The present chapter is dedicated to all the brave Jews who took part in the uprising, be they dead or alive, mentioned or not in this book, and who gave their blood to avenge the millions of human beings murdered by the Nazis.
October 14th 1943 was dawning. It was a day like any other day. We got up at our usual hour and all went to the yard, so that the general call could be made. Right afterwards we headed for our habitual work. We were surrounded by an atmosphere of optimism, since the day of the great decision had finally arrived. Soon some excellent news was brought to us – the vehicles that had come the day before had already left, carrying the SS troops which had come from Osowa, for a visit to Sobibor.
Everything was quiet in the camp, in our part as well as in the Nazis’ , who did not show any sign of suspicion. We, the leaders of the rebellion, were quite naturally under emotional strain, even if we did not show it and tried to present a coldness which was not in keeping with the drama which we were expecting. It is true, however, that our hopes of escaping were very small, but we were absolutely sure that we would kill a lot of Germans.
At midday we stopped for lunch. We used these few moments to get together for the last time and make sure that all of us had his group ready to perform their individual tasks. Our countenances were somewhat heavy, but none of us showed any restlessness. Next, I joined my brother, my nephew and Nojech to settle the last details. We decided that each one of us would take his bag of gold now and keep it with himself, since the revolt would start in the afternoon, after work.
I then told Moisze and Jankus what my mission would be, since Nojech already knew all about it. My brother received the news in absolute tranquillity, but Jankus, the youngest and most sensitive of the group, could not hold back his tears and was deeply moved.
We succeeded in calming him with some difficulty and induced him into concentrating on his task, so as not to let his emotions betray him. His sensitivity made him fear my loss, because he considered me indispensable as the head of the family and he thought I was going on a suicidal mission. I told him that, if I were not successful in my intent they should always try to be united to the end, the three of them.
Anyway, the place of our meeting would still be the kitchen. We said our last good-byes, because there could be a general failure and we might never see each other again, since no one expected to escape with his life the unequal fight.
We had been in Sobibor more than seventeen months and that had been a miracle in itself. Now our only thought – to avenge the nearly two million Jews whom we had seen die during this period of time.
After the roll-call, which would be the last ones for us, we went back to work. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, smartly riding his beautiful horse, the acting Commander in Chief Niemann came to the tailor shop to try on his new uniform with Mundek the tailor. The officer was an enthusiast of horseback riding and he used to ride through the diverse areas of the camp. He reined his horse in front of the shed and a Jewish boy immediately ran to hold the animal’s bridle, while the imposing henchman dismounted.
Niemann entered the tailor shop and Mundek promptly the jacket for him to try on. While he was putting it on the Commander, he tried to divert his attention, by turning his back to the mirror. The German had let the tailor do with him as he pleased as he did not suspect the trap which had been set for him. Meanwhile, the Oberscharfuhrer Graetschuss with his impudent face and his grotesque gait , headed for the shoemakers shop to fetch a pair of boots he had ordered. This officer was the Commander –in – Chief of the Ukrainian guards and his activities extended over the whole group.
The German entered the shack and was promptly asked to sit on a bench, while Szol, the shoemaker went for the boots. In the same way that things had happened in the tailors shop with Niemann, the Nazi had just been lured into a trap, without suspecting anything.
While these events were taking place in Camp 1 and we were sending minute reports about them to our elements in Camp 2, the latter answered by sending us some heartening news. They had already stabbed to death three terrible German officers : Vallaster, Nowak, and Beckmann.
In that place, the plan was being followed to the letter and everything was going well. In the tailor’s shop, while Mundek tried the uniform on Niemann, well hidden in one of the rooms was a brave Russian youth who was one of the fifty Jews taken from the transport which had come from the Soviet Union, in which the “Politruk” had also come. The boy held a sharp axe in his hand and was only waiting for the right moment.
