Chapter sixteen

When they went out into the street, they walked close together, holding each other. The rain stopped, and pleasant sun rays burst through the dark clouds and hit the wet road, shattering into thousands of glowing particles. The Lublinska café on the corner of Oniecka and Czwartek streets was crowded. They went in for a hot drink and immediately found an intimate and quiet corner to sit. In the background, they heard the song "Last Sunday" performed by the velvet voice of Mieczyslaw Fogg, and the atmosphere was romantic and warm. Jaroslaw held Violette's hand and hummed the words while she drank steaming tea from a thin glass cup.

"Now is not the time to make excuses

The fact is that it's over.

Today came the other, wealthier than me,

And together, you have stolen my happiness.

I have one request, maybe the last,

The first one for many years.

Give me that one Sunday - The last Sunday.

Then let the world collapse.

It's the last Sunday,

Today we will part.

We're going to split up today,

For eternity.

It's the last Sunday,

So don't feel sorry for you and me,

Look at me fondly today - for the last time.

As the song continued, four-armed Gestapo men entered the cafe and began checking papers. One by one, they passed among the guests until they reached their table. "Papers, please!" Ordered one of the soldiers. Violette handed over her papers; he looked at her and the polished picture and roared, "What's your name and date of birth?" Violette answered without blinking, "Bozena Kruk, I was born in Maluszyn on September 1, 1916."

Then he turned to Jaroslaw "Documente Bitte" Jaroslaw handed him fake papers with a clear picture; he looked at the picture and Jaroslaw and kept the documents.

"Come on; you're coming with us. Both of you," he said.

Two black vehicles were standing outside. In the first, entered two Gestapo men and Jaroslaw and Violette were led to the second vehicle.

When they arrived after about ten minutes of drive to the headquarters building, they were both taken for interrogation in separate rooms but in the same basement.

Violette was ushered into a small room with just a table and two chairs. The officer entered with her, closed the door behind him. Then, he ordered her to sit with a hand gesture.

She sat down, "Why am I here? What do you accuse me of?" She asked in Polish.

"What are you doing in Lublin?" He asked in a not threatening voice.

"I live with a relative and am looking for a job; we have no work in Maluszyn, and life is difficult in war times."

"And who is that relative?" He asked.

"He's not really a relative, he knew my father, and that's why how I got to him."

Violette wrote down on a page the name and address of Juziek.

"Who's the guy who was with you?" The officer asked.

"I met him on the street, and he invited me for a tea. I remember him saying his name was Jaroslaw," she said.

Suddenly another officer entered the room and whispered something in the interrogator's ear.

"Did you know the guy is Jewish?" He asked.

"No, I did not ask, and I did not see him carry a white ribbon on his arm," she said.

"Did he tell you he was a partisan?"

"God forbid, I did not suspect him of being a partisan; he said he was looking for a job because he did not have a permanent job. He even tried to be accepted as a dishwasher in the cafe we ​​were in."

"Why is the picture on your ID card blurred?" He tossed the card on the table.

"It fell in the street in the pouring rain, and I tried to dry it with a rag that blurred the photo; I did not know what to do."

He got up and held her hair tightly as he pulled her head back. "You are Jewish, admit it," he screamed at her "you are lying, and I feel it."

"I'm not a Jew; how do you want me to prove it to you?" She asked in a weeping voice.

Suddenly she heard screams from one of the rooms, and she recognized Jaroslaw's voice. She felt as she was going to faint at any moment. "Can I have a glass of water?" she asked the officer.

Violette's interrogation lasted for many hours into the night; eventually, she was thrown into an isolated cell with an iron bed and a stinking mattress. She lay down on the bed in her clothes and thought about the torture that Jaroslaw was going through.

She hoped he had gotten rid of the gun before he got caught because she knew that as soon as they knew he belonged to the freedom fighters, he would have been shot on the spot.

In the morning, she was again taken to the Investigations room. She asked nothing about Jaroslaw. When the interrogator walked in, he had a smile on his face, "Madame Kruk, you can go," he said, pointing at the door.

Violette got up and left the room; she walked down the hall and out the main entrance. Next to two SS men guarding the entrance stood Juziek waiting for her. She ran to him and fell in his arms, "Get me out of here fast," she said.

