Esther leaned over and planted a kiss. “I defer to you, my love. I always have.”
* * *
Maximilian’s car horn sounded, and it was time for Eli to say his goodbyes. “Essie, I’ll try to arrange another visit in a few weeks. Take care of yourself, Izzie and Papa. I have asked Louis to help out at the brickyard. I’m afraid he’s of little business use there, but at least he’ll keep an eye on Papa and Izzie during the day. Maximilian says that Lublin is stable for the moment. There are no transports or actions in process. Still, I hate to leave you.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay. Come back to me when you can.”
“Write to me, Essie. Give the letters to Papa, and he will send them to me with the weekly truckload of materials. Keep your eyes open and let me know what is happening back here.”
A tear rolled down Esther’s cheek. “I will. Just take care of yourself. Be safe. Maybe in a few months, we’ll be together forever.”
Eli gently put his hands on Esther’s shoulders and spoke quietly but seriously. “Essie, I believe that and I’ll do everything to make it happen. But no matter what Maximilian says, no matter what plans we make, things can quickly change for the worse in this chaotic war. Keep your eyes open. If that moment comes, if you sense that Lipowa is going to close, if you witness people being rounded up and transported out of Lublin, if there is a risk that you might not be able to care for Izzie or that you and Izzie are in any danger…”
“I know,” Esther interrupted. “I’ll write to you.”
“No, you have to do something more immediate. Listen to me. If things are falling apart and you can no longer be sure of Izzie’s safety, I want you to take him to the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle in the Catholic quarter. Do you know where it is?”
Esther nodded.
“Ask for Lucya Sikorska. She will know what to do.”
Tears were flowing. Her jaw was quivering. “Eli…”
“Say her name to me, Essie.”
“Lucya Sikorska.”
“That’s right. You take Izzie to her. Give him to her. She will take care of him. We can trust her, Esther. She’s a good person.”
Esther nodded and folded into Eli’s arms. “Oh, my sunny day, please come back to me.”
“You know I will. I promise.”
* * *
The car slowly pulled away from the house. “For no good reason that I can think of, I am depending on you, Maximilian. If you don’t keep your word, if you don’t arrange a plan for us to get out in a couple of months, then I will leave you flat and do it on my own.”
“I always keep my word, Eli. I said I would protect your family and I will.”
“No, you said more than that. I want us in Sweden by springtime.”
“That’s a tall order, and I’m not sure I can fill it. We never agreed to springtime. That’s just a few months away. It will take more time to make such complex arrangements.”
“Don’t backtrack on me, Maximilian, or you can turn this car right around and head back to Lublin. I want to see progress. I want to see firm plans in place.”
“When the time is right, I will arrange to get you out of Poland, out of Central Europe, perhaps even into Sweden, but you have to be patient. You can depend on me. We have a lot of work to do first at the brickyard. Once you get it running like clockwork, I can cover for you; you won’t be missed as much. Then I’ll make some excuse for your absence.”
“Avram can handle the yard. Just make the arrangements!”
Maximilian shook his head. “Avram does not have your experience. Globočnik will not tolerate a decision to place Avram in charge.”
“At some point, Avram will have to take over. I won’t be here forever.”
“Let’s make plans to get you and your family safe before I have to deal with that.”
“The sooner, the better.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
LITZMANNSTADT (LODZ)
JANUARY 1942
Eli swung his feet to the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes as the sun broke through the window shade in his makeshift bedroom: a corner of the office at the Litzmannstadt brickyard. It had been two months since he had left Esther. On the other side of his window, workers were starting to arrive. Their shift began at daybreak and lasted, without a pause, until sundown. “Bring a bag lunch, eat on the fly” was the brickyard catchphrase. Orders for concrete, cement, wooden forms, rebar and bricks were being processed with increased frequency. Other than to military fortifications, the brickyard was urgently shipping materials for construction projects at five concentration camps: Chelmno, Sobibor, Majdanek, Belzec and Treblinka.
Avram Horwitz greeted Eli with a smile and a firm handshake. “I have something for you this morning,” he said, holding out an envelope. “It came with the shipment of materials from Lublin. Here’s your weekly letter from Esther. I hope everything is well with her.”
Eli took the envelope into his office and shut the door. He took his time and read the letter slowly, making the moments spent with Esther’s words last as long as possible. He read with longing her opening paragraphs and her chats about how proud she was of Izaak. Then he came to a section that shocked and disturbed him. He put the letter down and said, “I have to get home.”
Maximilian strolled in shortly before noon. He smiled as he scanned the activity in the yard. Trucks were entering and leaving the yard in a constant stream. “Say what you want,” he observed to Eli, “Germany’s economy is as strong as it can be. The führer boasts full employment.”
Eli sneered. “Full employment? Is that what he calls slave labor?”
“Not everyone is a conscripted worker. There are lots of opportunities for anyone who wants to work.”
“You’re an asshole. They are working in a war economy designed to oppress, conquer and kill.” He rattled Esther’s letter. “I got this letter today. I need to return to Lublin immediately.”
“Why?”
“Ten thousand Jews were taken out of ghetto A and shipped off to some camp last week. Did you know that and keep it from me?”
