Berlin, November 10, 1938
The sky outside was dark with very little light and cold air
blowing across the streets of Berlin. It was a not a good time to enjoy the
early winter that was blooming in, or the pale brown leaves that has withered
off, stripping the beautiful trees. The assassination of German embassy
official Ernst vom Rath in Paris has evoked mixed responses among the German
fraternity. Herschel Grynszpan , a Polish Jew
shot the german diplomat in Paris, avenging his parents’ exile. The streets were lined with mobs raising anti-jewish
slogans marching towards Schoneberg, a small town in Berlin.
Schoneberg was the home for most German speaking Jews and Eva
was one among them. Her skirt‘s cream color faded and was torn portraying the
condition of their race. The thumping sound of her shoes reverberated room’s
recess. A wooden tub brimming with hot water was held by Eva, to cleanse her
ailing husband, Benny. The sight of Benny toiling at the hands of unknown fever
made her lament and wail all day. They were left with rotten bread and rat
eaten cheese to survive. It was a duel between the rats and the grief stricken
Jews.
In the last couple of days, there was nothing they could find
to abate their hunger. The fever was vigorous; creating shock waves in Eva’s mind.
Very little strength was left in her to brood; all she could do to pacify
Benny’s pain was to give a towel bath. Eve sat beside him, looking into Benny’s
eyes. She couldn’t stand the sight of this, once joyous eyes that made her
smile; ones that locked with her when they made love, was grim in the sockets.
Sudden burst of window panes shook Eva, there was a large
piece of mortar on the wooden floor. Eva watched in horror, the mobs raiding
Jewish homes, shoving the furniture to the streets and torching them. Fear and
panic quickly arose in her, when a group of mob calling themselves as Hitler
youth came running towards her home. The door of her home came in pieces, after
a thunderous assault. German soldiers with swastika emblem embedded in their
notorious black uniform were climbing the stairs. Eva knew that not much could
be done; she just sat beside Benny, holding his arms.
Eva’s eyes had tears ebbing, with her voice strained to utter
a word. The footsteps were echoing the walls, soon they would be here. She
leaned towards Benny, when her lips moist with tears met Benny’s, gunshots in
her room made her deaf almost. Three soldiers and a Storm Leader belonging to Schutzstaffel with MG-42’s
hung to their shoulders walked in. Heinz Wagner, Storm Leader a thin man with
the eyes of an eagle and nose of a fox slowly walked towards Benny. He pulled a
chair towards Benny and Eva and sat across them. He made a brief glance at Benny while stripping
his gloves.
“Are we interrupting your romance my young lady?? “ said
Wagner. “Gentlemen, lets witness a beautiful love story between Jewish pigs”
The soldiers laughed in mockery, while one of them was busy
searching the drawers looking for valuables. He was pulling out the clothes out
of the wardrobe and piling them in the floor.
Wagner had his hands hugging him, “It seems your husband is
not strong enough to please you, in better words, comfort you. You can find
solace in me.” said Wagner.
Eva was furious with her blood shot eyes deprived of sleep,
she sat on chair crossing her legs and twisting her palms. She watched Benny, as
a tear drop ran across his pale cheek.
“Do you think your husband will disagree to this??? It’s
disgusting to watch your husband like this!!! Why don’t we send him to a beautiful place, so
that we can have some fun? “ Wagner was stroking the bridge of his nose.
Eva raised her head, to say something, but she couldn’t utter
a word because of her parched throat. She was weeping profoundly, knowing that
soon both would be killed. All her dreams of a happy life in a distant place
with beautiful landscapes were shattered.
“Such a beautiful lady shouldn’t cry. It’s time to say
goodbye to him. Let’s make it neat and clean.” Said Wagner. He rose from his
chair, took his Walther P 38 aiming at Benny. “Do you mind joining me, lady???”
Eva fell on Wagner’s legs pleading for mercy. Wagner never
seemed to bother the young woman’s plea. While she was begging, Wagner pulled
the trigger, showering Benny with bullets. She watched her husband’s lifeless
body, with blood gushing out from every bullet hole.
“oops... He’s gone” Wagner laughed, soon every soldier joined
him in appreciating his sadistic behavior. “My deepest condolences for your
losses”.
The soldiers came behind her, leaving no place to move with
their MG-42’s pointing at her. She was stepping back, as Wagner came towards
her. “I m no demon to fear, I m your master to teach you tricks; tricks that
can appease you” said Wagner with a half smile.
Wagner brought his arms to Eva’s shoulders, slowly untying
the knot of her dress. Until then she was a mute spectator watching all the
blood and gory. She spat on Wagner, surprising all men. Wagner was shocked to
find himself insulted by a Jewish woman. The soldier behind her slapped her
face, throwing herself down.
Wagner came rushing towards the soldier who had assaulted
her, “Officer, she is mine. I need to teach her some manners and she has to
understand, what happens if a Jew spits on Fuherer’s men. Does it make sense,
my young fellow?”
The soldier mumbled, “Yes Sir!!! Hail Hitler “
“Now arrest her and deport to Dachau Camp.” said Wagner,
still couldn’t believe the fact that, the embarrassment he faced among his sub
ordinates.
Eva was motionless, watching
the corpse of Benny, while the soldiers set ablaze the clothes that was lying
in the floor. The flames were consuming the blood soaked sheets in which
Benny’s corpse lay. “Nice time to enjoy the warmth in this bitter cold” laughed
mockingly Wagner.
Journey to Dachau
The Truck was barely covered
with a tarpaulin, which seemed to dance to the tunes of severe cold winds
blowing across the mountains. The tires crushed the twigs covered in early snow
and followed the marks of the trucks to reach its destination. A German soldier
was busy smoking his cigar behind the wheel of the truck. He was accompanied by
another one, sleeping through most of the journey. The truck had mostly Jews,
political prisoners and homosexuals.
Eva sat with her knees close to
her chest, arms hugging it, to soothe her body from cold. The loss of her
husband was a shock and the manner in which it was staged felt her numb. The
grief and anger remained inseparable, while her physical condition left her
helpless. A young boy dressed in black robes looked pathetic for his age and
was sobbing. The sickening surrounding forced him to empty his guts wetting the
dress of Eva The pungent odor and nausea stuck Eva, making her dizzy. There was
hardly any space to move around, she could feel the breath of other women in
her back.
The truck entered the massive
camp, whose perimeter had been fenced with barb wires to a height of 40ft. Two
queues were formed, one for women and children and the other one for men. Storm
Leader, Wagner was sitting near the Nazi doctor, who was busy making notes on
paper. The Doctor was a short bald man, with wrinkles near his eyes and rimmed
glass for his sunken eyes. The medical examination began with the men’s queue,
the doctor wrote the name followed by a number. Each prisoner will soon have
the number tattooed and addressed by the same.
After an hour’s wait, fit and
unhealthy guys were separated. Eva stood in the women’s queue, with grief and
agony tearing her apart. She wondered if she happened to pass the test, she
ought to work in camps till her end. The sight of Wagner brought more chills; it
was like choosing between two devils. Her queue started moving in a bright
pace, she was surprised. Their queue was made to move to a different place
without any medical examination.
Eva
was relieved temporarily, to avoid Wagner. While she crossed Storm leader, she
found him staring her between his occasional sips of brandy. She never saw or
understood what Wagner was whispering to the Nazi Doctor.
The queue then started moving towards a shallow pit, whose
periphery was covered in black soot. The horror struck them; when they came
close to reveal the exact details of the black soot. The pit was dumped with
human hair which appeared to be black soot. Women started to weep visualizing
the things that are likely to occur. The children joined their mothers in
crying, without the slightest knowledge. Eva watched in horror when a German soldier
shot a woman who refused to shave her hair. Within an hour, everyone was shaved
and tattooed with specific numbers. Eva looked at her new identity that was
imprinted in her left arm above her elbow, no 8.
