Impossible

Chapter 1

I don't know how to explain the situation that I'm in; all I can say is it's terrifying. Imagine having to stay inside your home to avoid the soldiers that roam the crowded streets, knowing they are hunting your people. They are capturing Jews and sending them away when the ghettos became too full to keep us alive. Most of us were starving, many dying from the conditions.

My 19th birthday is tomorrow and I don't think very many people will be coming to celebrate; in fact, I believe about half of my school's families have been taken by the Nazis. Where you ask? All I know is people haven't been returning, they leave with the soldiers and never return to their homes. I can only imagine where they were being held. Were they being killed? Were they being put to work or kept in jail? No one seemed to know, but some of the elders had ideas and were warning the remaining Jews in the ghetto.

I used to be proud to be Jewish, I was taught to love my heritage, but now I don't know what to think. Were we truly filth?

A knock at the door makes me jump in my small desk and pulls me from my thoughts. I peek my head around my bedroom door to see who it might be. I gasp as I see a large man barge into our house, flinging the door open, he looked aggressive and clearly had one thing on his mind, our capture.

"Money and valuables!" I hear the man with a heavy German accent shout from the dining room, his voice echoed throughout the entire house making me hurry to my dresser.

Quickly, I rummage through my things and grab my most special possessions that I couldn't imagine living without.

I can hear the soldier marching towards my room, his steps heavy and intimidating. My heart beats a thousand times faster, it might as well be outside my chest. The man barges into my room and stares at me. My rapidly beating heart stops, well it felt like it anyways.

"You! Money and valuables!" He sticks his right hand out, his palm up and motions for me to hand my things over.

"This is all I have" I put my allowance and a gold necklace I had gotten when I was 3, in his hand. He accepts them and looks around the room. His eyes scan my bed and shelves, but he doesn't seem to find what he's looking for.

"Pack your things! Now!" He commands, his body turns around. He marches out of my room but stops and stands outside my doorway.

Without hesitating, I grab some clothes, a book and a few photos. I stuff them into a bag and take one last look at my room, I will probably never see it again. With a deep breath, I lock my eyes forward and stare straight ahead.

"Ready," I say and follow the soldier to where my mother, father and 21 year old brother are standing. They were all standing beside each other, the same traumatized expression on their faces.

"Marie!" My mother snaps me out of my observations and runs to me. She embraces me with her tiny arms, but our hug is cut short.

"Let's go!" The soldier shoves all of us towards the front door, he then carelessly forces us out of our home. My habit of looking back forces me to take one last glance, I watch as my home is rummaged through by soldiers.

"Stay close." my father demands sternly, making me look forward again. We aboard a truck with about 60 other Jews crammed onto it.

"I listened to the radio, I know something isn't right. We might be in danger" I warn my family who is trying to ignore the situation we're in, something I just don't understand.

The trip to our unknown destination consisted of uneven roads causing us to fall and smack our heads against the metal walls and ceiling while people were sweating buckets and being sick. The horrible ventilation and heat made the smell unbearable.

The ride was over after roughly an hour. We were all pulled out of the truck and escorted to a train and were again, stuffed into a tiny little cart. I ended up falling asleep for most of the trip, there was no point in being awake...

"Everybody out!" The doors suddenly flung open, making a loud crashing noise. The noise woke me from my much needed slumber.

I jump off the train with my family but am immediately separated from them. I try to fight the men that were holding me back, pulling with all my strength and thrashing in their grip, but it was a useless attempt. They grin at my weakness and shove me along.

I have no idea where my family is being brought to, I can only imagine. Perhaps another ghetto or even their death... I gasp at the thought, trying to hold back even one small tear that may lead the way for others.

As more and more women are herded into the camp, we are slowly lead into a large building. Hundreds of women from 10-50 years old are forced to abandon their belongings and are stripped of their clothes.

We are then pushed a bit further in, the next room is called the sterilization room. They turn dozens of water sprinklers on, making us all screech and attempt to cover ourselves from the freezing water.

The water is turned off once the soldiers feel we're 'sterilized' enough, I look to the other women around me and see their terrified expressions. The children wailed as strangers tried to comfort them, when they themselves needing the comfort as well. The doors suddenly fly open and the soldiers march into the room, in complete and eerie unison. We are handed old ragged clothing, smelling of death and torture.

The soldiers give us all only a few seconds to get changed, already beginning to push the crowd out of the large preparation building. We are screamed at by the soldiers as if once we are stripped of our belongings we are no longer human or worth anything.

We are finally corralled into a semi-large room with dirty old bunk beds lined up and down both sides of the walls.

"This is where you will sleep, if you are not in your barracks when told, there will be serious punishments. You will go to sleep at 10 and be woken up at 5 am. You will be fed breakfast and then be put to work. You will only get breakfast and dinner, understand?" The Captain asks us

"Yes sir!" All the women answer at the same time as if they've been doing this their whole lives.

With that, the Captain leaves us in the dust and rodent filled room.

And this is only the beginning; I'm terrified of my days ahead...so terrified.

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Thanks again for reading! Leave comments for suggestions or anything!

<3

~poppy