At the same time that the tailor pretended to be fixing the collar of the jacket , he also turned the officer in the ideal position for the blow to be struck. When the moment came, the youth left his refuge, tiptoed towards the German and spilt his head with his axe. The Commander of Sobibor was out of the fight, the first to die.
Minutes later, at the shoemakers, the Nazi Graetschuss was sitting, calmly waiting for Szol to bring him his boots. He, too, did not know that inside the shed there was someone in hiding, holding an axe. Instead of getting his boots, what the henchman got was a violent blow with that weapon. But the man did not die right away and desperately tried to shout, but this was prevented,by Szol’s quick action and the rest of his group.
While the chief shoemaker covered the German’s mouth with his own hands, the others fell on him and finished the killing with axes and knives.
The body was immediately hidden in one of the rooms inside the shed and the front room was cleaned of any traces of what had happened. After the second German had been eliminated we sent the message to Camp 2 and in answer they told us what was happening there. In the two fields a total of five officers had already been wiped off the map.
Meanwhile, at the tailor’s, as soon as he had killed Niemann, Lerner had taken possession of his gun, a magnificent “ Walter” pistol duly loaded. Outside the shop, the boy who had been holding the horse’s bridle and who had been drilled beforehand, had left the place taking the horse with him, to the stables, so as not to rouse suspicions. Armed with his pistol, Lerner had also left the place where he had just played his important role.
Before all these blows had been struck , simultaneously and deadly, on the German officers, I had been told to go to the tailor’s shop as soon as the Commander of Sobibor had been eliminated. As soon as I heard about it, I hurried there and saw an impressive scene. The hat-maker who also worked there had been taken by a severe nervous fit and was in hysterics. He had taken some large scissors found in the shop, and using one blade as a dagger had hurled himself on Niemann’s body.
In a rage, he started to stab him with all his power, while he called , at each blow he struck , the names of his wife and children who had been exterminated at Sobibor. Taken by actual lunacy, his clothes literally covered with blood, the hatter would have cut the body of the Untersturmfuhrer to pieces , if it had not been for our prompt intervention. We pulled him away forcefully from the ex-commanders body and tied him up as to be able to finally restrain him. Then he was kept in the next room until he was able to recover his balance.
As to Niemann’s body, it was hidden under one of the bunks they had there and we soon started to cover up the traces left on the stage of such a violent scene. We put some bundles of cloth on the ground, so as to not call the attention of anyone who might accidentally come in.
As a matter of fact we came to a peremptory decision – after the death of the first bandit, any other Scharfuhrer or Ukrainian who entered the workshops in Camp 1 or even any other room would be summarily eliminated. The moment the Leader of the Camp had been killed we had immediately informed all the rebellious groups and there could no longer be any retreat now. Whether we wanted it or not the uprising was now irreversible. The plan had to go on, whatever the end might be.
In the meantime everything was quiet in Sobibor. Only thirty minutes were missing before the whistle to end the day’s work was blown and the moment when I had to play my role had finally come. I started it right away.
To perform my task and mislead the attention of the guards I went to my shop and picked up some tools and a thick tin pipe, one of those used in the chimneys of the stoves which heated the lodgings of the Ukrainian Guards and which I was responsible for maintaining.
Next I went to the Ukrainian’s shack under the pretext I had to fix something there. I climbed onto the roof and started to do something with the chimney pretending I was fixing it. I stayed there for a few minutes so as to make it very clear that there were no second intentions on my part.
Soon afterwards I climbed down, this time to fix the stove, since I needed a reason to be inside the place should any guard come in and ask me what I was doing.
I soon faced two Jewish boys who worked there and made sure there was no one else inside, luck still smiled on me. These two boys were responsible for cleaning the quarters and they also ran some other errands for the Ukrainians. They were even younger than my nephew. Inside the shed, which was rather ample, there was a partition which was destined for the higher ranking guards in the abominable corporation. I started to observe the place, while the two youths stared at me, and they were very surprised when I headed for the place where the weapons were kept.
