635798

I slept at the mansion once again. The next morning I dressed in full uniform. I had to start searching for 635798. Vater refused to tell me where she was put and I was given no hints.

Last night was a tough one for me. I had no one to sneak out to and see. My thoughts at night weren’t calm. Frantic. That’s what they were. How was I supposed to know if 634798 was safe? She could’ve been dead already. Those were the images I saw the most. I pictured her being pushed against a wall. A gun was fired, echoing through the camp, and into her head it went, spewing blood down her body. In another image there were knives. Two SS men kept stabbing her, even when she was already dead. I saw her in the gas chambers. Many people were in there with her, but she still seemed scared and alone. She screamed along with the other women as the gas was put in. Somehow, she was one of the last to drop dead. The scariest one I saw was the one with Mengele. I saw the Angel of Death do some sort of operation on her side. Her screams erupted in my head, giving me a headache. Arzt Mengele didn’t do anything to stop the pain. As he stitched her wound back up, it drew more blood. 635798 died of the blood lost on the operating table.

Jürgen wasn’t taking this well either. As I was upstairs with my sisters, I could hear him screaming at Vater. His cook – and friend – was gone. He threatened to beat Shlomo for ratting her out but Vater scolded him. Vater believed Shlomo should be rewarded for what he did. He told Jürgen that he was the one who should be beaten. Jürgen created a friendship with a Jew – a forbidden act. One must not forget he was a Nazi. That intensified the matter. Once Vater threatened to turn him in, he said no more on the subject.

My hand was on the doorknob when I heard someone coming down the stairs. Aalyshah’s wavy, yellow-blonde hair caught the corner of my eye. She appeared at my side, already dressed in her usual navy blue attire.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Work.” My voiced cracked.

Aalyshah crossed her arms. “Don’t lie.”

I sighed. “I’m going to look for Six. First I’ll ask Lenz where she went.”

“What if he doesn’t tell you?”

“Then I’m on my own.”

“You’re just going to ignore your duties?”

“I’ve done it plenty of times before and nothing has happened,” I said. “I need to go now. Goodbye.”

Aalyshah stayed silent. I opened the door, squinting in the blazing sunlight. My sister watched me walk outside. She made no move once I closed the door.

As I was walking out of the gate, footsteps came running behind me. I turned around to find Aalyshah.

“I’m coming with you,” she said, out of breath.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re ready to see the atrocities that go on in this place?”

Aalyshah’s mouth dropped a little but she quickly closed it.

“I thought so.” I turned away to leave.

“Wait!” Aalyshah grabbed my arm. “I’ll go with. Please. It pained me too to watch her get beaten and taken away. Let me look with you. Please, Wolfgang?”

I sighed and looked up at the sky. Please help her keep calm.

“Fine,” I finally said after a few seconds. “Let’s go.”



We made our way into Buna. Aalyshah seemed terrified as she took in her surroundings. As for me, it was the usual. It became second nature to not jump whenever I saw a prisoner getting killed. Prisoners digging around and carrying rocks and dropping dead on their own was the new norm for me.

Lenz was a distance away from my sister and me, his glare so hard that he seemed to be an actual monster. It was only a matter of time before his fangs showed and matted fur ripped through his uniform. He watched the prisoners work, most likely thinking of ways to kill them all. His rifle sat ready in his hands.

“Wolf, what are you doing here?” Lenz’s attention turned to my sister. “Same with you.”

“I have a question to ask,” I said.

Lenz swung his rifle to his back and then crossed his arms. “Go on.”

“You remember that prisoner you took away yesterday? The woman?”

My friend nodded.

“Where’d you take her?”

Lenz’s glare came back. “Why do you care?”

I opened my mouth to say something but Lenz interrupted me.

“Do you see what’s wrong with this picture, Wolfgang? You want to know where that mongrel is. Not so you can kill it, but so you can save it. You’re in love with it. You’re committing such a disgusting sin.”

I took in a deep breath, my face hardening. Stepping forward, I said, “Tell me where she is, Lenz.”

“No. I’m not getting in trouble because of your pathetic infatuation.”

I grabbed Lenz by his collar, ignoring Aalyshah screaming out my name. Lenz gasped as I pulled him closer so we were eye to eye.

“Tell me, Lenz,” I spat.

Lenz struggle to wipe my saliva from his face. “Why? How would you save her?”

“Wolfgang, the prisoners are staring,” Aalyshah whispered.

Lenz grabbed his rifle but I pushed it away.

“Listen to me fucker.” I spat in his face again. Anger was boiling inside me and I started to tremble. “You promised the night you met her that you wouldn’t say anything. Promised. If you tell me where she is, we’re even.”

“Look, Wolfgang. That other Jew saw it happening. I knew I had to say something. At least I didn’t rat you out!”

