The war was coming to an end, we thought, but so was our strength. We had now gone four days without food. It was over a week since we had left Grunberg. It was an icy day. A sharp wind bit at our faces… That afternoon, as we were marching through a thicket, we heard shots. A moment later one of the SS men pointed a gun at me. Come along! he shouted. I stepped out of line. The SS pulled out three more girls… Oddly enough, I thought of a winters day, at home, & Schmutzi, my cat, bringing her newborn kittens into the kitchen to warm them by the stove… After a few steps - I had been daydreaming for only a moment - we came to a clearing. There were two bodies in the snow. Take them to the woods, the SS man commanded. My arms felt unequal to it. Take her head, snapped the girl nearest me. I looked at the dead girls face. I did not know her. Her eyes were open. I lifted her head. The snow beneath was red. The two of us were too weak to lift her, so we took her by the arms & dragged her into the trees. When we left her, she looked alive. I scooped up snow to wash her blood off my hands… The SS man stood smoking a cigarette. I thought our turn was next, but he made us hurry to join the column. Ilse looked relieved when I returned. We held hands silentlt. I was in a state of shock. We walked for a long, long time that evening, passing through tiny villages. Here & there a light showed. Smoke came from chimneys. We could see women preparing supper. How snug & warm everybody looked! --Gerda Weismann Klein (b.1924) [Presidential Medal of Freedom 2011] [from All But My Life 1957]
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:17:38 +0000