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Helen Lazar’s Story of Liberation
Our choices were to remain behind and hopefully be liberated by whoever was fighting, and it was the Russians I wasn’t for it. I really and truly was feeling more secure. It the not talking, the going to bed, the just living in total silence and darkness, somehow was a more secure feeling than I had had for years. And I couldn’t think beyond that.
As much as Toby wanted to stay back, I never believed that it would really ever be liberated or that there is anything else left for us or any future. I just wanted to be secure in that little hole of ours.
I just, I never thought beyond tonight anyway, I never cared beyond tonight.
As a matter of fact when the shelling from the tanks became so intense, Toby and I when we were in our foxholes, we always laid down on top of each other. Because we wanted, whatever hits one should hit the other. Our main pardon me our main concern was one shouldn’t have to watch the other, whether it be hurt, wounded or dying, that was our main concern that whatever happened should happen to both of us.
And after the bombing stopped for a few minutes, we were completely covered with blood. Toby would go and say, is that your blood or somebody else’s? No, no, it’s not mine it doesn’t hurt. So as long as it wasn’t yours, fine. By the next morning there was us, Toby and I, and I believe one soldier remained alive. Everyone else was dead or wounded or you know.
Toby said, she said to him, my sister and I will go into the town, to the Russians, and we’re going to tell them a lie. That we are Jewish and that you, the Germans, that you saved our lives, and all of this whole big story and we’ll come back for you. He showed us a rope that he had and he said, if you’re not back by noon or whatever it was I’ll hang myself. And Toby having a heart as big as a barn, you know, when we walked away she said, maybe we’ll come back for him. I said, you are crazy. All I’m going to wait for is the time that I can tell that he is dead.
And then our problems began. We were liberated by the Russians.
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