I shook Lenz. “You might as well have! Now. Tell. Me. Where. She. Is. I swear to God I’ll tell Gretel you had sex with Six, so help me I will.”

Lenz nearly growled. “It was rape!”

“Still sex!” I almost slapped him for how nonchalant he was.

“STOP!” Aalyshah’s voice bounced across Buna, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. “C’mon, Wolfgang. Let’s just leave. It’s obvious Lenz won’t say anything. Please. Let’s go.”

With as much force as I was able to muster, I threw Lenz to the ground. His screech sent chills up my spine when he fell on top of his rifle. Prisoners backed away from me fearfully. Despite his pain, Lenz was quick to get up. In complete unison, both of us threw our arms back and went in for a punch. I was only a centimeter from his face before Aalyshah pulled me away. She dragged me to the exit of Buna by the hand. The only reason I turned back was because I heard something click.

“Stay where you are,” Lenz said through gritted teeth. His rifle was pointed at my forehead.

I chuckled. “What are you going to do, Lenz?”

“Kill you.” His rifle began to shake.

“In front of all these prisoners?” It was only then that I realized how many people actually stopped to look at us. I swear it was almost all of Buna. “What do you think they’ll say? Rumors will get around, Lenz. People will find out that you killed a Nazi. A Nazi killed another Nazi.”

Lenz motioned his rifle towards me. “I have every reason to kill you. What Nazi falls in love with a Jew? Tell me that. You know the rules, Wolfgang. Why would you do such a thing? How do you think dein Vater will react?”

“Wolfgang. I want to leave. Now,” Aalyshah whispered behind me.

“Excuse me. I have a sister to care for,” I said. I almost turned away but Lenz opened his mouth once again.

“I’ll kill you Wolfgang! So help me I will.”

“No you won’t,” I said calmly, grinning at the trembling rifle. “Let’s go, Aalyshah.”

“I mean it Wolfgang!”

“I dare you!” I exclaimed.

Aalyshah and I waited for a minute. The only thing that happened was that the stares of the frozen prisoners’ intensified. I chuckled to myself. Then I put my hand on Aalyshah’s back and guided her out of Buna.

“GET BACK TO WORK!” Lenz screamed once we were outside.

“How did you know he wouldn’t do anything?” Aalyshah asked.

I shrugged. “Well, he raped a Jew. That’s still considered having sex with the enemy. He may fear that you would tell someone. As long as I’m around, his secret is safe. Also, you’re forgetting we’re friends. What kind of friend kills another?”

Aalyshah winced when Lenz’s gun exploded.



“Why don’t we head over to the Nazi headquarters first?” Aalyshah asked. “Maybe they’ll know where she is.”

“There are too many prisoners here to know any of them by number. Besides, that would make us look suspicious. Since Lenz wouldn’t cooperate, we must do this ourselves,” I said.

The two of us were back in Auschwitz. Empty barracks surrounded us. We occasionally passed a prisoner, but it was a Kapos every time. My heart sank when I didn’t see it was 635798. Dear Lord. She could be anywhere in this camp. Question number one was where to start.

I walked quickly to the clinic. If 635798 was hurt, she would’ve been sent there. Hopefully the nurses remembered her. She was in there enough to be remembered.

Aalyshah held my hand as we walked in. The nurses only cared to look up for a second. Screams were filling the usually quiet place, signaling that it was a busy day. As long as Aalyshah didn’t see any of the patients, all would be well.

“Can I help you two?” a nurse asked.

“Do you remember a woman by the number six-three-five-seven-nine-eight? She was in here a couple of times,” I said.

The woman pursed her lips, thinking. She clicked her tongue and said, “No. Can’t say I do.”

“Her hair grew out a few inches. Passed her ears. Has beautiful chocolate brown eyes,” Aalyshah explained.

The nurse’s eyes lit up. “Ah. Last time she was here was when that Heilbronner man shot her the night of the General’s dinner.”

My breath hitched. “Seriously?”

The nurse nodded, seeming a bit confused.

I silently groaned. “Alright. Thanks. Sorry for being a burden. Let’s go, Aalyshah.”

Minutes later we were heading towards the male’s ward.



The walk was long, wasting valuable time. Thanks to Aalyshah’s poor choice of shoes, she dawdled and we took even longer. The high September sun wasn’t helping, either. It was the time of year when the weather couldn’t decide if it would rather be summer or winter. Today’s season was summer. I made a poor choice too – wearing all the layers of my uniform and adding an extra one with this damn rifle.

