Harry Haft (Religion, Theology and the Holocaust) by Haft Alan

Author:Haft, Alan [Haft, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Published: 2006-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

The Cannibals

HARRY'S REWARD for winning the fight was some time off from work in the mines, and he took advantage of it. It was during this time of rest from his battle that word spread through the camp that the Russians were closing in. It was hard to ignore the sounds of bombing raids that grew louder every night, and the guards were beginning to show their anxiety.

One night the bombing was intense and unending. The prisoners greeted the sounds with hope until the German army mobilized and roused the inmates in the dead of the night. The men were lined up to evacuate the camp.

Several thousand Jews were set to march. Harry grabbed Peretz and made his way to the front of the line, as his experience had taught that it was often safer there.

Schneider saw Harry and Peretz in the front, and he walked the two of them over to several officers to remind them that they were his personal workers and that no harm should come to them.

The assault on the camp began as thousands of inmates poured out of the front gates of Yavorshno. Harry wondered why the Germans would go to the trouble of moving them when they could have easily been killed by Russian bombs.

The exodus was at a fast pace, and those who were too slow, too tired, or sick were shot and left like a trail of sticks along the road.

They walked for weeks, all day, stopping at night to rest. The marchers were able to find some food along the way, and the guards directed them to nearby farms where they would sleep in abandoned barns.

One cold night, Harry was led to a barn with very deep hay. A brilliant thought occurred to him. At daylight, when it would be time to resume the march, he would hide in the stacks of hay. Unfortunately, Harry was not the only one with this idea, and the Germans were not fooled. They went through the hay with bayonets and pitchforks to ferret out those in hiding. Men found hiding in the hay were shot on the spot, no questions asked.

Harry was stabbed with a pitchfork in his side and screamed out in pain. He was pulled out from the hay by a soldier who seemed to recognize him.

"The boxer. I've wounded the Animal," he told the others.

Other soldiers came over to confirm the find. They were all happy to see the boxer, and no one made too much of a fuss about his attempt to escape. They scolded him the way a mother would scold a child who spilled a drink. They even gave him a clean cloth to cover his wounds, and then escorted him to the front of the line to rejoin Peretz.

Out of several thousand Jews who left Jaworzno, only about two hundred made it to the intended destination, a train station. The soldiers loaded the survivors into a single boxcar, and slammed the doors shut. Peretz and Harry stayed together feeling like two brothers who were buried alive.

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