|
|||||||||
A memoir of the Holocaust
By Jacob Zylberman
The online version
© Copyright 1995, 2000, Jack Zylberman
Sonienka
By the end of April the Mandelewitzes were notified of their impending departure to America. A fortnight later they were on their way to Bremerhaven, Jacob becoming the custodian of their apartment.
As he leisurely walked toward the camp on this wet Saturday morning, the steaming shower of the baths invigorating, at the entrance he saw a group of men and women stepping out of a bus. They walked toward the plaza, talking with an accent similar to that of Mandelewitz, a uniformed driver close by, smoking.
Whenever Jacob met transients he did not fail to inquire about his sister, or Sonia – but those Litwaks ignored him.
Again he approached a round-faced, buxom girl with a small bundle in her hand that she was unwilling to part with, her shiny boots noisily clicking with each step, asking if a Sonia was in her group, expecting the same result. Instead, she looked him over and said, "Yes, there is one, but what business is it of yours?" The little blabbermouth kept jabbering, not giving him a chance to get a word in edgewise.
"I don’t care if there is one or a dozen Sonias amongst you, I am only interested in one. I am asking not for myself, but as a favor to her older brother, Mandelewitz."
"Who?" She stopped, turning white. "Who?"
"Man-de-le-witz."
"Oh, my God!" She moaned, and fell into Jacob’s arms in a dead faint. Instantly a crowd gathered, asking questions he could not answer. He was just as perplexed as they were.
Her friends revived her. Moments later she opened her eyes, and grabbed Jacob’s hand, crying.
"What happened?" one of her male companions asked.
"Why don’t you ask her?" Jacob answered sheepishly.
"But you must have said or done something," one of the guys insisted. "That poor girl is white as a ghost!"
"I only asked her about a girl named Sonia, that’s all," Jacob said, finding himself on the defensive.
Then she stopped crying, wiped away the tears, and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Sonia’s brother is alive, and he knows where he is," turning to Jacob. "What a pity that she left with the earlier bus to see Herman. She must be in Munich by now."
"Let’s be calm, not jump to conclusions," Jacob said, taking over. "Before we go any further we must be sure, positively sure, that these are the same people we are talking about.
"First, if you don’t mind, tell me about your friend Sonia. Where is she from? Has she any brothers beside this one? I want to know, and hope you will understand. There are so many searching for relatives, failing, and I don’t want it to happen to my friend, and I am sure, to yours."
"Yes, I understand," she said, holding back her tears. "Yes, I speak from experience.
"She has four sisters, all older than her, they live in America – one brother, a watchmaker, the best in Grodno."
"Now, please forgive me, how come you know so much about her sisters in America?"
"I’ll tell you. For almost four years we shared the same bunk. We know more about each other than anybody else in the world," and she started to cry again.
"I can tell you more about her brother, her sisters. One lives in New York, Rivke, in America, Betty."
"That’s enough," Jacob said. "It’s him all right. Now, listen carefully. It’s of great importance that I locate her right away, maybe we can arrange for them to get together."
"But why? Why is it so important?" one of her friends said. "They waited so long, a day or two would make no difference, right?"
"Wrong. Because he is not here, he is in Bremerhaven. You should also know that there is a strike on the docks, and if we hurry, we might reach him, so let’s not waste any time – if you know of her whereabouts, cable her right away, and leave the rest to me."
Immediately one of them went across the street to send a telegram; an hour later they boarded the bus.
The next morning, Jacob was among the first people at the main station, when the Munich-Stuttgart express train arrived, a sizable crowd pushing, shoving – he, looking for a brunette of medium height, when he spotted a woman at the far end of the platform, pacing. Their eyes met.
"Are you Sonia, Sonia Mandelewitz?" Jacob asked.
"Yes!" she replied, grabbing his hand in a tight grip. "My name is Sonia! Tell me about my brother! How is he? Where is he? Can I see him? Is he all right?
"You know, he lost his wife, and two beautiful, gorgeous boys. They were killed in the ghetto, so were my parents. Take me to him and I’ll be forever grateful. I want to see him," she said, holding back the tears.
"Okay, young lady, okay. You will see him. I’ll take you to him. It might take a while, but see him you will.
"Believe me, I know how you feel. I do indeed" – suddenly it dawned on him the experience of the not too distant past.
