I Am Juden: Undercover in the SS by Stephen Uzzell
Author:Stephen Uzzell [Uzzell, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-01T05:00:00+00:00
The next morning, I decided to return to Izaaka Street as Jozef Siegler and seek out any original neighbours who had known my family. It was six months since Shoshana had taken my mother and sisters to a friendly farm outside Cracow, from where they had hoped to leave for Palestine. She hadnât revealed the name of the village in her letter, for obvious reasons. I had no way of knowing if they were still holed up in the countryside, if they had managed to escape, or if their plan â like so many other - had failed.
I left Harry Mohnkeâs uniform in the wardrobe and dressed in cotton shirt and woollen trousers. For the first time in daylight, I opened the bedroom curtains to assess the lay of the land. At the foot of the building was a maze of vegetable gardens, sheds and workshops. The area was bordered by an empty plot of land on one side and across Tragutta Street by a new-looking wall that extended in both directions at a length of several metres, and didnât seem to be guarding much except a nest of grim tenements, crooked as tombstones. When I followed the barricade round to the east as far as I could, I saw the curious sight of a large concrete gate in the middle of the wall, through which a rail train emerged, loaded with glum passengers.
I had inherited a room with a prime view of the Jewish Ghetto. Izaaka could wait another hour.
The janitor was changing the light-bulb on a tottering ladder when I got downstairs. I stood gripping the side-rail as he worked.
âI trust you found the sleep you were looking for, Mr. Mohnke.â
âIt was a little odd lying in my brotherâs bed, but tiredness soon got the better of me.â
âIn that respect, I envy you. The older I get, the more tired I become, but now I canât sleep. Godâs nothing if not a joker.â
âI was looking at the allotments under the bedroom window. Did Erich have a plot?â
âNot much of a green-fingers, your brother. He couldnât even keep a spider plant. I ended up adopting it myself.â
âThat sounds like Erich. Do you mind if I take a look?â
âAt his plant?â
âThe allotments,â I said.
With a final twist, the light-bulb flickered, casting Escherichâs gaunt face a sickly yellow. âFollow me.â
Outside it was bitterly cold in the shadowed of the tenement. The gardens were well-tended and generously proportioned, but little grew in winter apart from onions and lettuce. I pretended to study the soil until I heard the janitor close the door behind me, then I began searching for the path that would deliver me onto Tragutta, twisting and turning past shed and green-house until the Ghetto suddenly reared into view across the street.
The wall rose three metres high and was topped elegantly with curved panels which bore a striking resemblance to matzevahs, Jewish tombstones. Most of the buildings behind it were already dilapidated before the war, and chronic overcrowding had only hastened their decline.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Cain by Jose Saramago(1164)
The Spy by Paulo Coelho(1053)
Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers(800)
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese(742)
Cain by Saramago José(728)
A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin(724)
The Prince: Jonathan by Francine Rivers(698)
Devil Water by Anya Seton(681)
La Catedral del Mar by Ildefonso Falcones(679)
Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers(658)
The Book of Saladin by Tariq Ali(657)
La dama azul by Sierra Javier(652)
La dama azul(v.1) by Javier Sierra(649)
The Sacrifice by Beverly Lewis(626)
Creacion by Gore Vidal(621)
La Catedral del Mar by ILDEFONSO FALCONES(616)
Murder by Vote by Rose Pascoe(611)
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero (World Classics) by Henryk Sienkiewicz(593)
The August Few Book One: Amygdala by Sam Fennah(570)