One of the joys of housesitting is having access to a new library every few weeks.
For example I read the book “They Marched Us Three Nights: A Journey Into Freedom” by Dr Abraham Wajnryb. It’s his experience at the end of the Holocaust. This is a short book and very easy to read. I think it’s important to read and it covers many of his experiences. I’d like to focus on one episode that was particularly powerful for me.
As World War II was drawing to a close the Germans were aware they had lost. The Allies and Russians were sweeping across Europe and Germany was in full retreat. As part of this they were clearing out the concentration camps. Dr Wajnryb describes the death march of which he was a part. For years he had been “living” in a labour/death camp. During this time the amount of food the inmates received was well below a subsistence level. We’ve all seen the horrific photos showing the skeletal state of these people.
In the closing days of the war the inmates of the camp were forced to leave and marched towards an unknown destination. They were not fed and anyone who collapsed was simply shot on the spot. During the night they were force-marched and locked up in barns during the day (so as not to be seen from the air).
Abraham describes how he noticed that the guards were disappearing and after three nights he and a small group of other inmates found an opportunity to slip away. They were in the countryside, with no food and dressed in prison garb.
Eventually, they came to a farmhouse which was clearly inhabited. They had no idea of what reception they’d receive if they approached the house and took a long time to decide what to do. Finally, it was decided to send a couple of people to see if they could get some food while the rest would wait to see what happened. If there was trouble the rest of the group would be able to escape.
Dr Wajnryb was one of those chosen to go. He describes his trepidation going to the farmhouse hoping for help but expecting to be shot. Fortunately, things went well. The occupants took them in and gave them food for themselves and the others. However, before letting them return to the group the farmer and his family insisted that they stay and eat. This whole process obviously took a long time. Eventually they returned to their companions carrying sacks of food.
Now if you were one of those waiting for the return of your companions what would you have done in this situation? You haven’t had a real meal in years and nothing at all for the last three days. You are literally starving and on the point of death. Someone arrives with a good supply of food. Would you want to eat first or hear about what happened at the farmhouse and why it took so long to come back? Personally, I think I’d be into the food and worry about everything else later. Not so in this case. The first priority of everyone was to hear about what happened; they’d eat later.
This episode made a huge impression on me. Here is a group of people literally starving to death and their first priority is to hear a story. Just goes to show how important and powerful stories are to people; sometimes we need them for our survival even more than food.