"Do not rush, go slowly, you have nothing to fear, they questioned some neighbors who said you were a regular visitor to our church. Don't you think that was a great idea? "

They walked down the street with their arms folded, "What will happen to Jaroslaw?" She asked in a broken voice.

"If he hides being a partisan, he will be sent to a labor camp in Belzec, and if he is found to be partisan, he will be hanged in the backyard."

After about a quarter of an hour's walk, he whistled for a tricycle that stopped immediately; they got on and sat down in front. "Take us to the Niepokalanki Monastery."

When they reached the entrance to the convent, Juziek asked Violette to wait for him by the door. A few minutes later, he came back and called her to enter. They went to the mother nun's room with a sister accompanying them.

Violette noticed Sarah sitting next to an old nun holding hands. "Sarah, you must remember me" she hurried to her and wanted to hug her, but Sarah flinched and looked at the mother nun to see her reaction.

"My name is Maria Teresa Nowik," Sarah replied, not getting up.

The mother superior looked at Violette and smiled "she obeys the instructions she received; you understand that she must be constant in her behavior; only in this way will she survive this inferno." Then she turned to Sarah. "Come on, girl, for once, I allow you to be Sarah. Hug your aunt who came to visit you." Sarah jumped up from her chair and fell on Violette with kisses and hugs. "I will never forget you; you saved my life" Then she also jumped on Juziek and kissed his face on both sides. "You are a good man, God bless you," she said and crossed herself.

"Stay here, my dear, the war will soon be over, and I will come and take you; I promise you will have a good life" Tears welled up in Violette's eyes as she hugged Sarah and embraced her tightly. "Do not forget me," Sarah replied.

When they left the convent and were on the street, Violette burst into tears as Juziek tries in vain to calm her down, "People are watching us, stop, and calm down."

"What crime does this girl did that she has to hide because she's Jewish? Does being a Jew mean being a leper? A criminal?"

When she calmed down a little, they got into a carriage that took them to Juziek's house. That night Violette could not fall asleep. She lay for hours with her eyes closed and thought of her beloved Jaroslaw, the torture he was going through, and the fact that he was now lost to her forever.

"Do not go to meet him; you have been lucky once; I'm not sure it will work for you again," Juziek told Violette when she informed him that she was interested in meeting with Shmaya Grayer.

"I must; this is my task. If Armia Kraiowa were to eliminate him, we would lose contact with an influential person. I must get to him before them. They gave me a month before they will take action. "

"I hope you'll be safe and that God will protect you, dear," Juziek said, and it was apparent that his words were said out of pain and worry.

After eating something, she put on the dignified clothes left in Juziek's apartment, put on make-up, and wore the wide-brimmed hat.

"I will not let you go alone; I will come with you; that way, there will be less curious eyes," he said while he put on a long wool coat and a scarf to be shielded from the cold wind.

Violette took his beige hat from the coat rack and adjusted it on his head. "Now, you look mysterious and authoritative." She smiled at him and grabbed his arm. "Come on; I have a good plan. I hope it will succeed."

They went out into the street and immediately grabbed a two-wheeled carriage. "To Lubertowska Street, in the ghetto," she instructed the driver.

The streets were flooded with torrential rain that left puddles and a lot of mud, the horse slipped from time to time, and the driver whipped him lest he should stop in the middle of the big puddles.

When they got off the carriage, the clouds were heavy and black hiding the sun, and the alleys were as dark as a moonless night.

Violette stopped abruptly, "Here, this is the place, this is Grayer's restaurant, and we both will enter. You'll remain standing by the door, to be seen, and I'll go over to him to send him a message, then I'll get back to you, and we'll be right out." Juziek nodded that he understood what he had to do.

When they entered the restaurant, the atmosphere inside was quite cheerful, as a complete opposite of what was happening outside, in the ghetto. Two klezmers stood on a small stage and played joyful melodies on violin and clarinet. The fireplace spread a pleasant heat and flickering light, waitresses in minimal attire served food to diners, no SS men were seen, and Violette went to the kitchen, "Sorry, does anyone know where Mr. Grayer is?" She asked the cooks.

"I'm Grayer," replied a fat, short man standing beside with a cigar stuck in his mouth. "And who the fuck is interested in me?" He asked scornfully.