“I knew there were to be transports of unemployed people, but that didn’t concern you or Esther. Many of them were homeless, on the streets. Sadly, they are of no use to the Reich, and they are deemed deportable. They did not contribute to the Lublin economy, and the Reich thought there might be work for them at a camp. They were taken to Belzec.”
“Deportable? Belzec is a concentration camp. I hear things. People go there and they don’t return.”
“There are barracks there. Maybe homeless people are better off.”
“Every day you sound more like a Nazi. Who’s next, Maximilian?”
He answered calmly. “Surely not Esther. She’s employed, she’s not homeless and she’s under my protection. A few weeks ago, the SS registered all Jewish workers, and I’m sure Esther received a stamp mark on her ID card. She’s exempt from transport. Besides, she’s living in ghetto B, and I’m not aware of any plans to expel any Jews from ghetto B.”
“I don’t trust the SS and I don’t trust you. I haven’t seen my wife and son in almost two months. I want to go back.”
Maximilian had a pained expression. “Eli, you have no basis to say you don’t trust me. I have always had your back, but you can’t go right now. Odilo is in town. In fact, he’s coming over here this afternoon to view his brickyard and pat himself on the back. It’s the best construction yard in Europe. That’s what he says. We should be proud. I don’t know how long he is staying in Litzmannstadt, but it certainly won’t be possible to leave while he’s here. I know you miss Esther, but you receive letters from her each week. You know that both Esther and your son are doing fine.”
“I would hardly call it ‘doing fine.’ And letters don’t suffice for the time I am missing from my family. I need to be with my wife and son. When are you going to keep your promise?”
“Oh, my good man, I keep it every day. Aren’t you safe? Isn’t your wife
coming home and making dinner for your son and your father every day? Considering the circumstances, your family is privileged, thank you very much.”
“Ten thousand people were expelled to a concentration camp. How many more will be taken tomorrow?”
Maximilian shrugged. “I can’t say, but your brother may know. The Judenrat was tasked with selecting the individuals to be transported. Your brother and his committee picked each and every one of them.”
“I’m sure they didn’t do it of their own accord. They were responding to the commandant’s orders to supply people like they were inventory on a shelf. I’m sure the Judenrat had no choice.”
Maximilian shrugged. “It’s a war, Eli. They are deemed enemies of the state.”
“Enemies? Unemployed homeless people? Do they deem them to be a formidable foe? Is this a result of the Wannssee conference in December?”
Maximilian immediately held his hand up and said, “Shh! Be quiet! Don’t ever mention that again. I told you it was top secret. No one is supposed to know. I don’t think that Globočnik even remembers that he said anything about it before he passed out. Besides, it didn’t happen on December ninth. It was postponed because on December seventh those fools in Japan dropped bombs on the United States, which declared war on Japan and Germany the very next day.”
“The United States is a formidable enemy. It doesn’t look so good for the goose-steppers.”
“I don’t think Hitler is losing any sleep. The conference has been rescheduled for next week.”
“Is Globočnik going? Did he get his seat?”
“No, and he’s none too happy about it either. That’s why he’s here in Litzmannstadt instead of Berlin. And he’s cranky.”
Eli pointed a finger. “Maximilian, listen to me. Steel reinforcement bars, spacers and tons of concrete are scheduled to be shipped tomorrow to Majdanek. We have several trucks going out every day. Majdanek is just a few miles north of Lublin, and the trucks have to pass right through the town. Let me ride out with them, spend a few days with my family and catch a ride back.”
“And what do I tell Brigadeführer Globočnik?”
“Tell him I went to oversee construction at the Majdanek camp.”
“He doesn’t need you to oversee construction. He has superintendents that do that job. In fact, they don’t want any outsiders in that camp. What goes on there is private, confidential, top secret. He wants you here. He told me that himself. You’ll have to wait until he leaves.”
* * *
Globočnik came by the brickyard in the midafternoon with two adjutants. He nodded to Maximilian, who energetically pumped his hand. “Herr Brigadeführer, how good to see you. As you can see, we are working at full capacity.”
“It had better not be full capacity,” he snapped. “We are failing to meet the demand. We are transporting thousands of people”—he paused and looked at Eli—“I mean workers. Every day we transport workers to labor sites at camps in my Lublin District. In fact, we are far behind where we should be. We need more housing, more workshops and more”—pause again—“other kinds of buildings to be constructed at my camps.”
“But, your excellency, we are pushing our workers as hard as humanly possible and…”
Globočnik waved his hands. “Stop your prattling. There is an easy way to solve this problem. Buy lights.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Run the brickyard twenty-four seven.” He pointed at Eli. “There are two of you to manage this one, single business. If it operated around the clock, there would be no backlog of materials. Go out and buy lights. Fill those orders or, Maximilian, I will have other, less agreeable plans for you.” He smirked and waved his arm. “Light it up like daylight. No more excuses and no more discussion on this point.”
Globočnik turned and strutted out. Maximilian faced Eli and shrugged.
“This doesn’t change a thing,” Eli said. “I want to visit my wife, and you’re going to keep your promise to get us out of Central Europe.”
