Free By Chance Alone by Max Eisen Page A

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    The next stage was the showers. I had never seen a shower before in my life, and I was in awe of the installation. There were numerous showerheads and large wheels that controlled the flow of the hot and cold water. Although I had been in a mikvah (ritual bath) at home, it was intimidating to be in a large group of naked strangers. We had to lay our boots on the edge of the shower while we bathed; my father, my uncle, and I kept a good eye on ours because we had custom-made boots that would last for a long time. Suddenly, the Kapo and his helpers started to collect them. My father warned us when he saw this, and we quickly grabbed our boots and kept them under our arms while we showered. Had we lost those boots, our lives would have been even more at risk—if your feet were not protected, you would beunable to work and would be selected for gassing. Those who lost theirs were lucky if they got a pair of wooden clogs instead. These clogs were more like a piece of wood with a canvas top stapled to it, and they were damaging to the feet. Our boots were treasures that we had to guard day and night.
    The cruelty of the SS guards first became apparent in the shower room. While we were washing, a soldier stood by one of the big wheels that controlled the water temperature. For sport, he turned it on to scalding. As we tried to jump away to avoid getting burned, another soldier with a truncheon would beat us to get back under the flow. Then the first soldier turned the water freezing cold.
    A young man who was showering with us held his eyeglasses in his hands. They had very thick lenses and he was obviously short-sighted. The rush of water washed his glasses right out of his grasp, and when he got down on his knees to try to find them, a guard came over and kicked him in the side of the head with his jackboot. The young man rolled over and the guard stomped on his chest. I could hear the cracking of ribs. The guard, who was now in a frenzy, continued to stomp on the man until he was dead. The rest of us carried on washing as if nothing had happened, but I was shocked and terrified. To this day, I can’t figure out what precipitated the guard’s horrible act. Perhaps he thought seeing a naked man on his hands and knees was comical, and he wanted to humiliate him.
    After the showers, we were marched to our barracks with our boots on but without any clothes. Inside there were rows of triple-tier bunks with no mattresses or blankets. After three days of standing in the cattle car, it felt wonderful to lie down in a horizontal position, even if it was on wooden planks. I triedto process the events of the few hours since our arrival, but I couldn’t understand the evil of these guards. I was worried about what the future had in store for me. I felt numb. This was my initiation to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
    ***
    I was awoken suddenly from my short sleep to loud banging and shouts of “ Raus schnell! ” We were on the top bunk. Father jumped down first, then me, and then finally my uncle. The Kapos ordered us out of the barracks. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and I found myself looking at hundreds of barracks, thousands of emaciated people behind barbed-wire fences, and dozens of guard towers where SS soldiers manned machine guns and searchlights. Nearby, there were four huge chimneys belching angry red flames and smoke. The smell of burning flesh that had first overwhelmed me when I exited the cattle car still permeated the air. I could not fathom the immense size of this place, and I thought that we must be in a large industrial area. My father told me to move fast if I heard the Kapo’s orders, because otherwise they would beat me.
    Tables were set up in front of our barracks, and two men sat at each one. They ordered us to come to the table nearest us in single file. Again, my father went first, I was next, and my uncle was last. The first man asked my name, my place and date