War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 140

Chapter 24

T

he next days passed in a blur of activity. Richard and Magda perfected their plan, going through everything several times. On paper it looked good, but he knew it was flimsy at best. Yet it was all they had. And they couldn’t wait, as indications for the beginning of final deportations and closure of the Ghetto were becoming more evident by the day.

Magda delivered the message to Agnieska with precise instructions for Jan to climb across the fence under the cover of night and to hide near the quarantine barracks until Richard picked him up.

Richard had retrieved his Wehrmacht uniform from the woods, and produced an ID card that looked similar enough to the real thing to fool an uninterested Polish sentry.

Agnieska had arranged to be assigned to teach new camp children how to assemble baskets for artillery ammunition for the German war machine. Since the Germans didn’t do their dirty work themselves, they left this task to the Jews.

“It’s now or never,” Richard said one day.

“Tomorrow is the day,” Magda said, winking, “just one more thing to do.” Then she put on her coat and grabbed her medical bag.

“Good luck,” Richard said. This part of the plan was crucial to rescue not only Jan but also his aunt. At the same time it was the most difficult task to prepare. So many things could go wrong. If Tekla became suspicious, it might even endanger the entire mission.

Richard could barely sit and paced the room not once, but at least a hundred times. He tried busying his hands with writing letters – one to his family, another one to Katrina. In case he died, Magda would see that they arrived at their recipients. But he hoped to tell Katrina in person how much he loved her. And his family soon thereafter, once the war ended.

When Magda returned several hours later, he barely hid his trembling hands.

“Poor Tekla, she got sick.” The midwife smirked and Richard wanted to cry with relief.

“Thank God, it worked,” he uttered. Magda had laced donut-like

Paczki

with special herbs and offered them to Tekla. Just as she had predicted, the greedy woman had gobbled up all of them, leaving only one for Magda, and within the hour she was running relays to the outhouse in the backyard.

“In her panic over losing her prestigious job with the Germans, she begged me for help,” Magda reported. “I gave her a dose of medicine that’ll knock her out for twenty-four hours and promised to arrange for a substitute to fill in for her for the day.” Magda waved the special permit issued for those who worked in the children’s camp.

Richard swallowed hard. Their narrow window of opportunity had opened briefly. It would last for one day, or else… He didn’t shut his eyes all night, his mind circling around the plan and everything that might go wrong. There was no Plan B in place and only with God’s help would all four of them still be alive next week.

Early in the morning he shaved and put on his uniform, washed and meticulously ironed by Magda. Breakfast didn’t appeal to him, since his stomach did somersaults in apprehension of things to come.

“Good luck,” Magda said, pulling him into a hug. “Remember to always keep calm. Even if things go awry, don’t lose your gait and never flinch or run.”

If I do, I’ll get shot in the back.

He nodded. In theory he knew all that. During his days in the security division he’d learned how to single out a guilty suspect. It always came back to showing nerves. Only the innocent – or the wicked – stayed relatively calm despite fear.

But being on the other side was a lot more nerve-wracking than he’d believed it would be. Palms sweating, he snuck out of Magda’s place before dawn and lingered in the shadows until it was time to approach the Kinder KZ at seven o’clock sharp.

Please, God, let everything work out

. Richard had memorized the inside of the camp from Magda’s map, but he could only hope Mrs. Koszlow had given an accurate report.

He approached the gate, noticing the sentry in the glass case, unarmed. Apparently, nobody expected the children to try and escape. Richard took one last calming breath and stepped in front of the tiny window, showing his fake ID card and barking at the sentry, “Klausen. Racial Institute.”

The sentry took one glance at Richard’s field gray uniform, complete with field cap, and opened the gate for him.

His heart thundering in his throat, Richard marched across the assembly space, taking inventory out of the corner of his eye. The alignment of the barracks resembled more or less the rectangles on the map, and he turned left toward where the quarantine barracks were supposed to be.

A deep sigh escaped him, when he saw the stone building, even more rickety than the rest. He moved out of sight of the gate and behind the building, expecting to find Jan and Agnieska waiting for him there.

Nothing.

Richard almost screamed with disappointment, when he remembered that Jan would be hiding until he whistled “W żłobie leży,” a popular Polish Christmas carol. He hadn’t finished the first verse of the melody when a horribly emaciated boy crawled out from his hiding.

“Janusz Zdanek?”

The boy nodded.

“Where’s your aunt?”

“In…in…the factory…I suppose. She said to leave her things here, for when she finds a way to sneak out.”

Richard removed Mrs. Koszlow’s uniform and employee card from under his smock and hid it beneath a bush. Then he scrutinized the boy’s clothing. It was shabby, but that was normal in war-ridden Poland. At least Agnieska had thought to remove the blue star on a white background from Jan’s shirt. Richard smiled and again addressed the boy, who’d been watching him with eyes wide open. “I’m going to bring you to your family, but you have to act terrified of me. Can you do this?”

Jan nodded. Apparently seeing the Wehrmacht uniform terrorized him so much already he didn’t have to fake his angst.

Richard grabbed his arm tighter and dragged the boy behind, just like any soldier would with a criminal lout. As they reached the exit, Richard expected the sentry to show the same disinterest as before and open the gate for the German soldier without a question.

“Hey! Where are you going with that boy?” the sentry asked as he left his glass case.

“Herr…Dymek,” Richard read from the sentry’s lapel, “is that the respectful way you address an official from the Racial Institute? I might have to give word to your superior.”

The man didn’t budge and Richard summoned all his strength to glower at him, whilst grabbing Jan’s arm tighter, afraid he might make a dash for freedom. “For your information, the Commandant himself wants this boy to be sent for Germanization and I am taking him to the transit camp.”

“I haven’t seen you here before,” the sentry argued.

“What’s your point, Polacke?” Richard raised his voice for effect but the Pole remained belligerent and wouldn’t stamp the fake release papers or open the gate. “You’ve seen the papers. What else do you want? If you haven’t noticed, I have work to do. The truck to transport the children is standing by, waiting for this last passenger.”

“Can’t authorize every bit of paper that comes to me.” The man remained rigid and continued to eye Richard and Jan suspiciously. “Have to read these documents carefully. The Commandant doesn’t tolerate mistakes.”

“The commandant sure is in a foul mood today, so why don’t you walk over to his office and tell him you delayed the transfer. That should cheer him up, right?” Richard sensed that the man was so close to relenting. Before he could reconsider again, he played his ace in the hole. “I’ll tell you what you can do, you insolent fellow! Keep this boy and hand him over to the office yourself. I’ll be sure to include your name in my report to the Reichsstatthalter himself. Looks like there’s plenty of stubborn Jewish blood running in your veins.”

The sentry blanched and in the next moment the seal landed with a mighty thump on the boy’s permit. Richard stomped off with Janusz in tow, grumbling at the sentry, who was opening the gate for the impostor in uniform.

The furious Herr Dymek took his sweet time to turn the key and unlock the gate, bringing Richard near to hyperventilating. Why didn’t that stupid man hurry up? Of course he knew the answer. It was the small revenge of a powerless Pole, who hated his occupiers as much as the next person, despite working for them.

After what felt like an eternity, the door swung open and Richard pressed out a breath of relief. With superhuman self-control he managed to walk out the gate as if he didn’t just steal a Jewish boy destined to be killed from under the Nazi’s noses.

But the next splash of cold water wasn’t long in coming.