Eli's Promise

by Ronald H. Balson

  Father Jaworski puffed up his chest and said, “And now it is the time we have all waited for.” He nodded to Louis, who reached up, untied the ropes and pulled down the drop cloth. For a moment the church was silent but for gasps of awe. Then, slowly at first, and mounting in intensity, the church filled with a thunderous applause. The Virgin Mary stood high in all her radiance. There was not a sign of damage. No cracks, no chips. Even the colors were blended true to the original. A line quickly formed to appreciate the work.

  “It is a miracle,” Lucya said.

  Louis blushed and shook his head. “No, just some cement and glue and paint and time.”

  Lucya extended her arm. “I want you to look around, at our parishioners, at the smiles on their faces. True, she’s only a statue, only a representation, but she touches the depths of their faith. You have not only restored a work of art, you have spurred a heightened sense of spirituality at a time when many question their faith. They believe, as do I, that God sent you to us in a time of need. Both you and Eli.”

  She bent down to talk to Izaak. “You can be very proud of your father and your uncle. They are a blessing.” Izaak smiled and hid his face behind his father. She spoke quietly to Eli. “We have made a connection here. A bridge. Let’s keep it open. Please come and visit from time to time. I will do the same. Times are perilous. Keep me in mind.”

  * * *

  Eli and Izaak left the church and went straight to the clinic. It was the end of Esther’s shift and they intended to walk home with her. Izaak couldn’t wait to tell her all about his uncle and his new friends at the Catholic church. He had a bounce in his step.

  “She’s not here,” a nurse said. “Esther didn’t come in today. I hope she’s feeling all right.”

  Eli was shocked. “Not here? I thought she was working today. Maybe I misunderstood her schedule.” Eli turned to leave but paused. “She seemed fine this morning. Are you sure she’s not in the back with some patient?”

  “I think I would know, Eli. She’s not here.”

  Eli was confounded. He didn’t like surprises or sudden changes in plans. Especially these days. He felt uneasy. “Okay. It must be my mistake,” he said, but he didn’t believe it. Something was wrong. He took Izaak by the hand and walked directly home.

  “Mama,” Izaak yelled when he burst into the house. “Mama, I went to a church. Uncle Louis was the star. He fixed their statue. They all clapped for him. Mama? Mama?” There was no answer. “Mama?” he yelled again. Nothing but silence.

  “Esther? Klara?” Eli called. No response.

  Eli quickly searched the house. It was almost evening. If Esther wasn’t at work, she would have been at home. She would have been starting something for dinner. “Esther? Klara?”

  Izaak pointed to Esther’s coat hanging in the closet. “She doesn’t have her coat, Papa. She’ll get cold.”

  Eli’s mind raced through all the possible reasons why Esther and Klara were not where they should have been. He went outside and walked around the house to see if she was in the garden. Spring flowers were blooming, and she might be picking a few for the dinner table. Esther loved fresh flowers. Maybe she had run to the store at the last minute for a missing ingredient. But Izaak was right: she didn’t take her coat. And where was Klara?

  Eli stood on the walk in the front of his house, his mind in a whirl, when the elderly man who lived across the street called out, “Eli, they’re gone.”

  A jolt ran through Eli. “What happened?”

  “They were here earlier,” he said. “The Jew Hunters. They took her and every woman on this street. I saw them pull your wife out of the house, and also the smaller woman, and they put them into a truck.”

  Eli picked up Izaak, put him under his arm and ran all the way to the brickyard. “Papa,” he yelled as he entered the office. “Papa, they grabbed Esther and Klara. They came while we were at the church and took every woman on our street. I’m going off to find her. Watch Izaak.”

  “Stop, Eli. You’re not thinking clearly. Who grabbed her?”

  “My neighbor said it was the Jew Hunters.”

  “That would mean it was the ORPO, the German Order Police. I have heard they are rounding up people to take to work camps.”

  “I have to go find her.”

  “Where would you go, Eli? Even if you knew the location, what would you do? Would you fight the police?”

