Chapter 28

Hillersleben, Germany
April 14, 1945

Paul squirmed on the wooden bench as the truck jounced over rutted roads. Only this time he wasn’t afraid, because he knew it was taking him to see his mother. They were going from Farsleben to a town called Hillersleben, where she was in a hospital. Although it was only ten kilometers (six miles) away, the ride was taking a long time because the main roads had either been bombed by the Allies or blown up by retreating German soldiers.

Finally, the truck stopped and everyone got out. Paul looked around. They were standing in a town square. Two other trucks rolled in, followed by a Jeep. The soldiers organized people into lines and brought them to a tent. A woman in an army uniform explained that they would be sprayed with DDT, a chemical that would kill lice.

“At least we’re separate from the women,” Oscar said, as they stripped and were dusted with a foul-smelling powder. “Yechh.” He held his hand over his mouth and nose. “I know we need this but why does it have to smell so bad?”

After the delousing, everyone took a warm, soothing shower. Paul endured the entire delousing process in stoic silence.

“Are you all right?” Oscar looked down at him.

“I want to see Anyu.”

“First, we must get dressed.” Oscar patted his shoulder. “You wouldn’t want everyone to see us naked?”

“No.” Paul giggled.

A moment later a soldier appeared with a stack of clean shirts, pants, and underwear, and another soldier brought a box of shoes.

When they were dressed, the boys left the tent. The soldiers directed them to a building that had been turned into a dining room. Aunt Bella, Magdi, and Kati were already there waiting for them.

“You look good, all cleaned up,” Oscar teased Kati.

“You do, too.” She touched his shirt. “No lice.”

They laughed.

“Come, children, let’s sit.” Aunt Bella ushered them to a table. “It’s good to sit at a real table,” she sighed.

She smiled up at the soldier who was ladling broth into metal bowls.

Magdi looked up at her mother with big, dark eyes. “Can I have more soup?”

“No. Later, darling.” Aunt Bella smiled at her. “Our stomachs have shrunk because of the camp. They can’t hold a lot of food. So we must eat slowly and only a little at first.”

Paul couldn’t believe what was happening. The soldiers treated them with kindness and respect. It was as if he had awakened from a nightmare into a glorious dream. If only Anyu would get well, he thought. Now that they were clean and fed, he would ask Oscar to take him to see her.

Oscar sat in a chair while Paul perched on the end of their mother’s bed.

“Anyu! You won’t believe what the Americans did,” Oscar began.

“They sprayed us with this awful stuff.” Paul held his nose.

“They had to get rid of the bugs.” Oscar ruffled his brother’s hair. “Look, it’s clean.”

“It still smelled awful. And they took our clothes and burned them. And gave us new ones!”

“And back in Farsleben, they threatened to shoot the mayor if he didn’t get his people to help us! Now Jews are living in the Germans’ houses and the Germans are sleeping in tents.” Oscar’s voice was filled with triumph.

“I know, darling. I was there.” Their mother leaned back against her pillow. She looked from Oscar to Paul and smiled. “It’s good to see you both so clean again. Clean and fed. Where do you sleep?”

“We are in a dormitory. It’s where the SS officers used to live. We go to the dining hall for meals. We only eat what they give us.” Oscar gave Paul a stern look. “Remember that.”

“Okay.”

His mother gave him a puzzled look. “Okay? What language is that?”

“American.” Paul grinned. “The soldiers say it all the time. Okay! It means yes!”

“So now you speak American. What else did you get from the soldiers?”

“They gave us chocolate.” He pulled a crumpled wrapper from his pocket and extracted a piece of candy. “It’s called a Tootsie Roll. And a soldier let me play with his gun.”

“A gun!” Anyu gave him a horrified look.

“I told the soldier to take it back. It wasn’t loaded,” Oscar reassured her.

“The Americans are nice.” Paul handed her the piece of Tootsie Roll. “Here, Anyu, this is for you.”

“Thank you, my darling boy. This is a miracle. Now maybe God will grant us another miracle and we will find your father.”

Paul and Oscar left the hospital feeling better than they had in more than a year. Their mother was still sick, but she was safe and someone was taking care of her.

“I like the Americans,” said Paul. Suddenly, he stopped. His face crumpled.

“They’re leaving.”

Oscar looked to where Paul was pointing. The tall soldier, the one who had rescued them from the boxcar, was sitting in a Jeep behind a line of army trucks. Soldiers were scrambling to get on board as the drivers gunned the motors.

Paul ran over to the lieutenant’s Jeep. “I don’t want you to go away.”

The lieutenant looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I want you to stay.” Paul pointed to the barracks where the soldiers were housed. “Don’t go.” He shook his head.

The lieutenant got out of the Jeep. He knelt on one knee in front of Paul.

“I know you can’t understand me, but you and your brother,” he pointed to Oscar, “are going to be fine.” He patted each boy on the head. Then he cupped Paul’s chin in his hand. “You are going to be fine,” he repeated, saying each word slowly.

Paul nodded. He didn’t understand the words, but he reacted to the kindness in the lieutenant’s voice. “Thank you,” he said in Hungarian.

“Thank you,” Oscar echoed.

“Good.” The lieutenant stood and brushed off his pants. He smiled at the boys, saluted them, and then got back into his Jeep. His driver put it in gear. Then one by one, the American soldiers who had saved their lives left the town.

“I will miss them,” said Paul.

“Me, too,” said Oscar

Sixty years later, Paul would remember that moment and how he thought he’d never see the soldiers again.