“I intend to keep that promise. I had no hand in this decision. I don’t want to be here any more than you do, but one does not disobey orders that come directly from the mouth of Brigadeführer Globočnik. In time, we’ll make that visit to Lublin. In time, I’ll get you out of Europe.”
Eli shook his head. “In time is too indefinite for me.”
“Just give me a few months. If the yard is operating around the clock, Globočnik’s camps will be fully supplied in a few months, and the pressure will ease. I promise: by April things will be different.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
LITZMANNSTADT (LODZ)
APRIL 1942
April arrived and little had changed. Eli sat on his bed with his stack of weekly letters, which he read and reread so many times he could recite them all by rote. They were his only connection to Esther, but their cumulative effect emphasized the separation and intensified his longing. He missed her and Izaak dearly. He desperately yearned to see her and hold her. To make matters worse, and despite Maximilian’s assurances, the tenor of Esther’s letters grew darker and conveyed an ever-increasing sense of danger.
Esther’s descriptions of life in Lublin detailed how conditions continued to deteriorate. In February, the Nazis imposed and enforced strict curfew regulations upon the remaining Jews in ghetto A. In March, she began to report graphic stories of cruelty and abuse.
She wrote that on the night of March 16, without warning or explanation, ghetto A was surrounded by Ukrainian guards from Trawniki. Families were forced out of their homes and into the street. Many were taken away without explanation. Those who resisted and those who could not travel because they were sick or disabled were shot. The Lublin ghettos were being systematically emptied. Sylvia told her that the Gestapo ordered Louis and the Judenrat to identify fifteen hundred people each and every day for “transport to the East.” “No one knows what that means, and no explanations are offered,” she wrote, “but we all harbor deep misgivings about the consequences.”
On March 20, Esther reported that the SS had changed her ID card to Juden-Ausweis, which meant that she was a worker and exempt from deportation. The other Lipowa girls had their ID cards changed as well. Though she had experienced no immediate threats, she was worried because Sylvia said that twenty-six thousand Lubliners without a Juden-Ausweis ID were snatched off the streets and deported. Sylvia did not know where they were sent, but a young boy said they were sent to Belzec. There was no doubt in Esther’s mind that the community was being dismantled. Very few shops were still open in the ghetto, and Jews were prohibited from going into Aryan neighborhoods.
On April 10, Eli received a letter that sent him into a frenzy. It was the last straw.
My dearest Eli.
It breaks my heart to write this letter. The president of the Judenrat, Henryk Bekker, was summoned to a meeting with the SS. Later that afternoon he notified all the members of the Judenrat that they were ordered to appear with their families at the train station. Bekker knew where they were going and that they would never return. He and his family dressed as though they were going to synagogue and carried no luggage. Louis and Sylvia were among the families and they are gone.
Earlier today, the Nazis commenced a massive roundup operation. I learned that two hundred children from the Jewish orphanage and their teachers were taken out by trucks. The Jewish hospital was cleared of all patients, all doctors and all nurses. They were taken by trucks as well, never to return. The person who told me this said they were driven to the Niemce Forest and they are all feared dead.
I have become so frightened, not for myself but for Izzie. Papa is still exempt and running the Lublin brickyard, and he is still able to deliver these letters to you, but he is not well, and I worry that in a crisis, he cannot protect Izzie. I decided that the moment we spoke about had arrived and I had to do something. I wish I could have consulted with you, but I believe I followed your instructions to the letter. I took him where you told me, and h
aving met her, I am confident it was the right decision. It wasn’t easy for him or me, but I know he’ll be safe with her. I don’t know what the future will hold for any of us, but know that I love you with all my heart and that will never change. You will always be my sunny day. Essie.
Eli shook. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to break out of Lodz, make his way back to Lublin and rescue his family. Like his courageous wife, he had to make a decision. He rapidly filled out a false bill of lading and a requisition form for shipment of forty pallets of bricks. He was heading out to the truck yard when Maximilian stopped him.
“Where are you going, Eli?”
“Get out of my way, Maximilian.”
“You can’t leave Lodz. Globočnik will punish us both.”
“I have to leave. They’re clearing out Lublin. They’ve taken my brother, his family and the entire Judenrat and transported them to I don’t know where. They are killing children, sick patients, doctors, teachers. Did you know any of this?”
Maximilian’s response was sober. “I have heard rumors.”
“Are we supplying construction materials for their prisons from which no one returns?”
“It is likely so.”
“I have to go back. You can’t stop me.”
“Esther is safe.”
“How do you know?”
“She has a stamped Juden-Ausweis ID, and your father has a stamped Juden-Ausweis ID. I made sure of that. For the time being, they are exempt.”
“How long will the ‘time being’ last, Maximilian? It can expire on a Zörner whim. I need to protect my wife and child.”
“Due to my influence, your family is safe and unharmed. As distasteful as it may seem to you, I’m afraid that we are bound together. I need you; you need me.”
“I’ve been gone too long, and I need to see her. Just let me go for a few days. I’ll come back; I promise.”
“Two days. Take the truck. I’ll cover for you.”
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