Free In the Mouth of the Wolf by Rose Zar

assumed they worked at the same place because they continued on together for quite a way. Then the other girl went on ahead. I saw my moment. I came up to Lodzia and introduced myself, telling her Tosia Altman had sent me. She didn’t want to be late for work, so we didn’t talk long. We made a date to get together when she got off from work.
    What Lodzia had to tell me when we finally did get together was very interesting. She thought I was Aryeh Wilner’s sister, which was why she left the apple and the bread. Aryeh Wilner was one of the leaders of the Warsaw ghetto underground. His sister was living on the Aryan side under false papers, and he wanted to get her to Kraków, where it was easier for a Jew to pass. I hadn’t realized that, but the longer I was in Kraków the more sense it made. The University of Kraków was one of the oldest seats of learning in Europe and gave a definite intellectual flavor to the city. It was also true that for some reason the Polish intelligentsia always seemed slightly Jewish. They looked a little different as well—darker, with larger noses. Finally, there weren’t many Jews trying to pass in Kraków, which made it a lot easier to get by. In any case, when Lodzia heard that a girl from Warsaw had come by asking for her, she thoughtAryeh Wilner’s sister had finally arrived. She even made arrangements with Mrs. Mokryjowa for a place for her to stay. But she didn’t know a thing about some young woman named Ruszka Guterman passing under the name of Wanda Gajda.
    I delivered all the information Tosia Altman had given me and began asking questions. What sort of jobs were available in Kraków? How could I get one?
    Lodzia explained that the situation in Kraków was a little different from that in Warsaw. The German military and civilian government controlled everything. In order to live in the city I needed a residence permit. But since I couldn’t apply for a residence permit unless I had a job, the first thing to do was find one. Once I had a job, Lodzia told me, I could apply for a temporary residence permit. That was good for three months. However, the real trick was to find a job working for the German Army. Then, just before the three months ran out, I could explain to my supervisor that I only had a temporary permit and could he give me a letter stating that I worked for the military and performed a necessary job? That way I could have my temporary permit automatically changed to a permanent one. The advantage of doing it this way instead of through normal channels was that I avoided possibly embarrassing questions about where I was from and what I was doing in Kraków. Getting a permanent residence permit was actually very easy once I knew how. But if Lodzia hadn’t told me, I probably never would have figured it out for myself.
    â€œBut how do I get a job with the Germans?” I asked.
    Very simple, she told me. Buy a newspaper, and read the ads. That was all the help she could give me. Beyond that, I was on my own. But I didn’t mind. I had been on myown before and was confident that I could look out for myself.
    I began reading want ads. I also let Mrs. Mokryjowa know that I was looking for work. Her sisters worked as cleaning women in a German office building. She suggested I talk to them, which I did. She was helpful in many other ways. Whenever she heard of a possible lead, she passed it on to me. She let me use her apartment as my local address even though I was still only there on a day-to-day basis. But the actual footwork of finding a job I still had to do myself. Day after day I made the rounds from one office to another, filling out application after application, leaving my address with the secretaries so I could be reached in case anything opened up. I got absolutely nowhere. I was beginning to feel very discouraged when one day, quite by accident, a woman in one of the offices felt sorry for me and gave me an