Outcry: Holocaust Memoirs by Manny Steinberg

Author:Manny Steinberg [Steinberg, Manny]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers
Published: 2014-09-22T22:00:00+00:00

LIGHT

It was on the sixth day of our wait in the tunnel that help came to us. After the bombarding stopped there was a great calm and we now felt that the end was finally in sight. The first thing I noticed was the arrival of an American tank manned by American soldiers in their battle green uniforms. At first I was confused, I thought this was a German tank but as soon as one of the soldiers started to talk I recognized the English expression ‘O.K.’ which I had heard in movies I had seen before the war and I knew immediately that these men were our friends.

They were wonderful to us, these Americans. We were informed that Red Cross trucks would come to pick us up to take us into the village of Ostenburken and that there we would have temporary freedom to walk about until a suitable place to house us could be found.

My mind could not grasp anything but that one word ‘Freedom!’ It went around and around in my brain. It was difficult to realize that this could be so. To be free and without fear was something I had dreamed about for so long. It was almost too wonderful to take in all at one time. Papa, Stanley and I were elated and overwhelmed with joy that we had survived and could now finally be together again. We cried with relief and happiness.

Soon the Red Cross trucks as promised arrived and we were taken into town. Now we could walk about freely without the barbed wire fences, without the constant guards watching our every move and without the eagle eye of a soldier observing us from the watch towers. Also, we knew that soon there would be plenty of food, clothing and a place for us to sleep. We were especially happy that all the people that needed medical attention could receive care now.

The fact that we were free meant so much to me that I had almost forgotten about my chest injury and that I was still barefooted with only a dirty, ragged blanket to cover me. Somehow, it seemed of very little consequence at this time. I was free.

Upon entering the town there was a Gestapo man with a noose around his neck, hanging for everyone to see. I went over and stared at this man dangling in the air, lifeless. I had no feelings one way or another for this man. I was numb in my heart. I tried to hate him and tell myself he was no good and deserved to die, but I felt empty inside. The only thing I noticed was his shoes that he wouldn't need any longer, so I untied them and put them on my feet. They were much too large but I had shoes and that's all that mattered. Later I went into an abandoned house and found a tuxedo and a top hat stuffed away in an old chest. I put the top

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