War Torn Love (52 page)

             
But our God forbids us committing such atrocities. We had to draw solace, knowing as long as we had our devotion to each other, and faith to our God, we could somehow miraculously survive through all this. And come out of this stronger, with the hopes that just maybe one day The God will hear our many unanswered prayers, and then will finally all come to an end all this needless suffering.

             
We all had hopes the Americans will come to our rescue. Since it seemed the French and British had yet to come, it would seem they had completely failed us, it had been so long. Perhaps they were losing the war. We just do not get any news, other than propaganda in favor of the Germans.

Chapter Eighteen

                          
“Preparing to ship out”

             
In the middle of December 1942, in the thralls of an exceptionally harsh winter, the Ghetto was over flowing with people many
times,
over what it should hold - it was quickly becoming an unsafe living environment, a cesspool disease, and despair was running rampant. The conditions for all of us were utterly deplorable and only getting worse by the day. Sickness and death was spreading quickly.

             
Then there was a complete lack of a housing situation. Which was now beyond dire, a long time ago; everyone that was fortunate enough to have previously been assigned a place to reside now had to share even more. The residents started over the last several months taking on the added responsibility to keep as many of the poor souls off the cold streets, and try keeping them warm, and not freezing to death. Still we could not help them all - not even close to it. We all did everything humanly possible to though the deficiencies were breaking my heart. In
fact,
there was no more room anywhere - people slept in hallways, doorways. They huddled in the street, built fires in barrels in the streets to keep themselves warm. All the blankets and clothing that could be spared were given to them, we even resorted to taking the belongs - including
clothing off of the dead - if it could go to assisting others. Not much reprieve for our people where still freezing to death, right on the streets, out in the open. As the Polish winter was taking an extreme toll on them - weeding out those that could not stand it. The ones that died in the streets, bodies became as hard as ice, as the carts made their rounds to acquire the most recent of dead bodies. Because of the vast numbers of the dying, it sometime took a couple of days to come around and collect. And by then, there were more…and more.

             
My family did our own part, sacrificing all what we could and took in another family of four. Our apartment was now swelling with way too many people; we hardly had room to move about, let alone handle even more people. Nevertheless, it was our duty - anything else would have been shameless.

             
Production in the many factories set up throughout the Ghetto was at its highest levels since the founding, - running more smoothly than ever, but we would learn a painful lesson from the Germans. It did not matter how hard any of us had pushed ourselves, and worked ourselves to the bone, just in the hopes our family would get more to eat.  No longer was this going to matter to the Germans. Our work was no longer worth it to them and we started to find that our things were not the only thing we would lose.

             
We got word that people were starting to be shipped out of the Ghetto, on trains; this was a brash policy amendment. The very same way we came in, were beginning to leave again.

             
The first question I asked myself - Where exactly where the people being shipped off to? No one really knew for sure, but there was an awful lot of speculation going on where or why this was all happening. A woman that worked at the sewing machine next to me said that her husband claiming Hitler is making Jews fight against their enemies, the Russians on the Eastern front.
             

             
The influx of Jews had entirely stopped flowing into the Ghetto for the first time, at least since we had arrived. Rather now, what was happening, the train was flowing in the opposite direction, taking people away. Each time the train was pulling out the boxcars was either full of Jews, or goods produced by the Jewish work force of the ghettos.

             
Along with the food we once were being supplied, the quantities had been drastically been cut back – repeatedly and with no explanation. It was nearly impossible to survive on what they were giving us. It seemed we were no longer relevant to the Germans and it would seem they no longer needed anything from us - rather we had become irrelevant as a people. If we threaten to strike, so we could increase the rations provided, enough to keep our families alive, then all rations would be cut off altogether.  Then would allow us to starve. When a strike was formed thirty of the strikers were shot - killed were they stood.

             
The trains were rolling out with more people aboard them each time - taking them away every couple of days and then another train full of people would roll out. We knew our day would be coming to an end at some point. The Ghetto was going to completely cleared-out eventually
- still, there were at too many people to count, still here. When my family and I had arrived here, there were maybe five thousand people at most.  But, we just made the best of our situation.

             
When an apartment became vacant, than a new family moved on in within minutes of the previous family leaving. Sometimes fights would break out over it, sometimes to the death. When people are desperate enough, they are willing to do just about anything in order to keep their own family alive.

             
On the morning of January 3
^rd
1943 there was a plainly typed note slipped under the apartment's door. My father-in-law went over and picked up the note, briefly opened it, glanced through it quick, dawning on him of its importance as it pertains to the family. He had a somber looking face when he called us all together for a family meeting, calling us away from our many activities, cooking, cleaning, conversations; he wanted us all to find out at the same time, the children were sent off to the bedroom to play.

             
Then he glanced around the room, searching for our undivided attention, he cleared his throat, and then began to read from the typed note.

Dated January 3
^rd,

“To all the occupants of the building #12. As you know there are those of us that have been shipped out, taken away from the Ghetto over the last months - This brings me to the point,
you
are now officially being ordered to report to the front of the building at 6:00 am the following morning January 4th, along with everyone else in this building. We will be coming through to make sure that you have vacated, and not trying to sneak off. We have all your names. Therefore by the orders of the Furor himself, you are asked to cooperate fully with the soldiers, and avoid putting yourself or your family in any sort of peril.
The Nazis
had requested us taking this action at this time; we hope that this will turn out to be a good thing for all of us! God be with you all, it pains me greatly to have to do this.

Sincerely

The head of the Jewish council”

             
At first, the council was just randomly selecting individuals that were to be shipped off out of here to be able to meet the quotas. However, according to my brother-in-law, who just so happened to work in the Jewish community main office, and handles such matters, as papers pass by his desk, that was changing.

             
On one particular day while he was working at his desk, he looked up and spotted the presence of the Nazi commanders. The entire office fell awkwardly silent as he was passing through - he was well guarded, and he was being escorted by a half dozen of his finest soldiers. The officer had come with a specific agenda. That was to give an updated, revised mandatory quotas. He upped the quotas for the month – ordering more
Jews
to be taken away. He casually suggested choosing whole blocks, then laughed and asked if they could call it a holiday gift.  Each week the Nazi officer seems to be stepping up the quotas, they kept ordering more and more of us - this was drawing much suspicion amongst our people. Many questioned,
quietly
, and in hushed backroom meeting, why this was happening, and why was the rate in which we had to be shipped out was rapidly increasing. 

             
Through the half open door, my brother-in-law stopped working, and then overheard the loudest part of their one-sided conversation. It was hard not to, as loud as the Nazi officer was yelling. I do not think that they cared if he were over heard.

             
When our leader had disagreed with the German officer over this relocation process, and the sheer numbers he was being asked to ship out, he was shouted down.
Despite the fact,
he is trying
his darnedest, with what little power he still possessed to keep this from happening to our people. It would seem he was not going to just roll over without a fight.

             
My brother-in-law reckoned the explanation was he was willing to fight this from at all happening, and be willing to step up the production quotas to stave it all off. It was an act of a desperate man. I think that he knew the truth behind this - he was truly scared for all of us; it was something that he did not take lightly. He had great responsibility weighing down on his shoulders. He knew the risk if he dared speaking up to a Nazi officer. He did not like having such large numbers of his people sent away, at least here, even though state of affairs in the Ghetto were so deplorable he could help his people out to an extent - truthfully if it were not for him, I believe things would have been much worse. He had been keeping the Nazis at bay to a point. Now though, it seemed that line in the sand had been crossed, and washed up in the tide following behind.

             
Generating new list of people, weighed heavy on him, more than anyone could know. Since he was put in charge of the Ghetto, his health was spiraling downward. He did not like to be the one deciding the fate of those who should be the one going next, and who should stay for now – he knew he was deciding the fate of so many. It was bad enough he was forced to watch his people starve, without being able to help them. And I think he knew he was signing death warrants. No one heard from those that left.