Eli's Promise

by Ronald H. Balson

  Klara’s body shook in Esther’s arms. “I can’t do it. I can’t take orders from demons. They are the devil’s envoys. They scream all day. They push us to work harder and faster. They throw garments at us. How do we survive that?”

  “Because we have to.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  LUBLIN, POLAND

  APRIL 1940

  “Esther and Klara left for Lipowa again this morning,” Eli said, standing in the brickyard office with his father and Louis. “It’s slave labor—nothing more, nothing less. Their guards could just as well be Egyptian overseers with whips. Esther tells me that the conditions are intolerable. The shop is dirty, the air is full of dust and cloth particles and the guards who supervise them are cruel.”

  “Esther is a strong woman.”

  “That she is, and she is better able to adjust than Klara, at least in the short term. Klara has exhausted whatever emotional stability she possessed. She cries all the time. Just last night at dinner, she started sobbing and bolted from the table. I don’t know how to explain this all to Izaak.”

  “He’s not blind, Eli,” Jakob said. “He sees what’s going on. He tells me about it when you bring him here in the morning. We talk. He’s a smart boy.”

  “More people are arriving every day, and many are being sent to Lipowa,” Louis said. “Carpenters, ironworkers, woodworkers. They want men to work in the tannery. The Judenrat is employing every available resource to absorb these new workers into our community. People are rounded up in the outlying villages as though they were wild horses. They arrive here with nothing but the shirts on their backs. Some of them are sent into the Lipowa camp, and they’re not allowed to leave. The rest are left to find housing and provisions in our community. The Judenrat is overwhelmed. Right now, we’re collecting clothing and shoes for them. We’re doing everything we can.”

  “Everything you can?” Maximilian said, with a mocking laugh as he walked into the office. “Oh, the generous and hardworking Judenrat. Tell us what happened to the group last month, Louis, the ones your fancy Judenrat turned away from your community.”

  Eli looked quizzically at his brother.

  “It’s true,” Louis said solemnly. “Thirteen hundred arrived in Lublin in February. They were Jewish prisoners of war brought in by train from another camp. The Nazi command told us, ‘Here, take them in and provide for them. They’re your responsibility.’ Our chairman called an emergency meeting. It was a heated night, a lot of hollering. Finally, the Judenrat decided to make a stand, to show a modicum of resistance, a trace of courage, and force the Nazis to provide for the new arrivals. Otherwise, we felt they would flood our city with thousands of homeless people and we would be overwhelmed. We issued an official statement to the Nazis: ‘We can’t take them in. Our resources are spent. We have no room, you brought them here, it’s your responsibility, you provide for them.’”

  “Good God, Louis.”

  Louis closed his eyes. “Our collective judgment was poor. It was a bad mistake. The Nazis turned right around and marched them north, on foot, all the way to Biała Podlaska, a hundred and twenty kilometers away. There were over a thousand prisoners, and they were forced to follow Nazi guards on horseback. It was snowing. Freezing. The horses walked quickly. People stumbled, they lagged behind, and if they fell in the snow, they were shot. Only two hundred made it to Biała Podlaska. There’s no shifting the blame here, Eli. It was all on us. The Judenrat’s decision condemned those people. We’ll never do that again, no matter how crowded it gets. Now we gather clothing and shoes, and we take care of new arrivals the best we can.”

  Maximilian stepped forward. “You said you wanted to see me, Eli.”

  “I want you to get Esther and Klara out of the sewing factory.”

  “Of course you do.”

  “Workers come and go. Esther tells me that there was substantial absenteeism this week. Two of the girls were missing from their desks in Esther’s section, and Klara said three were missing in her section. If the requirements are so lax, why can’t we get Esther and Klara off the list altogether? You can do it, Maximilian. You have the connections. Just erase them from the list.”

