We are awakened by the awful clatter of sliding doors being thrown open and cold air rushing into the wagon. “ ’Raus! Alles ’raus!” Rough voices. A figure clad in a striped uniform. Standing in the open doorway, illuminated from behind by an eerie diffused light, the figure looks like a creature from another planet. “Schnell! ’Raus! Alles ’raus!” Two or three other such figures leap into the wagon and begin shoving the drowsy men, women, and children out into the cold night. A huge sign catches my eye: AUSCHWITZ. The pain in my stomach sends a violent wave of nausea up my gullet. The night is chilly and damp. An otherworldly glow lights up tall watchtowers, high wire fences, an endless row of cattle cars, SS men, dogs, and a mass of people pouring out of the wagons. “ ’Raus! Los! ’Raus! ’Raus!” Metal buttons glisten on SS uniforms. “My things! I left everything in the wagon!” “On line! Everyone stand on line! By fives! Men over there! Women and children over here!”
What do You think about I Have Lived A Thousand Years?
