When Violette arrived at Juziek's apartment, she found him in the kitchen frying pierogi stuffed with cabbage.
"You pamper me too much; afterward, I'll miss your cooking."
"Tomorrow morning, we will both go to church. The neighbors peek and see an unfamiliar guest with me, which one of them may report if he has the slightest suspicion, and then an SS unit will arrive here. "They will turn my house over, and both will be taken in for interrogation, so we should remove suspicion about your religious identity."
"I would love to go with you, my mother is not Jewish, and I would go to church with her, so this is nothing new to me," she lied to him.
As she bit into the pierogi, the tears flooded her eyes; she remembered the pierogi her grandmother Helga would make for her every time they came to visit her in Warsaw. Violette mourned her grandmother's death a few months after her parents left for the United States, but she felt she had been lucky also. By her pre-war death, she spared herself much suffering and humiliation. However, Violette knew her sick heart could not have stood it.
"How come you didn't open a restaurant? You're a real chef," she complimented him.
"I am a bridges engineer; cooking is a hobby for me."
"Are you married? Any children?"
"I am a widower; my wife passed away about ten years ago, my only son left for London with his wife before the occupation, he is a lecturer at the University at the faculty of Electrical Engineering, I have a grandson I did meet yet."
"The war will be over, and you can reunite," she encouraged him.
He nodded, "Who knows what will happen? If the Russians defeat the Germans, they will impose on us a communist regime that will be no better than Hitler's fascism; rumors came from the Armia Krajowa that the Russians carried out the massacre of tens of thousands of Polish officers in the Katyn forest in April this year. In the Kozlak camp near the village of Gniezdowo, more than 20,000 Polish officers were brought in and shot in the back by Stalin's men, one of the Ukrainians who guarded them got drunk in the village tavern and talked about the massacre. We prefer the English to defeat Hitler rather than the Russians."
"I hope that soon the war will end; But I fear that it has just begun; the Germans are building an extermination camp in Lublin called Majdanek, have you heard of it?" said Violette.
"Yes, I heard; I also heard that in the town of Chelm and other places, they started already killing Jews by suffocating them by the smoke emitted from diesel engines, it is a terrible thing, slow death, and the suffering is hard to describe."
"I'm going to get up early tomorrow and go to church." She told him "Dobranoc" and went into her room.
On a small note, she recorded data she had collected in the past two days, then she rolled it up and hid it under the sole of her shoe.
"Blessed be Jesus Messiah, the true God, and true man," prayed the priest.
"Blessed be the name of Jesus," those present in church answered.
Violette and Juziek were sitting in the front row with some of his neighbors and believers from nearby buildings. Violette was the only foreigner present at the Roman Catholic Church on Kremlice Street, which is in the neighborhood where Juziek lives. All devotees know each other and meet every Sunday morning at the church.
Violette leaned on her knees, her elbows resting on the stand and her head bowed as if in deep prayer. After that, everyone sat down to listen to the sermon.
"Jesus, our Messiah, was betrayed by Judas, an intimate friend of him. Two thousand years ago, the Jews were already traitors and greedy for money; nowadays, we see the Polish Jews that we provided with a homeland betraying us by trying to take over our country with the help of the communists. Who Invented the Theory of Communism? Karl Marx - a Jew, and who applied the communist method and distributed it in the world? Trotsky - a Jew. And who controls Russia and tries to take over Poland with the help of his Jewish agents? Stalin - who came from a Georgian Jewish family? Therefore in the name of Jesus, who sacrificed his body for the sake of those who betrayed him, I say today that this criminal race should not be helped, and the persecuted should not be given shelter.
We are not to punish those who brought the death of our Messiah, but God Himself punishes them. The day will come, and Poland will be cleansed of its Jews, and we will be free from the bloodsuckers of our loved nation. We will now pray for our sons who are fighting for the freedom of our beloved land."
