Free By Chance Alone by Max Eisen

thought, than what I had experienced those three days, locked up in a living tomb. Finally, someone lifted the latch of our cattle car and the door was opened. Light flooded in, and people began moving about like dormant larvae stimulated by a sudden shock of light and noise. It was as if bright light had penetrated into a dark cave, forcing everyone inside to awaken from a three-day coma. A man wearing a striped cap, jacket, and pants yelled, “ Raus schnell! ” I knew some German, and I understood this to mean “Get out fast!” I thought any person who wore this sort of garb must be a criminal. Did they think we were criminals? Surely this was a mistake. “ Raus schnell! ” I wanted to move, but I couldn’t. I wanted to find my bundle, but everything was covered in human waste.

    Auschwitz II–Birkenau, showing the train ramp, four crematoria with gas chambers, fire pit, and the arrival ramp.

    The guardhouse and entrance to Auschwitz II–Birkenau.
    I was among the first pulled out of our cattle car, and my legs could hardly hold me up. I saw more men in striped outfits, as well as SS soldiers and officers dressed in sharp and shinyuniforms. Other people were also hauled out of the car, including my mother with my baby sister in her arms, my grandparents, and my uncle and aunt. We were all numb from the shock of the journey, and confused by the harsh orders that were being barked at us.
    At the end of the platform there was a plume of fire, and I thought we were at some kind of factory. I recognized the same odour I smelled at home whenever the blacksmith put a burning shoe on a horse’s hoofs, and I concluded it was burning flesh. Beyond the floodlit platform, all was dark. The men in the striped outfits told us that our bundles would be delivered to us the next day. Forcefully and systematically, they separated the men and women into two columns. All older males and children were sent over to the women’s line. The men in the striped outfits kept telling us that we would see each other in the morning. There were no goodbyes spoken here.
    I found myself in the men’s line with my father and my uncle. My grandfather, my grandmother, my mother (still holding baby Judit), my two younger siblings, and my aunt were all marched away in the other group. Everything happened swiftly and we had no time to think. I didn’t have an opportunity to speak to my mother—nor did our eyes ever meet—and I wasn’t able to say goodbye to her. We simply moved forward in a single column toward an SS officer wearing white gloves. He looked at each person and indicated with a flick of his hands whether that person should go right or left. My father went first, then my uncle, and then me. He sent me to the same group as my father and uncle. We were guarded by SS soldiers and marched through a forest of birch trees with the other selected men. Along the way, I observed a large fire at ground level some distace away, andfrom my perspective it seemed that people were jumping into the flames. When I asked my father if this could be possible, he quickly told me to keep quiet and continue walking. We entered a building called the Sauna, where more men in striped outfits ordered us to hand over any remaining documents and jewellery, and then told us to strip naked. They took our clothes away but permitted us to keep our boots.
    In the next stage of processing, our hair was cut from our heads, underarms, and groins by yet more men in striped uniforms. They had numbers and triangles printed on strips of cloth and sewn on their jackets. The man in charge of this unit wore a band on his arm that said “Kapo” (boss). The Kapo lined up the older people and had his men check if any had gold crowns or fillings in their teeth. Those who did were taken aside, and their teeth were extracted on the spot with a pair of pliers. Meanwhile, the rest of us were ordered to bend over to have our