FÖHRENWALD DP CAMP
AMERICAN ZONE
OCTOBER 1947
Eli was supervising the renovation of an apartment building when a worker tapped him on the shoulder. “There’s a call for you in the administration building.”
As he walked toward the building, Eli wondered about the call. He hoped it was good news. Maybe it concerned his visas to the U.S. Maybe it was Major Donnelly telling him that they had reconsidered indicting Maximilian Poleski and that Eli would be needed as a witness. It was neither.
“Eli, this is Ann Stewart. From Central Tracing Bureau.” Eli’s heart leapt, but only momentarily. “I’m afraid I have sad news. I wish it were otherwise. I hate making this call, but I didn’t feel right about sending a letter.”
Eli was stunned. He stood speechless.
“Eli? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Did she die at Ravensbrück?”
“No, not at Ravensbrück. We went through Ravensbrück records. Although they’re not complete, there are records from 1943, and we found no mention of Esther Rosen in any of the records: intake, transfer, totenbuch. We determined that she never entered the camp.”
“But, Ann…”
“Then we decided to check the Lublin records, especially those for the Lipowa labor camp, which the Nazis called Lindenstrasse. Beginning in 1942 and continuing to November 1943, Lipowa workers were routinely transported or marched to Majdanek. There is no record of sending those women to Ravensbrück.”
Eli interrupted again. “But Esther would have been a special exception. She was being protected by a Nazi collaborator. She could have been sent to Ravensbrück irrespective of the other Lipowa workers.”
“She would have been noted on the intake records, and her name is not there.”
“You don’t understand. She was under the protection of a man who had contacts with Commandant Zörner and Brigadeführer Globočnik. He was connected to the highest levels of the Nazi command. He could have arranged for Esther to be sent anywhere. He gave me a note that said Ravensbrück. Why would he do that if it wasn’t so? I’m pretty sure…”
“Eli, Eli … she didn’t make it. I’m so sorry, Eli, but Esther did not survive. I reviewed the Majdanek records for the women transported in 1942, specifically those transfers from Lublin and Lipowa. I found her name on a deportation list for October 1942. That transport went to the Majdanek camp. Those women … it was a killing center, Eli. They all perished. I’m so sorry.”
Eli stared at the telephone, at the black handset that had delivered the news. It had been five years since he had seen Esther, five years since he had held her or heard her voice, yet for him she was alive until this very moment.
“Eli, are you still there?”
His response was soft and slow. “What do I tell my son?”
“I wish I had an answer for you.”
Eli exhaled. “Thank you, Ann. I appreciate the work you did and that you made a personal call.”
“You take care, Eli.”
Adinah was hanging sheets on the line when she spotted Eli walking home. His gait was slow, his shoulders slumped, his eyes were red. Adinah dropped her laundry and ran to him. “Eli?”
It took effort, but he finally said, “She’s dead, Adinah. They murdered my Esther.”
“Oh, Eli,” Adinah cried. She put her arms around him and walked him into the house.
“I have to tell Izaak,” he said.
“Do you?”
“He needs to know the truth. I’ve always been honest with him.”
“Please, Eli, tell him only that she didn’t survive. Spare him the details. Don’t let his mind form a picture of his mother in that way. He has beautiful memories. Don’t let that gruesome image creep into his mind. Not now. Not at this young age.”
Eli nodded and walked back to Izaak’s room. A few minutes later, Izaak burst out of his room, running to Adinah, arms wide open, tears flowing. He sat on her lap while she cradled him and rocked him back and forth.