at every little house and tree, observing them closely. They were all familiar
to me. I had thought I would never see it all again. And now that I had
lived to see it with my own eyes, everything seemed as if reborn. As I entered
our town, which I had so yearned for and dreamed of, I broke down and
wept. I didn’t reveal myself to anyone. When I got to our home, I knocked on
the door and it opened. I went in and they took me for a pauper and made
to give me a piece of bread. [57] “Don’t you know who I am?” I exclaimed.
I was so ragged and tattered that it was hard to recognise me. Then my
parents and sister started kissing me, weeping to find me standing there
in front of them.
They asked me what had happened to me all this time. I described all
my ordeals, which made for quite a story. I washed and went straight to bed.
The news of my arrival spread through town like wildfire. Crowds of people
came to see me immediately to find out how I was doing, young and old,
women and children, friends and acquaintances. Everyone was interested in
what was happening on the other side of the border. Some had parents there,
some children, some acquaintances. And some simply wanted to know the
situation there. I described the situation to each of them in detail so that they
could get a clear idea. The whole time I was at home, the door [58] remained
open. People came and went. There was a constant stream of people from
morning to night. If you were looking for someone, you would find them in
our home. I received everyone warmly and described everything accurately.
And so it continued until we were all driven out of town.
I was very happy the whole time that I was home. Now I understood the
real meaning of home, parents, brother, sister, and friends too. I rested and
recovered. I spent more time in bed than on my feet. It seemed a shame to get
out of bed… my warm bed. I was given as much to eat as I wanted and slept as
long as I wished. I would spend the whole day at home with friends, which was
a very pleasant way to pass the time. However, my evenings were less agreeable,
because people were only permitted to be on the street until 5 o’clock,
after which [59] my friends did not come to visit. We were not allowed to use
electric light at home, so I went straight to bed at nightfall.
From time to time I pondered the fate of all of my reading material,
which had cost me thousands. Many years of Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish
newspapers bound in dozens of thick volumes, as well as all kinds of pamphlets
and publications. Religious books, for example the Talmud and religious
