A Miracle that We Survived

(Translation by Rabbi Paul Moses Strasko of the original article: https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/unsere-woche/ein-wunder-dass-wir-ueberlebt-haben/ )

Witness Anastasia Pletoukhina regarding the attack in Halle and how she survived the danger in the Synagogue

Ms. Pletoukhina, you were in the Synagogue in Halle yesterday when the attacker tried to carry out a bloodbath. How did you survive the events?

Wednesday morning we were already in the Synagogue—it was actually quite a beautiful day—good weather—sunshine. Around noon, as the Yom Kippur service began, we heard a loud bang. At first we thought that someone had set off fireworks, but then the security guard came in and told us: “There is an armed man outside who is trying to get in. He is shooting at our door.”

What happened next?

We were completely stunned and paralyzed—we couldn’t actually react at all. The security guard had called the police immediately. The congregation was rushed upstairs into the kitchen of the synagogue where we hid. Overall we were about 70 people. Then we kept on hearing loud shots—the security guard watched everything on the security camera and kept us up to date on what was going on. Along with several other men,  [the security guard] barricaded the entry [to the kitchen] with chairs, tables and other objects in case the attacker was able to get past the outside door.

Wasn’t there any police presence in the Synagogue? [Note from Rabbi Strasko – the majority of Jewish Communities in Germany, in addition to internal security, have had 24/7 police protection since 9/11.]

No, there wasn’t any—and that is truly a scandal in my opinion. The Jewish community had constantly told the police that the congregation needed protection. Every time the answer was: “There is no clear and present danger.” In addition, the synagogue security guard was not a trained guard, rather a member of the Jewish community who protected the synagogue as well as any layman could.

Did you and the other people in the congregation consider trying to flee through a back entrance?

Unfortunately, that was not possible as there were only three external doors. The Synagogue is very, very small. And we had seen on the security feed that the attacker has set explosives or some other material at the doors. All we could do was hide in the room and block the door as well as we could. We were horribly afraid. The main door was made out of wood and was not terribly well secured, as one would find [in synagogues] in Berlin and Munich. And we were unarmed. It is a miracle that we survived. It was truly, truly close. The window was made of just normal glass—all the attacker had to do was shoot it out and he would have been inside and there would have been a bloodbath. Additionally, the attacker had Molotov cocktails, and I believe that he threw a hand grenade over the [synagogue] wall at us. It was completely lucky that that the Sukka in the courtyard didn’t catch fire, as it took twenty minutes for the police to get to the synagogue to protect us.

20 minutes?

Yes, it was the longest 20 minutes ever for us. Afterwards, the police explained that they had received so many phone calls that it took time to sort through and prioritize everything, as it seemed half of Halle had called them.  In the meantime, we watched on the security monitor as the attacker for the first time left us because a woman spoke to him. I don’t know what was said. But as she turned her back on him, he shot her in the back. Then he went to the body and once again shot her several times. It was horrifying. I don’t have any words.

How did the police react as they got to the synagogue?

Professional, friendly and thoughtful. It was of course still Yom Kippur, and we had to stay in the synagogue for five more hours for security reasons. They spoke with us, asked us questions, and searched the synagogue top to bottom out of concern that there might still somewhere be explosives. In the meantime, as soon as the situation allowed, we began praying again. Around 5 pm, accompanied by ten police cars, we were brought from the synagogue to a hospital in a bus. There we were examined, further questioned, we prayed, and at some point blew the shofar. It was an extraordinary situation with, as strange as it may sound, positive experiences.

In what way?

In the hospital, the staff and police completely understood that we had [been forced to stop our Yom Kippur] prayers. The police also knew that we would break our fast after 25 hours, and provided us with crates of beer and water so that we could, without the police, toast them. We mourned for the two that had been killed and we are still in mourning. In the bus on the way to the hotel—and I know this will sound very strange—we then celebrated—life— our survival—the Jewish people—am Yisrael chai!