Endless
Night
Eva was lying down, with her
face touching the cold floor. Her eye lashes moved, when a squeaking noise came
imposing. A rodent was buzzing near her cuts in her elbow. The door to the cell
opened, allowing a rush of cold air to enter. With all her might she adjusted
her vision, to make out the silhouette of the figure standing at the entrance. The
thin figure was removing its gloves, while slowly walking in. When she saw
Wagner, Benny’s death struck her like a storm.
“Well, Good Morning young lady!
How is our hospitality? Hope you enjoy the little companions!!! Guard” shouted
Wagner.
The German
soldier came running with a chair for Wagner, and stood in the corner with his
MG-42.
“Our last
meeting wasn’t good lady. Oh! I m sorry you have a new tag to be addressed
right now. No.8 !!! “ laughed Wagner, with the sound echoing in the small
space. Eva was staring at the rodent that was moving in a bizarre way.
“ I should ve stuck to my Fuherer’s
words, Women needs to be confined in
kitchen and be treated as child bearing machines,. “ I know you wouldn’t
have much time to sleep yesterday; this is your first sleepless night here.
There are many more nights to follow this. “ said Wagner with a half smile.
Eva never uttered a word with
her eyes closed; she balled both her fists, bringing her legs together like a fetus
in a womb. The silence made Wagner lose his temper. He rose from the chair and
started to leave.
“Don’t let her close her eyes again.
If you fail, I ll castrate you .Do I make myself clear??” barked Wagner.
“Yes Sir!!! Hail Hitler “
shouted the soldier.
With every sleepless night that passed, Eva’s stubbornness got
abated. The depression and anxiety was consuming her, moving inside the cell
like a mad dog. When she tried to bring down her eyes, the soldier would kick
in her stomach, making her coil like serpent. It was after the fifth successive
night, she began shouting with increased hyper activity. She made bizarre
actions and finally fell down. After several kicks she didn’t move.
Wagner instructed the soldier to
transfer Eva to women’s camp the very same day. Two Jewish prisoners held her
in a stretcher, which was more of a thick steel plate with rusted edges. Eva
didn’t know that she was experiencing her sleep after several days of insomnia.
No fellow prisoner came near her, fearing the punishment they would face. She
lay like a dead meat with her chest moving up and down to prove her existence.
A New Bond
The camp’s wall had dark patches
with spongy appearance. The damp and moist conditions prevailing inside
nurtured fungi. The women and children hardly remembered when they had their
last meal, except for a few pieces of stale bread after a big fight among them.
The boy in black robes sat near Eva, watching her staring at a small pebble.
“What’s your
name?? “ asked the boy.
“ Eva.. Eva Benny” said Eva, without realizing
Benny is no more. She started to cry silently.
“ why are you
crying?? Is your mommy dead? “ said the boy.
“No. it was my
husband, they killed my husband. Where’s your mother?” Said Eva, controlling her tears.
“I never knew
my parents. Born and raised in the street s of Berlin. “ said the boy.
“What’s your
name?” asked Eva.
“ I don’t know.
Some call me Paul, the old hag near
the town used to call me Alfred. You
can call me as you like” said the boy with a sheepish smile.
“Aren’t you
well, Alfred? You puked on me, when we came here. What happened?” asked Eva.
“It must be the
porridge. Many told me not to have it, because of the dead rodent floating in
it. I couldn’t bear my hunger, so I drank.” Said Alfred.
“Holy mother!
Never do that again, Alfred” said Eva,
closing her mouth with her palms.
“Yesterday the
soldiers shoved you inside, did they hurt you? I tried to wake you, but you
never moved” said Alfred.
“They hate us…
we’re Jews!!!” whispered Eva.
“ Are they bad???
You sound nice and kind. Then why they fight us?” asked Alfred.
“ If I knew the
answer, probably I could have saved Benny” said Eva.
