The Horse Adjutant wooden shoes to the assembly area. We had no socks or insulation of any kind leaving our feet to freeze in the winter. Mine are still numb and stiff to this day. To ensure we would be ready for assembly on time, the blockleiters and their assistants were yell- ing, “Raus!” Their sticks were always nearby to ensuring the hâftlinge (prisoners) were moving. Sasha made sure I lined up correctly for the assembly. On the way, he told me, “Mal- czyk nie boysa Budziony pridjot toda” (Young one, don’t give up, General Budziony is in the field nearby). Every day he would remind me not to give up. In a place like this, it was easy to give up and hard to survive. I saw many prisoners pass away exhausted, emaciated, and forlorn. For hope, I also thought of my father and the words of the Tsadik of Tyczyn, “He will live longer than the rest of us.” The words felt hollow in that place, but it was better to let them reverberate than to think about my predica- ment. The smoke never ceased to remind me where I was. I kept my head down. The guards found our shuffle comical. I wasn’t laughing. Every time we went to assembly I followed Sasha, the young man following the old, with the SU on his back. We assembled regardless of the weather. In the rain, we would get soaked, but we could not move from our position standing and looking forward as the rain-drenched us. We would never have time to dry off. If it snowed, we would stand there, in our wooden shoes, feet close to frozen. After roll call, Sasha would leave to go to the kitch- en. It seemed the Russians were in charge of the kitchen at the camp. I don’t know how any prisoners had control of anything. Once Sasha smuggled a potato for me. This was brave and very appreciated because everyone was randomly being searched. He knew I was suffering badly, but he never let me give up. Frequently he repeated, “Malczyk, don’t give up.” Those few words nourished my sense of survival. Once the assembly was over, I went to my assigned work. Each day it was something different. I did not have a permanent job. Peeling potatoes was the best work duty I could be assigned because I could eat the peels when the guards were not looking. It hardly mattered they were raw. My only concern was the fear of getting caught. If that happened, I would be beaten. Facing starvation, the choice was simple. I could see glimpses of the outside world through the fence. A few large horses with riders. At one point I saw the Kommandant riding with one of his officers. When I saw them, I thought of Maciek and wondered how he was. I was sure he was doing better than us. Once, after peeling potatoes for an entire day, I tried to keep some of the shavings to eat later. How wrong I would be. On this day I was singled out and searched by Katar- zynski and his assistant. When the few peelings were discovered, Bloody Mietek went
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