Images from the Holocaust A LITERATURE ANTHOLOGY A LITERATUREANTHOLOGV NTC Publishing Group a division of NTC/CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING COMPANY Lincolnwood, Illinois USA Acknowledgments for literary selections can be found beginning on page 569, which should be considered an extension of this copyright page. ISBN 0-8442-5920-9 (student text) ISBN 0-8442-5921-7 (instructor’s edition) Sponsoring Editor: Marisa L. L’Heureux Associate Editor: Nancy Liskar Cover design: Ophelia M. Chambliss Interior design: Matthew Doherty Production Manager: Rosemary Dolinski Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Images from the Holocaust: a literature anthology / [compiled by] Jean E. Brown, Elaine C. Stephens, Janet E. Rubin, p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-8442-5920-9 (pbk .) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)—Personal narratives. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)—Literary collections. I. Brown, Jean E. II. Stephen, Elaine C. III. Rubin, Janet. D804. 195. 143 1996 96-21319 940.53' 18—dc20 dp Published by NTC Publishing Group, a division of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company. © 1997 NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company 4255 West Touhy Avenue, Lincolnwood (Chicago), Illinois 60646-1975 U. S. A. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America. 7890VL9876543 Dedication To my aunt and uncle, Vesta and Elmer Mitchell, with my love and gratitude for the richness they bring to me. Jean E. Brown To my lovely daughter, Melinda, who is a source of great joy in my life. Elaine C. Stephens To my brother, sister, niece, and nephews for the love and the memories we share. Janet E. Rubin ' Contents Preface xi chapter 1 Rumblings of Danger i Why Remember? Milton Meltzer 4 The Roots Barbara Rogasky 8 They Wanted Everyone to Know Who the Jews Were David A. Adler 14 39 Casimir-the-Great Street Yala Korwin 20 Other Victims Ina R. Friedman 22 Before the Storm Richard Plant 25 We Were Jehovah’s Witnesses Ina R. Friedman 30 Kristallnacht Werner Weinberg 34 They Had a System Yala Korwin 41 chapter 2 In Hiding 43 Singing in the Sun Yala Korwin 45 The Hidden Children Kristine Keren (as told to Jane Marks) 46 The Survivor of Babi Yar Othniel J. Seiden 49 Noemi Yala Korwin 53 Hiding to Survive Andy Sterling (as told to Maxine B. Rosenberg) 54 In Hiding Helen Began Cohen 59 I Shall Live Henry Orenstein 60 The Last Jews in Berlin Leonard Gross 68 1980 Abraham Sutzkever 71 Contents chapter 3 Fleeing for Their Lives 73 Cast Out Karen Gershon 75 We Came as Children Karen Gershon 76 The Children’s Exodus Karen Gershon 85 The Return Arnost Lustig 88 Phimosis Is Not Circumcision Joseph Jojffo 94 The Bitter Years Richard Petrow 99 Escape from Sobibor Richard Rashke 109 chapter 4 Surrounded by Ghetto Walls 115 Lodz Ghetto Dawid Sierakowiak 117 The Sunflower Simon Wiesenthal 136 In the Ghetto Harry Gordon 139 The Collection of Valuables Harry Gordon 142 Volunteers Vladka Meed 145 Leaving the Ghetto Vladka Meed 149 A Cup of Tears Abraham Lewin 155 A Girl of Six from the Ghetto Jerzy Ficowski 168 The Unknown Brother and Sister of the Lodz Ghetto Laurel Holliday 169 Warsaw in April 1943 Stanislaw Marczak-Oborski 173 Did God Create the Nazis? Lawrence Bush 174 The Lemon Arnost Lustig 183 Contents chapter 5 Imprisoned in the Camps 201 A Prelude to Hell Elio Romano 203 Survival in Auschwitz Primo Levi 213 Street for Arrivals, Street for Departures Charlotte Delbo 225 Treblinka Frank Stiffel 232 Terezin Hanus Hachenburg 245 Stars Yaffa Eliach 247 September 1944 Charles Fishman 250 Gypsies Charlotte Delbo 251 The Shawl Cynthia Ozick 256 Taut as a String Sara Nomberg-Przytyk 261 A Living Torch Sara Nomberg-Przytyk 265 Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl 267 Letters from Westerbork Etty Hillesum 271 This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen Tadeusz Borowski 2 77 chapter 6 Resisting Evil 293 There Were Those Susan Dambroff 294 I Did What Everyone Should Have Done Arie van Mansum (as told to Gay Block and Malka Drucker) 295 Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed Philip P. Hallie 300 Jew, Go Back to the Grave! Yajfa Eliach 307 August-November 1943 Primo Levi 310 Silence, and a Starry Night Hirsh Glik 316 Underground Networks for Child-Rescue Anny Latour 317 Such Things Are Not Going to Happen to Us Chaim Asa (as edited by Carol Rittner and Sandra Myer) 3^3 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Vladka Meed 326 Contents chap ter 1 Liberation 335 I, the Survivor Bertolt Brecht 33 6 Death against Life Elie Wiesel 337 Liberation Lucille Eichengreen 340 The Thaw Primo Levi 345 Night of Surrender Ida Fink 35i 1728 Hours: A Time to Remember Michael Selzer Silence Tadeusz Borowski 372 Chorus of the Rescued Nelly Sachs chapter 8 The Days After 375 Steps beyond the Grave Simon Wiesenthal 377 Searching Dov Beril Edelstein 385 Displaced Person s Camp Lucille Eichengreen 397 Reunions Bernard Gotfryd 403 Saving the Fragments Isabella Leitner 410 We Didn't Know That You Were Alive Helen Epstein My War Began in 1945 Deborah Dwork 425 The Awakening Primo Levi 431 1945 Bernard S. Mikofsky 435 1945, The Silence Burton D. Wasserman 436 The Accident Elie Wiesel 437 viii