given place where they would be located – Berat. All the time we were in Berat, we were forbidden to leave town without a permission from prefecture. In Berat we were free to work and till the Italian capitulation we didn’t suffer any pressure or terror from Italian and Albanian authorities. As soon as Italy capitulated, Germans came to Berat and as they knew there were Jews, they started to look for them. Albanian government of that time wanted to protect us so gave us the documents with Albanian names and on this occasion ,as far as I remember, Germans didn’t find any of us. In May 1944. I was, together with my husband and father-in-law, gone to Pristina. There we arrived on 13.May,and the next early morning on 14.May 1944. Germans took all Jews from Pristina to a camp. There were 410 of us Jews in the camp in Pristina. The day after we came there, a civilian, I remember his name was Jupa, approached my husband and told in front of German officers that my husband offered him money to kill one German officer or a soldier. I told him he was a liar and he slapped me so strong that I fainted. The same day my father-in-law Mosa Aser and my husband Solomon were shot. I remember that my husband really said that he would not regret to die if he could kill one German officer or a soldier, but he said it in a synagogue in front of 7-8 Jews. Probably Jusa Flisijer heard it from ***, a Jew who was then in the synagogue. I base this claim on that that I used to see that man always in the company of German officers. I suppose that *** lives today in Belgrade.

We were from Pristina interned at Sajmiste in Belgrade where we stayed three weeks. During that time we were tortured and mistreated by Ustashas. I know that Gizela levi from Pristina was shot and from starvation and torture died about five adults and eleven children.

From Sajmiste, In June 1944, Germans interned us for German in Bergen Belsen . We spent almost a month on the road. During that month a number of people died. I remember when we started to Germany in our railroad car were 86 people, and when we arrived in camp there were only 63 . When we arrived I remember that a group of officers came to us and among them a short one, thin, with trimmed moustache , blond, with extended jaws who told us in clear Serbo-Croatian language: “My birds”, and then “My birds have come”. This officer often dropped by in the camp and terrorized us. People were dying massively from starvation and beatings and in the other barracks , not in our ,some were shot. When we arrived in Bergen Belsen, in our barrack were placed about 1.600 people and when Russians liberated us only 317 of us were left.

After the capitulation of Germany I returned with my children to Pristina. My home was completely robbed, I didn’t find anything left. My three children moved at the end of 1948. to Israel where they still live.

I don’t have anything else to say because a lot of things I don’t remember anymore.
20.07.1960.

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