I threw a greedy glance at the machine guns right there, within reach of my hands. These weapons were only used by the sergeants and the higher ranking elements. I finally controlled my impulses, because I and possibly the others did not know how to use them and they would not fit in the metal pipe I carried. Besides everything else, I did not know whether they were loaded or not, since I did not know anything about that kind of armament. I then turned my eyes to the rifles and soon noticed that they were accompanied by their own cartridge belts, and a lot of ammunition.
However, I was not in a hurry to get hold of them right away, since I had to wait for the exact moment when people would come back from work. I did not think I was running serious risk at the time, since the main Nazi leaders who could give off the alarm were already out of the fight.
We had agreed before that I would only go out with the weapons when the work in the shops had finished and all were heading back to quarters.
I waited for some more minutes and then I heard the characteristic German song that the Jews were forced to sing when they came back from their daily tasks. That was the moment for me to act.
The initial plan had determined that three rifles should be taken away and placed inside the long thick pipe I had taken with me to hide them. Thus I would be able to take them back to Camp 1, without raising any suspicion. Something unexpected happened, though. No rifle would fit inside the pipe, since the head of the bolt did not let it go inside and I did not know how to remove it.
For this reason, as soon as I heard the song, I wrapped the rifles in a blanket and asked the astonished boys to hand the bundle to me through the window, since I intended to go out and get it from the outside.
However, they were terribly frightened and they refused to do what I told them to. The moment was not one for arguments and I had no other choice but to threaten to kill them by unsheathing my knife.
With the gleam of the blade before their very eyes, the poor creatures, who did not understand anything, decided to obey me. I went out of the shed with my empty pipe in my hand and the pockets full of cartridges. I went quickly round the house and stopped before the window where I got my bundle with the weapons.
I then walked to my destination hardly able to carry all my awkward load, since the pipe was still in my hand. Luck was still on my side. I had crossed the officers yard and I was already heading for the kitchen in Camp 1, yet I had not met a single guard.
When I got there, there was a group waiting for me, made up of my three relatives, and the young Russian Jews who were going to use the weapons. At the same time, the large mass of workers was returning from work singing and getting nearer and nearer to the kitchen. My mission had been thoroughly successful and we were in possession of three precious rifles and plenty of ammunition.
As soon as they saw the weapons, the Russians claimed them as it had been decided before. However, I changed my mind and told them that, as I was the one who had gotten them, I would have to have one.
They insisted again, alleging that I did not know how to use a rifle. I was adamant and my point of view finally prevailed. The truth is that I had become so enthusiastic about the weapon that I went back on my former decision.
I handed them the rest of the weapons and also plenty of ammunition, but I kept some for myself. Once this impasse had been solved, I asked them to teach me how to use the gun, as I still did not know most of the essential facts about how to handle it. Thus I felt able to use it.
Still in the kitchen, now alone with my relatives, I told them that we should try to be together at our last moment.
When the multitude of Jews came to the yard, the great majority went into formation for the roll call. Those were the ones who knew nothing about the rebellion. However, those who did only pretended to align, since they expected the mutiny to start within the next few minutes.
Ten minutes were still missing for the counting when Kapo Pozycki started to trill his whistle like mad, thus causing some tumult in the camp. He was one of us. After he had heard the first unexpected whistles, the new Kapo- Commander, the Dutch Jew who had replaced Berliner, went immediately to Pozycki shouting that it was not yet time for the call and harshly scolding him for what had been done.
But the interference of the Dutch Jew was not worth anything. That desperate whistling was the signal we had agreed on to start the general onrush, and the beginning of the great uprising. It was the beginning of the end.
When we saw the Chief Kapo rush at him, the brave Pozycki drew out his knife to receive him properly. I never learned what happened between the two of them because, at that moment, the diverse rebellious groups, who had stayed in the workshops on purpose, started to appear from all sides, armed with axes, bludgeons and knives.
Meanwhile, all those who had firearms, taken from the Nazis who had been killed, started to shoot upwards, thus making the havoc even worse and leading the mob, who ran in all directions, to gather in only one block. Then with Nojech Moisze, and Jankus by my side I ran very fast to join the giant reckless mass. There were about five or six hundred Jews, men and women, shouting and running like madmen. Ahead of them all, the Russians were shouting – “For Stalin”.
Many were firing shots upwards right and left, and shouting hurrahs. Others brandished axes, bludgeons and an infinity of instruments which could serve as weapons. All those who did not know about the rebellion joined us and the turmoil was such that it became impossible to know if anyone stood still. There are no words to describe the fantastic reality of that human avalanche which came close to being unimaginable.
The brutish amalgam of maddened people started to move then towards the exit of Camp 1. In the meantime, a smaller group, maybe thinking they were smarter than the others, left the main group and hurled themselves against the fences where there was also the ditches and the mines, since they thought they could cross them. From this unwise group we do not know whether they escaped because, in a few minutes, the bursts of the explosives started to be heard, thus increasing the general disorder and serving to alert the guards in the towers.
The latter had already noticed that something strange was happening since they heard the first shots and the clamour. However, they had been perplexed and disoriented, and were late in reacting. Only with the explosion of the mines, did they start to shoot at the crowd. All the safety system of the camp had been taken by surprise and it seemed as if not even the machine-gun towers were manned at the moment.
Meanwhile, the majority of the crowd ran straight towards the gate which led into the officer’s yard and to the Ukrainian Guards. The gate was usually open. At that moment, pedalling his cycle like mad, a guard was entering Camp 1.
He probably did not know anything, and he had not noticed the human mass which ran at him, inexorably.
When he became aware of what was happening, it was already too late. He died instantly, trodden by the crowd, torn to pieces by the hundreds of feet of that indomitable roll. The maddened crowd now entered the officer’s yard, right into the sector where most of their quarters were located. Near one of the buildings there were two of the criminals. By their uniforms we could see they were a Ukrainian officer and a guard.
We saw the Nazi gesture as if he were commanding the guard to do something. When they noticed the crowd, they tried to run away, but too late. The compact multitude attacked them and they were torn to pieces.
While this took place in the sector I was in, on the opposite side of the human flood, other officers and Ukrainians had came to the same end, all of them trampled and torn to pieces, crushed under the weight of tons of Jews who turned into dust everything which came their way.
The uncontrollable avalanche now headed straight to the three parallel fences near the main exit of Sobibor. The first two crumpled as if they were made of paper. The third one which meant freedom, also fell under the impact of the solid mass which came against it.
By then all along the broken fences in that sector, the ground was covered with bodies. The vanguard of the multitude of the multitude had been pushed by its own rear lines and all those who suffered the first impact were torn into shreds by the barbed wire.
Even if they had not wanted to throw themselves against the wire fences, and had wanted to stop they could not have helped to be pushed, always forward, by the disorderly mob, which only thought of freedom.
These were the ones who blazed the way for the rest and paid very dearly for their position in the vanguard. Stepping over dozens of corpses, the rest of the mob continued to move forward and suddenly the mines started to explode.
This area did not have any ditches, but it was heavily mined, up to the main gate. Among the boom of the explosions and a sea of fragmented bodies, the maddened mass continued ahead heedless of anything else.
Once more, the dozens of Jews who were running in front opened the way for those who came behind, at the cost of their own lives. Nothing would be able to restrain that mob in its furious mad racing.
At that time, I had not crossed the fences yet and I had lost contact with Nojech, Moisze, and Jankus. I tried to stop for a while to avoid being forced into the forward lines. I intended to stay on the back lines since no reaction was coming from the Germans. Only the nearest towers fired some shots against the fleeing multitude.
