The first mass slaughter occurred on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, May 25, 1942. Rivka remembered hearing the Germans shout: "Jews to your death". With chaos in the ghetto, Rivka's mother shouted to her to come with her. Rivka refused and said she had to wait for Izak. Finally, Izak came and they ran into a home and hid behind an armoire. Armoires were very common in Europe. They were basically large furniture closets. When the pandemonium in the ghetto subsided, Izak and Rivka came out from behind the armoire. Izak noticed that there was an attic in the house. He and Rivka climbed the ladder and remained in the attic. Cleverly, Izak took the ladder with them into the attic. There they hid in fright. Suddenly, the door opened and Rivka remembered hearing Russian being spoken. One of the Russians asked the others if they should search the attic for Jews. The other responded that if anyone were stupid enough to hide in the attic, they would kill themselves coming down. Of course, they did not realize that Izak kept the ladder. Large numbers of Jews had been herded up and taken to Nevirkov, a few kilometers from Mezeritsh, where mass graves had been dug. The Jews were machine gunned by the Nazis and fell into the graves.

With silence returning to the city, the remaining Jews came out from their homes. Rivka did not know if any of her family members had survived. Suddenly she saw her mother. They embraced and cried hysterically. Faiga had thought that Rivka had perished. Faiga told Rivka that she miraculously survived the first mass slaughter. However, Faiga would not allow Rivka to take another chance with her life. Faiga sent Rivka to hide with Polish gentiles in the country by bribing the gentiles with gold. Rivka remained there for a number of months. She always reminded me over and over again that her mother saved her life. Meanwhile, Izak continued to work for the Germans.

Word had gotten out that the Germans were going to annihilate the remainder of the Jews in the Meziritsh ghetto. The Polish gentile that was hiding Rivka sensed something was going to happen. He was afraid to keep Rivka any longer. Anyone found harboring Jews would be killed along with the rest of their family.  The man gave Rivak three options, none of which were good.  She cried and cried and begged him not to take her anywhere until her husband arrived. The gentile refused. He was preparing his horses to take her away. The weather was miserable with much rain and mud all around. As she was about to leave, Izak appeared, having run all the way from Mezeritsh. Can you imagine her emotions when she saw her husband?

The rest of the Jewish community of Mezeritsh was slaughtered on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Succot, September 23, 1942. Again they were taken to Nevirkov where the mass graves had been dug and the Jews were machine gunned into the graves. The entire Jewish population of Mezeritsh (3,000 people) was annihilated in the two mass killings.

The two of them left for the forest where Izak dug a giant hole in the ground covered with branches. Riva referred to this as the grib (the grave). They remained in the grave for approximately one and one-half years.
Because Izak had maintained good relations with the gentiles from his days as a mill owner, he was able to leave the grave periodically to obtain food. Rivka was left behind in the grave. She always waited anxiously for his return, never knowing if he would return. One day a dog appeared at the grave and started sniffing. Both Rivka and Izak were afraid that the dog would start barking and thus reveal their hiding place. Luckily, the dog eventually went away. Rivka often cried to Izak that they would be crippled if they ever survived. Many times she would cry as feelings of hopelessness would engulf her. The dampness of those days in the grave gave Rivka the arthritis she suffered from the rest of her life. I can't even begin to imagine all of the horrors they endured in the grave. Photos were taken of both Izak and Rivka after they were liberated. Rivka looked worse than Izak as she was completely emaciated.

Following liberation by the Russians, Izak was able to show the Russians where the mass grave was and estimate approximately its size. Izak and Rivka then returned to the Burko house in Mezeritsh. Prostitutes were now living in the house. There were family pictures strewn on the floor. Rivka picked them up and took them with her. The gentiles were surprised to see them, thinking that all the Jews had been murdered. All of Izak's family and all of Rivka's family had been murdered by the Nazis. No one survived! She no longer could stay in Mezeritsh. She begged Izak to take her away from there. They eventually made their way to a displaced persons camp in Italy where they remained for four years. Eventually, Izak's uncles brought them to Detroit. Izak and Rivka Bebczuk became Erwin and Riva Baker.

Rivka always lamented why was she had been the only one from her immediate family to survive the Holocaust. Erwin often tried to comfort her by saying: "As long as you have me, you have everything." Unfortunately, Erwin passed away December 4, 1979, leaving Riva alone. How I remember at his funeral how Riva screamed: "He saved me from Hitler! He saved me from Hitler!" As I said at Riva's funeral, she remained alive to touch our hearts with her sweet gentleness and caring nature. Erwin and Riva did not become bitter people from their life experiences. They both retained their Jewish orthodox beliefs and devotion to Yiddishkeit (Jewish culture) all the days of their lives.