The population of male Kapos was growing so I knew we were getting close to their headquarters. Nazis looked alarmed when they noticed Aalyshah. Some looked flirtatious, but my sister had her ways of waving them off. She did the favor of asking where the Kapos headquarters were once we came across a Nazi who was minding his own business. He pointed in the direction we were going, and minutes later we found our destination. Kapos stepped aside, some fearful and others not, as Aalyshah and I walked in. I scanned the room. 635798’s Kapos sat in the corner of the room, his brown stubble of a head down and his gray suit tattered. I rushed towards him, almost leaving Aalyshah behind.

“Please, you have to help us,” I said, out of breath. “You must know where Six is.”

Her Kapos was still for a minute. Then he slowly shook his head.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I asked, sounding angry even though that wasn’t my intention.

“Someone must’ve told you something,” Aalyshah said.

“They attacked when I asked,” 635798’s Kapos said.

“Sir-” Aalyshah was interrupted.

“Please. My name is Henryk.”

“Fine. Henryk. What do you mean they attacked you?” Aalyshah asked.

Henryk sighed and lifted up his head. Aalyshah nearly screamed. Henryk’s left eye was purple and swollen shut. His nose seemed broken, and his lip had so much blood on it that he must have been bleeding excessively just moments before. I had to hold in my need to gag.

“I just asked if I would have to take her to Jürgen’s. When they said no, I was stupid enough to ask why. My punishment was a rifle to my face,” Henryk explained.

“So you can’t help us?” Aalyshah asked.

“I can only help you by saying some rumors I heard.”

“Just tell us anything,” I quickly said.

“Well, you heard about the torture rooms, correct? Some Kapos were talking about them. There’s one where they tie prisoners up and let goats lick them, practically tickling them to death. They say Six isn’t in those. I know for sure she isn’t where they take pregnant women. There are rumors that they took her to some wall and shot her there. Another one I keep hearing is the gas chambers. I’m having trouble not believing these. You and I both know, Wolfgang, that immediate death is the reward for what she did.” Henryk’s sigh was shaky.

I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from screaming. What Henryk said was too true.

“Thank you, Henryk,” I said. I was about to turn away.

“I’m sorry, Wolfgang,” Henryk whispered. “Really, I am.”

I closed my eyes, trying to get my train of thought back. I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding in and began to walk out of the barrack. Aalyshah walked hesitantly behind me.

I nearly jogged to Block 11. The wall that Henryk was talking about, the Black Wall, was there. From what I was told by SS men, the prisoners referred to it as the Death Wall. Block 11 was a death trap for many. It was the jail of Auschwitz. Many prisoners resided in this block because of things like plans to escape. Prisoners who committed camp regulations were sent to live in the cells in the basement. That was where Aalyshah and I had to look first. 635798’s sentence may have been starvation and we could easily save her from that. If she wasn’t there, then the Death Wall was our next bet. It used to be located between Block 10 (Mengele’s block) and Block 11. Thousands of prisoners were killed there from 1941 to 1943. The reason the killings stopped was because the wall was dismantled this year. For all I knew, they could still be killing people there.

Block 11 was in front of me, tall and long. Even though I was informed of the fate of the prisoners in this block, Block 10 still had my attention. Block 10 was where Arzt Mengele’s horrors took place. The memory of what he said about 635798 sent an intense chill up my spine. I took in a deep breath and looked at the SS men outside of Block 11.

“Why don’t you wait outside?” I said to Aalyshah.

She nodded quickly.

The SS men let me in Block 11 with no problem. It was almost too easy for me to sneak down into the basement. The eeriness immediately frightened me. Never had a place seemed so awkward and sad to me. A few people screamed every now and then. The sobbing of a child never stopped. I stepped into the pitch-black hallway, my boots sounding like they were banging against the floor. The standing room was to my right and I prayed that it was empty. Sobs came out of the solitary confinements. I peeked in a few windows. All I saw were two men, an old women, and empty rooms. I made my way towards the cells. Immediately countless pairs of hollow eyes looked at me. Some prisoners scurried away into the crevices of their cells. I sighed and began my search.

“Is anyone by the number six-three-five-seven-nine-eight in here?” I whispered. My voice still echoed. “Anyone?”

No one replied.

I took my time looking into each and every cell. Men, women, and even children refused to look me in the eyes. That didn’t matter to me. The only thing I could notice was that I wasn’t looking at humans. Everyone was a skeleton. The shirtless men’s ribs were emerging from their skin as if they were transforming into zombies. Everyone had black holes for eyes and cheeks. All these cheekbones could’ve been seen from space. I feared that legs and arms were going to snap. There were no such things as calves and biceps in this place. Just sticks. Nobody’s uniform was fitting. While most of these uniforms would’ve been too tight on me, the prisoners were practically swimming in them. It was so obvious that these prisoners received even less rations of food than the normal prisoners. I could tell some didn’t get anything at all.

“Six, you in here?” I asked.

Some of the prisoners whimpered in response.