It was then that I aimed my rifle at one of the towers and fired four shots, nearly at random. I later learned that one of these stray bullets had killed one of the guards. I did not try to reload the rifle, since I did not know how to do it correctly and also because I suddenly found myself nearly alone. I started running towards the crowd which was already quite ahead of me. Then I crossed the broken fences and stepped over the dozens of bodies of the victims of the barbed wire and the mines. Running like mad, I soon caught up with the others. All of us kept running for the woods, as we had never done before.
The expected reaction from the Nazis never came. They thought they were brave and the owners of the world, however, they terrified at the impetus of the badly armed Jewish legions.
When they realised their leaders had been killed , they were afraid of having the same fate and hid behind their own inertia. They understood then that we were no longer submissive puppets they manipulated at their will. We were no longer the same as we had been in Sobibor and the only thing that mattered to us now was our thirst for revenge and freedom. Lots of machine-guns nested in the high towers never fired a single shot.
The defection of Germans and Ukrainians had been great and very few still dared to man their posts and try to put an end to the uprising. To get to the thickest part of the woods we had to cross a wide clearing the Germans had opened so as to avoid the woods getting to close to the camp.
All over the area the trees had been felled. I ran on thinking of my relatives I had lost sight of amidst the havoc of the hour of flight. I did not have the slightest idea whether they had succeeded in escaping or had died in the camp. From that moment on I began to hear shots coming from all directions.
The Nazis were recovering from their initial shock and were hunting us. In mad racing, we finally got into the thickest part of the forest. We had no sure destination, each one trying to follow the next, as we thought someone knew where he were going. However, we still had a common aim – to get as far as possible from Sobibor.
The deeper we got into the forest, the darker it became, because night was falling. For about two hours we ran madly, without pause or destination. It was already night when those who ran in the front lines came to a clearing and there they stopped.
Gradually men started to appear from every corner and gather there, until a group of about one hundred people had come together. All were deadly tired.
Sporadically, another person would come and join the group. Those were the ones who had separated from the main group and had gotten lost in the woods. Lots of them were lucky enough to find us. Others stayed in the woods, wandering about, at the mercy of their own fate.
In the block thus united, there were eight Russian Jews, among them the “Politruk”, armed with a pistol. Another Russian had one of the rifles, I had picked up before the mutiny. The other Soviet Jews were also armed with pistols taken from the Scharfuhrers, who had been killed in the camp. We tried to rest for a while, also because that would allow others, still lost in the woods, to find us. During that pause we started to think of what we were going to do next and where should we go with all these people. No one made any reasonable suggestions which the others could accept, since our intense emotion had undermined our reasoning.
German shots were still heard in Sobibor. Our only hope lay in our leader Sasha, an experienced man whom we could trust. Escaping only was not enough, we had to think what to do know. We were all rather restless because while we were running into the woods, we had heard incessant shooting come from the camp. It was the Nazis who were trying to take some kind of reprisal, even though it was too late for that.
We knew very well that during the night they would not follow us into the woods. However, they would certainly surround us next morning.
After our short period of rest a group of Russian Jews was formed. They were the ones who were better armed and who tried to lead the mob. We immediately gathered around them and, at that moment I felt I was important too. I still had my rifle and I claimed the right to be one of the leaders. I went up to the group commanders and stayed there as if I were representing all the Polish Jews.
Then I was surprised by the attitude of one of the Russians who asked me for my gun and said it was because I did not know how to use it.
I promptly reacted against his insolence and answered that I would only part from my gun, if it were taken away from me by force, otherwise I would not surrender it to anyone.
Next I started reloading the weapon, as I still had about twenty bullets and was already familiar with it. The rifle was like a treasure to me and it was an integral part of my own life. I even felt because of it, superior to my companions, my countrymen, in our numerous group.
Soon after the disturbed meeting in the forest, we decided we would try to cross the Bug River and, by always going eastward, reach the front lines where the German and Soviet armies were fighting.
We came to the conclusion, however, that we needed more weapons and food. It was decided that we would collect everything the escapees could hand over. After we collected the necessary funds, one armed group would try to find the nearest village where everything we needed could be bought.
