I Am a Star by Inge Auerbacher Read Free Book Online

days on the road we arrived at the displaced persons’ camp in Stuttgart. Here we received our first good meal. I remember the beautifully set table and the white tablecloth. I can still taste the noodle soup, which I ate slowly to relish every spoonful. Never in my life would soup taste as good again. We stayed only one week in this temporary facility, which had been especially prepared to house returning Jewish refugees. Our aim was to return to my grandmother’s home. We hoped she would still be alive and greet us there.
    When we arrived in Jebenhausen, we faced the awful truth. Grandma had not survived. A total of thirteen people from our family had lost their lives during those awful years. Our only hope was to find our beloved Christian friend Therese. To our dismay, the war had claimed her life also. When the American soldiers entered the village, they searched many houses for ammunition. Therese heard the knock on her door, but did not open it, fearing for her life. She remained standing behind the closed door. Eventually, an impatient American soldier shot through the door. She died instantly.
    THERESE
    To honor her I placed a flower on the grave,
Recalling a woman who generously gave.
Her life in danger; she came in the night,
Bringing food and helping us in our plight.
     
    She did not heed the GI’s knock on the door,
A shot rang out; she fell lifeless to the floor.
As before in a distant and strange land,
My grandma’s life snuffed out by an SS hand.
     
    I had prayed for their safety every night,
Now they walk together in an unseen light.
The two were inseparable, each a good friend,
A Christian and a Jew united in the end.
    The new owners of Grandma’s house prepared a room for us. When Grandma was deported to Riga in 1941, her house was taken away from us and we were ordered to move into the Jewish houses in Goeppingen. A Christian family received permission to occupy Grandma’s house.
    Our return after so many years was greeted by a vase filled with field flowers which stood on the table. The Christian family tried to ease our pain. One day someone brought us a big bowl of whipped sweet cream. Mama and I gorged ourselves until we were sick from it. The years of hunger had taken their toll; our stomachs were not ready to digest this rich food.
    We soon found more permanent living quarters in the neighboring town of Goeppingen. The mayor invited us to visit him at City Hall. As soon as we stepped into the Mayor’s Chamber, Mama noticed the Oriental carpet: it was ours. The mantel clock had a familiar chime; it, too, had once been our property. After our deportation to Terezin, all our belongings had been distributed to different Christian families. Some items had found their way to City Hall.

    Inge, parents and an American soldier after liberation, 1945.

    Inge, parents and American soldiers in Goeppingen, 1945.
    The townspeople, fearing reprisal from us, insisted that they knew nothing of the horrors we had suffered. They said they had never hated the Jews and were therefore not guilty of any crime. Why then did they not question the fate of so many innocent people taken away so brutally at the time?
    Our home became a famililar place for the American soldiers. They showered us with personal goods and candy. Some ran with their melting ice cream rations to our home so that I could have a special treat.
    To my knowledge, I was the only Jewish child survivor in the state of Württemberg. My eleventh birthday was a sensation. I was invited to the local UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) Commission Headquarters. I had but one wish—to receive a new doll carriage, even though I seemed too old for it. I remembered just before my deportation to Terezin how heartbreaking it had been to wheel my light green carriage for two miles to town and give it to another child.
    How thrilled I was with my first new outfit, a black and white checked dress sewn especially for me. I felt