The End of Days (20 page)

Read The End of Days Online

Authors: Helen Sendyk

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Historical, #History, #Holocaust, #test

BOOK: The End of Days
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pale. She sat there watching his face and listening to his heartbeat. She felt the warmth of his feverish body with her own flushed face. She patted his head, fed him more medicine, and changed his compresses, fighting her own exhaustion.
Before dawn Heshek opened his eyes, looked at Cesia, and weakly pronounced her name. And then it was over. She saw the color draining from his face. She embraced him and felt the chill of death in his body. She wanted to scream, to call to him not to leave her, but no sound escaped her throat. It was an hour before dawn, June 2, 1942, when Heshek's young soul returned to his maker.
 
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Chapter 10
Several months passed with no communication from Heshek, and Vrumek began to doubt that his package had ever arrived. When a letter finally came from Heshek, Vrumek was overjoyed to read that Heshek had received the food package. Heshek thanked his brother and discreetly praised Vrumek for being courageous enough to have escaped. Heshek wished he had listened to his younger brother and had done the same. Vrumek learned from the letter how bad things were for Heshek. The letter gave Vrumek the strength and will to struggle on. Whatever he could accomplish or acquire was for the two of them, he felt.
Meanwhile the war took a dramatic new turn. The Germans, ignoring the nonaggression pact they had made with Stalin,
 
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suddenly attacked the Russians in June of 1941. Vrumek now found himself again under German occupation there in Lvov.
The chance of surviving under German rule for a young Jewish fellow with no friends or relatives seemed bleak. Vrureek decided to try and return home to Chrzanow, to his family, but this would not be easy. Luckily, he still had his original documents that showed he resided in Chrzanow. Through some local Jews, Vrumek was able to contact a smuggler, a local peasant from a neighboring village. For a sum of money, this man provided Vrumek with additional documents.
Once he had the documents, Vrumek started out on his perilous journey. Travel by train was too risky, since the Germans were everywhere, checking papers. Vrumek bought a bicycle, stuffed some food into his pocket, and started his trip home early in the morning. To avoid suspicion, he didn't carry any luggage. He rode all day, carefully avoiding the Germans because his documents identifying him as a local laborer would not clear him so far from Lvov. Nervous and tense, he pedaled his bicycle with all his strength, trying to cover a great distance as quickly as possible. He stopped only at night, sleeping in abandoned buildings or in haystacks. When he had to stop to buy food, he'd watch the store for a while first, then quickly make his purchase and leave before any questions could be asked. He had to be wary of every dog that would bark to announce a stranger. As much as being labeled a renegade Jew, he had to worry about local peasants mistaking him for a thief.
By the sixth day he knew he was close to Chrzanow: he was exhausted but excited at the prospect of seeing his beloved family once again. His reverie was shattered by the sight of a German patrol. His body stiffening with terror, he barely managed to turn off the road, almost toppling over as he made the sharp turn.
Peddling fiercely, he tried another approach to Chrzanow, but once again he saw German soldiers. Finally, he managed to make his way into town without being stopped. There were many more Germans around than when he'd left, especially near the house at 1331 Slowackiego Street. From a distance he
 
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could already tell that no Jews lived there anymore. He saw Germans coming and going and guessed they were living there, naturally having occupied the nicest homes in town. Had he come all the way from distant Lvov, overcoming so many dangers and obstacles, to find himself unable to locate his family? Instinctively, he rode down to Aunt Esther's house and slipped inside, carrying his bicycle on his shoulder.
Vrumek ran up the stairs and knocked on the door, unnerved by the unusual silence within. He knocked again and listened. His family and Aunt Esther's family could be anywhere, he fearedor nowhere, God forbid. Why had he taken it for granted that everything was going to be the way it had been before he left? Who knew what his family had endured in his absence?
The self-torture ended when he heard a few tentative steps. The door opened, and there stood a frightened Aunt Esther.
''My God, it's Vrumek!" she gasped. "Quick!" she said, pulling him into the house and shutting the door. She dragged him into the next room. "Help me move this wardrobe," she said urgently. "For God's sake, Vrumek, the Germans are right here in this building. There is an action going on. We don't know who they are looking for this time, young people or old people, but if they see you, God forbid, we are all lost. This bicycle, it could be our end: Jews have not been allowed to possess bicycles for a long time now."
Vrumek helped her move the wardrobe that hid the door leading to the secret third room. He pushed through the narrow space, pulling the bicycle with him into the hiding place. He then pulled the wardrobe back into place from the inside. In the darkened room he could make out Uncle Pinchas sitting in a corner. Sholek, Chamek, Hania, and Gucia embraced him in absolute silence, freezing in mid-embrace when they heard rapping at the outer door. They listened to the thumping German boots. They could hear the Germans question Aunt Esther as to the whereabouts of her family, and her stuttering response that her husband was at work. Barely daring to breathe, they heard the Nazis opening closets and cabinets, knocking furniture around. Their hearts skipped a beat when the Ger-
 
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mans opened the wardrobe that concealed the door to their hiding place. It seemed as if the Germans were right there in the room with them. Uncle Pinchas's lips moved in silent prayer. The soldiers poked around in the wardrobe and then slammed the door shut.
They yelled to Aunt Esther, "Tell your husband not to move from here when he returns from work. We will be back for him."
The Germans left, but the rest of the day was spent in the hiding place, lest the Nazis make good on their threat. That evening, however, the roundup was over, the Germans having collected their quota of people. The family was spared once again.
 
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Chapter 11
It was late in the afternoon, just before curfew, when I reached Aunt Esther's house. Mama had dispatched me to inform her sister that, thank God, we were safe, and to see how Esther's family had fared in the latest German search.
Aunt Esther, expecting the Germans to come back, was frantic with fear to see me out in the street just after a raid and just before curfew. She seemed emotionally drained.
"Thanks to the Almighty we are all here," she said, "but please, Helcia, run back immediately so that you get home safe."
She suddenly realized that my family and I didn't even know that Vrumek was alive, well, and sitting right there in
 
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her home. She yelled excitedly, "And don't forget to tell your parents that Vrumek is here."
Now I was stunned. I wanted to ask her what she meant by "here," but she pushed me out the door, again urging me to run fast, adding that everything would be explained tomorrow.
The next morning Vrumek came to the tiny apartment we now occupied on Kadlubek Street. It was an emotional reunion with Mama, Papa, and the rest of us; there were tears of happiness for his homecoming, bitter tears of sorrow for Shlamek, and concern for Heshek in frozen Siberia and for Nachcia interned in a concentration camp.
The first pressing issue was to get rid of Vrumek's illegal bicycle. Uncle Pinchas would offer the bicycle in exchange for food. His peasant contacts still had enough chickens, eggs, milk, potatoes, and vegetables that they were willing to barter for valuables. The bicycle was a valuable commodity, but the trading would be dangerous. Our cousin Sholek Bromberger volunteered. He took off his mandatory white armband and took the bicycle out of town, where the exchange took place. With help from the Almighty he made it home safely, his basket laden with food. Vrumek's two-wheeled liability brought back good luck after all. Only Mama did not partake of the rare bounty of fresh food.
"How can I eat knowing that my son Heshek is starving in Siberia, and my daughter Nachcia, who offered herself to save us, is starving in a concentration camp?" Letters were scarce, but sometimes mail did get through from the camps. Mama was constantly scrounging, saving foodstuffs to be sent to Heshek and Nachcia. She never knew, however, if they received her packages.
The next priority was for Vrumek to get a job; otherwise, his very life was in danger. Vrumek tried the two local shops unsuccessfully, but using his influence with his German employer, Jacob was able to acquire a position for Vrumek with Kleinecke, the German labor commandant. It was a job in civil engineering, but he was resourceful enough to excel at anything that could preserve his life and help his family. Klei-
 
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necke was pleased with him and allowed him to get himself an assistant. Vrumek immediately picked Sholek Bromberger, who at the time was also in dire need of a job.
They both had travel passes issued by Kleinecke, so the two cousins often had to resist the temptation to acquire some illegal food from the peasants in their travels. Even though food was so scarce, they knew enough to stay away from trouble.
Yet trouble did not stay away from them. Many times they would be stopped by German patrols; their documents would be investigated while their hearts pounded with fear. When finally identified as Kleinecke's workers, they would be releasedmost of the time. One time, though, they could not convince an arrogant Gestapo officer to get in touch with Kleinecke's office to verify their employment. They pleaded, but nothing helped. The Gestapo took them to the nearby town of Jaworzno and locked them up in jail. Vrumek was distraught. He was not one to panic, but the situation was so grave, he couldn't see a way out. At least if they had been arrested in Chrzanow, he could possibly get word out to his family, and eventually to Kleinecke. He tried again and again to get the attention of other German officials, pleading for them to contact Kleinecke. All he got was a humiliating beating for being disruptive. Vrumek and his cousin sat there in silence, darkly contemplating their circumstances.
Suddenly, a girl was brought out from inside and ordered to sit next to them on a bench in the front hall. The girl was rather young. She seemed terrified. Her hair was all in tangles, her face red and smeared with tears. Vrumek could not be certain she was Jewish but took the chance of talking to her. If she wasn't Jewish, she probably would not attempt to help them, but she couldn't hurt them either; they couldn't be much worse off than they already were. Vrumek cautiously whispered to her when he got the chance.
"Please, if you do get out of here, I am Vrumek Stapler from Chrzanow. Just try to notify anyone in Chrzanow. Please, even if you don't remember the name, just say two guys from Chrzanow."
 
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Luckily the girl did get out. She was Jewish, and she knew the importance of the message. As soon as she reached her home, she forwarded the message to Chrzanow. Jacob promptly addressed himself to Kleinecke's office. Kleinecke intervened, and the cousins were immediately freed from prison. Vrumek subsequently asked Kleinecke not to send them out of town anymore.
The German raids went on day and night. Without warning, the town was encircled by Gestapo and SS in their green, black, and gold uniforms, stomping their shiny boots through the streets of the town. Swinging their rubber truncheons, beating on doors with them, they terrorized the Jewish community.
"
Raus, Du Judenschwein!
" they would yell: Out, you Jewish swine! Pushing and shoving their captives out of doorways, down staircases, kicking and beating them, they would lead us all to the marketplace, treating us as though we were criminals. The once pleasant marketplace, which had offered wonderful sights, tastes, and smells, had been turned into an arena of terror. Multitudes of people stood there distraught, women clutching the little hands of their painfully apprehensive children. Families huddled together, clinging to each other in a vain attempt to stay together. What did the Germans want this time? Was it the young for labor in their concentration camps? Was it the old, the sick, and the feeble? People milled about, searching for family and friends, taking stock of who was present and who was missing. The Germans spread chaos with the barbaric beating of those deemed less human than themselves.
I stood next to Mama, tightly squeezing her hand. Blimcia and Jacob cuddled together, shielding tiny baby Aiziu between them. Vrumek and Sholek were next to Papa, frantically looking around like trapped animals. Mama scanned the multitude, searching for Aunt Esther and her family. Suddenly she caught sight of her mother, Grandma Chaya, standing there shivering, her gaze blank and empty. Like a lost, terrified child, this elderly woman who had fought life's battles and deserved to spend her final days in tranquillity stood there

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