"But he is not here. He is in Bremerhaven. A train is leaving this afternoon. Tomorrow morning we’ll be there. As for now you must be tired, you could use a rest."
He opened the door to her brother’s vacated apartment. She threw herself on the bed and immediately fell asleep. Jacob had the opportunity to observe her more closely – a hefty girl in her twenties, rather pretty, deep wrinkles under her makeup.
"Here you are," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I must have had a long snooze. What time is it?"
"It’s time for dinner, and you didn’t snooze, you slept a half a day away," Jacob said good-humoredly. "First, let’s eat. There is a nice little restaurant around the corner. Then we’ll go and see your brother."
"Good, whatever you say." She nodded. "I must be silly, but you make me feel good."
"That was an excellent dinner, I enjoyed it very much," she said afterwards. "I’ll never be able to repay you."
"Sonia, you don’t have to do anything. I would have done it for anyone, especially for your brother, and whatever my efforts, it’s not a fraction of his generosity."
She took his hand and said, "Forgive me for my babbling, I was so nervous. I don’t even know your name."
"Here I am Yakob. In Russia I was Yasha."
"Then, Yasha, let me express my gratitude," she said, kissing him.
At midnight the train arrived at the English Zone and slowed down, then came to a full stop. The doors opened, the railroad police taking positions, asking for passes.
"This is no good," the officer growled, stopping Sonia. "This is an ID card from a D.P. camp in the American Zone. You cannot pass the border without the right permit."
"But Officer," Jacob said, "she’s going to meet her brother separated for years, before his ship leaves."
"I must see my brother, he is the only one left of my entire family," the poor Sonia implored. "Let me, please!"
The perplexed young man walked over to his superior, and a while later both returned, handing them back the "Ken-Kards."
"I am sorry," the older one said. "I cannot break the law. You must have a permit to cross the zone. There is a train leaving on the second track. Get your passes, and let me assure you, your brother will be here, he has no place to go." He opened the door, leaving them on a deserted platform.
There was a long shrill whistle, the locomotive released a hissing steam, moments later the train picked up speed and disappeared into the darkness.
They were in a dilemma, Jacob recalling the time when he looked for Malkele in Hanover, also in the English Zone, then he was not bothered, why now? But all this was immaterial. Something had to be done, and fast. To stand here in the middle of nowhere was no good, they would become conspicuous.
On the other hand, to go back would be to lose another day, and to go through the red tape for the necessary papers might take days, who knows, it could be too late.
But there must be another way to get there. This is an important railroad center, surely there is more than one train crossing the border, Jacob thought aloud.
Then he spotted it. He grabbed her hand – crossed one track, another, a couple more and there it was, a long cargo train, the engine puffing, emitting billows of black smoke.
Like the experienced railroad man that he was, he tested the sliding doors – and luckily on the third try one opened, an empty wagon, inviting. Jacob pushed Sonia inside, jumped in, and shut the door, leaving a narrow opening.
They were just in time, as the wheels clicked, and the engine started, gaining speed.
"Do you know what you are doing?" Sonia asked, clinging to him, her teeth chattering. "Do you?"
"Yes," he said. "Don’t worry, I’ll bet you a kiss that we are already in the English Zone."
At the crack of dawn the long train stopped at a small, inconspicuous station, where Jacob and Sonia jumped off.
It was the English Zone, the flags affirming it. An hour later they boarded the local train toward Bremen, sharing a compartment with half-asleep commuters, finally arriving at the pier, the side of the camp, a fenced-in place, a cluster of numerous buildings, a young M.P. pacing the sidewalk.
The moment before they entered the gate, they were stopped. Two couples entered the camp, scraps of paper in their hands. A middle-aged man left the camp not disturbed at all, and poor Sonia – crying.
"Come, let’s get away from here. We’ll find a way to get in, trust me," said Jacob. "I don’t want you to cry, and if you must, save it for later."
"How do you know?" the poor girl asked, wiping her tears.
"You see people passing the gate freely? Why can’t we?"
"Because they have a permit."
"So what? We can have one too. It’s only a scrap of paper, just a name, no picture. What will prevent us from having one?"
"You tell me. All I know," she said, her eyes blinking, "I am a couple of hundred feet away from my brother, so near, and yet so far. What can we do?"
"Just wait, my wonderful sister, I have a plan. Watch."
