I Shall Live (17 page)
Authors: Henry Orenstein
I could see the SS and the Ukrainians entering a nearby house, from which they soon emerged, accompanied by several of their victims. Many of the Jews were easy to find. They hadn't followed orders because they didn't want to die in the gas chambers, but they had nowhere to hide, so they simply stayed at home, without attempting to conceal themselvesâat most they went up to the attic or down to the cellar. Now they were roughly pushed and dragged out of their houses, beaten and kicked. Old people and children who couldn't walk fast enough to suit the Germans were struck with rifle butts; babies were crying. A few Poles were aiding the Germans in this ruthless hunt, leading them to houses they suspected of concealing skrytkas. On the street some Polish children even kicked the Jewish children as they went by, and threw stones at them. It was incredible to me to see Poles, who had suffered so much themselves under the German occupation, helping their oppressors round up and kill their fellow countrymen. I couldn't bear the sight of it, and buried myself in
Gone with the Wind
, in which I became so engrossed that for a while I actually forgot where I was, mainly concerned that, with the last twenty pages missing, I'd probably never find out how the saga of Scarlett O'Hara ended.
Lejb Orenstein (author's father) at the age of fifty-seven.
Golda Orenstein (author's mother) at the age of thirty.
Hrubieszów, center of town. The three-story building was where the author lived until he was sixteen years old.
The author at the age of six and his sister Hanka at the age of four.
OPPOSITE TOP
: Felek Orenstein (author's brother) at the age of thirty-one.
OPPOSITE MIDDLE
: Fred Orenstein (author's brother) in U.N.N.R.A. uniform, 1945, at the age of thirty-six.
OPPOSITE BOTTOM
: Sam (Shlomo) Orenstein (author's brother) at the age of thirty.
ABOVE
: Photo taken in 1937 of
(left to right)
Chaim Ajzen, author, cousin Joe (Józiek) Strum, Bolek Goldstein, and cousin Józiek Peretz. below: Deportation of Jews to a death camp in the Lublin district.
Jews awaiting their fate, surrounded by guards.
Jews waiting to be deported to a death camp.
Jews before their execution, surrounded by the S.S.
Jews at the edge of a pit just prior to their execution.