Alex Kudera's Blog, page 27

All that is left are the books

"The Jews of Ukmerge have been dead for a long time. All that is left are the books from the local Jewish library. Recently the books have also been taken out of there and brought to a 'Jewish grave' to the RR [Rosenberg] Task Force in Vilna, which does Judenforschung ohne Juden with Jewish brains . . .

"Seven cartons of books were brought here."

~~ from The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939—1944 by Herman Kruk

Kloc City

I've recently enjoyed Joe Kloc's "The Golden Fleece" and both The Band and Bruce on "Atlantic City."

Cold Enough for Snow

"I thought of how, out of all the places we had seen, she had seemed happiest at a small store we'd found in one of the many underground passages that joined the subway stations. It had been the kind that sold gloves and socks, all made in such numbers that they were affordable, and on sale. The stores had been crowded, with many people going through the racks. My mother had spent close to forty minutes there, looking through the various sections, and had bought gifts for everyone. She had made sure to choose very carefully and thoughtfully, matching each person to an item as best she knew how, and had bought two sets of brightly coloured gloves for my sister's children, as well as a pair for me. Whenever I asked her. what she'd like to visit in Japan, she'd often said she'd be happy with anything. The only question she'd asked once was whether, in winter, it was cold enough for snow, which she had never seen."

~~ from Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

Little Gardens in the Courtyards

"As last year, so this year, many little gardens are planned for the courtyards, as for example, at Szpitalna 5, Jatkowa 15, Szawelska 5, Lida 8, Strashun 3, Szawelska 1, and Strashun 15. Smaller gardens will be planted in almost all ghetto courtyards.

"Instead of flowers over us, we will make our courtyards bloom for the time being."

~~ from The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939—1944 by Herman Kruk

sign and send

For those experiencing economic hardship, we have a few copies of Auggie's Revenge that we can sign and send. Don't be shy.

Everything is Dead

"In the ghetto, it is as if everything were dead. The offices aren't open. People aren't working in the workshops. No one understands the events that have occurred. Rarely is there clear and certain information. Everything is veiled in fog. Everything looks unlikely. Every rustle is blown out of proportion. Some say the executions were carried out by Latvians. Some know that they were carried out by the 200 Ukrainians brought especially for that. People say that Hingst and Murer didn't know about the events in Ponar. The street seethes and argues incessantly. No one works, not even in the German units. The ghetto and the ghetto Jews are truly depressed. Everything is dead."

~~ from The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939—1944 by Herman Kruk

Afterlives

I believe this is the newest U.S. cover.
 

Sachsenhausen in 1942

"Both Uncle Ilyas and his son Paul died in Sachsenhausen in 1942. The cause of Uncle Ilyas's death is not recorded but from the memoir of an inmate who survived, it is known that the son of the black singer who voluntarily entered the camp to be with his father was shot trying to escape.

"So what we can know for sure, Ilyas told his parents, is that someone loved Uncle Ilyas enough to follow him to certain death in a concentration camp in order to keep him company."

~~ from Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

The Chinaman

"'That other store, that belongs to the Chinaman.' [Khalifa] pointed to the other detached property. 'He keeps dried shark fin and sea cucumber and vipusa in there — you know, rhino horn — and those other things they like in China. He keeps them in there and then every few months, when he has enough, he loads it all on to a ship and sends it off to Hong Kong. I don't think it's legal but he knows how to stay out of trouble and how to keep the Customs boys happy. They like those things in China, to make their zub hard. He never rests, that Chinaman, nor does he let any of his family rest. Have you seen his house? There are trays of noodles drying in the backyard, flocks of ducks waddling about in the mud in front, his grocery kiosk is open from dawn until late at night . . . and all the time he is dressed in shorts and a singlet like a labourer, working every hour of the day and night. Have you heard him speak? He sounds just like you and me . . . none of that fong fong fong you expect from a Chinaman. And all his children are the same. If you listen to them speak with your eyes closed, you'd never guess that you were listening to a Chinaman. Have you heard them speak?'"

~~ from Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

the askari

"They made slow progress despite the officers' shouting and their canes. There was little respite from the under-officers' blows, as the ombasha and the shaush seem to have lost their minds too, goaded into worse ferocity by the Feldwebel. After a while the march settled into a reluctant shuffle despite the best efforts of the tiring under-officers. They stopped often, to rest or to adjust loads, and at every stop there were grumbles and scowling looks. They were not spared the usual perils of the march--the bites and the heat--the intermittent heavy rain, the aching feet from walking in worn-out boots, the exhaustion. All these were even more intolerable to the askari than usual now that they were forced to do menial work. When they finally stopped to make camp in the late afternoon, there was a tense expectation of trouble."

~~ from Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah