Never would I have ever thought that my life would change so drastically in a year. I didn’t think that people would kill each other just because the color of their skin, what they believed in or what their race was. Mind you I was only 12 when the Nazis occupied Poland. Nobody thought too much of it at the time, not even the targets; the Jews.
It was the summer of 1939, and my sister was getting married to a policeman. He was a gentleman indeed. My brother was going to be having his bar mitzvah shortly; making me the youngest of my family. We were walking down the streets of Krakow; the place we lived in. There was the smell of the smoke from the cars; the aroma was also filled with pastries and loaves of bread being made. It made my mouth water just thinking about it. “Elise!” My mother called from in front of me as I was trailing behind. My sister Leisel chuckled and grasped onto my Caucasian hand. I was like a mini version of my sister.
Our brown hair was almost always in a tight braid; which Leisel always did for me. We got our emerald eyes and our very tall, slim structure from our father’s side; we didn’t have a short and slim structure like our mother. My mother didn’t look like us at all. But she was after all a German Jew. She had blonde curls and warm icy blue eyes. Every time she flashed a smile it was as if everyone stopped to see her beautiful self. Her name was Mary, but in school I had to call her by our last name. My mother was a teacher while my father was a baker. We weren’t the richest but we still had enough money to get by.
We walked into the sewing shop. “What colors would you like dear?” My mother asked, turning her full attention to my sister. She smiled at the woman in front of her. “Blue please.” I rolled my eyes. My sister and her blue. The woman smiled but it fell when she saw that my sister had a Star of David necklace on. Grabbing the sewing supplies that were on sale for 5 zloty, she set them on the counter. “Ten zloty.” The woman said rather rudely. “But that’s absurd it’s on sale!” My mother exclaimed. “Not for Jews!” The woman spat. My mother looked down in shame and passed the Polish money to her. That was the first time somebody treated us differently because we were Jews but that was not going to be the last time either.
“Mother why would she treat us like that?!” I asked as I set the groceries on the table of our 3 bedroom apartment. “Some people are just like that.” She sighed. “How about you get washed up for supper yeah?” Nodding I exited the room to hear my mother and Leisel whispering to each other. I hid behind the wall and listened closely. “This is barely enough food for the 3 of us and we still have to feed father, Jacob and Mark!” Leisel exclaimed. “Shh, we don’t want Elise to hear. I know but we have some tomato soup and half a loaf of bread. We’ll have to make do. The Nazis have taken away our right to eat we can only buy from one place now!” I gulped. Sure the Nazis had moved in but were they this much trouble? They stopped mid whisper as I came out. “There’s my beautiful Elise.” She kissed me on the cheek and she had half bowls that contained tomato soup and a small slice of bread. I frowned we used to have two or three slices at most. Leisel gripped onto my shoulder. “Hey cheer up let’s go down to the park later yes?” My face lit up and I ate fast and my sister giggled. “When is Jacob getting home?” I asked about my brother. “I’m not sure sweetie he is going to the movies after school remember?” I nodded and continued eating my soup. My father worked late so he never had time to make it home for lunch.
Leisel grabbed her purse and we strolled down the streets yet again. German soldiers walked along with their brown uniforms and their slick black boots. They scared me the way they held their guns and watched us closely. We had to walk as if nothing was wrong. She held me close to her and we shuffled along the pavement. “YOU THERE STOP RIGHT THERE!” A Nazi hollered. We came to a halt and we turned around facing him. His face was rough and his black hair shone in the sun. “Where are you headed?” He asked firmly. “To the park.” Although my sister was shaking her voice came out very easily and not shaky. His hand collided with my sister’s cheek and she fell to the ground making me fall onto the pavement. “You stupid Arschloch!” The Nazi snapped. He just called my sister a curse word. She cupped her hand over her cheek. “You filthy Jews!” He cocked his gun and pointed at us. “5” He started counting. Picking my sister up we ran the other way and a bang went off. We turned back out of curiosity to see a man laying in the streets. Blood pooled around his limp body. He had a bullet in his head and he couldn’t have been older than 17. I cupped my hand over my mouth.
“YOU KNOW THE RULES ARSCHLOSH! NO JEWS ARE ALLOWED AFTER THE CURFEW OR TO BE AT ANY PUBLIC PLACES! IF YOU ARE CAUGHT YOU WILL END UP LIKE THIS MAN. SHOT ON SIGHT!” He shouted throughout the streets. That man hadn’t even done anything wrong. Leisel bowed her head and she ushered me back to our apartment building.
“Oh my gosh are you alright!?” My mother frantically asked examining us. “Where is Jacob, Mark and father?” I cried. “We’re here.” Mark; my sister’s fiancé called. He rushed into the room and he saw Leisel’s face “What is this?” He asked, cupping her cheek. “We ran into a Nazi. They shot a man out on the street, he died just because he was a Jew!” my sister cried into her fiancés chest and I ran into my mother’s arms. “We have to leave!” My mother told us. “And go where Mary? We can’t go anywhere!” My father replied with frustration.
That was just the beginning of my horrific life.