  Maximilian shook his head. “General Globočnik has issued a standing order to the Lipowa camp commandant, Sturmbannführer Hermann Dolp. If a worker misses work or does not come in on time, she is to be considered a scofflaw, and Dolp is directed to punish that worker. Severely. If she fails to arrive, he is to send the Jew Hunters out to find her and to arrest the members of her family as well. They are all to be punished. Globočnik has given Commandant Dolp authority to hang them all in the yard as an example to the others. I’ve seen the order. It’s harsh, but effective.”

  “Well, despite that order, there were at least five girls missing yesterday. Why can’t Esther and Klara be considered missing and written off the list?”

  “Esther was misinformed. Those five women were not missing. They did not skip work. Did you hear of the incident on Reichsstrasse?”

  Eli shook his head. “What is Reichsstrasse?”

  “Before the Germans changed the name, it was the Krakowskie Przedmieście, where the fine restaurants and cafés are located. I’m sure you’ve eaten there many times…”

  “We don’t go there anymore, Maximilian. It’s off-limits. Juden verboten.”

  “Hmm. That’s true. You wouldn’t want to be there, anyway. It’s filled with SS and Gestapo now. The street has become a Nazi night spot. Lublin’s Moulin Rouge.” He snickered. “Anyway, Brigadeführer Globočnik and his staff were dining at Café Chopin three nights ago. It’s a lovely, quaint little café on the Reichsstrasse that Germans have become very fond of. It serves fine French…”

  “I’m familiar with the café, Maximilian. What happened?”

  “Globočnik ordered soup, lentil I believe. When the server brought the soup, one of the general’s staff put his hand out. ‘Halt,’ he said. ‘I smell monkshood.’”

  “Monkshood?”

  “It is a poisonous plant. Very deadly. Quick-acting. The Germans have been using it to coat bullets and to poison water supplies. Globočnik’s lieutenant thought he detected the scent of monkshood when the soup was placed on the table. Globočnik became incensed and demanded that the entire restaurant staff be brought to his table. He challenged the chef to sit and consume the bowl of soup. The chef was terrified, which only served to confirm Globočnik’s suspicions. His lieutenant forced the chef into a chair and placed a bowl of soup before him. The chef ate the soup with no ill effects, but Globočnik wasn’t satisfied. ‘Bring another,’ he commanded. With the entire kitchen staff standing at attention behind the chef, the poor man, shaking like a leaf, was forced to consume five bowls of soup until he retched all over the floor, whereupon Globočnik said ‘Aha!’ and had them all taken into custody for questioning.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “Some died during questioning.”

  “How many died during questioning?”

  “All of them, I’m afraid.”

  “What does that have to do with the five missing women?”

  “Globočnik was still suspicious of a plot. He decided to question the families as well.”

  “And the five women?”

  Maximilian hung his head. “They died during questioning.”

  Eli shut his eyes. “Then I pray for the souls of those victims and I pray for the success of the resistance. I’d like nothing more than to see Globočnik’s head on a spike.”

  “I would watch my tongue if I were you.”

  “I want you to arrange for the release of Esther and Klara. Not absent, not missing. Their names are to be erased from the employment list. You’re an important guy, Maximilian. You can do it.”

  Maximilian smiled. “Well, I do have some influence; you’re right about that. Sturmbannführer Dolp has become a close friend of mine. He’s a jolly fellow in the tavern, quite different from his demeanor at the Lipowa camp, where he’s a maniac. He wh
ips workers that look at him the wrong way.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “We share a few cognacs now and then. You know, in the cafés on Reichsstrasse.”

  “So you go out drinking with Commandant Dolp?”

  “Oh yes, and can he drink. Hoo boy.”

  “Everyone needs money, Maximilian, even sturmbannführers. What will it take? I want my wife and her sister out of his shops.”

  “That’s a tall order, Eli. If not handled delicately, yours truly might find himself in a work camp. Or subject to questioning. It would require all my social skills to accomplish such a feat. But … if we have a few drinks … and he’s feeling no pain…”

  “How much, Maximilian?”

  “Hmm.” He made twisting movements with his lips and clicking noises with his tongue as he considered the question. “To get them released … it would have to be at least ten thousand.”

  “Come in tomorrow; I’ll give you the money. You better not disappoint me.”

