“Where’s Papa? Where is he?”
Izsak couldn’t look him in the eye. Gavriel’s hold on his arm tightened. Heinz fought to escape, trying to return the way they had come.
“No Heinz. You can’t go back there. Wait. He may yet turn up.”
Nothing Heinz did would release him from Gavriel’s iron grip. More guards arrived and escorted them to another building where they showered in cold water and had their bodies shaved. Then they were given some ragged clothes to wear. Heinz kept asking if anyone had seen his father, but nobody had. Most just shook their heads sadly. Some just stared at him as if they had lost all their reason.
They were fed watered-down soup, globs of fat congealing on the surface, and some rock-hard bread. Heinz refused to eat. Gavriel tried to persuade him, but he couldn’t.
The camp official appeared once more. The guards formed them into groups and called a roll. Papa’s name was read out, but nobody answered.
One man stepped forward to enquire after someone. Maybe his son or his father, Heinz didn’t know. The guard answered him and then clubbed him to death. Nobody else moved forward.
When they finally reached their assigned barracks, they met some prisoners who had been there a few months. Heinz couldn’t believe the state of them. They looked like scarecrows and smelt to high heaven.
“Gavriel, Izsak, I would say it’s great to see you but…” The walking scarecrow looked around him and shrugged.
Heinz watched Gavriel’s reaction. Visibly shaken, with tears in his eyes, his friend put his arms around the man and hugged him. Izsak joined in.
“What happened to you, David? Mama said you disappeared from the university. Aunt Sophie tried to find out where you were but she couldn’t. We thought you were safe. Your father?”
“Don’t talk to me about him, I think he finally got rid of his Jewish son. He divorced Mama years ago,” the man spat out. “They came to the university, someone betrayed us. They took us all out to the courtyard. The leaders or the full Jews were shot – for resisting arrest. With their hands in the air! The rest of us arrived here, on October 1st.”
“But that is only…” Heinz’s brain caught up with his mouth and he shut up.
“I know it is a short time but believe me, in here, it is the equivalent of a thousand years of hell. Do I know you?” David asked.
Heinz shook his head.
“He is a neighbor from our building. Dr. Beck is his father.”
The man’s eyes opened wider. He recognized the name. Heinz moved closer. “You know Papa? He was with us when we arrived, but he disappeared before the showers.”
“He’s dead. We were part of the burial detail. You’re younger than the usual collection.”
Papa dead? He couldn’t be. He shouldn’t even be in the camp. Not with his war record. It was all his fault. He shouldn’t have hit that Nazi. If not for him, Papa would be at home now with Tomas. And that woman and her brat.”
“Heinz, don’t,” Gavriel spoke, his tone gentle. He put his arm around Heinz’s shoulders. “Heinz struck an officer who hit Mama after she went to Dr. Beck’s house for shelter. So, the story goes.”
David stared at Heinz for a couple of seconds, “You are either very brave or very foolish.”
“Heinz, David is our cousin on Mama’s side. We haven’t seen him in a while, as his mother married a Gentile. Once, he was nice and polite but today he has forgotten his manners.” Gavriel swiped at David’s head but Heinz knew he didn’t intend to hit the man. Even a gentle push and David would fall over.
“Sorry Heinz, forgive me. I’ve been here too long. Have you got your bunks? Sit down and let me give you some lessons on how to survive.”
Heinz only listened with half an ear, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of his father. He lay down on his bunk and let the tears flow, under cover of darkness. The men kept whispering, as he reviewed images of his father, securing them deep in his memory. He vowed to make him proud, to live through this and in time, to avenge his death.
7
March 1939
“Looks like it’s your lucky day.”
Tempted to stare the guard in the face, Heinz had learnt not to. He stared at the ground instead.
“Your mother must love you a lot.” The guard poked Heinz with his stick. The other guards laughed, as his tormentor said some horrible things about Heinz’s mother.
Heinz knew he was being baited. After all, his mother was dead. Still, he had to count backward from a hundred so he wouldn’t react. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gavriel eyeing him with concern. Rachel’s brother had kept him sane in the months since their descent into hell. He’d done his best to keep Heinz out of trouble. Gavriel had arranged the best jobs for Heinz in the kitchens and away from the hard manual labor, most prisoners were subjected to. This gave Heinz the chance to heal, physically at least.
The prisoners were dismissed from roll call. Heinz went to follow them, but the guard stopped him.
“I told you, it’s your lucky day. You should show your appreciation. Get down on your knees and thank me for saving you.”
Heinz hesitated, but only for a second. His time would come for revenge but he wasn’t physically fit enough to take on the guard now. He got on his knees and thanked the guard.
“That’s better. Have a shower and get changed. Your papers are waiting.”
Heinz risked looking up. Was the guard serious? Was he really being released?
He got a belt on the shoulders. “Can’t leave marks on your pretty-boy face. Not when you will be seen in public. You will tell everyone you meet of the wonderful holiday you had in this camp. And if you are not out of Germany within eight weeks, I shall look