In one minute we collected the necessary amount and a hat was filled with money and other valuable things. The whole group started to look for a village.
We went on walking slowly through the forest and we finally saw the far lights of what looked like a village to us. We stopped and conferred about how we should send the group to do the shopping. After some debate, of which the Russians were the leaders, it was decided that, as they were the best armed, they would be in charge of doing it and as I also had a rifle I would go with them.
Then there came from the Polish Jews a general protest. They would be left alone, unarmed and defenceless. My friend Abraham also insisted with me to stay with them, by telling me I could never abandon my own countrymen.
Someone with a gun should stay, and as I was the only man to have one I finally agreed. However, I argued that I would not be much use to them, since a single rifle would not be able to protect about a hundred people. As a matter of fact , I became the leader of the whole block who stayed behind in the forest, waiting for the Russians to come back.
They had left, in the meantime, with the donated funds and carrying all their weapons. We then started talking about the bloody events which had taken place a few hours before. I then learned that my cousin Nojech as well as my nephew Jankus had died against the barbed wire fences. My brother Moisze had escaped with his Jewish sweetheart, but no one knew where they were.
Only later did I learn that, after he had been free for one month, he had been killed, by Polish reactionaries belonging to the extreme right, and who did not like Jews. The infamous event happened in the town of Lubartow, near Lublin, and it came to prove once more what bandits the Poles were.
Moisze had survived over seventeen months of slavery in the hands of the Germans and had regained freedom, only to die at the hands of sordid individuals who had also been born in Poland, and who also fought for freedom.
In the whole group I could only meet two of my closest friends – Abraham and Leon, the Frenchmen. From that day on we never parted again. Our numerous group decided to lie down near the fringe of the woods, thus avoid being easily seen, while we waited for the Russians to return.
Dawn was coming when we heard intense fusillade coming from the village, about two kilometres away from us. We were all extremely excited about how it would end about what might have happened to the young Russians who had gone there.
However, our wait was useless since we never heard of them again. I only know some of them are still alive but to this day, I do not know what happened on that mysterious dawn.
While we were still waiting, we made lots of conjectures. Some soon thought the Soviets had been killed. Others thought that the shooting indicated the Nazi reprisal to what we had done in Sobibor. Some others thought the village must be full of Germans. As no one ever came to tell us what actually happened, we had to give up our project of crossing the Bug River since without the Russians, we would never be able to carry out the plan.
When we came to the sad conclusion that none of them would ever be back , I called everyone’s attention to the fact that we should not stay in that place, since daybreak was upon us. We should take advantage of the last hours of darkness to leave, since the Germans might well be hunting in the neighbourhood. I suggested we should leave the woods in smaller groups, since it would be impossible for us to stay all together without running any risks.
Great commotion led to a shower of protest which disturbed the cordial atmosphere we had kept up to then. All wanted to stay with me because I had a rifle. No one was willing to enter the unknown forest without being properly protected, and without any definite destination.
I did not agree to that and nervously started to pace to and fro, going to each one of the hundred Jews and urging them to separate into groups, and go wherever they wanted.
I told them that our former plan of crossing the Bug River could not be carried out any longer since none of us knew where we were and we lost our Russian guides and our leader “Politruk”.
My suggestions once accepted, a new problem rose. This time everyone wanted to choose his companions and many did not agree to the company, which was given to them. Precious time was being wasted. In the meanwhile, I kept on affirming that, whether they wanted it or not, our only chance of survival lay in the immediate organisation and departure of several groups. A large bunch of people would call too much attention and would become easy prey for the Germans whereas, separated many of us would still be able to escape to tell the world what had happened in Sobibor.
Besides, none of us knew where we were nor where to go. Separated each one would be able to make up his own decision. At long last, after a lot of effort and good will had been practiced, the small groups were formed. I chose Abraham and Leon, the Frenchman, to go with me.
