“Avram can handle the yard. Just make the arrangements!”
Maximilian shook his head. “Avram does not have your experience. Globočnik will not tolerate a decision to place Avram in charge.”
“At some point, Avram will have to take over. I won’t be here forever.”
“Let’s make plans to get you and your family safe before I have to deal with that.”
“The sooner, the better.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
LITZMANNSTADT (LODZ)
JANUARY 1942
Eli swung his feet to the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes as the sun broke through the window shade in his makeshift bedroom: a corner of the office at the Litzmannstadt brickyard. It had been two months since he had left Esther. On the other side of his window, workers were starting to arrive. Their shift began at daybreak and lasted, without a pause, until sundown. “Bring a bag lunch, eat on the fly” was the brickyard catchphrase. Orders for concrete, cement, wooden forms, rebar and bricks were being processed with increased frequency. Other than to military fortifications, the brickyard was urgently shipping materials for construction projects at five concentration camps: Chelmno, Sobibor, Majdanek, Belzec and Treblinka.
Avram Horwitz greeted Eli with a smile and a firm handshake. “I have something for you this morning,” he said, holding out an envelope. “It came with the shipment of materials from Lublin. Here’s your weekly letter from Esther. I hope everything is well with her.”
Eli took the envelope into his office and shut the door. He took his time and read the letter slowly, making the moments spent with Esther’s words last as long as possible. He read with longing her opening paragraphs and her chats about how proud she was of Izaak. Then he came to a section that shocked and disturbed him. He put the letter down and said, “I have to get home.”
Maximilian strolled in shortly before noon. He smiled as he scanned the activity in the yard. Trucks were entering and leaving the yard in a constant stream. “Say what you want,” he observed to Eli, “Germany’s economy is as strong as it can be. The führer boasts full employment.”
Eli sneered. “Full employment? Is that what he calls slave labor?”
“Not everyone is a conscripted worker. There are lots of opportunities for anyone who wants to work.”
“You’re an asshole. They are working in a war economy designed to oppress, conquer and kill.” He rattled Esther’s letter. “I got this letter today. I need to return to Lublin immediately.”
“Why?”
“Ten thousand Jews were taken out of ghetto A and shipped off to some camp last week. Did you know that and keep it from me?”
“I knew there were to be transports of unemployed people, but that didn’t concern you or Esther. Many of them were homeless, on the streets. Sadly, they are of no use to the Reich, and they are deemed deportable. They did not contribute to the Lublin economy, and the Reich thought there might be work for them at a camp. They were taken to Belzec.”
“Deportable? Belzec is a concentration camp. I hear things. People go there and they don’t return.”
“There are barracks there. Maybe homeless people are better off.”
“Every day you sound more like a Nazi. Who’s next, Maximilian?”
He answered calmly. “Surely not Esther. She’s employed, she’s not homeless and she’s under my protection. A few weeks ago, the SS registered all Jewish workers, and I’m sure Esther received a stamp mark on her ID card. She’s exempt from transport. Besides, she’s living in ghetto B, and I’m not aware of any plans to expel any Jews from ghetto B.”
“I don’t trust the SS and I don’t trust you. I haven’t seen my wife and son in almost two months. I want to go back.”
Maximilian had a pained expression. “Eli, you have no basis to say you don’t trust me. I have always had your back, but you can’t go right now. Odilo is in town. In fact, he’s coming over here this afternoon to view his brickyard and pat himself on the back. It’s the best construction yard in Europe. That’s what he says. We should be proud. I don’t know how long he is staying in Litzmannstadt, but it certainly won’t be possible to leave while he’s here. I know you miss Esther, but you receive letters from her each week. You know that both Esther and your son are doing fine.”
“I would hardly call it ‘doing fine.’ And letters don’t suffice for the time I am missing from my family. I need to be with my wife and son. When are you going to keep your promise?”
“Oh, my good man, I keep it every day. Aren’t you safe? Isn’t your wife coming home and making dinner for your son and your father every day? Considering the circumstances, your family is privileged, thank you very much.”
“Ten thousand people were expelled to a concentration camp. How many more will be taken tomorrow?”
Maximilian shrugged. “I can’t say, but your brother may know. The Judenrat was tasked with selecting the individuals to be transported. Your brother and his committee picked each and every one of them.”
“I’m sure they didn’t do it of their own accord. They were responding to the commandant’s orders to supply people like they were inventory on a shelf. I’m sure the Judenrat had no choice.”
Maximilian shrugged. “It’s a war, Eli. They are deemed enemies of the state.”
“Enemies? Unemployed homeless people? Do they deem them to be a formidable foe? Is this a result of the Wannssee conference in December?”
Maximilian immediately held his hand up and said, “Shh! Be quiet! Don’t ever mention that again. I told you it was top secret. No one is supposed to know. I don’t think that Globočnik even remembers that he said anything about it before he passed out. Besides, it didn’t happen on December ninth. It was postponed because on December seventh those fools in Japan dropped bombs on the United States, which declared war on Japan and Germany the very next day.”
“The United States is a formidable enemy. It doesn’t look so good for the goose-steppers.”
“I don’t think Hitler is losing any sleep. The conference has been rescheduled for next week.”
“Is Globočnik going? Did he get his seat?”
“No, and he’s none too happy about it either. That’s why he’s here in Litzmannstadt instead of Berlin. And he’s cranky.”
Eli pointed a finger. “Maximilian, listen to me. Steel reinforcement bars, spacers and tons of concrete are scheduled to be shipped tomorrow to Majdanek. We have several trucks going out every day. Majdanek is just a few miles north of Lublin, and the trucks have to pass right through the town. Let me ride out with them, spend a few days with my family and catch a ride back.”
“And what do I tell Brigadeführer Globočnik?”
“Tell him I went to oversee construction at the Majdanek camp.”
“He doesn’t need you to oversee construction. He has superintendents that do that job. In fact, they don’t want any outsiders in that camp. What goes on there is private, confidential, top secret. He wants you here. He told me that himself. You’ll have to wait until he leaves.”