I survived the Hulocost

12:37 P.M.

Sunday, December 10,  1939

Lille, France

 

“Aunt Liesel the Nazis are a few blocks away! Oh what shall we do?” I exclaimed after the last round was over. Tata looked around worried. I knew what he was thinking; Aunt Liesel’s house didn’t have an attic for us to hide in or anything else for that matter.

“Could Tata and Aunt Liesel pretend to be married?” asked Sam so quietly that we could barely hear him.

“You're a genius Sam!” I exclaimed.

Sam started planning out loud. “Ok, Tata opens the door if they knock. When or if they start talking, which they probably will, Aunt Liesel will walk over to the door to see who it is and sense most people think Liesele and I are about 8 or 9, we will come running to the door.”

“Sam… you're forgetting something,” I said worriedly. “Aunt Liesel and I have the same names and our last name will probably be in a list.”

Chapter 2

 

3 hours 17 minutes before  

9:20

 

“Liesel Goldberg this is serious. If you don’t get out of that bathroom before 9:30 you won't have breakfast,” said Aunt Liesel in a not-so-serious voice. “I will die if I have not done my hair by 9:30.”

“Liesel Brant, I've been in here for a minute and any ways, I'm done now,” I giggled. She is always joking around with me because I’m her only “partner”. Mama had been taken to a work camp last year. Then we moved to Lille. Now Tata has been much more quiet than usual so it was Aunt Liesel’s “mission” to make him his old self again.

Once I was dressed for church and I ate breakfast I went and tried to tame my curly long brown hair, in the mornings Sam, my twin, would call it a brown lion because of how tangled it was. Tata and Mama would call me the baby brown lion because of how short I was. When Aunt Liesel came in and "tamed" my hair for me I was so ever grateful because we had five minutes until Aunt Liesel's church started and it took about four minutes to walk there.

Chapter 3

11:10 A.M.

Once we got back from church and changed, Sam and I went with Aunt Liesel on a walk around the square. While we were walking back, Sam saw the Naizs walking into the house of Aunt Liesel’s friend, Carine Françoise. When they came out Carine was unconscious with Théodore jr., Morgan, and little Muriel crying behind her.

“Aunt Liesel could we go say bye to the Françoise’s?” I asked her just loud enough for the Nazis to hear me.

“Of course bien-aimée” she answered.

As I pulled Sam along with me, the Nazis told another that he couldn’t let us get close. I started crying fake tears. I said to the Nazi “But when will we get to say good bye? We know you’re relocating them to better places, but why is Nounou  Carine unconscious?”

I feel Sam crying into my shoulder.

“Ok little one, you can say good-bye,” he said with a look of pity in his eyes.

“Merci kind sir. Good bye Théodore, Morgan, Muriel. We’ll miss you here in Lille,” Sam followed me while we were hugging them. I started crying for real once I reached the end, and I was softly touching Carine’s damp hair.

I started to sob, “oh Nounou Carine why… why?”

Sam and I ran back to Aunt Liesel and started crying into her arms. When we got back home we decided to play a round of Monopoly.

“There's a different group of Nazis by the church, Liesel. Should we tell Aunt Liesel?” Sam asked when we finished a round of Monopoly. At that very same moment Aunt Liesel came through the doorway.

“You guys should of told me when you knew,” said Aunt Liesel.

She plopped down besides me. “How about one more round?” She asked like nothing had happen. It surprises me how she does it, care about it one second and the next it’s like it didn’t happen!    

“Aunt Liesel the Natzis are two blocks away! Oh what shall we do?” I exclaimed after the last round was over. Tata looked around worried. I knew what he was thinking, Aunt Liesel’s house didn’t have an attic for us to hide in or anything else for that matter.

“Could Tata and Aunt Liesel pretend to be married?” asked Sam so quietly that we could barely hear him.

“You're a genius Sam!” I exclaim.

Sam started planning out loud “Ok, Tata opens the door if they knock. When or if they start talking, which they probably will, Aunt Liesele will walk over to the door to see who it is and sense most people think Liesele and I are about 8 or 9, we will come running to the door.”

“Sam… you're forgetting something,” I said worriedly, “Aunt Liesel and I have the same names and our last name will be in a list.” 

By now Tata had stepped out of the conversation and has started just writing down notes.

“Marie and Kaufman,” he announced quietly clearly pleased with his work, “Sam Kaufman, Benjamin Kaufman, Leisel Kaufman, and Marie Kaufman -” there was a knock at the door, Aunt Leisel shooed him at the door then finished the sentence he was saying

“Together in 1928 when the twins were born.” She said in a fake cheerful tone then went to the door to see who it was because Tata was still at the door. We heard her greet the Nazis graciously into her home and played around saying Tata was “not being very considerate” to them. Aunt Liesel lead them in and gestured to the empty chairs all around us.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked, “Marie was just about to make some.”

“No thank you ma'am,” one of the Nazis replied in a very accented French, “but thank you.” But any ways I scurried off and made five cups; one for me, one for Tata, and one for Aunt Liesel. When I walked back in Aunt Liesel was arguing with the Nazi that had turned down the offer for tea.    

“... Yes they do know polish, their aunt, my sister, lived there -”

“What do you mean ‘lived there’?”

“She looked like a Jew so you arrested her when she wasn't a Jew”

“She had the Star of David inside of her coat -”

“She was showing support for the Jews because they were being humiliated.” Aunt Liesel started crying. “She was my sister, our great grandfather was Jewish. When our grandfather got married he converted to Christianity…”

“Ok ok I get it but she has probably died or has been killed -”he said harshly.

“Killed! You said they were relocated to a safer place not not killed,” I  screamed. I've already set the plate of tea down, “She was my only aunt my only, only partner in crime. We did everything together we once put a whoopie cushion in Tata’s chair,” I quieted down, “she was my everything.”

All of that was true. Mama and I did put a whoopie cushion in Tata’s chair and she was everything to me. I started sobbing then I ran into the room I shared with Sam. I watched as the snow fell down and thought about when I asked Mama why each snowflake was different. She told me they were for each time people cried that day I felt that was true on this day.

When I came back in Tata  was talking with Sam, the Nazis had lefty and Aunt Liesel was crying. I sat down on her lap and cried with her. I knew we were crying about the same thing, Mama. once we finished crying out all our tears I decided to ask Aunt Liesel the same thing I asked Mama.

“Why are snowflakes all different?”

“Because they are for the times people cry that day and the tears they shed,” Aunt Liesel said, “and half of those are for your mama,” she finished with a sad smile.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.02.2017

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