Both were my close friends and ex-companions in the machine shop in the camp. Jankel and Mundek’s brother Majer, the tailors, also joined our group. There were also other men who had worked in the storehouses in Camp 2 and with whom I had very little contact. Among them, the most remarkable were two extremely religious carpenters. Incorporated in the group they later came to bring us a lot of serious problems, and they actually hindered us in many ways. The group was composed of sixteen Jews.
Once this group had been formed, each went its own way, and dispersed in the forest. As we were near the fringe of the forest, I led my men back into the woods and we wandered around until the break of day, then we stopped. To our surprise we were near a road and we decided to hide while one of us would reconnoitre the area. This was the best thing we could have done since, soon afterwards, we heard the sound of motors and immediately had to hide behind some thicker bushes to wait for the day to pass.
Next we watched the parade of a real show of Nazi military ostentation – trucks, soldiers, shouts, orders and shots. Many Nazis were searching a large area in the forest and were constantly firing their weapons.
We never knew whether the shots were being aimed at other escapees or if they were being fired just to frighten the Jews who could still be hiding there. While all this was going on we lay on the ground, totally motionless. We were as white as wax and our fright was such that we did not utter a sound until it got dark. No one ate or drank anything, or even rose to do anything. The Germans went by just a few meters from us and they did not seem to be interested in really searching the place. We were near to the road that they could never have supposed we could be hiding under their very noses. When evening fell, the shouts and shots became less frequent and the Germans prepared to leave the region and put an end to the man-hunt after the Jews, at least for that day. Then we resumed our walk towards the unknown. Our only thought was to get farther and farther away from Sobibor, no matter what course we had to follow.
Late at night, we came to a humble solitary hut. As we were all suspicious, we decided to be very careful and avoid another unpleasant surprise. We surrounded the hut and I cocked my rifle, while the others got near the door, armed with their knives and with some lanterns they had gotten hold of before escaping.
Suddenly we thrust ourselves inside the hut and by the first light of our lanterns found it empty. However, we went through all of it carefully and we found an old man in one of the other rooms. Frightened at our unexpected visit the old man begged us not to kill him. We soon soothed him though, by telling him we only wanted something to eat and that we did not intend to hurt him, since we were guerrillas. The old man told us he did not have anything to give us but a few pieces of stale bread he had been given. We immediately hurled ourselves on the poor food, since we had not eaten anything since we had left the camp, and we gulped it down in the wink of an eye.
However, the old man made no complaint, since we left him a gold coin when we went away. As we had to gain time and use the night for walking, we soon left. Some hours later we entered a swamp. We tried to go around it but the swamp seemed too wide and we decided to face it.
With that our suffering got even worse. Tired and hungry , thirsty and without a proper destination, we had fallen into a real trap. We could only see mud before us. The only comfort we had for our sacrifice was that freedom urged us to bear it and push ahead. At night we walked and in the daytime we slept, well hidden in some dry spot. It seemed as if the crossing of the swamp would never end and that the obstacles we would still have to surpass would always be harder. Besides the mud, the tall grass hindered our progress. We kept falling and rising only to fall again. The one who was hurt the hardest by all that was Leon, whose leg still carried a bullet he had gotten at the time of the Spanish Civil War and, the air being very wet, hurt him painfully.
As to myself, I suffered with the new boots I had made before the flight. After they had gotten wet, they had tightened and finally made my feet sore. Each step I took was pure torture and as I could not stand the pain, I had to cut a hole in the boots to make walking easier. As a matter of fact, the only things which were left of them were the soles and the tops. In the holes I tucked some cloth torn off my own clothes. Thus by fits and starts we walked for five whole days without food and not knowing where we were going.
We finally finished crossing the cursed marsh. We were happy at that and we were firmly convinced that luck was on our side. We entered some woods and crossed them without difficulty. Soon afterwards, we were surprised by coming to an area on the fringe of the forest, whose trees seemed to have been felled, thus presenting a very familiar panorama. Something unbelievable had just happened.
We were back in Sobibor.
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