Warum bist du Jude?²⁰³ Then, one of them stood on the wagon and began to
yell loudly: Ich bin Deutsche, du bist Jude, alles eins.²⁰⁴ Encountered groups of
German civilians stopped to stare at us. Then they saw a buddy and called out
to him. He was just a little drunk and climbed onto the wagon. The ones who
joined us first kept talking drunkenly. One began to tell me about his home
in Germany, he said he had a daughter like me. Another one suddenly drew
a revolver and tried to shoot, who knows whom. But the sober one stopped
him. The third one started talking to us, he was very nice. I told him to let
us go, we would go home on foot, because I was tired and hungry. So he took
out a piece of bread with sausage and gave it to me. I thanked him and ate.
Finally we got to the avenue, the wagoner halted, the two rolled down off the
wagon and cried auf Wiedersehen,²⁰⁵ while the third one shook [14] our hands
and said für Menschkeit alles menschlich²⁰⁶ or something like that. We turned
back and arrived at my cousin’s home with no more adventures. The following
day in the morning I went to our new flat [. . .] uncles. Father was terribly
worried because he had expected my arrival the previous day. It felt like
home. Then we went for a walk. The atmosphere in Warsaw was very different
from Łódź. I almost forgot about the war. In side streets, there was no trace
of the Germans, and even in main streets there were far fewer of them compared
to Łódź. Roundups for labour happened rarely; I walked with my father
through most of the city completely undisturbed. The Jews did wear armbands,
but other than that, they felt completely at ease. The Germans rarely
came to flats, and when they did come, it caused fear, confusion and talk for
an entire week, while in Łódź it was a normal, everyday occurrence. Both
Poles and Jews were allowed outside until 8 p.m. Trade among the Jews and
the Poles flourished. Goods were brought from Łódź, where they were much
cheaper. There was practically no flat in Warsaw without trading going on.
For us, accustomed to the almost prewar prices in Łódź, Warsaw prices were
shocking. [15] Coal cost 50 zlotys a bushel,²⁰⁷ bread 1.75 [zlotys] per kilogram.
People talked about the prevailing poverty, although being already aware what
203 (German) Why are you Jewish?
204 (German) I am German, you are Jewish. It makes no difference.
205 (German) Goodbye.
206 (German) Nothing human is alien to me.
207 Unit of capacity used to weigh dry produce, equivalent to 128 litres.