  Tears welled up in Eli’s eyes. His nerves were on fire. “I have to do something. They’ve taken my wife.”

  “I think we both know the answer: it’s Maximilian. If he doesn’t know where she is today, he can find out tomorrow. As much as I hate to say it, we need Maximilian to keep his promise.”

  “You’re right, I’ll go straight to city hall. He has an office there.”

  Jakob shook his head. “No, son, it’s a Sunday, and evening is approaching. He won’t be there. Besides, I doubt you’d get close to Globočnik’s city hall.”

  “Then what are you saying? Do nothing?”

  “Don’t we know Maximilian’s home address?”

  Izaak was holding tightly to Eli’s trousers. Eli stooped down and gently said, “Izzie, I’m going to find Mama. I want you to stay here with Grandpa.” Izaak’s lips were quivering, and his eyes were full of tears. “I don’t want to stay,” he said. “I want to find Mama, too.”

  Eli hugged him tightly. “I know you do, but I need for you to stay with Grandpa for a little while.”

  * * *

  Maximilian lived in a large house that had been confiscated from its Jewish owners three months previous. Eli knew that Maximilian lived there with his new girlfriend, a seventeen-year-old brunette. The circumstances of that union were unclear, but many feared that she wasn’t there because she was fond of Maximilian. Eli took the delivery truck and drove straight to the house. He rapped on the door, yelling “Maximilian, open up. It’s Eli.”

  The door swung partially open, and Maximilian stood in the doorway in his shorts and stocking feet. He was clearly annoyed. “What in the world are you doing here, Eli?”

  “Esther. They took Esther and Klara this afternoon. The Jew Hunters.”

  “Hmm,” Maximilian mumbled and nodded his understanding. “That could be. I heard they would be working in your part of town. They’re rounding up laborers for the workshops they built at Lindenstrasse.” He gestured off to the south. “You know, Lipowa Street. We’ve opened sewing shops making clothing for the army. They need women.”

  “We’ve opened?”

  “You know what I mean. The bosses at headquarters have opened them. Not me personally.”

  “You knew they were going to sweep my neighborhood and you didn’t tell me?”

  “I didn’t know they would take Esther. They’re supposed to leave her alone.”

  “Well, then, put on your shoes. We’re going to get her.”

  Maximilian glanced back where a young woman stood in a semi-transparent nightgown. He shook his head. “Not tonight. I’ll look into it tomorrow.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Eli said through clenched teeth. “I swear I’ll strangle you right here on this doorstep.”

  Maximilian was amused. “Really, then who would rescue your sweet Esther? Face it, Eli. You need me. I said I’ll check into it tomorrow. There’s nothing I can do tonight. The people I know won’t be in until tomorrow morning.”

  “You don’t understand. Esther is a sweet, gentle woman. These Nazis are animals. They abuse women like Esther and her sister.”

  “They have her sister, too?”

  Eli nodded. “Klara.”

  Maximilian raised his eyebrows and whistled softly. “That makes the assignment doubly difficult. Getting one person out is hard enough, but two? I can tell you right now it’ll take some money. I might have to grease the wheels, if you know what I mean.”

  “You bastard. You saw it coming and let it happen. You were supposed to protect us.”

  “That is a decidedly unfair accusation, Eli, bu
t I’ll overlook it, given your current hysteria. I knew nothing of Esther’s selection. I have always sought to protect the Rosens. Do you still live in your home? Do you go to work every day? Give me some credit. Get some money together and meet me at the brickyard first thing tomorrow morning. I can’t guarantee anything—you know the way those Nazis are—but I’ll see what I can do.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  LUBLIN, POLAND

  APRIL 1940

  Tomorrow morning could not come soon enough. The wait seemed interminable. Whatever patience Eli possessed had long since abandoned him. Every muscle in his body was tied in a knot. He paced back and forth, a hyena trapped in a cage. He checked the wall clock every few minutes, urging the hands to move more quickly. He was disturbed that little Izaak had borne witness to his father’s panic; there was an observable chink in the armor. How would his son process his father’s vulnerability? As it was, Izaak was too frightened to be left alone in his bed and he fell asleep on the couch.

