Mom, I no longer want to be Jewish

by Harry Bleiberg

During the night, a distant roar awoke them. Then the walls started trembling under the impact of the bombs that exploded near the factories of Marchiennes-au-Pont. – The Germans are attacking! We must go, said F.. A. would not leave. He wanted to wait, see what would happen. Despite the early hour, the streets were teeming with people. The whole town was emptying, people leaving their homes, dragging behind them whatever they thought they could carry. On the platforms, the crowd was dense; men, women, children, laden with packages, blankets, sometimes a newborn in their arms, stormed the departing cars.The train was hit by an aircraft attack and they had to continue on foot. As far as the eye could see, an endless line of people was moving forward. They walked alone, or in small groups. F. and H. had slipped into the flow. They walked side by side, ants among ants, stretching out slowly, but steadily, towards Fontaine Valmont. They walked for several days under a scorching sun. More and more frequently, they came across disemboweled horses, men, women hugging their children. With no food, or resources, they had to turn back.At the end of October 1940, the first decree concerning the Jews was passed. A red stamp indicating Jew was to be affixed to their identity cards. Jewish merchants had to display the words Jewish Store on their windows. They also had to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes with the letter J in the center. They had no rights, only prohibition to go to the cinema, to the theater, to sit on park benches, to sit in the streetcar. The deportation order was given. The Resistance emerged and the Committee for the Defense of the Jews was created in early 1942 to raise funds to support needy families and also to prepare for clandestine activity.– Auf machen! Polizei! Their house was invaded by the Gestapo. The Germans were everywhere, herding the families into one room. – You have no right to touch this child, he’s mine. She accompanied her words with violent blows to the chest of the soldier in charge of the operation. A. looked – Let it be, Fela; we must follow them. F. turned to him, mad with rage. – What did you dare say? Let it be! But let what be? Let them take us away, separate us, kill us? Then let him kill us here, all together! The Gestapo policeman looked at F. for the first time in the eye and at the same time addressed a – We will leave Frau Bleiberg and her son. We do not touch women and children. A. and the rest of the family went into the truck.F. took H. by the – Come on, we must leave now, she said; from now on you will be Henri Courtois, will you remember? Your parents were killed in 1940, and you’re an orphan. Never say anything else. They were going to start a life they couldn’t have imagined, each alone. Nearly a thousand had boarded an eastbound train. They were going to Poland! For the most part, they were coming back to where they had started. Night had fallen. When a sign indicated Oświęcim, the train cars swayed left and right. Rocking in all directions, the occupants could barely sit. In the distance, they heard dogs barking. A light illuminated the sky to their right. The train stopped and released its steam with a hiss that announced they had arrived.– Get off! Leave your luggage in the car; you’ll collect it later.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2021

Reviews

[Susan LaSpina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required reading for high school students

I have had many discussions with people who were woefully ignorant about WWII and Hitler 's Final Solution. It would seem that now, just as then, people cannot seem to wrap their heads around the perpetration en masse of such monumental cruelty and evil. This book, through first person narratives of a number of key figures, conveys that story well. Worth reading.

[Joetda Wickline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to follow

Why did the author use F,A and H?

The story jumped around with no explanation as to what happened? The protagonist (F) is suddenly on a train going somewhere when at the close of the previous chapter she was offered help from a couple who offered to help her hide?

I'm sorry, I couldn't finish it.

[Albert Randolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mom, I no longer want to be Jewish

This unusual book was disturbing to process— powerful in its directness. I knew all the main contours already, as I have read extensively in the genre of Holocaust memoirs, but getting inside the minds of the three main protagonists was painfully different.