By now there was a steady flow of people in both directions. A clean-shaven young man was walking toward them. Jacob asked him if he could see his pass, explaining their predicament.
It was just as he thought, a mere scrap of official camp paper, and the name of the bearer. When he looked into the man’s eyes, he knew there would be no problem.
"Landsman," he said, "your worries are over. Stay here, I’ll be back in a jiffy."
Minutes later he was back, a wide grin on his face. He handed them two passes. "Here you are, I’ll see you inside."
"One more thing, please," Jacob said. "When do the guards change?"
"Any minute, here is his replacement," he said, pointing to an American M.P.
"Thank you, my good man, thank you, and may God bless you," added Sonia.
They neared a barrack, her hand in his in a tight grip, and like a symphony conductor adding to the drama, ready for the great finale, Jacob asked her to move aside.
He knocked at the door, waited, and knocked again. There was no answer. Then footsteps.
"What are you doing here?" the half-awaken Mandelewitz inquired, his grayish hair disheveled. "Don’t tell me that you are leaving for America also."
"I am not leaving," Jacob babbled, unable to prolong the suspense. "I am not going anywhere, but I have someone who wants to see you, before you leave."
"But who?" Mandelewitz looked around. "Who?"
"Here she is," Jacob said, stepping aside, when their eyes met. Then she ran toward him, and fell into his arms, his voice breaking into a hoarse whisper.
"Sonia, oh Sonienka, my darling," he cried, and Sonia, dangled in midair, sobbing. Two lost sheep reunited, Jacob wiping a tear, thankful for bringing them together.
"This calls for a celebration," declared the delirious Mandelewitz, not letting his Sonia leave his side.
"Now I know how your brother must have felt," he said, kissing her again, relating Jacob’s experience to her.
"Why didn’t you tell me? Bad boy," she reprimanded him.
"Didn’t you have enough trouble these last few days? Did I have to burden you with mine, too? And besides, it happened a long time ago.
"True, I failed to meet my brother in the flesh, but I am happy that you succeeded.
"Thus, if I may quote Graff Ciano, ‘Success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan.’ In a way we are not orphans anymore."
She kissed him abruptly. "This is for the bet, and this an advance for another one," pecking him on the other cheek.
For two days Mandelewitz lavished all the attention on his Sonienka, following her every step, ignoring his wife.
Back in Stuttgart, Sonia’s fiance was at the station, pacing.
"What happened?" he said, grabbing her in his arms. "I was so worried! Tell me!"
"All right, but first meet my brother Jacob," she said.
"I am Herman," he replied, pumping Jacob’s hand. "It’s indeed a great honor to meet my future brother-in-law."
"No, silly," she giggled. "He is my adopted brother. Thanks to him I met my real one."
"Okay, let’s go have a bite, I am all confused.."
"Now," Herman insisted after finishing the last morsel of the chicken, sipping his tea – I am all ears."
"Jacob made it all possible," Sonia said, taking her time. "It was not easy. There were problems, but he solved them. He outsmarted the authorities.
"Yet one thing that bothers me is his wife. I don’t like her, she is hard, cold, unapproachable, though pretty. Had I been here I would not have let him marry her."
"But my dear," Herman said. "He is happy with her, yes? That’s what counts.
"And to you, Jack, I am obliged for helping make Sonia’s dream come true. For months she was thinking of nothing else but her brother. Maybe now she will stop ignoring me. I thank you again and apologize for my fiancee for taking your time. Now we have to go. I have a business appointment, and am sure someone is waiting for you also."
"No, Herman, no one is waiting."
"Oh, you poor boy," Sonia said. "What a pity. If only I had a younger sister."
"But I have beautiful young nieces," interjected Herman. "I would be glad to show them off."
"Are they not taken yet? Still ‘zum haben’? Then what would they want with a fellow like me?" Jacob said. "What they need is someone practical, to support them, make them forget the past, not a dreamer."
"Don’t say that, don’t sound so bitter, dear boy," Sonia said. "Don’t get discouraged. Someday your dreams will come true – somewhere there is a girl waiting for you to make you happy. You deserve it."
"I hope so, though it’s not easy to find, one desires, but not many are left. Our people were so brutally decimated."
Presently they approached the Rheinsburghstrasse; Jacob shook hands with Herman; Sonia kissed him, bidding him goodbye.
 |