Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson Read Free Book Online

The devastating effects of the Depression motivated people to search for blame, for the cause of their misfortune. Germans offered up the Jews as the sacrificial lamb. Here’s the reason for the world-wide Depression, they said. Here’s the cause of all your misery: it’s the Jews! Hatred of the Jews had become a national policy in Germany and it was seeping slowly into Poland. What had once been a delicate fabric, community cooperation and tolerance among the diverse ethnic groups, began to unravel. Like a virus, colonies incubated in Poland, mostly among the disenfranchised youth. They called themselves Radical Nationals or National Democrats, patterned after the Nazis, but they were nothing more than bands of young thugs.”
    Adele added, “For many years Poland had a history of tolerance towards Jews, the most hospitable country in all of Europe. Lublin was the seat of Jewish learning. There was a yeshiva, a school for Talmudic study, located there and scholars were turning out pages of biblical commentary. And Lublin was just north of Zamość by a few hours.” She sat back and smiled. “Ben told me.”
    Ben paused to take a sip of tea and nodded. “The Jewish community was allied with leaders of the Polish government. Jozef Pilsudski was the Premier and leader of Poland following the First World War and until his death, Marshall Pilsudski protected the Jews.
    “Pilsudski was a conservative and like most Poles, distrusted Russia above all. We all feared the Bolsheviks. Pilsudski felt that he couldn’t count on England or France to come to our aid if Russia attacked, so he signed a ten-year non-aggression treaty with Germany in 1934. Hitler was promising to protect Poland’s borders.”
    “If the Jewish community was supported by Pilsudski, why didn’t he contain the anti-Semitism?” Catherine asked.
    “Ah. Pilsudski died of cancer in 1935,” Ben said. “In the four years between his death and World War II, anti-Semitism grew much worse. For example, in the 1920s, one out of every four university students was Jewish, but by 1938, before the war, it was down to 8%.
    “Getting back to my story, Otto’s mother stood in the foyer and begged Otto to go with her to Germany, but Otto turned his back on her and walked into the bedroom. She stood there sobbing.
    “My mother, God bless her heart, took pity on her. ‘Come in, please,’ she said and led Ilse to the couch. Stanislaw followed her in.
    “Minutes later, my father fetched Otto from our bedroom. He stood stiffly before his mother, his arms folded across his chest. Ilse looked at him, at his icy cold stare, and broke down.
    “‘Otto,’ she cried. ‘You can’t understand what it’s been like for me. I was beside myself. I never wanted to leave you and I curse all the forces that tore us apart. But not a single day has gone by that I haven’t seen you and talked to you.’
    “Otto was clearly puzzled by her statement and narrowed his eyes. ‘What are you talking about? I haven’t heard from you in over a year.’
    “She fingered a gold locket she wore around her neck, clicked it open and held it up. ‘Look Otto, I talked to you every day.’
    “Inside the locket was a little black and white photo of Otto taken when he was very young. Ilse reached out for Otto, pulled him close and combed his long blond hair with her fingers. ‘My Otto,’ she wept, ‘you could come with us. I can take care of you now. We could make up for lost time.’
    “Otto shook his head.
    “‘I have influence, Otto. I could get you a leadership position in the Hitler Youth. You could be very important.’
    “‘Could you get Ben a leadership position, too?’
    “‘No, liebchen , I’m afraid I can’t. Ben is a Jew. There are no Jews in the Hitler youth.’
    “‘That’s what I thought. I’m sorry but I live here now.’
    “‘You don’t understand, Otto,’ she said. ‘You should see what’s happening to the Jews in Germany. Soon, I think, the Jews will