After everyone had lined up for the holy bread at the end of the Mass, the priest came to Juziek. "I saw you brought a new member to our community; who is the lady?"
"Bozena Kulak, a relative of my late wife from the village of Maluszyn near Wloszczowa, she is very devout," replied Juziek.
"You have done well; God bless you for your deeds. Did you hear anything from your son?"
"No, I have no contact with him, but I'm glad he's in a safe place."
When they were on their way back, they did not exchange a word, and Violette walked beside him, shocked at what she had heard in the church. "Unfortunately, Bozena, in all the churches, you will hear the same things, the head of the Catholic Church, a well-known anti-Semitic preacher, influences the priests, but know that there are activities to save Jewish children by nuns. In various monasteries in the country."
As they walked towards the house, they passed in Krochmalna Street, which in the past was inhabited by Jews who had been ordered to leave their homes and move to the ghetto. Polish families immediately seized all the apartments, and the many shops were robbed and reopened by Poles. She saw a signboard for "Feldman and Brothers - leather store" next to it, "Katz & Son shoe repair," and down the street on the other side, "Max Blumenfeld's wholesale" and many other stores, some of which are abandoned because they were destroyed and the goods were stolen.
"We are not righteous either; there is no solidarity here but the hatred that has developed over generations," said Juziek.
Violette stood for a moment and looked back; here on this street, there was a lively life only less than two years ago, and now everything had changed, the Jews were expelled, their property was stolen, and their Polish neighbors seized their apartments and businesses "The bodies are not cold yet, and they are dancing on their graves she said.
Juziek shook his head and was silent.
Violette felt she had to return to camp; she suddenly felt a longing for Jaroslaw, who remained there. But, before that, she had to meet again with Dr. Tennenbaum and receive the report he was supposed to prepare. So she went down the stairs with mixed feelings; on the one hand, she had a house and a kind man who cooked delicious food, but she also had a task to complete and her redhead Jaroslaw waiting for her.
She got on the same tram that took her to the entrance of Lipowa Street, where she got off. The soldiers at the entrance to Saski Park stood and joked among themselves; she passed them quickly without them noticing, then entered the open ghetto quarter and made her way to the House of Culture.
"I was waiting for you, Bozena dear." Dr. Tennenbaum greeted her, handed her a cloth mask to cover her nose and mouth, and asked her to accompany him to his office.
"The situation is getting worse every day; the SS stabilizes a new demand of money and jewelry every few days to moderate the actions. We no longer have anything to give; everyone has extracted their gold teeth and donated them to postpone the sanctions, people are desperate. "What will be done to all the poor orphans in the ghetto? How cruel can their fate be?" The doctor burst into tears of despair and helplessness.
Violette did not know what to do with herself; she hugged him and patted him on his back.
Tennenbaum sat down in his chair, took out a brown envelope stuck under his desk drawer, and handed it to her. "Here is the report I made; give it to the camp commander; he will understand the situation, be careful not to get caught."
Violette looked at him, and his eyes were shuttered; he seemed defeated. Another day or week, and the Action would reach him. The SS men would come in, kill his patients, enter the orphanage in the ghetto, and take the children and Henia Kuperberg to an extermination camp.
"I have one request," he said, almost in a whisper. "I have an acquaintance who wants to join the partisans; he knows of your existence and wants to return with you and join the freedom fighters."
"I do not know; I have not received instructions for such a case," she said, adding, "but on second thought, he might want to come with me, so I will not be exposed along the way."
"His name is Kalman Shydlowski, a good and recommended man, brave and strong."
She gave the doctor her address at Juziek and asked him to wait for her under the house at six in the morning and make sure to be on time; she had to leave early. "From the end of night clock at five, he has an hour to arrive."
Dr. Tennenbaum said goodbye to her in an embrace, "May God be with you, and may you survive to tell future generations what your eyes have seen."