  Eli opened the icebox for a glass of water only to see the Sunday dinner that Esther had planned to cook. He walked into the dark living room and sat in the overstuffed chair, remembering the day that Esther was so excited to find it at the little store.

  “Everything I do has you written on it, Essie,” he said aloud. “You’re a part of every breath I take, every dream I ever had.” He clenched his fists. “Esther, sweetheart, hang on. I’m coming for you. I promise.”

  At 5:00 a.m. he could wait no longer, and he left for the brickyard. He put Izaak in the office and pulled up a folding chair to wait outside the doorway. Maximilian didn’t arrive until ten o’clock. He casually strolled up wearing an expensive, fur-trimmed Chesterfield topcoat, new shoes and a felt hat, tipped slightly to the right. Sartorial elegance. A portrait of confidence. It only served to magnify Eli’s anger.

  “Do you have what I need?” Maximilian said with an air of aloofness.

  “Here’s a thousand zloty,” Eli said, handing Maximilian an envelope.

  Maximilian shrugged. “Hmm. I hope it’s enough. A thousand Polish zloty doesn’t go very far these days. Stay here. As soon as I know something, I’ll come back.”

  * * *

  Maximilian returned two hours later. “I was right, of course. She was taken to Lindenstrasse, to a sewing facility. I believe the workers there are sewing military uniforms.”

  “Well, where is she?”

  He scoffed. “Did you hear what I said? At Lindenstrasse. Sewing.”

  “You were supposed to get her out and bring her here,” Eli said. “I gave you a thousand zloty. Where is she?”

  “Sewing, Eli, and you can put away that Rosen arrogance. It won’t do you any good. I am your only hope. I’ll go at four o’clock, when her shift is over. I can’t walk into a working factory in the middle of the day and pull a worker off her shift.”

  “This is my wife, damn it. She doesn’t have a shift.”

  “She does now. Four o’clock, Eli. I’ll bring her to you.”

  “Four o’clock, and you’ll do what’s necessary to see that she’s finished sewing at Lipowa.”

  “I’m afraid it’s not that easy. These women have been assigned to positions at a workshop and the assignment is permanent, not temporary, not hourly. Every day, seven days a week. Their names are written on a permanent labor record and Globočnik reviews it. The Lipowa camp has a commandant and he also reviews it. It’s written in stone, Eli.”

  “I don’t want her there.”

  “Would you rather she be sent to Burggraben? That’s where they’re sending a lot of the recruited workers.”

  “Recruited?”

  Maximilian snickered. “Sort of, in a way.”

  Eli’s right arm shot out, grabbed Maximilian by the lapels of his fur-trimmed Chesterfield overcoat, lifted him off the ground and shoved him back into the wall. “You son of a bitch, don’t you dare make light of this. Don’t you dare give me a smirk. This is my wife! You promised to protect us. We gave you our business and twelve thousand five hundred worth of prepayment to be our protector, remember? This morning I gave you an extra thousand zloty.”

  “Hey! Get your hands off me. Put me down. I’m trying to help you.”

  Eli held him for a moment in a tense grip, exhaled and let him down. “I want my wife at home. Do you understand?”

  Maximilian brushed off his coat as though Eli’s hands had been full of dust. “I don’t appreciate your attitude, Eli. Not one bit. I did a real favor for you today. Esther’s going to come home tonight and every night after her shift. Do you know what that means? She has home privileges. Almost all of the other women are confined to the Lipowa barracks. They have to eat the commissary food there. One meal a day. They don’t get to come home at the end of the day to a fancy house and a big nutritious meal. To their husbands and their sons. They may never come home.”

  “I don’t want Esther sewing clothes for Nazis. You have to get her out of that job. She works at the clinic. She’s a nurse.”

  Maximilian gave a quick shake of his head. “Well, now she’s a seamstress. The Jewish clinic means nothing to Globočnik. He doesn’t care if it’s open or shut; it caters to Jews. At this time, sewing is the best thing that can happen for Esther. Just yesterday, General Globočnik ordered that ten thousand Jews be immediately deported from Lublin to shops in other towns because he said that too many Jews live too close to his headquarters in his city.”

