“Get in.”
Those were the last words I heard as we slowly stepped into the meatlocker. The cold rushed in immediately. It seemed as though the Nazi officials running this place had run out of ways to punish us. This was their last form of entertainment. To extract every last bit of soul from our cells. It was a fitting end.
Anything is better than Auschwitz.
The meat locker we were all in, all 82 of us, smelled pungent. I kept myself awake by counting the amount of people in the room over and over. I thanked the aroma, as I found it was something to take my mind off the slow death. Loud groans filled the black room. Bodies, already sick with hypothermia, became sick once more. They were then put in a corner of the room, huddling together for warmth. As the vomit and mucus covered the others, I could not help but pray for a light.
I sat on the ground, feeling my arms go numb, and my legs all the same. I switched to a squatting position where I could have more thermal warmth flowing throughout my body. It was not enough.
3 INTO THE NIGHT / January, 2015
I felt depressed, wondering why this could happen in the universe. My head did not like these complex thoughts and I decided to rest. Perhaps I should let the cold take me away.
My best friend Yossi was a skinny kid before coming to Auschwitz. He sat there in the cold with only his striped pajamas for warmth. Me and Yossi watched out for one another and survived the dreaded selections. I remember both of us sobbing into the night. We would steal bread for each other. Pray together. Without our friendship I would- the head; I need to rest.
I dreamt about the life i had with my family before this madness. I reminisced of Mother cooking, studying the Kabbalah with father. Playing “House” with Margie.
Tears that turned into icicles trailed down both cheeks.
Warmth