Stephen Shooster Conditions were so bad one of the kapos escaped, but he was caught, and all of us were assembled to watch him be hanged. My misery was unbounded. The night was never quiet. It was constantly interrupted with sporadic agony while the tower guards kept busy shining their searchlights. When I spoke to Wiktor, he told me, “I am so sorry, I can only do so much.” But, at least he was still trying to get me out of Birkenau. He was powerless unless the Ger- mans ordered more people for Buna. Well after the war a book was published called, The Vanished City of Tsacz. Its au- thor, another survivor, died in 2010. On page 353 it speaks of a man named Blauner from Grybov who worked in Canada Kommando. He must have been referring to Roman. The story goes, a transport arrived from Hungary, and a selection took place. Mothers who were carrying children were all sent directly to the gas chambers. Blauner noticed a robust-looking woman standing at the side with two children. He tore the children from her arms and called out to the SS guard. “She is strong and suitable for work.” The SS guard agreed. The woman, not realizing that this step was to save her life, showered Blauner with curses and wildly scratched at his hands. After the libera- tion, she sought him out and thanked him for saving her life. She apologized for the scratches and curses she had inflicted upon him. At the time she did not know that, within an hour, no remnant would remain of those mothers who had been carrying children.
176
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator