Auschwitz #34207 by Nancy Geise

Auschwitz #34207 by Nancy Geise

Author:Nancy Geise
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: survivors, auschwitz, holocaust survivors, jewish memoirs, world war 2 survivors
Publisher: Nancy Geise


Far from Home

It was so fortified I wondered if Hitler was hiding there.

~Joe Rubinstein

The truck rolled to a stop. We had been riding for hours and I was stiff and sore.

I looked around. Nothing but barren fields surrounded us on the dirt road. I had no idea where we were or, for that matter, where I had spent the past several weeks. The guards left the truck and took turns relieving themselves. I needed to do the same.

Until the previous day, a large group of us had been housed at an underground bunker compound. The cement bunkers were massive and the perimeters of the complex were surrounded by heavy artillery. We slept on cots and ate in chilly bunkers. We were rarely permitted to leave the bunker. On the rare occasion when we did, we stood watching as massive missiles were being loaded onto trucks. I could not fathom the damage such bombs would deliver. There was nothing for us to do but stand idly by, stomping our feet to try to stay warm, and watch the machines do the heavy lifting. It was one of the few times I yearned for more work, for at least it would keep me moving. It was odd to have us there doing nothing. It made no sense, but I had long ago given up trying to understand the Nazis. I no longer cared. Then, one day and without explanation, we were boarded on a truck and taken away.

As I looked down the lonely lane waiting for the guards to return to the truck, I remembered something I had long since forgotten. I had not even been old enough to go to school. Father had ridden up our street on one of his draft horses. Mother and I ran out to greet him. It was rare to see him riding a horse instead of driving a wagon. While I loved to watch Father’s horses from a distance, up close I was terrified of them. Tatte knew about my fear and was determined to cure me of it. I was hiding behind Mother, trying to peer from around her skirt, and the next thing I knew, Tatte leaned toward me, grabbed my coat collar, and hoisted me in the air until I landed in front of him, my small legs sticking straight out left and right, straddling the huge steed. I was terrified, and it must have shown on my face. Mother turned a funny scarlet color that spread from her neck to her face. She pulled me off the horse so fast I hardly knew what had happened and scolded Father in a tone I had never heard her use before, telling him never to do that again.

I ran back into the house, relieved that Mother had rescued me. Much later, I realized it was the only time I ever rode a horse with my father. I have a lot of those sweet memories of being with my father, my mother, and my family that I wish I could relive again.



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