The Dentist of Auschwitz

by Benjamin Jacobs

  “If Tadek allows it, I don’t think they’ll say no,” I reasoned. “You’ll go in to talk to the baker?” We decided to act but not to reveal our plan to anyone then, not even my father. We hadn’t received much more food in the ghetto, but there we didn’t do the hard work that Steineck demanded. Calories in particular were the prerequisite for endurance.

  After our evening soup, which I still couldn’t swallow easily, I slid into my bunk, covered myself, and fell asleep. The dutiful bells too soon announced time to rise, and the hectic chase began instantly. In the next hour we had to wash, dress, be at the kitchen in time for rations, eat, and then report for roll call before going to work. On the road I decided to take my chances. Thinking of the many times that Tadek had let Marek go to the spring by himself, I thought he had every reason to trust us.

  “Would you let Marek go into the bakery for a few minutes?” I asked, promising to make it up to him.

  Reluctantly Tadek agreed. “Make sure he returns quickly,” he said.

  It was a tense moment before Marek came back with two round loaves of bread under his arms, each the size of a bicycle wheel. The aroma of fresh baked bread followed him. “He will sell us as much bread as we want,” Marek said triumphantly. “Beginning next week he’ll bake twenty extra for us every day.”

  Except for the money, all elements of our undertaking were in place. What bread Marek brought was quickly ripped to pieces. Of course it wasn’t enough, and inmates began to grumble. Someone said, “Tomorrow I’ll also go in.”

  I feared this might lead to chaos and destroy our endeavor. I asked the man not to go and told him that our plans were to organize for everyone. Anyway, we had a few days to work it out. We knew that it was necessary to gamble in order to survive. What was safe, and how far we could go, remained open to question. At noon that day I went to meet Zosia. Our conversation was light. There was no mention of camp, Nazis, or politics. We had a more normal boy-girl relationship now. Zosia was my heroine, and she excited me. When I asked her if she had a boyfriend, she said no.

  Zosia took the note I had written to my family and promised to send it at the first opportunity. In this letter I did not mention Steineck’s harsh conditions. I assured my mother that Zosia could be trusted as an intermediary.

  When we parted I kissed Zosia’s forehead and cheeks. She made me feel warm inside, and I looked forward to seeing her as often as possible. When I returned to the camp, all the inmates were back at work. Unnoticed, I passed the dining barracks. Not a soul was in the office. Stasia, however, knew of my absence. No sooner was I back than she came with a plate of food. Eating scraps reminded me of our new place in this bizarre social disorder, but it was difficult to go hungry and be proud at the same time.

  “Don’t let the Germans see you away from the construction site. Some, as you know, hate Jews,” she said protectively. Stasia loved playing this role. I learned that one couldn’t hide things from her for too long. It was far better to have her on your side. I decided to take Stasia into my confidence.

  “Stasia, I’ve met a girl from the garden nursery whom I like,” I said. Her eyes narrowed as she grinned at me. Looking me in the face, with her colorful kupka (kerchief) riding up her forehead, she gave me a triumphant smile, as if to affirm that her suspicions had been correct.

  “I knew there was something like that. Be careful. You know we are not allowed to fraternize with you. I don’t mean you, but with all of you.” She stopped and thought for a minute. “Some of our people don’t like Jews because they opposed Christianity. I know, Bronek, that all early Christians were Jews. And our religion was founded by one coming from Jews. To me, Bronek, even if they aren’t Christian, they are still people,” she philosophized.

  Stasia regarded me differently once she could express her enmity for the German occupation. She knew I wasn’t bound by secrecy alone but by what an inmate could allow himself to say. Thus I also became her confidant and heard a lot of company gossip. She too had her secrets, for she was having an affair with Witczak.

  Each day Papa’s face grew thinner and more sallow, and I knew I had to get him transferred as quickly as possible. The next day at noon, Papa waited for me at the office. Although everyone had always thought I resembled my mother, Stasia saw the resemblance between me and Papa. Later I asked her if she couldn’t use one more hand around the kitchen. “Is it your father you have in mind?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Who is his foreman?”

  “He works for Schmerele.”

  “For Schmerele?” she repeated, surprised. “He is an unpredictable son of a bitch. They all are,” she added. On that occasion she made it known that she was still unhappy with the potato peelers. I promised to talk once more to our people. By the end of the day she had worked it out so that Papa could start on Monday.

  “As for Mr. Witczak, don’t worry. I will take care of it,” she said. My father took the news with great happiness, although neither good nor bad impacted him very much then. He had a strange kind of spiritual dignity. As the youngest in the family, I was at the center of his life. Nearly illiterate himself, he was proud of his son’s scholastic progress. For the first time, that day I had the feeling I was doing something to help my father.

  It was Thursday, and I had to tell Tadek that we wanted to pick things up from the bakery daily. It was then that I began to hear that he and the other guards liked the class ring I wore. “The baker promised to bake some extra breads for us. Will you let us pick them up?” I asked Tadek.

  “Hmm,” he grumbled. It wasn’t yes or no.

  I took the ring off my finger. “Tadek, I don’t have much use here for this. I’d like to give it to you.”

  He glanced at me and at the ring. “You don’t have to do this.” He hesitated and then finally agreed. “But if someone gets caught, I don’t know anything.”

  “It’s still dark at that hour. No one will catch us. And if they do, I guarantee you’ll not be involved,” I said. Little could I guarantee, but we could move on with our plans. Still, we were taking chances. I felt that someday something might go wrong, and eventually it did. But that was much later, so until then we had a source for badly needed extra food.

  Marek collected enough zlotys for the week. The rest, I thought, should be relatively easy to find.

  In only a week at Steineck, so much had happened.

  CHAPTER VII

  Zosia

  Zosia and I met every day. She became more than an acquaintance to me. Our attraction was real, and we both knew it. One day she and her work clothes smelled of exotic flowers. She came close to me in her modest way, her thick brown hair rolling around her face in the warm breeze. Her satin skin glistened with light. Her delicate smile had a sensual expression. I drew her close. She put her hands around my waist. I embraced her and gently caressed her face. Our lips touched. The scent of her skin and the softness of her lips sent my heart racing. Suddenly I felt my lost sexuality steering within me. We kissed, separated, then kissed again. I desired her, and she wanted me. We sat and looked at one another on a moss-covered tree stump, knowing our relationship had to climax, but not here and not now. Leaving her on that day was particularly hard. In parting, Zosia hinted in a timid way that perhaps on Monday we could meet closer to the garden nursery. We kissed in an unrestrained passionate embrace. For a young Jew, a camp inmate, to be loved and to be in love on a spring day—what a priceless feeling.

  I recalled that while I was a student at the Jewish gymnasium in Kalisz, my cousin Josek, who was ten years older than I, wanted me to experience sex. The prostitute was a very attractive young girl. I remember my fascination with her craft and my regret that she sold her body for money. I spent all my time with her in an attempt to reform her. In the end I left without touching her.

  When I returned to the office, Stasia squinted at me. She was curious, and it wasn’t long before I admitted that I had been with Zosia. “Be careful, Bronek,” she reminded me in her motherly way
.

  Returning to camp after our first work week, we were told that our camp Kommandant had arrived. When I entered the corridor, I saw him coming out of the first aid room, with a policeman trotting behind. The Kommandant was about two meters tall, around forty-five years old, and overweight. His square jaw made him look brutish. Across his bulging stomach, covered by a well-tailored black SS uniform, was a stub-nosed handgun held in place by a thin leather belt and holster. Riding britches and shiny boots completed his uniform. His SS cap showed that his Nazi rank was Scharführer, or group leader. Ironically, his last name was Krusche, the same as that of the infamous dentist in Dobra. He had a cold and distant look. In the first days he made new assignments and named the Stubenältester (room wardens) for each room. He stressed strict obedience with a fiery arrogance typical of the SS.

