The End of Days (3 page)

Read The End of Days Online

Authors: Helen Sendyk

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Historical, #History, #Holocaust, #test

BOOK: The End of Days
6.47Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
 
Page 7
religious observance in Papa's absence. Sholek was a wild kid, impatiently squirming in his chair, hardly able to control his impulse to get up and run before Nachcia allowed him to leave the table. Sometimes he would grab his Hebrew books and run before she had a chance to call after him, "Go straight to
cheder
[elementary religious school], Sholek, or else Papa will hear about it."
A little short in stature for his age, Sholek made up for it in talent what he lacked in height. Popular in both school and in
cheder
, he could memorize whole chapters of Chumash, the five books of Moses. On Sabbath afternoon Papa would say, "Come, Sholek, let me hear what you learned in
cheder
all week long." Sholek would recite the passages learned, giving Papa enormous pleasure. He would even be able to explain some commentaries, besting his older brothers. Papa would shake his head with pleasure and say, "What is your hurry, Sholek?" Later he would good-naturedly add, "Okay, go, run. Your friends must be outside waiting for you."
Then Papa would linger a while longer with Heshek at the table over a page of Talmud. Heshek, the slow, patient, studious one, was always anxious to find another solution to a talmudic problem. Nachcia, too, would stick around to help Mama clear the table.
"These are my two children," Mama would often say about Nachcia and Heshek, to her sister Esther. "They are both like me: quiet, subdued, and not impulsive. The rest are like Symche: quick, witty, agile, and spontaneous."
I had never seen Goldzia stand up or walk or even sit in a chair, for Goldzia was bedridden. When Mama talked about the younger Goldzia, however, you would see a beautiful child with blue eyes and flaxen hair. Growing up slender and tall, she absorbed every word taught to her in school. She read books like a grown-up and smiled like an angel. Skipping happily along, she would always come home from school with a story on her lips. She would climb all over Mama demanding attention.
"When I grow up," she would cry out while dancing and
 
Page 8
laughing, "I will be a singerno, a dancerno, a ballerina."
Bubbling with life and zest, she would fill the house with her presence. And then came the terrible day when Goldzia came home from school walking slowly, complaining of a severe headache. Mama touched Goldzia's forehead with her lips, feeling the fire of a high fever burning in her body. For days Goldzia lay there, her body consumed by the fever. The doctor visited daily, but Goldzia wasn't responding to any medication or showing any signs of recovery. The fever stubbornly wasted her weakening body. Mama sat nights at her bedside, putting cool compresses on her forehead, trying to ease her discomfort. She would pray and murmur, "My baby, my dearest,
mir zol zein far dir
," I should endure for you. "I would rather suffer myself and see you get well." Papa would sit for hours in synagogue praying for his child's recovery.
As gently as she could, Dr. Szymerowa pronounced the verdict. "I am afraid it's polio," she said in a somber voice. "There is nothing I can do for Goldzia. My only suggestion is to take the child to Professor Alexandrowicz in Krakow."
It was not only Krakow that Goldzia was taken to: Papa abandoned the business, the source of his livelihood, and undertook a perilous journey, carrying Goldzia in his arms and attending to all her needs en route. In Krakow, he knocked on the doors of recommended physicians unrelentingly, to seek help for his sick daughter. He did not depend solely on the medical profession: his travels took him to the courts of the great rabbis of Belz and Bobov, where he asked for their intercession with the Master of the Universe, that a complete recovery might be sent to his lovely child. Tired and exhausted, he returned from his trips, carefully watching for progress. It failed to come.
He then took his child to distant Vienna, the capital of the once powerful Austrian Empire, the seat of the kaiser in whose army Papa had served. Papa had family in Vienna. His three brothers, Joseph, Heinrich, and Pinkus, and his sister Gusti had left the town of Chrzanow for a better life in this big city of immense opportunity. They all settled and married in Vienna, eventually becoming involved in the fur trade.
 
Page 9
They would occasionally return to Chrzanow for a visit. Loaded with gifts for the children, Aunt Gusti would arrive with fanfare, stirring excitement in her wake. Dressed in her elegant clothes, she was the envy of the neighborhood. They all watched her arrive at her brother Symche's house, watched her fancy luggage being unloaded by her nephews. The children were curious to discover the contents of those suitcases, which often concealed interesting and valuable gifts.
Symche was now visiting his sister Gusti, carrying one precious bundlehis sick daughter. Gusti's house was spacious and comfortable. She tried to make her brother's stay as pleasant as possible, but Papa had not come for the pleasures of life in Vienna, he came to seek help from the great doctors of the city. Gusti, who felt at home in the salons of Viennese society, used her influence to get Goldzia into the examining rooms of the best physicians. They searched for effective therapy for the dreadful, crippling disease, but hope was scarce and progress nil. After several weeks' effort Papa returned home, beaten and distraught, carrying Goldzia in his tired arms. He laid her down gently in the bed Mama had prepared in the kitchen. As brokenhearted and distressed as they both were, they did not realize at the time the bitter fact that Goldzia was never to leave that bed again.
As the months and years went by, summer and spring, winter and fall, the only knowledge Goldzia had of the passing seasons came to her secondhand. We all adored her and loved her wisdom. We tried to bring the outdoors to her bedside: a snowball in the winter so she could touch the icy cold to her cheek, a flower in the spring to fill her nostrils with the sweet aroma of blossoming fields, a handful of sand or fresh earth to tickle her fingers. Much of our lives from then on was conducted in the kitchen in front of Goldzia's bed. She participated in every event and happening, aware of every bit of news.
The holidays, too, were celebrated with Goldzia in mind. On Purlin a man was invited to come from the synagogue to read the Megillah, the Book of Esther, right there in the kitchen for Goldzia's benefit. Magically, the kitchen became transformed
 
Page 10
into a little shul (synagogue) where relatives and neighbors came to hear the reading of the Megillah. On the holiday of Passover the seder would be conducted right there in the kitchen, we children sitting on her bed and hiding the
afikomen
(a portion of the matzo) right under her pillow. On the festival of Shavuos (pentecost) we placed ornate greenery all around her bed, creating an imaginary garden. On Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, Papa kindled the lights for her while we placed a large board on her bed to play dreidel on. Only on Sukkos, the Feast of Tabernacles, was Goldzia left out. She would participate in making decorations, but she missed the excitement of running in and out of our
sukkah
(a booth roofed with branches constructed for the holiday) with hot soup plates spilling over.
Sadly, the trips to the
sukkah
were not the only things Goldzia missed. We could see the pain in Mama's eyes when she looked at Goldzia lying there limp on the white sheets as she made painful efforts to move her hands. Goldzia was slowly deteriorating. Her lovely white skin was unblemished, clean, powdered and fresh-smelling, yet her body was unresponsive to touch. Unable to command her muscles, Goldzia became totally dependent on Mama. Mama would tuck her in for the night, turn her from side to side, sit her up for feedings, and straighten her legs. Stoically, Mama stood by her child, feeding and washing her, combing her hair, attending to all of Goldzia's needs, never entrusting her care to anyone or letting anyone else get up at night when Goldzia called. Never did Mama go any farther than the store, always attentively listening for Goldzia's call. As Goldzia's condition worsened, Mama's determination to see Goldzia get well was slowly replaced by despair.
The best time of day for Sholek and me was the evening, when Papa would come home from his trips. After his dinner and evening prayers, there were the final chores that only Papa could do. Relaxing after a long day away from home, the day's stress would dissipate along with the last traces of anger, aggravation, or disappointment. His taut face regained its soft-
 
Page 11
ness; the twinkle in his eye reappeared. Having looked over Blimcia's report and the bills from the store, Papa would spread himself out at the kitchen table to count the change and roll it up, rolling as well his daily supply of cigarettes. We would watch him skillfully fill the thin tubes of tissue with tobacco, stuffing it into the tissue tube by a handlebar on the gadget. The finished cigarettes, half filter and half tobacco, were then stacked in a box.
"Oh please, Papa, let me help," Sholek would beg. "Let me fill the cigarettes for you."
"Oh no, you may not touch that stuff," Papa would intone seriously. "I don't even want you to get close to this bad habit. It's bad enough that I got hooked on smoking; none of my sons smoke, and none are going to. So you better stay away from this smelly thing."
On seeing Sholek's sad expression he would then add, "Here, you can sort the change." And Sholek would happily set up rows of
grosze
(pennies), tens, and fives, handing them to Papa for rolling. I would jealously nag that I wanted to help too.
"But you can't even count," Sholek would tease me, angering me to tears. Eventually Mama or Nachcia had to carry me off to sleep under vehement protest.
Of my four brothers, I most adored Shlamek. Shlamek was handsome, athletic, and fun-loving. He would hoist me onto his broad shoulders and make me squeak with excitement by throwing me into the air. I would be so proud of my big brother when he would discuss sports with an acquaintance in the street. Shlamek would meet a Gentile fellow who would slap him on the back and say, "Hey, Stapler, watch out, for next time I get you in the Steinbruch, I will surely drown you."
The Steinbruch was a local lake where Shlamek used to go swimming.
"Don't be so sure, Janek," Shlamek would answer with a smile. "Remember how much you drank the last time you tried that trick on me."
Shlamek was widely respected and feared by the neighborhood Gentiles. They could not get over the fact that Shlamek
 
Page 12
the Jew was such a good swimmer, such an excellent football goalie, and such an outstanding runner.
Shlamek loved the outdoors. In the summer he would sneak away to the Steinbruch at every occasion. In the winter he would hire a horse-drawn sled and collect all the children in the family, and we would ride out into the woods. Soon enough a convoy of children with skis and ice skates would follow us. Among the large hollow trees, we would play games like hide-and-seek and get into big snowball fights. The goyim would not get too rough, knowing that Shlamek would not stand idly by.
But Papa did not appreciate Shlamek's behavior. We would hear Papa complain that he ran around with Gentiles and didn't study enough Torah. Papa never forgot that Shlamek served in the army. At the time, Papa wanted Shlamek to contract trachoma so he would be incapacitated and declared unfit for military duty. Shlamek could not conceive of infecting himself with a disease, and he preferred to serve in the army. Papa feared that the army would force Shlamek to discard his religious observance and that he would become assimilated. Shlamek countered that his military service did not infringe on his beliefs or hinder his religious observance.
Shlamek worked with Papa in the store and traveled with him on trips to Katowice like the devoted son he was. He never let Papa carry anything heavy or work too hard, and he had a good business rapport with Papa. Praying and studying with Papa, however, were activities he left to his brothers.
Heshek seemed to be Papa's favorite. He was the first one in the family to go on to higher education. He was an accountant, a very meticulous, studious fellow. Papa loved spending time with Heshek. They would sit and study or discuss the holy books together. Heshek was a deep thinker, calm, patient and scholarly. Heshek was closer to Vrumek than he was to Shlamek. Even though Vrumek by nature was a mixture of both his older brothers, he preferred to follow in Heshek's footsteps. Vrumek, too, finished business school, and Heshek was able to get him an accounting position in Bielsko, where he worked. The two brothers lived amiably together as room-

Other books

Breaking Even by C.M. Owens
Red Helmet by Homer Hickam
Scattered by Malcolm Knox
Aches & Pains by Binchy, Maeve
Family Blessings by LaVyrle Spencer