Friday, April 4, 1947
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
, Page Four
enwald there was no need for me
to work. I was tagged and given
a number. Thousands of Jews
were being gassed per day. I was
to await my turn. The Americans
came before 'my day' arrived."
A hopeless shrug of the shoul-
ders. "My day arrived
he repeats and buries his chin in
his thin, bony hands.
The soldier gets up. It is long
past sunset. The river winds its
way lazily, a black patch on the
earth's surface. A step is heard.
mind. With brother and sister on A branch snaps. The leaves rustle.
either side of me, mother and A solitary figure sits among the
father close by, I felt at peace. I oak bushes on the dismal shore, a
scrawny youth staring vacantly at
felt secure.
* * *
the flowing river.
"Six months passed and the per-
secutions began anew. This time Youth Trade School
the village was not spared. This
time I did not escape. When we Opened in Romania
BUCHAREST (WNS) —A new
reached Oswiecin my mother, fa-
ther, sister and brother were sent home for Jewish apprentices has
immediately to the gas chambers. been opened at Oradea through
the initiative of Jewish youths
They were burned that night.
"I worked in the coal mines who were deported during the
near the camp. I didn't have war.
Here young Jews from the ages
much to eat. I didn't have much
of
14 to 19 will be given the op-
time to sleep. Many died but I —
portunity
to learn trades under
I was young. Youth, they say,
the supervision of competent su-
always survives.
pervisors. The aim is to make it
"When the Russian army start- possible for the young people to
ed to advance and came closer contribute to the rehabilitation of
and closer to ,the German border, the Jewish community as soon as
I was transported to another in- possible.
ferno — Buchenwald. In Buch-
Shades of the Past:
A Short Short Story
Sincere Good Wishes
for a
Joyous Passover
MILGRIM
A Youth Tells His Story to Soldier
in the Quiet of a European Wood
By LIBBY ZARITSKY
A QUARTER OF an hour before
sunset. It is quiet in the
forest. A river winds its way
lazily, serenely. The sun's last
rays dance sprightly on its silvery
surface.
A spring wells forth from a
crevice in the bank and falls with
a babbling sound into the river.
Oak bushes cluster the banks. The
green foliage casts an eerie sha-
dow on the damp, yellow sand.
A solitary figure sits among the
shadows, a crawny youth staring
vacantly at the flowing river. The
leaves rustle. A branch snaps. A
step is heard. A soldier appears
on the bank of the river. The
soldier stands motionless, staring
at the boy, uncertain whether to
encroach upon this solitude. The
boy lifts his eyes. His cheeks are
drawn — his face pale.
"Are you looking for someone?"
he asks.
The soldier shakes his head.
"Then please sit down and talk
to me. It's good to have someone
near me. I'm alone so often.
I'm always alone."
"Aro you one of the children
sheltered in the Home?" the sol-
dier falters. "You look so much
older, so much more mature .. ."
The boy smiles, a shy, bashful
smile. "Do I? I feel older, yet
I'm only 15 . . only 15." His
eyes arc wistful, his tone listless.
"I was born in a little village
near Petrikov, Poland. My par-
ents owned a dry goods store and
they owned a house. We were
three children, I the oldest. We
were happy .. so happy. Then
Hitler came and gobbled up Po-
land.
"His henchmen herded the Jews
of our village into a camp. We
slept in barracks — barren, no
light, no beds. We spent three
endless weeks, man, woman and
child huddled together on the
damp, cold barracks floor.
"Then we were sent back to our
homes and were reassured that we
would no more be molested. 'We'
did not include the 40 healthy
boys picked for slave labor. I
was then 11 but tall for my age.
I was one of the 'chosen few' to
be transported to Germany.
"I'll never forget how my moth-
er kissed the hands of those gang-
sters, how she pleaded and begged.
She encircled me with her strong
arms and screamed that she would
not let me go. They beat her and
tore me from her arms.
"On the way we picked up 200
more recruits, 200 more boys with
which to populate Oswiecen. I
lay in the corner of the truck,
paralyzed by fear. When we
reached the concentration camp
darkness had already fallen. With
darkness came courage. I made
up my mind not to leave the
truck. Perhaps no one would no-
tice! Perhaps I would be able to
escape!
I lay in the shadows, curled up
like a ball. I watched the others
being driven out of the truck,
being driven by the lash of a
whip. I heard their shouts. I
heard their cries. I lay in the
shadows, afraid to move, afraid to
breath.
* * *
"A half hour passed. Silence.
Then I heard a methodic thump-
ing. Bundles were being thrown
into the empty truck. A bundle
landed sharply on my back. I
stretched out my hand and 're-
coiled at the touch of a coat that
still retained bodily warmth. The
motor started. The clothes were
being taken to Lublin.
"I sat there buried 'neath the
clothes, the clothes of murdered
Jews. I wasn't sleepy. I wasn't
hungry. I just wanted to cry —
not alone in the darkness but on
the comforting shoulders of my
mother and father. The auto stop-
ped. The guards dispersed.
"Throwing the clothes off me, I
jumped off the truck and ran out
Into the night. I wandered through
field and forest. When I saw a
peasant I would hide. I was
afraid of the men: But when I
saw a peasant woman I would
emerge from my hiding place and
ask the way to Petrikov. She
always told me.
"Finally I reached home. My
mother's fervent kisses warmed
my shivering body. My father's
calm voice quieted my tormented
Incorporated
—I N THE—
FISHER BLDG.
NORMAN ROSS
Extends Best Wishes
To the Entire Community for a
HAPPY PASSOVER
11,0111111111 LUMBER COMPHY
1 4300 CLOVERDALE AVE.
],MICHIGAN
DETROIT:
PASSOVER GREETINGS
Passover Greetings
To Our Many Friends
IRA KAUFMAN
BOYER'S HAUNTED SHACKS
FUNERAL HOME
17 Neighborhood Stores
TYLER 7.4520
9419 DEXTER BLVD.
Passover Greetings
Passover
AND BEST WISHES
Greetings .. .
TO DETROIT JEWRY
and
Best Wishes to the
Entire Jewish Community
CO PC O
STEEL and ENGINEERING CO.
14035 GRAND RIVER
Grinnell Bros.
DETROIT
S
1515 WOODWARD AVE. and Branches
)
%.,
We Extend Our Greetings
I
PASSOVER GREETINGS
and Best Wishes
To THE ENTIRE JEWISH COMMUNITY
'1E111.
YOUR
HOME
itA,
AllfealVSBOPS
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