hour and a half. At five o’clock several hundred prisoners formed a column. Peczerski shouted in Russian, “
Za rodinu, za Stalina, vpered!
”—“For the Fatherland, for Stalin, forward!” The people ran toward the woods. Many of themdied immediately in the minefield. Tojwełe’s jacket got caught on the fence and for a moment he couldn’t extricate himself. When he started running again the field was already free of mines. The Americans made a television film called
Escape from Sobibor
. Blatt was a consultant. He was played by a young American actor. The actor got caught on the fence, just like Tojwełe, and, as the script dictated, he was unable to extricate himself. It seemed to Blatt that this was taking too long. He was terrified. Time was passing, and he was not escaping from Sobibor. When the actor set off across the field, Blatt started running with him. The shot had long since been completed, but Blatt kept running. They found him several hours later, covered with scratches, his eyeglasses broken, hiding in the woods.
Karl Frenzel was an SS man who survived. He had no desire for a new uniform, boots, or furniture. After the war he was given seven life sentences. In 1984 he won the right to a new trial. The trial took place in the Hague. Blatt was a witness for the prosecution. He remembered Frenzel perfectly. When his parents, his brother, and he emerged from the freight train in Sobibor, Frenzel was conducting the selection personally and sending people to the gas chamber. A day earlier, when they were still at home, Tojwełe had drunk up all the milk that was supposed to last for several days. His mother had said, “Don’t drink so much; leave some for tomorrow.” The day after that they were standing on the ramp in Sobibor. “You see,” he told his mother, “and you wanted to save some milk for today.” Those were thelast words he said to his mother. He can still hear them fifty years later. He had intended to discuss this with a psychiatrist, but it’s hard to explain certain things to American doctors. Frenzel directed women with children to go to the left, and then walked over to the men with a whip in his hand. “Tailors step forward!” he shouted. Tojwełe was short, thin, fourteen years old, and he was not a tailor. He didn’t have a chance during the selection. He looked at Frenzel’s back. He said, “I want to live.” He repeated this several times. He spoke in a whisper, but Frenzel turned around. “
Komm raus, du kleine
,” he called out in Tojwełe’s direction, and ordered him to join the men who were staying there. Blatt testified about this at the trial in the Hague.
Frenzel was at liberty during his trial. During a break he asked Blatt if he could talk with him. They met in a hotel room.
“Do you remember me?” Blatt asked.
“No,” Frenzel said. “You were so young then.”
Blatt asked why Frenzel wanted to talk with him.
“To apologize to you,” said Frenzel. It turned out that he wanted to apologize for the 250,000 Jews who were gassed in Sobibor.
5
Blatt was a witness for the prosecution in a couple of other cases. Among them was the case of the Gestapo chief inIzbica, Kurt Engels. The one who had placed the crown of thorns on Blatt’s father’s head. Tojwełe used to clean his motorcycle for him. It was a magnificent machine, with a sidecar and two gleaming fenders on either side. Each fender had a skull carved into it. Engels insisted that the skulls be polished to a shine. Tojwełe cleaned them for hours on end. It was an excellent job because when he was cleaning the motorcycle no German would bother him, even during a round-up. Engels had one other Jewish boy, Mojszełe, working for him. He was from Vienna. He took care of the garden. Engels would talk with him about caring for the flowers. He was fond of him. You’re a fine boy, he used to say. You’ll be the last to die and I’ll personally shoot you so that you won’t suffer. Blatt testified
Za rodinu, za Stalina, vpered!
”—“For the Fatherland, for Stalin, forward!” The people ran toward the woods. Many of themdied immediately in the minefield. Tojwełe’s jacket got caught on the fence and for a moment he couldn’t extricate himself. When he started running again the field was already free of mines. The Americans made a television film called
Escape from Sobibor
. Blatt was a consultant. He was played by a young American actor. The actor got caught on the fence, just like Tojwełe, and, as the script dictated, he was unable to extricate himself. It seemed to Blatt that this was taking too long. He was terrified. Time was passing, and he was not escaping from Sobibor. When the actor set off across the field, Blatt started running with him. The shot had long since been completed, but Blatt kept running. They found him several hours later, covered with scratches, his eyeglasses broken, hiding in the woods.
Karl Frenzel was an SS man who survived. He had no desire for a new uniform, boots, or furniture. After the war he was given seven life sentences. In 1984 he won the right to a new trial. The trial took place in the Hague. Blatt was a witness for the prosecution. He remembered Frenzel perfectly. When his parents, his brother, and he emerged from the freight train in Sobibor, Frenzel was conducting the selection personally and sending people to the gas chamber. A day earlier, when they were still at home, Tojwełe had drunk up all the milk that was supposed to last for several days. His mother had said, “Don’t drink so much; leave some for tomorrow.” The day after that they were standing on the ramp in Sobibor. “You see,” he told his mother, “and you wanted to save some milk for today.” Those were thelast words he said to his mother. He can still hear them fifty years later. He had intended to discuss this with a psychiatrist, but it’s hard to explain certain things to American doctors. Frenzel directed women with children to go to the left, and then walked over to the men with a whip in his hand. “Tailors step forward!” he shouted. Tojwełe was short, thin, fourteen years old, and he was not a tailor. He didn’t have a chance during the selection. He looked at Frenzel’s back. He said, “I want to live.” He repeated this several times. He spoke in a whisper, but Frenzel turned around. “
Komm raus, du kleine
,” he called out in Tojwełe’s direction, and ordered him to join the men who were staying there. Blatt testified about this at the trial in the Hague.
Frenzel was at liberty during his trial. During a break he asked Blatt if he could talk with him. They met in a hotel room.
“Do you remember me?” Blatt asked.
“No,” Frenzel said. “You were so young then.”
Blatt asked why Frenzel wanted to talk with him.
“To apologize to you,” said Frenzel. It turned out that he wanted to apologize for the 250,000 Jews who were gassed in Sobibor.
5
Blatt was a witness for the prosecution in a couple of other cases. Among them was the case of the Gestapo chief inIzbica, Kurt Engels. The one who had placed the crown of thorns on Blatt’s father’s head. Tojwełe used to clean his motorcycle for him. It was a magnificent machine, with a sidecar and two gleaming fenders on either side. Each fender had a skull carved into it. Engels insisted that the skulls be polished to a shine. Tojwełe cleaned them for hours on end. It was an excellent job because when he was cleaning the motorcycle no German would bother him, even during a round-up. Engels had one other Jewish boy, Mojszełe, working for him. He was from Vienna. He took care of the garden. Engels would talk with him about caring for the flowers. He was fond of him. You’re a fine boy, he used to say. You’ll be the last to die and I’ll personally shoot you so that you won’t suffer. Blatt testified
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