Violette approached him. "Can you give me a moment and talk to me in private?" She asked.

He shrugged and walked out of the kitchen into the restaurant hall. "Woman talk, I am listening."

"I'm just a messenger carrying a message, so I'll ask not to argue with me, hear what I was told to deliver."

"Tell me, who sent you?"

"The commander of the Lublin district of Armia Krajowa has issued an order to eliminate you because of your ties to the SS. For the moment, he postpones the execution on the condition that it would lead to the release of a Jewish prisoner named Jaroslaw Kesznicki, who was detained at the Gestapo headquarters. If he is not released, the order will be carried out immediately. "

Grayer became pale. "What? Am I a Gestapo commander? How will I bring his release? Who is that Jaroslaw?"

"He is a Jew caught in a cafe, neither a criminal nor a partisan"

"I do not promise; I do not know if I will succeed, and what are you threatening me with?"

"I'm not threatening. As I said, I'm just delivering a message. Look at the door stands a man with a hat; he is armed. If I get out of here without telling him it's settled, he's shooting you, there are four more gunmen out there."

Grayer began to shake, and the cigar dropped from his mouth, "All right, all right, I'm going to do what I can."

Violette turned and walked towards the exit leaving Grayer watching them see them both get out. She grabbed Juziek's arm. "Come out without turning around; I'm going to open the door," she said, holding his hand so he wouldn't stumble.

When they were on the street, they hurried to catch a carriage that would take them home. "Now, let's see if my plan will work," she said to herself. However, she did not reveal to Juziek that he had just become a hitman in the service of the Armia Kraiowa.

While sitting in the living room and hearing the BBC radio station broadcasting from London, there was a knock on the door. Juziek turned off the radio and approached the door. Then, there was another light knock. "Who is it?" He asked.

"Sorry for the late hour," came a female voice.

Juziek opened the door and in front of him stood an attractive young woman. "My name is Danuta Kowalska, and I was told to talk to you."

"Come in, let's talk inside," he ushered her into the living room. "Please meet Bozena; she is my relative from Maluszyn. It is so cold outside. May I offer you a hot drink?"

As the three sat down to drink, Danuta began to speak: "I am a native of Lublin. Before the war, I studied at the university with Fredrik, who later joined Armia Krajowa and operates somewhere in the forests. A few days ago, he showed up at my house late at night; my parents got scared. They thought I am related to a group of freedom fighters, but I calmed them down. After that, he gave me your address, said he did not want to be exposed, so he ordered me to help you with whatever was required."

Violette realized that Danuta was offering herself because she was not Jewish and had permits to move freely without suspicion of being arrested.

"I have a task for you that you can do without risking yourself," Violette told her.

"I will do whatever you tell me."

Violette knew that Danuta was not a partisan who would know how to keep her secrets, and if she were caught, all her efforts to bring the release of her beloved Jaroslaw could be in vain. Therefore, she will assign her the task of gathering information without risking or endangering the operation.

She gave her the location of Grayer's restaurant and asked her to become a customer who came to eat there every evening for the next few days to gather information. After that, she had to recruit a companion, but she forbade her to tell him anything about the task she had to perform.

Danuta brought her childhood friend Marek to have dinner to the sounds of cheerful music in a very contrasting atmosphere to what was happening outside. While eating, she saw Grayer socializing with officers in SS uniforms. Most of whom were drunk. One of the officers noticed them and went to their table. "What is a beautiful woman like you doing in this brothel?" He asked, bursting out laughing.

Danuta ignored him and continued to eat. "Can I invite the lady to a little dance?"

Danuta got up and called to one of the waitresses, "How much do I owe you?"

"It's my treat; I'm offering," the officer said.

Danuta took out a bill and placed it on the table.

"When you'll learn to behave, I may accept your offer, this time not," she said and put on her coat as Marek followed her towards the exit.

"Come tomorrow, my name is Hermann Werthoff," he yelled.

As they were in the carriage on the way home, Marek said to her, "Do you know who that was?"

"No, and I do not care, rude arrogant, like all Germans."

"It was the commander of the Lublin Gestapo," he said.

The next evening, Danuta returned to Grayer's restaurant. This time she was accompanied by Violette, who decided to join.

They felt how all eyes turned to them when they entered, primarily Ukrainians with important positions who were collaborators and Gestapo officers. Danuta surveyed those present but did not see Herman Werthoff. Finally, after eating goulash soup and drinking red wine, Violette got up and walked over to Grayer, who watched her from a distance but did not dare to approach. "Do you have any information about Jaroslaw?" She hissed through her teeth.

"No, I still do not; one officer promised to check and bring me information," He replied.

Violette felt he was lying and decided to question him some more. "What's the officer's name?"

"He's not here; I only know his name is Siegfried," he replied, adding, "Who is the lady with you?"

"It's none of your business," she replied, turning to get back to her table, but then she stopped. A German officer who saw them talking approached Grayer. "Maybe you will introduce me to these ladies. They do not look to me like they belong to your stinking Jewish prostitutes."

Grayer did not know what to do; he felt trapped. Finally, Violette addressed him in German, "Mr. Officer, you are welcome to join our table."

"Where did you get that fluent German?" He asked, surprised.

"My family is Folkdeutsche, and we are from Olsztyn, the capital of the Mazuria region. At home, we speak German and Polish."

"I see, and what are you doing here in Lublin?" He asked, sounding drunk.

"I'm looking for a job as an interpreter."

Then he turned to Danuta, 'and you? Where are you from?"

"I am a native of Lublin, I live here, and Bozena is my friend," she replied.

"Oh, so you're Bozena, you look divine as the meaning of your name, and what's your name, young woman?"

"My name is Danuta."

"Your full name," he shouted, and when he saw that she was shocked by the shout, he burst out laughing.

"Danuta Kowalska," she answered with a slight tremor.

"Look at the Jewish harlots here. I would not dirty my cock to poke them, an inferior race that must be wiped from the earth."

They both did not respond to his remarks. He went on saying: "Sometimes it's a shame when you send beautiful girls to the camp who do not know that they are led to the ovens, there are some that could serve for pleasure, maybe some even virgins, but we are not allowed to touch them, it is an iron rule." He picked up another glass of vodka and poured it down his throat. "I'm thirsty," he said, bursting into wild laughter.

Grayer stood at a distance and did not approach their table; he realized that if he did not hurry up and bring results in the matter of Jaroslaw, he would be executed by the partisans or the fighters of the Armia Kraiowa.

"At the university, studied with me a guy who was taken into custody at a cafe by the Gestapo because he had no documents; the guy is a math genius and a friend. Maybe you can find out what's happened to him?" 'Violette asked.

"If I can? Of course, I can. The question is, what will I get in return?" His laughter echoed throughout the restaurant. "Wouldn't you expect me to do it for free? There are no free gifts" He glanced once at Violette and once at Danuta and added," Which of you will be my gift?"

"I will, but only after you bring me information," Violette said.

"What is the guy's name?" He asked.

Violette tore a piece from the napkin next to her plate and wrote: "Red-haired Jaroslaw" she did not want to mention his Judaism.

"Doesn't he have a last name?"

"I do not remember, but you will see on your lists who was arrested at the Lublinska cafe on the corner of Oniecka and Czwartek streets three days ago.

"Come back here tomorrow night alone because we're about to spend the night together." He burst out laughing again, accompanying them both on their way out of the restaurant.

"Bozena, I don't think you should go there; you're risking your life," Juziek said after she told him everything she and Danuta had been through the night before at Grayer's restaurant.

"If there is a chance, and even the faintest I can save Jaroslaw, I am willing to risk my life," she replied without hesitation.

"The Russians are advancing; we are already in November 1944. The war will not last long anymore; I am sure the Germans will soon begin to withdraw from Poland."

Violette looked at him blankly, "As long as Jaroslaw is held by the Gestapo, for me, the war will not end. Who knows what will happen to him?"

"I will accompany you tonight," he said.

She knew for sure that his intentions are real, but she immediately refused.

She spent all afternoon sleeping. Then, in the evening, she got dressed and put on make-up, washed her long hair with scented soap, and let them dry in their wavy naturalness. Wearing her wide-brimmed hat, she pinned a small ribbon cut out of her narrow, long dress on it. She took the white handbag and wore the fox fur from the wardrobe left by Juziek's late wife. She said goodbye to him with tears in her eyes. "I very much hope that we will meet again, if not in this world then in heaven, where the place of good people like you is."

When she went down to the street at dusk, there was still light, and the traffic in it was pretty heavy. She raised her hand and stopped a carriage, and ordered the driver to take her to Grayer's restaurant in the ghetto.

She watched passers-by, people going about their daily business; getting up in the morning, having breakfast while reading the newspaper, going to work, the kids going to school, the husband saying goodbye to his wife with a hasty kiss on the cheek, and returning home in the evening, turning on the fireplace, the kids preparing their homework and the wife preparing dinner in the kitchen. When the husband comes home from work, they sit down to eat, holding hands in silence, praying "Blessed be Jesus and his holy mother Maria," and then start eating, and the father will ask his children how their school day was? At night they lie down in their warm beds, and another normal day has gone. But only a few kilometers away, in the same city of Lublin, in a camp fenced with barbed wire with guards and predatory dogs, a completely different life takes place. There are torn families who were evicted from their homes while sleeping in their warm beds, children who did not reach the age of five were thrown from the windows of their apartment into the street, family fathers were taken to the forest to dig their own graves. Families had to walk miles to the Majdanek or Belzec camp where they were stripped of their clothes, had their gold teeth extracted, their wedding rings clipped from their fingers, and naked, they were led into cells believing them to be showers. When the doors were locked, toxic gas was blown in. Parents and children clung to each other, despairing. And finally, the crematoria, where other Jews drag the bodies to, burning them to fine ash buried in the pit. They do not even get adequate human funerals.

Where is justice? Why is this happening? Why are human beings so cruel to each other? After all, God created man in His image. And Jesus? After all, he was a Jew. He brought Christianity into the world. The Ten Commandments are as sacred to Christianity as to Judaism, so why do they violate the ancient laws of "Thou shalt not kill?"

While struggling with those thoughts, the carriage stopped in front of the entrance to Lubertowska Street, where Grayer's restaurant is a short walk away.

When Grayer saw Violette enter the restaurant, he hurried to her and physically blocked her entrance. "Come with me quickly, so they don't see you." He dragged her by the hand into a hidden alley and entered the stairwell of one of the empty houses vacated of Jews.

"The officer you spoke to is waiting for you at the restaurant, he's already drunk, and he brags to his friends that the 'carrot head' was sent by him from the detention cell at the Gestapo headquarters to the Majdanek camp, and he is now waiting for his 'gift.' If you come in. He will rape you in the restaurant's warehouse, which is not the first time this has happened." He looked at her compassionately.

Violette looked straight at him. "Is this your Siegfried?"

"Yes," he replied," and he speaks the truth."

"I'll try to help you with Armia Kraiowa; I owe you one," she said.

Violette ran to the main street and, a few minutes later, was sitting in a carriage that took her back to Juziek's apartment.

Everything was dark when she entered the apartment; she did not turn on the lights and looked out the window at the street. Yet, everything was quiet and calm as if time stood still. She knew this was not Juziek's way to go out at night, so her heart foretold evil. She went into her room and lay quietly in her bed, thinking of planning her next steps, but her fatigue overcame her, and she fell asleep.

A murmur of footsteps and a sudden light in her room woke her up. She jumped out of bed and saw Juziek standing with a gun in his hand. "What happened? I was worried for you; where have you been?"

"I had just returned from the ghetto. When you left, I decided to follow you, I arrived at the restaurant and you were not there, so I went in with the gun in my pocket and sat down as a customer who came to dine. There were several drunk Gestapo men and one of them was particularly nervous. Suddenly Grayer appeared. A short and solid man, I understood from your stories that it was probably him. When the nervous officer noticed him, approached him, and asked where Bozena was? Grayer said he did not see you, but apparently, one of the prostitutes saw that he was talking to you at the door, and you both walked out of the restaurant. Grayer begged for his life, but the officer pulled out a gun and shot one bullet in his head. I took advantage of the confusion and got away; it took me a while to find a carriage and get home."

Violette turned pale; she could not have imagined what danger she would have found herself had it not been for Grayer, who saved her.

"Jaroslaw is in Majdanek," she said.

"He's strong. They need him as labor so they will not kill him; you will see he will survive. Luckily, the Russians are approaching, and the end is near."