  * * *

  Eli pulled Esther aside after dinner. “How is Klara tonight?”

  “Not well; she’s in her room again. After work, she goes straight in and closes the door, only to come out for dinner, and she doesn’t eat much of that. I tell her that our lives are different now, that she has to get used to it, that she has to adjust. She asks me how well the Israelites adjusted to Pharaoh’s slave masters? Did they get used to being whipped?”

  “Fair question.”

  “She’s walking a thin line, Eli. I’m worried. It won’t take much to push her over the edge. This afternoon, she asked her guard for permission to go to the bathroom. We are allowed one break per nine-hour shift. The bathroom is a public facility outside in the yard, and it’s cold. Her request was rejected because her section had a bathroom break in the morning. She told her guard that she didn’t have to go in the morning, but now she did. He wouldn’t let her. He laughed at her. He told her to plan her day better, to make sure she goes whenever her section gets the privilege. Can you imagine having to justify your need to urinate to some Nazi heathen? She ended up wetting herself, Eli. It was so humiliating for her.”

  “Can you help her at all during the day? Do you see her at break?”

  “No. We’re in different sections. Different buildings.”

  “I’m working on something, Essie. Maximilian believes he may be able to get you released. He says he’s close to the commandant.”

  “Sturmbannführer Dolp? The man’s cruelty is beyond description. He’s not about to release anyone.”

  “Maximilian says he has influence, that they drink together.”

  “Maximilian’s full of crap. You know that. Don’t fall into his trap. He took money from you before.”

  “I gave him money to get you home privileges. You do come home every night.”

  “Not because of Maximilian.”

  “Maximilian thinks he might be able to get you removed from the list.”

  “You’re throwing your money away.”

  “Money means nothing if you’re not here with me. I would give him all my money if it would ensure your safety.”

  Esther raised up on her tiptoes to give Eli a hug and a kiss. “You know, I love you. More than anything.”

  “I love you ten times more.”

  “If you can do it, we have to get Klara out as well.”

  “I know. I told Maximilian.”

  “Although it pains me to say so, I will pray for Maximilian’s success. My sister will not last much longer.”

  “Should we let Klara know? It might lift her spirits. Maybe she’ll see a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’ll give her some strength.”

  “And what if he fails? What if Maximilian proves himself to be a fraud again? I don’t think Klara could handle the disappointment. I’ll tell her that you’re working with Maximilian and we have hope, but it’s only a possibility.”

  “That’s wise. It may not happen right away, in any case. Maximilian told me that Dolp had left the camp and wasn’t expected to return for a couple of weeks.”

  Esther shook her head. “Maybe we should move up the time for our escape. I have no faith in Maximilian. Today we come home, but what about tomorrow? Things get worse by the day. Winter has ended; the snows have melted. That was our target date. Let’s go now.”

  Eli did not respond immediately.

  “What?”

  “Maximilian told us that Globočnik issued a firm order to Commandant Dolp. If a woman does not come to work, the Jew Hunters are to search for her, arrest her and her entire family. The penalty is death by hanging. If we leave, they will search for us. We’d put Izzie at risk, and we will have also condemned my father and Louis’s entire family.”

  “Then we are doomed either way.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LUBLIN, POLAND

  JUNE 1940

  Though it was forbidden, Eli kept a shortwave radio hidden in the cellar. Late at night, he would scan the airwaves. He listened to reports of Nazi bombers over England and Soviet massacres in Ukraine. He learned of Germany’s invasion of France on May 10 and Brussels on May 17. He learned that the Soviet Union had occupied the Baltic countries and installed puppet governments in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

  Esther walked downstairs and handed a cup of coffee to Eli. She stood behind him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “What do you hear tonight, my husband?”

  “Nazi tanks are rolling down the Champs-Élysées. All Europe is a giant battlefield yet again. The dead lie everywhere.” He shook his head. “Peace in Central Europe is an intermittent condition, merely a pause before the next war.”

  “What is the rest of the world saying, Eli? The other eighty percent of the globe? Do they not condemn Hitler? What do you hear?”