  “His city? Jews in his city? If you’re talking to me, you can stop talking like a Nazi. We’re not some species called ‘Jews’—we’re people, citizens of Lublin, just like you, no better, no worse, mothers and fathers and children. Don’t you dare depersonalize Jewish people in my presence.”

  “Well, it’s a descriptive term. Especially in 1940.”

  Eli moved forward. His words came through clenched teeth. “Did you hear me?”

  Maximilian backed up. “Okay, they’re people, citizens of Lublin, does that make a difference? These citizens are going to be sent to work camps far away. Some of these women are going to be working underground in munitions factories. I’ve managed to keep Esther in Lublin, where she can go home at night. You should be kissing me on the lips for that.”

  “Where do I go to pick up Esther and Klara at four o’clock?”

  “I’m not positive about Klara yet. I’m having trouble getting her released. I may need to drop another thousand on her supervisor. How important is she to you; after all, she’s just a sister-in-law?”

  Eli’s nostrils flared, and before he could respond, Maximilian said, “Okay, okay, I get it. She’s important. Hey, don’t blame me for the question. Sisters-in-law aren’t always so important.” He forced a chuckle. “But I’ll get her home privileges, too. It’ll just take another thousand.”

  Eli went into the office, withdrew another thousand zloty from the safe and handed the roll to Maximilian. “Where do I go at four o’clock?”

  “Let me bring them to you. You won’t get near Lipowa without getting arrested. I’ll bring them home to you at four o’clock. You can trust me.”

  * * *

  At four thirty, a small German staff car pulled up in front of Eli’s residence. Maximilian opened the back door to let Esther and Klara out. They were both attired in uniforms—formless gray cotton shifts. Esther ran to Eli, who wrapped her in his arms. He started to ask, “Essie, how…” She put her finger on his lips and tipped her head toward Klara. “We’re all right. Maximilian drove us home. We’ll talk later.” Eli glanced at Klara, visibly distraught, her mouth open, her eyes wide, her hair in tangles; the image of an institutionalized patient in a state of shock. Eli put his arms around both of them, and repeated, “It’s all right. We’re all home now.” Maximilian smiled at Eli, waved, tipped his hat and drove off.

  No words were exchanged for the first hour. The women bathed and changed their clothes. Esther busied herself making dinner. Klara sat motionless on the couch. Finally, Esther said, “Where’s Izaak?”


  “He’s with my father.”

  “We’ll have to make arrangements for his care during the day. Klara and I need to be back at the shop before seven. Our hours are seven to four every day. We were warned not to be late.”

  “Maximilian is going to try to get you released from that job.”

  “Maximilian? What can he do? He saw us walking home and he drove us the rest of the way.”

  “Well, for starters, he managed to get you home privileges. You don’t have to live in the barracks like the other women.”

  Esther had a puzzled expression. “Home privileges? Eli, the women who live in Lublin all go home at night. The only ones who are forced to live in the barracks are prisoners and Jewish women who have arrived from other towns.”

  “I gave the bastard two thousand zloty…”

  Suddenly, Klara moaned, a long mournful tone that came from deep inside, and she stared at the ceiling with vacant eyes. “My arm,” she cried, “you’re twisting my arm. You’re hurting me.”

  Esther and Eli rushed over to her. “It’s okay, Klara, I’m here with you now,” Esther said. “No one is hurting your arm.” She turned to Eli. “The ORPO yanked her up into the truck by her arm. They were rough with us.”

  “I’m not going back there!” Klara announced. “I’m not working for the Nazis. They killed my Milosz. They abducted my Bonnie. They’re rapists, they’re sadists and murderers!” Then she broke into sobs.

  “Klara, it’s just a job,” Esther said gently. “It’s just sewing. A simple job. If that’s all that happens, we can survive it. Sooner or later this war will end. Wars always do. Maybe the British and the French will prevail on the battlefield, or force a truce. We just need to survive until then.”