the corner and shines a light on the bed. I can finally take a look at the child. It is lying in a dirty gown on a mattress without bedclothes. [2] I feel totally at a loss. I do not know what to do in such situations. I do not know how to react to all this. I feel that it is no place for a lecture on hygiene, etc. I ask for cotton wool. The child’s mother is not there, as she is washing underwear for her better-off lady neighbour. She rushes in after a while, though, and when I ask for cotton wool, she wants to hand me a piece of black cotton from her child’s [wadded] coat. I am getting angry. Apparently this helps, because after a while I get a piece of wool and even some iodine. I order her to light up the spot where I will administer the injection. I can finally take a deeper breath. The load is off my mind. I have fulfilled my duty. I can go home. I need to go to sleep. But before I go I ask them to fetch me in the morning to give the child another injection.
Naturally, nobody comes to my place at dawn. Nobody cares about the sick child. But I cannot go out without checking up on the sick child. I descend into the basement. I shout, “Hello! Hello! [3] Open the door, please,” because it is pitch black and I cannot find my way. Finally, the door opens and I come in. It is dark. I cannot see anybody. I ask for an ampoule to administer another injection. They have none because they have dropped them. What can I do? I give them some money and tell them to fetch another ampoule. I get nervous when nobody returns for a while. Finally, somebody comes in. I have the ampoule and something very handy—a candle. I can administer the injection.
I look around the flat. In the corner two dirty children are lying on some straw under a dirty rag. Two more in another corner. Another child, older, is holding the candle. The mother comes for a moment, takes the sick child out of bed, and wipes it with a dirty dishcloth. She cannot wipe off the excrement. The child is covered in it almost from head to toe. I have had enough. I find a clean spot and perform the injection. I have some tea on me. I distribute it among the children [4] and I leave. I have had enough. The mother has left me and gone to do laundry. The medication has not been bought. I rush out.
ARG I 466 (Ring. I/196).
Description: original, handwritten, ink, Polish, 148x210 mm, 4 sheets, 4 pages.