  There was no doubt about who was running the camp now. From this time on, once a week we got gray, blue-striped undergarments, which were permeated by a strong smell of disinfectant. On Saturday afternoon, Krusche came, followed by our policeman, to check his flock. That year we had a warmer than usual spring. Patches of green grass sprouted near the fences, and once a bird flew into the wires, fluttered its wings, and dropped to the ground. The bird tried to get up but did not succeed. I wondered, is this an omen?

  A debate erupted. Someone said, “Why are we always the scapegoats?”

  “As we have done many times before, we will also survive this, Amulek (devil),” said Reb Moishe, who sat next to him. “Eventually all people have to live by God’s Law.”

  “Did God really think men would live by his laws?” asked another.

  “Yes,” the rebbe said. He then recited: “I’ll make thee a great nation, and I’ll bless thee and curse him who cursed thee.”

  Then another prisoner interrupted. “Why were we driven out of our homeland and dispersed throughout the world? Why are we made into contemptible slaves? Why are we the focal point of hate at all times?”

  Reb Moishe answered with calm dignity. “Losing faith and losing the belief in God run counter to our principles, counter to our Halakah.” He had such a strong belief in what he said that it was hard for him to listen to the others. He ended the discussion, saying, “Our belief in God and hope is our only salvation.” My belief was not as clear as his.

  “Wars don’t last forever,” Papa remarked. “Once this is over we’ll all celebrate victory over this amulek.” No one mentioned resisting. We all seemed to be resigned to whatever fate had in store for us.

  Organizing was the term we used for the simple thefts that kept us alive. To go on, we had to find ways to supplement our meager rations. That involved danger. It meant testing how far we could venture. On weekdays my group looked forward to the fresh bread we got from the bakery. Sundays always brought curiosity seekers to the fence. Most outsiders were sympathetic at first, but as the camps multiplied the novelty wore off.

  Based on the news that filtered into the camp, a quick end to the war did not seem possible. One had to separate the probable from the desirable. Some lies were easily spotted, and others were speculative. We heard of Germany’s resounding successes. Europe was at Hitler’s mercy. The mere mention of his name made nations tremble. His newest successes were in North Africa. It was common talk that the Nazis would invade Russia. There was little hope that the other European countries would stop them. Only the United States, we thought, could deliver the Nazis a decisive blow. But we did not believe it would really happen. Freedom seemed far away.

  That night I dreamed I was with Zosia in a strange park. Everything was alive as we walked close to each other. She had her arm around my waist and her head on my shoulder.

  Monday, after a dismal start, the sky brightened, and we faced another warm day. Unlike the first weekend, this one had passed uneventfully. Marek told me he had gotten enough money for a week’s worth of bread. As we approached the bakery, he and three other inmates ran ahead. “Be careful. If you see anyone in uniform, leave the sacks in the field,” I cautioned them. We watched with suspense as they disappeared into the bakery.

  It went without a hitch. The smell of fresh-baked bread made the thought of eating it irresistible. It was pure drama that morning as the oven-fresh bread passed down the line. Some cut it with their improvised knives, and others just ripped it apart. Fresh bread was always my favorite. This reminded me of Sunday mornings at home, when Mama would serve cake or challah for breakfast. I would quietly swap this with kids in the neighborhood for plain bread.

  At noon I easily found the new meeting place that Zosia and I had arranged. It was the same distance for me and safer from discovery than the spring. It was a secluded area on low ground. On one side we were surrounded by tall spruce trees, and on the other wheat swayed back and forth. We talked briefly about my life in Dobra.

  The next day I arrived early. I watched as Zosia gracefully came into sight, wearing a Krakowianka, a dress of hand-sewn lace in rainbow colors, typical of Kraków culture. The flaring skirt accentuated her small waist. Her white blouse was stitched with colorful silk threads. Her peach-colored small breasts were slightly exposed in the square-shaped décolleté. Her sparkling eyes radiated Polish beauty. The sun shone on her face. I was filled with desire, and as I clasped her hand I could feel her tremble. We walked into the wheat field. Finally our romantic urges won. I put my hands around her waist. She leaned slightly on me. As I lowered her slowly toward the ground, I saw anticipation in her eyes. The idea of lovemaking electrified me. Blood flamed in my temples, and my heart pounded. When we began kissing and then stopped, our lips could not bear the separation. If there is such a thing as dying of passion, I was close to it. Her breasts swelled, rising and falling rapidly. “Oh, Bronek,” she repeated, as I thrust myself on her. The feel of her body increased my sensations, and I was in paradise. These were emotions I had not known before. Ecstasy brought tears to my eyes, followed by a pleasant feeling of exhaustion. Looking up at the bright sky, I realized what value she had brought into my dubious life. “I love you, Zosia,” I said for the first time. She looked into my eyes and kissed me sweetly. I knew that she loved me too. But we each had to return to our jobs, she to the garden and I to the office.

  On my way back I realized how risky this relationship had become and what danger it presented. According to Nazi theory, sex between races was the ultimate sin. If we were caught, it could cost us both our lives. Despite this, I knew that from now on we could not go on just being friends. We wanted something more, and so our lives were entwined in a most dangerous love affair. This was something I had best keep a secret.

  Zosia, now our postal intermediary, received a package from my mother. She brought it promptly to me. Papa and I knew that whatever Mama and Pola had sent us, they could not spare. We asked them in our next letter not to send their small rations and not to worry. Between our share of bread from the bakery, Zosia’s gifts, and the occasional leftovers from Stasia, neither Papa nor I suffered hunger. The work at the kitchen was more suited to Papa’s strength. Also, I had been able to keep an eye on him.

  Walking to and from work, we noticed the movement to the east of many German armored vehicles and tanks. It wasn’t long before we learned of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. For a while that news lifted our spirits because we hoped that the Soviets would bring the Germans’ appetite for world domination to an end. To keep the German war machine moving and their blitzkrieg against their former friend and ally in high gear, we were driven to work harder to complete the railway eastward. In the meantime, the Nazis were achieving one victory after another. Though most of us believed the Soviets would be victorious, the Nazis grabbed a good part of Russia on their first assault.

  The fields of rye and wheat that we passed on our daily marches swayed as their stalks arched under the weight of heavy kernels. A field of potato plants was a lush shade of green. On the edges of streams and marshes were thousands of irises and marigolds. Frogs croaked in the green algae. Our sixth Sund
ay in Steineck had arrived. Before noon, a young boy came running up to me, almost out of breath. He looked around to make sure he would not be heard. “Someone at the fence is asking for you,” he whispered. I followed him, and once we were near the fence he forgot all caution. “Right there,” he pointed. “The girl and the man asked for you by name.”

  When I walked closer, I saw Zosia standing beside an older man. Her skin shone through her lace blouse. She wore a pink skirt. My fellow inmates were curious about who they were. Zosia had obviously not known that visiting an inmate in Steineck was verboten (forbidden). “My father wanted to meet you,” she said, and he nodded.

  “Zosia has told me so much about you,” he said, looking at me through the squares of the fence. His voice sounded friendly. He was visibly moved.

  “Zosia,” I said apologetically, almost being impolite, “I forgot to tell you that we are not allowed visitors. If a guard were to see us, we might be in for trouble.”

  I wasn’t sure what her father knew about us. But in coming here, he demonstrated that he approved of her helping me. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I did not say anything further. While they looked at me, I remembered visiting the zoo. Now I was the one inside the fence.

  “I have a letter for you,” Zosia said. She had the letter and a package under her arm.

  So far the guards hadn’t noticed us. We only exchanged a few more words, and then Mr. Zasina, sensing that all wasn’t right, said, “We should leave now.”

  There was enough space under the fence for the package and the letter to slip through. Zosia passed both of them to me. In a low tone, she and her father said good-bye, and then they left. As they walked off, I became concerned about what the pious brethren thought of my companionship with a shiksa, a girl who was not of the Jewish faith. With the letter and package carefully concealed, I returned to Papa in the room.

  Papa read Mama’s letter several times. The news was bad. He, the eternal optimist, was now concerned about the harassment and brutality that had spiraled in the ghetto. Even so, our receiving mail from home reminded us that even though we were divided, we were still a family.