during the investigation that the Gestapo officer had kept his word. After the war, Kurt Engels opened a café in Hamburg. It was called Café Engels. It was the favorite gathering place of the local Jews. The Jewish community of Hamburg used to hold their celebrations in one of its rooms. He was unmasked in the 1960s. Blatt gave sworn testimony during the investigation. At the end, he was shown fifteen men and the prosecutor asked which one was the accused. Engels smiled. He still has a gold tooth, said Blatt. When he placed that crown of thorns on my father, he laughed with that gold tooth.
After the confrontation, Blatt went to take a look at the Café Engels. He introduced himself to the owner’s wife.Did he personally kill anyone? she asked. Did he murder children?
The next day, the prosecutor questioned both of them, Engels and Blatt. A clerk came in; Mrs. Engels was requesting a moment to talk with her husband. She walked over to her husband, took off her wedding ring, handed it to him without a word, and left the room.
The next morning the prosecutor phoned him. Kurt Engels had poisoned himself in his cell and Blatt wouldn’t have to come to a hearing.
6
All night they walked through the woods. In the morning, Peczerski took their weapons and the nine strongest people. He said they would go and scout the area and he ordered the others to wait. He left them one rifle; Staszek Szmajzner had it. He had studied to be a jeweler in the ghetto, brought his tools along to Sobibor, and made signet rings with beautiful monograms for the SS. He got hold of the rifle during the uprising. He was an excellent shot; he killed several of the guards. Peczerski asked him to stay with the people in the woods.
Peczerski did not come back. Blatt saw him forty years later, in Rostov on the Don. Why did you leave us? he asked. As an officer, I had a duty to go to the front andcontinue the fight, Peczerski replied. He had found a group of Soviet partisans. He fought till the war ended. After the war, he was sent to prison. People from Sobibor sent him invitations, but he could not get a passport and never traveled abroad. He was living with his wife in a communal apartment, in a multifamily house. They occupied one room. A large tapestry, which he himself had embroidered, hung above the bed. It depicted a dog. A sheet was hanging in a corner, behind it a wash basin and toiletry articles. Our rebellion was an historic event, and you are one of the heroes of that war, said Blatt. Did they award you any decorations? Aleksander Peczerski opened the door to the hallway, looked around, shut the door, and whispered, Jews aren’t given decorations. Why did you take a look outside? asked Blatt. After all, your neighbor is a friendly woman. It’s always best to check, Peczerski whispered.
7
When it became apparent that Peczerski would not return, they split up into small groups. Each one set out in a different direction. Tojwełe, together with Fredek Kostman and Szmul Wajcen, set off through the woods in the direction of Izbica. The next evening they noticed a village. A light was burning in one of the windows, in the fourth house on the right. A family was seated at the kitchen table—a tall, very thin man with pale hair; a short, heavy-setwoman; a girl Tojwełe’s age; and a somewhat older boy. A holy image hung above them. In it, too, people were seated at a table, but they were all men. They wore white robes, and each one had a golden halo. The halo was largest over the one who sat in the center, his index finger raised. My father, Leon Blatt, was a Legionnaire, said Tojwełe. All those people in the painting were Jews, said Szmul. Every last one of them. We have something for you to remember us by, said Fredek, and placed on the table a handful of jewels that he had taken from the sorting room in Sobibor.
The farmer, Marcin B., made a hiding place for them in the barn. In the evening he would bring them a pot of food. They could hear
After the confrontation, Blatt went to take a look at the Café Engels. He introduced himself to the owner’s wife.Did he personally kill anyone? she asked. Did he murder children?
The next day, the prosecutor questioned both of them, Engels and Blatt. A clerk came in; Mrs. Engels was requesting a moment to talk with her husband. She walked over to her husband, took off her wedding ring, handed it to him without a word, and left the room.
The next morning the prosecutor phoned him. Kurt Engels had poisoned himself in his cell and Blatt wouldn’t have to come to a hearing.
6
All night they walked through the woods. In the morning, Peczerski took their weapons and the nine strongest people. He said they would go and scout the area and he ordered the others to wait. He left them one rifle; Staszek Szmajzner had it. He had studied to be a jeweler in the ghetto, brought his tools along to Sobibor, and made signet rings with beautiful monograms for the SS. He got hold of the rifle during the uprising. He was an excellent shot; he killed several of the guards. Peczerski asked him to stay with the people in the woods.
Peczerski did not come back. Blatt saw him forty years later, in Rostov on the Don. Why did you leave us? he asked. As an officer, I had a duty to go to the front andcontinue the fight, Peczerski replied. He had found a group of Soviet partisans. He fought till the war ended. After the war, he was sent to prison. People from Sobibor sent him invitations, but he could not get a passport and never traveled abroad. He was living with his wife in a communal apartment, in a multifamily house. They occupied one room. A large tapestry, which he himself had embroidered, hung above the bed. It depicted a dog. A sheet was hanging in a corner, behind it a wash basin and toiletry articles. Our rebellion was an historic event, and you are one of the heroes of that war, said Blatt. Did they award you any decorations? Aleksander Peczerski opened the door to the hallway, looked around, shut the door, and whispered, Jews aren’t given decorations. Why did you take a look outside? asked Blatt. After all, your neighbor is a friendly woman. It’s always best to check, Peczerski whispered.
7
When it became apparent that Peczerski would not return, they split up into small groups. Each one set out in a different direction. Tojwełe, together with Fredek Kostman and Szmul Wajcen, set off through the woods in the direction of Izbica. The next evening they noticed a village. A light was burning in one of the windows, in the fourth house on the right. A family was seated at the kitchen table—a tall, very thin man with pale hair; a short, heavy-setwoman; a girl Tojwełe’s age; and a somewhat older boy. A holy image hung above them. In it, too, people were seated at a table, but they were all men. They wore white robes, and each one had a golden halo. The halo was largest over the one who sat in the center, his index finger raised. My father, Leon Blatt, was a Legionnaire, said Tojwełe. All those people in the painting were Jews, said Szmul. Every last one of them. We have something for you to remember us by, said Fredek, and placed on the table a handful of jewels that he had taken from the sorting room in Sobibor.
The farmer, Marcin B., made a hiding place for them in the barn. In the evening he would bring them a pot of food. They could hear
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