  He shook his head again. “Outside of Europe, it doesn’t seem like the rest of the world is paying attention. I hear music playing in the American ballrooms. Brazilian restaurants are opening, and Argentine politicians are arguing about tax reform.”

  “Do they say nothing about Poland, about Jews being snatched off the streets to be sent to far-off labor camps? Do they broadcast news of Nazis hunting down Jews like the seventeenth-century slave hunters? Are those stories not on the airwaves?”

  “Sometimes they are, and from time to time I hear sympathetic speeches, but to the people who live in distant countries, Poland may as well be on the moon. Their lives are far away and unaffected.”

  “What has become of Maximilian since you gave him ten thousand zloty? That was several weeks ago. At the shop, there is much talk. German demands for slave labor are high, and the Lipowa shops are now working around the clock making clothing and other supplies for the army. Extraordinary pressure is being applied to the seamstresses.”

  Eli stood and embraced his wife. “I know, and I’m so sorry for you and Klara. It breaks my heart. I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “It isn’t so much for me, Eli. I am worried about my sister. She’s trying her best to hold it together, but every day she slips a little further. She has a faraway look in her eyes. She keeps asking about Maximilian. I told her you were working with him. She asks why is it taking so long?”

  “She’s right. It has been too long. Ever since I gave him the money, Maximilian’s been scarce. He needs to account. I’ll go see him in the morning.”

  * * *

  Maximilian had taken to leading the gentleman’s life, partying deep into the predawn hours, and Eli knew it was a safe bet he would be at home at ten in the morning, sleeping one off. Eli parked the company truck at the curb and banged on the door. Once again, Maximilian opened it, partially dressed, and once again there was a young girl standing in the background in her lingerie. This girl seemed younger than the one before.

  Eli stared at the young girl. “That’s Sophie Schlossberg,” Eli said. “She’s fifteen years old. What the hell is she doing here?”

  “Well, I could te
ll you that it’s none of your business,” Maximilian said, with his arms crossed on his chest, “but her mother asked me if I could provide for her safety. She’s living here for the time being.”

  “Living here with you? She’s a young girl and she’s in nightclothes, Maximilian. For God’s sake.”

  Sophie hung her head and turned the other way.

  “She’s not in a labor camp, is she? What do you want this morning, Eli?”

  “You know what I want. My wife and her sister are still working at that shithole. Why? I paid you to get them released.”

  Maximilian spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “And I gave Commandant Dolp the money three weeks ago, but wouldn’t our luck have it? Dolp was reassigned. The new shop commandant is Horst Riedel. Your wife should have told you. Riedel has taken over and he is under watchful eyes. There is great demand from Berlin for increased production at Lipowa. Hitler’s army is now eight million men. They need clothing and arms to fight the war, and shops like Lipowa are required to put out as much product as is humanly possible. Tardiness and absenteeism are capital offenses. The Jew Hunters are dispatched to bring in missing workers. Sadly, hangings have become all too frequent in the Lipowa courtyard. Nobody dares to be late. Entire families have been executed. No worker is to be released for any reason. Commandant Riedel’s orders. He’s the new boss. What can I do?”

  “Listen, I don’t give a damn who the new boss is. Dolp has my ten thousand and I want my wife released.”

  “Dolp isn’t running the show anymore, Eli. He’s not even in Lublin anymore. Personally, I think Dolp will return and replace Riedel, but I’m not sure when. No one seems to know.”

  “Did you give Dolp my ten thousand or did you keep it?”

  “Oh, I gave it to him, of course. Why is it always your first impulse to accuse me?”

  “Then Dolp has to make it right or return the money.”

  Maximilian chuckled. “Are you serious? Hermann Dolp return money? That’s laughable. These people are not like you and me, Eli. They’re Nazis—they run the world and they know it. Dolp is not about to return money. Truth be told, he probably drank it all. Should he return and replace Riedel, I can appeal to him to honor his bargain and release your wife. But I wouldn’t count on it.”