Eliana (holocaust story)

Chapter 10

Back in the barracks, my family was waiting for me along with Rivka and two other women. One was the mother who had her two kids taken away. The second appeared around Shira’s age. They were all just talking.

My sisters and mother relaxed a bit when they saw me return. They had probably thought I might not come back when I had been called for. I didn’t blame them for thinking that.

Rivka observed us, she just seemed curious.

“What did they want, Eli?” my mother asked when I sat next to her on one of the hard bunks.

“They were questioning me about why the dog ran to me.” I made up quickly. I could only hope it sounded real and convincing. “They thought I had hidden food or called it.”

“What did they do?” Rivka asked.

“Searched me but that was pretty much it.” I replied.

“Why do you think the dog jumped you?” mama looked at me.

“I think it’s because I stared at it too long.” I pretended to guess. I couldn’t come up with much better.

“That would make sense, that can look challenging to a dog.” The mother nodded. “My name is Neta by the way.”

Neta had shoulder length blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She was as tall as Tziporah but appeared a bit more underweight.

“I suggest we all get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day.” Rivka said.

“Wait, Rivka.” I stopped her from leaving us. “What do they mean by ‘let work set you free’?”

“If you work hard enough, you will die and be free from this horrible place.” She replied bitterly. “That’s my take on it any ways.”

She was pretty blunt and honest. I appreciated that. She didn’t try to make it seem better, or censor things from Shira. She was realistic which had probably helped keep her alive so long.

I climbed up to my top bunk and tried my best to fall asleep on the stiff and uncomfortable hay. My clothes protected me from being scratched but it didn’t seem like much help.

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We woke up to the sound of a sharp whistle. It was early, much too early and I wanted more sleep. That wasn’t an option though; I hadn’t even been here long enough to consider it.

“Get up, now!” an officer yelled into our barracks.

People stirred, getting up as quickly as they could. Some struggled a lot more then others. Only a few people offered them any assistance. The majority ran outside. For the most part, the strong left the weak behind as Rivka had said.

“Eliana, Tziporah, wake up.” My mother called up to us.

I carefully climbed down just as Tziporah got up. Shira stood next to mama, clutching her hand tightly with fear in her eyes.

We all hurried outside as the others had done. We had to stand in lines for role call.

It was a painfully long process. We stood perfectly still in lines while officers came around and checked our tattoos. Every prisoner stayed silent the entire time. There was no talking and no moving.

No one dared to break the rules.

I wondered if they even cared if we were all present. They clearly didn’t care about our health, so why did they bother acting like our lives meant something to them.

After nearly two hours, we had to get in another line for our breakfast.

The new people, like my sisters, mama and I, had to go to a separate line to get our food bowls.