Chapter 64 Section 64

To this day, I can't tell how we made it through the next few months. We had nothing to eat, and the only chance to quench our thirst was the rain that would soon follow.The rain turned the dry and hard land into a swamp of mud. When the accumulated sludge began to pour into the bottom of the house, approaching the place where we lived, I finally mustered up the courage to continue and search for other shelters. I haven't given up hope of finding my mother, and the possibility that maybe her tailoring skills have saved her from catastrophe gives me great support.But my most important task is to protect Nicholas and Ilo, and we must not let this terrible cemetery swallow them up.

We stalked through the night like soulless machines, and the sentinels took shelter from the cold rain and wind in the house, and the bad weather became our cover instead.Our movement inside the camp was relatively safe, although we had to avoid electrified barbed wire and watchtowers. The flood of muddy water and the accumulation of filth forced us to leave the place where we lived and seek shelter in unlocked buildings. We found one such hideout, and it became our salvation, but ironically, it was also the heart of the death factory of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We lived there for weeks, maybe months, I don't remember exactly.We hide behind hundreds of cans labeled "Zyklon-B".If I knew at that time that these containers were filled with hydride, the kind of poisonous gas that wiped out tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, we would have left there and looked for other shelters.However, that place is warm and dry. Perhaps in fact, we don't care about other things, and we still choose to stay in order to survive.

We lived in this incredible shelter, and at night I would sneak out to find food, like wild cats and dogs, picking up bread crusts and half-eaten cans of corned beef discarded by Nazi sentries.In this way, relying on poor food sources to satisfy hunger, and resting in a dry and warm barracks, apart from nightmares, it can be regarded as a peaceful sleep.So, we recovered our strength bit by bit very slowly, and Nicholas and Yilo gradually recovered from the huge stimulation. At first all we want is to survive, but gradually our confidence grows as the days go by undisturbed.Every simple meal refreshed our weary bodies and minds, and after each day passed safely, I expanded the scope of my adventures, sometimes daring to go directly to the barracks of the Nazi officers, Eavesdropping outside the window, hoping to understand a few words, pick up some food, or hear useful information to increase our chances of survival.

I even bought clothes for the three of us, as I stumbled across a row of houses that day and found them piled high with clothes of all shapes and sizes. At first, I thought it was the storage warehouse of the clothing factory in the camp, but I soon realized that I was wrong.When I pulled a coat up to the light, I made out the Jewish armbands on the sleeves.But by then I was no longer in shock. I rummaged through the coats, skirts and underwear for what we could wear, and as I scrambled through the thousands of children's shoes looking for a pair that would fit my little brother's little feet, I knew exactly where they came from. of.But now, I have become numb, even indifferent, knowing that these are the relics left by countless children, who were sent here to work with their parents, but in fact they are like hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep. slaughter.

I can't care about these anymore. All I care about is our own lives: Nicholas's, Ilo's, and mine. I found that the guards in the camp seemed to be getting more and more lax, wandering around and neglecting their duties, which gave me a glimmer of hope.Occasionally, I also heard some fragments of Polish, which only increased my hope.Rumors that the Red Army was closing in on the place continued, and I noticed that the atmosphere in the camp had quietly changed.