A girl called A-18352: The Story of a Child of Auschwitz

Out the chimney

   Everyone in the cattle car cried our as we were jolted by it's sudden stop, Fayge was trembling in Tate's arms and Ewa clung on to me. Then the door open and we heard shouting,"Raus, Raus, Judenswein!! Schneller! Out, out, jewish swine, quickly!"

     As we stumbled out of the car, SS men we beating us with clubs. Guards held back snarling dogs a we were separated from Tate and Fayge. Ewa whimpered as women were calling out for their husbands and children, babies were crying. Somehow a scraggly line formed Tate was a in front of the family in front of us. The line approached a striking SS man who casually directed Tate and Fayge to the left with a flick of his wrist.

     When we approached him he intensely stared at Mamusiu as if examining a wild animal. He smirked and ran a finger through her hair. I shuddered as he touched my Mamusiu. He then directed her to the right. Me and Ewa started to follow her but he stopped us. "Little children, you will go to the left."

    I stared at him before obey his order. I went over to Tate.  When the guards had turned their backs he leaned down and said "Run!"  "What" I asked. "Take Ewa and run to the other line! Now!" he said it in nearly a whisper, I could hear the fear in his voice, but his eyes said 'Go now'.He looked around and pushed us "Run, Hurry!"

      Holding my sisters hand I sprinted to the other line and found Mamusiu in the crowd of women. "Children what are you doing here. Go to your father!" A thin woman leaned over, she looked if she hadn't eaten in days "Let your girls stay, you will never see them again if they go back," Mamusiu looked at her like she was crazy but allowed us to stay. We were led through an iron wrought gate. Looking on top of it I saw the ominous words ARBEIT MACH FREI across it.

     The line of women entered a red building. Men and women beat us as we entered. "Enter, faster idiotic whores!" then they laughed.

    A young woman's eyes widened as she saw me and Ewa. "Children, what are children doing here!!" she bellowed as she slapped us repeatedly.

     "Let them go, it's to late to send them back" another screeched.
   
     One turned to face us "Jews, you are newcomers, the lowest of the low. All of you have left your rights out the gate. Well, actually you have one right. You can all leave through the chimney." as she spoke you could hear the disgust and contempt in her voice.

      Leave through the chimney? I was utterly confused, how could one leave through the chimney? She continued "You all are filthy from your journey, you will take a shower. Undress now!!"

       No no no, I will not, not in front of everybody. Most of the women shared my feeling and started to protest. "Silence!" an SS man bellowed. "Any one not stripped in five minutes will be shot." At that all of us shyly started to undress. I helped Ewa pull her clothes off before undressing myself. I've never seen my sister naked, this was humiliating for both of us. Mamusiu covered up with her arms as we were herded into the showers.

    The water was ice cold. Ewa and I tilted our head back and drank until we thought we would burst. Suddenly the water was turned off, the doors we flung open. As we entered we were prodded and whipped like cattle"Raus, Idiotic bitches" I heard as we were herded into another room.

      We were forced to sit on the lines of wooden benches. Four men and women in stripped uniforms were waiting for us. They had thin faces and prominent cheek bones. "Remember, no hair no lice" a guard barked.

     Those men and women pulled out scissor and started down the lines of women cutting off their hair. All was quite except for the occasional cries of the barbers victims. I fingered my braids unable to imagine life without my golden locks.

        One of the men started cutting Mamusiu's hair. He quickly plucked the pins out of her hair. He grabbed her long bangs, she cried out as he yanked on the to pull up her head before hacking them off. He cut her hair without and sort of skill, hacking off great clumps at a time. He used a razor to shave of any remaining hair. Then he moved onto me. Taking my braid in my hands and hacked them off with his blunt scissor, before he shaved my head. Ewa screamed when it was her turn, I held her still.

      "Ewa,"I begged,"Promise me you won't let these monsters see you cry, the nazis won't show mercy," she look up with tears in her eyes and nodded.

     When every one was bald when were taken to another room. All the women looked like old men without hair. We were told to chose clothes from a big heap I got sacklike gray dress and a dark blue head scarf, I then plunged my hand into the pile and fished  out a blouse and skirt that looked like would fit Ewa. After we were dresses we were thrown an large stripped uniform and clogs, then herded into the next room. We formed a line in front of a table, women were moaning when they got to the front. At the table the man there asked me my name,"Katarzyna Litynski," he wrote in a ledger.

     "You are Katarzyna no more child," he took a pen like device heated it over a candle, then dipped it in blue ink.  He then grabbed my left arm. Then he used the device to painfully carve A-18352 into my arm. "That is your name now," I stared at the number wrote in blue ink, I'm not Katarzyna, the daughter of Olga and the older sister of Ewa anymore. Now I'm A-18352 a prisoner of the nazis. As hard as this was to accept admitting it made it more real to me. As I watched Ewa cry as she became A-18353, I wanted to cry in shame.