But with time, alongside hope, the kashariyot also had to pass along the painful news of mass killings and of the Final Solution. They witnessed deportations and murders firsthand and had to carefully relay their stories, as well as others’ accounts, persuading Jews of the truth and convincing them to resist.
As the killings broadened, and as youth movements evolved into militias, the couriers’ paths and techniques, the knowledge they’d gained to date （such as the guards’ routines, the spots where it was easier to sneak out, the most effective outfits and cover stories）， and their confidence at outwitting the Nazis were all adapted to suit their new functions. Now they began smuggling fake IDs, money, information, underground publications, and Jews themselves in and out of the ghettos. They found safe rooms for meetings; they worked as fixers for male resistance leaders who went undercover, using their street smarts to navigate cities, help plan their missions, and obtain their work papers. They posed as the men’s official “escorts,” promenading next to them to make them seem like a nice couple out on a stroll or even necking all night in train stations while waiting to enter the ghetto in the morning. Because she spoke better Polish than her male comrades, the kasharit bought them their train tickets and rented their flats. A courier had to be constantly aware of the male comrade’s whereabouts in case he was captured. The poise and composure required for this kind of work was superhuman. Did Renia have it in her?
Most connectors had to be female. Jewish women did not have the obvious bodily marker that circumcised men did, nor did they lose confidence fearing the “pants-drop test.” It was also less suspicious for women to travel during the days. While Polish men were expected to be at work, women could roam—perhaps on their way to lunch or shopping—without being immediately stopped or snatched for forced labor. Nazi culture was classically sexist, and women were not expected to be illicit operatives; why would that nice, young peasant girl have bulletins sewn into her skirt or a pistol inside her teddy bear? Plus, a flirtatious smile never hurt. Often courier girls appealed to Nazis with their displays of womanly elegance or “little girl” looks and faux na?veté, even asking them for help carrying their bags—the very bags filled with contraband. It was normal for women to carry handbags, purses, and baskets on the street; these chic accessories became weapons caches. At the time, Polish women were also smugglers and peddlers, their handbags loaded with illegal imports of all kinds. Some couriers, like Tosia and Vladka, accessed ghettos and camps by pretending to be non-Jewish smugglers. Tosia once arrived at a ghetto dressed in sports clothes, as though she were a Pole there to buy Jewish goods for cheap.
Usually only women who did not look semitic were selected to go on missions. Like Renia, these women had light hair and blue, green, or gray eyes; they looked “good.” Rosy cheeks were important, since they showed health. Those who were trying to “pass” dyed their hair and wrapped it in pieces of paper to create Polish styles. Women （and men） made efforts to dress in Polish clothes, especially fancier, more middle-class and upper-class styles. （The joke at the time was that if you saw a handsomely dressed Polish gentleman, he was probably Jewish.） Both Frumka and Hantze donned headscarves to partly obscure their faces, and although Frumka had to be convinced to make time for cosmetics, she put on makeup to appear more Aryan.
The girls also had to appear Polish in their gestures and demeanor. Something as simple as wearing a fur muff helped curtail the Jewish-seeming habit of gesticulating while talking. Renia had a Polish countenance as well as deportment, able to walk with confidence and react without hesitating—and she spoke the language flawlessly. Polish Jewish women were more likely to be linguistically proficient. For financial reasons, sons more typically went to Jewish schools, daughters to public schools. Girls like Zivia and Renia learned to speak like natives, without the characteristic Jewish accent. They studied Polish literature; they spent their days with Poles, absorbing their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies.
Polish Jewish women were at an advantage, counterintuitively, because of their poverty. Before the war, they’d had to work, and through employment, got to know non-Jews, socializing with them and forming friendships. Women knew their Polish neighbors, had smelled their cooking, saw them raise kids, and were familiar with Polish customs, both religious and mundane. For example, they knew that while Jews brushed their teeth every day and many wore eyeglasses, most Poles did neither.