The shrill sound of the siren
reverberated the walls of the camp. The time for the guards to swap their
positions and also the prisoners in the camp to stop their chit chat. A lone
soldier would move across the camp, to look for prisoners who loved a bit of
talk and play. Before the sound of siren could dampen, the prisoners were ready
to lie down in cold concrete floors.
“Shall I sleep
near you? “ asked Alfred with his eyes so desperate.
“Yes dear!”
said Eva, with a small smile that hung in her lips after a long time. Eva slept
in peace with Alfred’s arms around her.
The Night Ends
Most of the time, Eva was assigned the job of dragging out
corpses from the gas chamber to the pits for burial. She thought she was lucky
to survive so long and wondered what made them to keep her alive. Women and
children were used for experiments conducted by Nazi doctors for their new
inventions. As feared, the Germans have planned to Zyklon pellets in their
military combat. Naked women and children were ushered into a large room that housed
fake shower heads on the walls. When the doors shut, a Nazi would pour Zyklon-B
pellets into an opening (in the roof or through a window) which would turn into
poison gas once it contacts air.
The gas killed them slowly while they were battling for a
pocket of air to breathe. Alfred spent most of the time in pushing the bodies
to the pit. Alfred loved to play pebbles with Eva, trying to muster life into
her. She giggled rarely, whenever Alfred tried to do some slap stick comedies.
They shared a bond, just like the one between a mother and a child.
With days getting shorter during winter, this lasted very
little. Alfred wandered in his torn boots, in shallow pits collecting pebbles.
His loitering was disturbed by a soft moan. The sound that escaped from the
lonely cell, that stood rooted across the pit. He slipped the pebbles in his
trousers and ran towards the abandoned cell. As he came closer, the moaning
grew intense. Beads of perspiration lined on his forehead despite the bitter
cold. The fingers became numb while trying to hold his nerve.
He peeped in, with his fingers holding the edges of the
wooden frame of the cell. Wagner lay top on Eva, with her dress torn apart exposing
her privates’. Her arms were fastened to the wooden logs piled inside the cell.
Wagner lay half naked with his trousers and holster housing his Walther lying
side by side. With each thrust, she groaned in pain. The sight of Eva’s
suffering at the hands of a beast brought fear and guilt in Alfred. Wagner lost
himself in the physical pleasure without realizing the presence of Alfred.
Horror struck Eva when she found Alfred holding Wagner’s
Walther in his trembling hands. Eva shouted “No!” to stop Alfred from marching
towards this unmatched duel. Wagner was caught in a whirl surprise to see the
little punk holding his gun.
“You little devil, that’s not a toy! I don’t see find any
courage left in you! Drop the bloody gun, you bastard!!!” barked Wagner. Before
Wagner opened his mouth, a loud ringing sound escaped from the Walther,
splashing blood and pieces of Wagner’s brain on Eva’s face. Eva sat dumbstruck watching
Alfred ‘s body shaking in panic. She knew guards will be soon all over the
place, leaving no place to escape. Eva pulled Alfred to her, placed his head in
her bosom and cried silently.
“No matter what happens, don’t move away from me” mumbled
Eva. Alfred nodded in approval. “Let me tell you a story, which has no pain and
agony,……..”. Eva’s story slowly echoed in the graves of the children, while the
soldiers came marching in.
Epilogue:
I express my sincere gratitude to all
readers (if there are any) for spending some time to read my third story (quite
a big one!). It’s been a great journey all this November, while I penned this
one. The above story is a fictional one, but the places and events of Kristallnacht are factual.
Kristallnacht refers to the
wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9
and 10, 1938, throughout Germany. Maximum efforts were put in to record the
actual details of the concentration camps in Germany. I hope some justice was
done in bringing you the events of World War II. This story will be my tribute
to the thousands of Jews who were slaughtered in one man’s barbaric ritual.
Courtesy:
and many others who have been helpful in drafting this .
