64 Friday, April 11, 1980 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Martyrs, Heroes Remembrance Day — Poems of the Holocaust (Editors note: Anna Sotto was born in Scotland and is now a teacher in Tivon, near Haifa. These poems are taken from a book of poems called Two Israeli Voices' by Anna Sotto and David Schaal pub- lished by Outposts Publications, England. (Sandra Cohen arrived in Israel 12 years ago from Montreal, Canada. Her article4`and poetry have been published in Australia, the United States, Canada and Israel. "And I Don't Forget" is from her new collection of poems "Second Thoughts" published by Tal, Jerusalem.) Memento Mori — Poems for Katia By ANNA SOTTO While I was debating trimming my hair or having it waved, —yours was all shaved off. While you were waiting to be Selected as one of The Chosen, —I was let off — Scot free. I try to see you as you were, a shaven head a nameless face, reduced -to this number. The Women's Orchestra — Auschwitz By ANNA SOTTO Give us each day .. . their daily bread was the Death March. The hollow-eyed wraiths of Birkenau distorted Sousa, for the animated corpses shuffling by. Woman, playing for time, in Humanity's Requiem: I want to speak out and touch you but .-. . we chat over tea in the ten o'clock break as teachers do. By ANNA SOTTO By ANNA SOTTO While I was contemplating entering a teachers' college or furthering my knowledge of art, you entered a concentration camp. While I was considering weeding the path or sweeping dead leaves, —you were piling up bodies for graves. Chatting over tea in the ten o'clock break as teachers do— I catch a glimpse of the blue number tattooed on your arm. A 6893 But for the Grace — Poems for Katia She didn't cry when they removed her clothes, her ring, her shoes, her hair, But when they took away her name — she wept. and I don't forget By SANDRA COHEN (in memory of my grandparents who perished in the holocaust) two minutes of silence and the screams of six million tear my soul I stand chilled broken and my heart wails and my tears sting two minutes of silence and I ache and I don't forget Survivor By ANNA SOTTO Ak.< "Underneath the Smoke of the Crematorium," a drawing done by a concentration camp inmate. Padlock - the racked memories lest they seep through the cracks into your broken sleep with screaming nightmares. Muffle the awful sounds lest they return to haunt you with the humiliation of belonging to the Family of Man. The death camp slogan "Works Makes Free," a drawing done by a concentration camp inmate. Survivor Recalls the Revolt of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando physically unfit for the work because of the terrible JERUSALEM — Sitting conditions in the camp. Meanwhile, a resis- in his Jerusalem apart- ment, Milton Buki sighs de- tance movement had eply as he recalls his 26 come into being in Au- months internment in the schwitz. It was made up Auschwitz-Birkenau ex- of different national re- termination camp, and the sistance groups. Their - desperate uprising of the task was mutual help Jewish "Sonderkommando" among the prisoners and (special squad), more than the saving of prisoners' 35 years ago, on Oct. 7, lives as far as was possi- ble under the circum- 1944. Buki belonged to the stances, as well as to pre- Sonderkommando that pare for an uprising. The Jewish resistance worked in the crematoria burning the corpses of group was a notable part of Jewish men, women and that underground organiza- children who had been as- tion in the camp. It was phyxiated in gas chambers their task secretly to bring disguised as shower rooms. explosives from the Krupp They worked in day and arms factory in Auschwitz, night shifts to cope with the where Jewish women great number of Jews worked at slave labor. They ,transported, for extermina- also collected benzine, little tion purposes, to Auschwitz by little, hiding it away for from all over Nazi-occupied the future. These Jews, especially Europe. A small percentage the younger ones who were of them were detailed to members of Zionist youth forced labor, to be murdered movements, dreamed of re- later on when they became By GITTA SILBER World Zionist Organization sistance. They gained and sent off discreetly to encouragement and inspi- other extermination camps ration from the Warsaw to be gassed and burned. Ghetto Uprising and were In autumn 1944, with the proud of the fact that the Red Army coming closer, first of the extensive revolts the Nazis stopped mass against the Nazis in the transports of Jews to Au- great cities of Europe was schwitz. This is when the carried out by Jews. Sonderkommando knew They knew full well that their last hour had that the Germans in- come, because they were not tended to destroy the needed any more. When the Jewish people, but they Germans tried to trick them resolved to fight honora- into going to another camp bly rather than go meekly to be murdered, it took the to the gas chambers. "kommando" only a few Since they were doomed minutes to rise in revolt. to death anyway, they They set fire to one of the would let their oppres- crematoria, knifed a hated, sors pay a price for it. brutal German and threw The Sonderkommando him into the burning fur- was separated from the rest of the prisoners in the camp nace, and killed a few other because they knew too SS men in face-to-face much, and had to be pre- battle. They then broke vented from telling others through the fence and about about the mass extermina- 300 prisoners fled. How- tions of Jews and their ever, they were soon caught forced job of burning the by the Nazis and killed. corpses in the crematoria. Only a few survived. Nevertheless, the other For the same reasons they were periodically replaced prisoners were encouraged by the revolt, which gave them new hope. Having crushed the uprising successfully, the Nazis wanted to know how the prisoners got the dynamite. They infil- trated a Nazi agent among the forced labor- ers at the arms factory. Four young girls were ar- rested, among them Ruza Robote who was in charge of the smuggling. The four young girls were hung and the women who worked in the ammunition factory were compelled to wit- ness the hanging. The condemned marched calmly and proudly to their end and Ruza's last word was "vengeance." Milton Buki tells how he had managed to stay alive in such a hell: The Rus- sians were approaching and the Nazis did their best to efface all signs of their un- speakable crimes. They also evacuated the Auschwitz inmates and we were ob- liged to cover large dis- tances on foot on our way to smaller concentration camps. Many could not make it for- they were too weak. Those who were un- able to walk were shot by the Germans. "Then, we, the exhausted survivors of the 'death march,' were dispatched westwards in open freight cars in the middle of the winter without provigions. That was in January 1945. When we were passing at full speed through Czechos- lovakia, I took my life into my hands and jumped from the train. That is why I am here today." Yom Hashoa Observances (Continued from Page 1) observances. S The organiza- tion is also distributing symbolic yellow Stars of David to be worn at the ob- servance. Other Detroit area synagogue observances will be held Sunday at: CONG. BETH ACHIM — 11 a.m. — Joseph Tekulsky, head of a New York-based survivors group, will speak and students of the Beth Achim branch of United Hebrew Schools will sing and recite poetry. ADAT SHALOM SYNAGOGUE — 8 p.m. — Geraldine Schwartz's can- tata, "Night," will be ner- i- formed by the Oaklanc versity Singers. The Db.- oit Woodwind Quintet will also perform. Cantor Larry Vie- der will open the obser with Maariv service, Carol Rittner will speak on "One Christian's Response to the Holocaust." Watercolors entitled "I Can't Forget" by Sheryl Ro- gers will be displayed. CONG. BNAI MOSHE — 8 p.m. — Holocaust sur- vivor David Bergman will speak, Cantor Louis Klein will sing and Rabbi Stanley Rosenbaum will lead a memorial service.