belongings to the Gestapo. After some time, I saw the wagon move off and
drive towards Brzezińska Street, and the two men walk back towards Łódź.
One of them was wearing an officer’s uniform and the other was in civilian
dress. They were carrying several parcels, which meant they had taken what
had appealed to them. I was pleased, nevertheless, and set off again.
Very wet, thick snow began to fall and the wind picked up. It was impossible
to walk in such a blizzard. The nag stopped every 10 minutes and could
not, or would not, take another step. We, the passengers, crawled forward with
enormous effort. We barely managed to drag ourselves to the point where the
coachman allowed us to climb up onto the wagon. He protested, nevertheless,
because even without us the nag could hardly move. And so, thoroughly
drenched, we had to continue on foot.
I took the opportunity to open my suitcase to see what was missing. I saw
at once that I was missing a large leather briefcase, a 48-piece set of Fraget⁶⁰⁴ in
a silk case worth several hundred zlotys, a silver automaton,⁶⁰⁵ two expensive
fountain pens, a silk plush tablecloth, three 3-metre lengths of prime poplin
for men’s shirts, etc. The loss pained me, but I was nevertheless pleased that
they hadn’t taken everything. Tired out and agitated, I had to crawl after the
wagon on all fours as far as Brzeziny. I fell from exhaustion more than once,
unable to get up by myself without help. The road seemed endless, and every
kilometre that we covered seemed like five. Everything was shut, and I realised
it was late at night.
Hoping that this was the end of the journey, I summoned my last ounce
of strength and entered the town at 1 o’clock in the morning. It turned out,
however, that our driver was not sufficiently acquainted with the geography
of the town, nor did he know the address of his acquaintance where we were
supposed to find a resting place. There was not a living soul to ask. We drove
around in the dark at God’s mercy.
Suddenly a tall, broad-shouldered civilian [7] in high hobnailed boots
appeared. Shining an electric torch on us and on the cart, he shouted at
us wildly to take our belongings and follow him. He immediately treated
the men, myself included, to a few punches, and as we walked along, he
kicked us in the back or in the stomach, wherever he could reach. He did it
604 A brand of silver-plated cutlery.
605 Meaning unclear; perhaps a music box.
