The rains have ended, and it’s possible to sit silently or read a book. Kamil insists on this quiet time. Truth to tell, there’s no reason to insist. People are thirsty for a little quiet and introspection. Danzig, after reading for about an hour, sat up and said, “I used to love to read Stefan Zweig.”
“And now?” wondered Hermann Cohen.
“Now he seems naïve.”
“We’ve grown wiser?”
“We’ve changed, apparently.”
“How so?”
“I have no idea.”
Hermann Cohen is a man of action, and his practicality is obvious in his every move, but he, too, sits in his corner sometimes and reads. Having these books has changed our lives. Even before you dip into one, you feel as though you are in an armchair or in the garden of your home, together with your family or just by yourself.
Danzig didn’t pursue an academic career after graduating from university but went to a provincial town and opened a bookstore. Jews and not only Jews would come to buy or borrow a book, to read the daily paper, or to purchase a periodical. Alongside the shop, he had a room where people would sit and read. It wasn’t a very big store, but it hummed with life. Sometimes arguments broke out, but Danzig’s pleasant manner was enough to calm the atmosphere.
Danzig loved provincial life and the Jews who came to his shop. The older generation were displeased that the young people would congregate there. They feared that their sons and daughters would be attracted to foreign culture.
Now, like everyone, Danzig is disconnected from his family and lives temporarily in these mountains, in the hope that the war will not last long and life will resume as before. Milio will return to his parents, and Danzig to his family. Danzig is so busy raising Milio and training and raiding that he can’t afford to get close to what once was his. I often hear him say, “and nevertheless,” a kind of answer to all those who indulge their despair in private.
Owing to his height and broad shoulders, Danzig is known as “the pillar of the platoon.” During raids, he carries a double load on his shoulders. When we relocate from place to place, he moves most of the equipment. The old people are happy for his help, but his gentle manner is most evident when he carries Milio in his arms, feeds him, and tells him a story.