I took an hour looking into the cells. Not one of them held 635798. I tried not to look so threatening when leaving, but my uniform wasn’t helping. All I could do was ignore the worrisome noises.

The sun nearly blinded me when I walked out of Block 11. The SS men chuckled and told me to get used to it. Once my eyes adjusted, I spotted Aalyshah on the stairs. She turned at the sound of my footsteps. Her face was red and she had puffy eyes.

“Why have you been crying?” I asked as I helped her stand up.

“The children from the next block wouldn’t stop screaming. They kept calling out for their parents. I heard other names too. What’s going on in there?” Aalyshah threw herself in my arms.

I bit my lip to keep from saying anything. When I started to walk towards it, Aalyshah pulled me back by the hand.

“What are you doing? Wolfgang, I was crying. That doesn’t mean to go near that block!” Aalyshah exclaimed.

The two SS men from Block 11 snickered.

“I just need to check something,” I mumbled.

I pulled my hand away and began towards the Death Wall. There was no need for me to turn into the gangway. Just as I suspected, the Death Wall was still dismantled and the dried blood on the brick was too old to be 635798’s.

“She was never here,” I said, keeping it vague so the SS men wouldn’t hear me. “Next stop are the gas chambers.”

Luckily, an SS man was driving by and we got a lift to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. I explained the different gas chambers to Aalyshah. The description wasn’t what made it hard. After all, they all look like little houses. First room is where the prisoners strip and the next is where they take their “shower”. It was the emotional affect that was hard. I’ve probably let almost two thousand prisoners die in these. It was impossible for a lump to not form in my throat when thinking about it.

“Alright. I’ll go in first to check if any of the faces are Six. They clear the uniforms as the prisoners are being gassed so you check through them. They should have their number on them. The room is next door to the crematorium which is over there. Look through the other clothes too.” I patted Aalyshah on the back. As she walked, I exclaimed, “Make sure you don’t get caught sneaking in!”

I waited for trucks loaded with prisoners to come over. The first one was full of men so there was no need for me to search. Some SS men were happy to see me. They couldn’t wait for the “extravaganza” to begin. I ignored their remarks.

Thirty agonizing minutes later, the dead men and their clothes were cleared. A new truck arrived and this one had women. An SS guard granted me permission to be one of the people who calmed them down and said they were taking a shower. I slipped myself in between the mob of women. They immediately started to scream and cry once locked in the clothes room. A Kapos and I calmed them down. I started to walk around as they were stripping to nudity. It was hard for me to put my eyes anywhere. By the faces of the women, they all thought I was about to rape them. I decided to say who I was searching for aloud.

“Six! Six-three-five-seven-nine-eight! Where are you?”

I couldn’t be heard over the loud women. The already-naked ones were descending into the gas chamber. I had to act quicker.

“Does anyone know a woman by the number six-three-five-seven-nine-eight?” My voice cracked, but luckily I was heard.

“I do!”

I turned to the woman on my left. She was halfway out of her uniform already. Because of the conditions I was sure she’s been through, I couldn’t tell how old she was.

“She had a friend that was a little girl if I recall. Chaya,” the woman said.

“Do you know where Six is?” I asked urgently. I was getting close. So close.

The woman shook her head. “Disappeared after the scandal of sneaking out. Rumor has it she was sent to Block Eleven.”

“Already checked,” I muttered. “No luck.”

The woman shrugged. “Then she’s most likely dead. Probably in the ovens right now.”

I felt my heart sink. All this searching was done just to hear someone say 635798 was burning to ashes. I should’ve seen this coming. Why did I raise my hopes up so high? I stared at the woman in front of me. She was one of the last to still be clothed.

“Do you know where you’re headed right now?” I asked.

The woman nodded. “Unfortunately.”

I bit my bottom lip. The peepholes were only in the gas chambers. All the SS men were most likely there by now.

“Get dressed,” I said. I watched the Kapos go outside. “I’m getting you out of here.”

The woman quickly did as she was told. I grabbed her hand and together we walked outside. The woman smiled greatly. I’ve never seen someone smile so much here. Just Abbey. But that was changing.

“You saved my life.” The woman started laughing, hopefully from shock. “Dear Lord. A Nazi saved my life. Who would’ve thought? Danke, Sir! Danke!”

“You’re welcome. Now run. Go before someone catches you,” I said.

The woman was gone within a minute.

I sat on the ground for about ten minutes before Aalyshah came out. She had blue and gray striped clothes in her hands. I gasped. A uniform. I stood up quickly, tripping over my own feet, and ran to my sister. I was about to smile, but then I saw the puddles come out of her eyes. My heart sank to my toes.

“What?” I whispered.

Aalyshah choked out a sob. She unfolded the uniform so its number showed. Tears welled up in my eyes at what I saw.

There, in black numbers, was 635798.