After leaving the ghetto, she decided to see for herself the establishment of the Majdanek concentration camp. She took a carriage with a horse and asked to get to the Bronowice district; when she got close, she saw roadblocks and SS men checking everyone approaching the place. Violette decided not to take risks and turned back to the ghetto, and she went straight to the orphanage.
At the entrance, on the stairs, sat some boys who looked about fifteen years old. She came in and asked to see Henia, the director of the orphanage.
A nurse-led her to the principal's office. Violette sat and waited for her for a long time, "Sorry, but I was busy with the babies; some of them got dysentery and need medication, we have nothing, and the situation is serious. Therefore, I beg you to report to the Red Cross to provide us with medication."
"I hope I can get you medicine," Violette replied, knowing in her heart that nothing would help anymore.
"Why did you want to meet me?" Henia asked.
"I want to take with me three of the boys who have passed the age of sixteen with me. I will find for them a hiding place where they will pass this period safely."
Henia got up and approached Violette, "Really? Do you want to help?" tears flooded their eyes, and the two women hugged.
Violette left the orphanage with two boys, about fifteen but looked sturdy and mature, and one younger girl who begged to join. At the exit of the ghetto, she told the Judenrat policeman that she would take them for a medical examination and return them before five o'clock in the afternoon. Then, instead of taking the tram, she stopped a cart with a horse and asked him to take them to Juzek's address. "I do not take Jews," he replied, continuing on his way.
The four began to walk, close to the walls of the houses so as not to be noticed. Another cart passed by, and Violette stopped it, "I'll pay you double price; take us to this address." She handed him a note with the address of the Roman Catholic Church.
The carter agreed, and they set off. When Violette requested them to wait and one by one, they got out of the cart and entered the building.
When they went up to Juziek's apartment, he looked at her in disbelief, "Do you want us all to die? Why are you doing this to me?"
"Early in the morning, I'm leaving; I'll take the three of them with me unless you're willing to leave the girl at your house?"
He turned to the girl, "What's your name?" He asked.
"My name is Rosa; I have no last name; I have been in the orphanage since I was left there. I was one month old."
"All right, the girl will stay with me, and you will all leave early in the morning; report about the girl to headquarters."
"Of course, I will report all your good deeds; you are a good and compassionate man," she said.
At six o'clock in the morning, Violette, dressed as a villager and the two boys, went down to the street. A man was standing and watching them at a distance, "Wait here," she told them and went up to him. "Are you Kalman?" She asked. The man nodded in affirmation, "And what's your name?" He asked, looking curiously at the two boys waiting at the doorway.
"No time to talk; we're off right away," she said.
She raised her hand and motioned for the boys to move forward. "I'll go first, and the three of you will walk some distance from me, so if I see danger, I will signal to you to hide. In case you are asked who you are, remember that you are the father who went out to look for work with his two sons."
After a few hours of walking, they began to see the suburbs of the city. An approaching truck forced them to hide in the side of the road, and Violette kept walking, raising her arm to the driver to stop, "Sorry, driver, are you ready to take us on behind, we have work in the woods cutting trees, and we're late," she said.
"Jump fast; you can sit next to me," he said, winking at her with a smile.
She made sure the three of them got on the truck, and she got into the cab, "Where are you going?" She asked.
"I'm going to Belzec; they're building a labor camp for the Jews there; I'm transporting construction materials," he said.
Violette turned pale, "I need to Pulawi, so I'll get down," she said.
"If you'll be kind to me, I'll take a turn and bring you to Pulawi first," he said.
"I'm married," she said, showing him the ring.
"What does it means? I'm married too," he said, bursting out laughing.
"I will pay you," she suggested.
"How much?" he asked.
"I'll give you fifty zlotys," she said, taking out all the bills from her purse.
"Give me the ring too or jerk me off," he said.
"I'll give you the ring," she said.
"I wish my filthy wife would be as faithful to me as you are to your husband; while I work half of the village fuck her."
Violette did not answer; she sat tense and ready to jump out of the car if he slowed down. Finally, after an hour, they reached Pulawi.