635798

The end of July was approaching us. Heat from the sun made life on this camp almost unbearable. Nazis swam in the sweat within their uniforms. Prisoners dropped like flies from their heat strokes. The dogs couldn’t go outside much or else they would overheat. Our water and food supply were running low and we couldn’t get more until another train came in with Jews. That wouldn’t be until three more days.

Auschwitz was definitely not the place to be in the summer.

Today I was on guard duty. That meant no gassings for me. Vater lent me his rifle and a friend of his was letting me borrow a machete. My goal for the day was to not use either of them.

It was noon once I reached the set of women’s barracks. Dirt flew whenever I or a woman who worked for the Nazis stepped down. All grass was dead and showed no sign of reviving. Even the barracks looked dead. Ceilings had holes and wood was pealing.

An Aufseherin unlocked the only occupied barrack. She entered without a sound. Women inmates filed out silently and formed into their normal spots for roll call. Once again, 635798 stood next to the little girl. My breath hitched at the sight of her face. It’s been two nights since we ate the raspberries and the juice still lingered on her chin. Dirt covered a few spots, but it was still noticeable.

The Aufseherin walked around the inmates, her long, gray uniform making her sweat. She looked over at me and asked what I was doing here.

“I’m keeping guard today,” I said.

“Can I see that machete of yours?” she asked.

Cautiously, I handed it over to her.

This ended up being her special Selection Day. She slashed every other woman in the neck with the machete. Women screamed as the unfortunate ones dropped dead to the ground. Blood spewed everywhere, splattering the living’s uniforms. The little girl was a part of this pattern. As the Aufseherin held up the machete, 635798 screamed and pulled the girl away. She pushed the little girl to the ground and curled over her.

“You mongrel!” the Aufseherin screamed.

She swiped the machete towards 635798’s neck.

“STOP!” I exclaimed.

Everyone froze, 635798 cowering and the machete an inch from her neck.

“What?” the Aufseherin snapped.

A lie quickly formed in my head. “A Jewish man snuck into this side of the camp. He’s over there now! He’s trying to rape another Aufseherin I think.”

The Aufseherin I was talking to now looked around. “Where?”

I turned and pointed to nowhere in particular. “There! Can’t you see it?”

I heard a groan. “No. But I’ll check anyway.” The Aufseherin came up to me. She shoved my chest and pointed. “You better not be lying to me. Or else I’ll kill you with that rifle on your back.” She turned to 635798. “I’ll be back for you. Everyone else, back to work! Schnell!” Then she turned away and walked in the direction I pointed, carrying the machete with her.

The women started making their way towards Buna. Once again, 635798 headed in the opposite direction. The Kapos who she always walked with awaited her.

In the midst of the women walking towards Buna, I caught sight of the little girl. After looking back at 635798 to make sure she was okay, I jogged towards her little friend. Women moved out of the way for me as I pushed through them. I stood directly behind the little girl. She could’ve easily been mistaken for a boy since that was how short her hair was. Brown-almost-black curls still sprouted out from what little hair she had. Her body was just as bony as 635798’s and same went for her uniform.

I put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and gasped at the sight of me. “You’re fine,” I said. I grabbed her hand and gently pulled her away from the crowd. We walked with them from a distance.

“I see you have a friend,” I said.

The little girl stared at me with eyes the same shade of her hair.

I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

When the little girl looked down, I realized how sunburnt she was. The back of her neck was peeling and a blister was on the shoulder that escaped the uniform. Her face and the back of her knees were the same shade of red as roses.

“Be careful of the sun,” I said. “Don’t want to get a heat stroke.”

The little girl shrugged. “I can’t help it.”

She sounded weak, and that made me concerned. 635798 couldn’t lose what seemed to be the one friend she had at this place.

“What’s your name?” I asked quietly.

“Chaya,” the little girl squeaked. “I’m eight.”

“Well, Chaya. I’m Wolfgang. I’m twenty-five.” I smiled and tipped my cap forward.

Chaya looked up at me, squinting. “My friend is around your age. She’s twenty-three.”

“What is your friend’s name?”

I was surprised when Chaya shrugged. “She keeps it to herself. We only know her by her number. Well… I only know her by that. Shifre went to take a shower.”

A chill ran up my spine.

We reached the gates of Buna. The other women went in but I held Chaya back.

“Does this friend help you a lot?” I asked.

Chaya nodded. “She saves my life a lot. And gives me food.”

I smiled.

“But I think someone helps her,” Chaya added.

My smile faded. “Why do you say that?”

“She gets food we’re not allowed to eat. Sandwiches. Lettuce. Carrots. Apples. Everything.”

I knew the sandwiches were from me, but the other stuff? No way could she have gotten those on her own.

I leaned in closer to Chaya. “Do you know why your friend doesn’t come here to work? I see her going the opposite way every day.”

“She’s not allowed to tell.” Chaya looked down. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. When she looked up at me, her eyes shook and glistened. “Please don’t report her, officer!”

I sucked in a breath. “I won’t. I promise. C’mon. Let’s get you back to work.”

I put my hand on Chaya’s back and gently guided her into Buna. Until night time, I watched her carry rocks from one spot to the next. Other women dug holes deep enough to bury bodies. Dirt flew into the air as women fell into it, either dying of starvation, a heat stroke, or being pushed in



It was a long day at Buna today. I stood inside 635798’s barrack at midnight, watching the sleepy women file in. Another guard stood at the other side of the door. I caught sight of 635798 within the crowd. She didn’t look as tired as them all. In fact, she didn’t look tired at all. She fiddled with her thumbs and tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

Suddenly, the Aufseherin from earlier stormed into the barrack, changing the atmosphere immediately. The other guard and I stood up straighter, strengthening the grip on our rifles. The inmates froze in their tracks. I watched the Aufseherin push pass them and before I knew it, she stood in front of me.

“Liar,” she spat. I realized she still had the machete.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You said a male inmate snuck to this side and raped an Aufseherin. I made a fool of myself trying to find him!”

“He was here. He just got away before you caught him,” I said.

The Aufseherin groaned and threw the machete to the ground. I moved my foot before it stabbed through it.

“I swear to God, one day I’ll-” The Aufseherin interrupted herself as she turned around. Her gaze was set on something. The other officer and I looked at each other, mentally asking one another what she was looking at.

“You,” the Aufseherin snapped. “How could I have missed this? I see your hideous face every day! I’m ashamed of myself!”

“What are you talking about, Gretel?” the officer asked.

The Aufseherin, Gretel, stomped her way to what she was glaring at. My breath caught itself in my throat. Gretel grabbed 635798’s chin and pulled her closer. 635798 gasped.

“What the hell is on your face?” Gretel snared.

635798’s eyes widened.

“Were you eating raspberries?” Gretel yelled.

635798 looked at me for a split second. I squeezed my gun and hoisted it up higher, ready to shoot at any given moment.

Gretel pushed the quivering woman to the floor. The other inmates jumped back. I saw Chaya already in their bunk, craning her neck to see what was happening.

“I asked you a question, mongrel!” Gretel kicked 635798 and a wail echoed through the barrack.

“Gretel, leave that thing alone. She had that stuff on her face for two days now. It’s your own fault you didn’t notice,” the officer said.

Gretel glared at him. She continued to kick 635798 while interrogating her. The other inmates slowly snuck away to their bunks, each one watching the scene before them. Chaya covered her mouth with her hands when she finally saw what was happening. I backed away into the shadows. Hoping no one would see me, I aimed the rifle at Gretel’s head. She managed to retrieve the machete. My trigger clicked once she began to swing it down at 635798’s neck.

“Wait,” Gretel said, interrupting herself in mid-swing. “I have a better idea.” She walked over to the opened doors, my rifle still following her. Suddenly, into the night she yelled, “YITZCHAK!”

At the sound of that word, the whole barrack sucked in a breath. 635798 sat up and screamed out what I guessed was supposed to be a no. Gretel ignored her and kept screaming out the word. Everyone in the barrack watched 635798 run to her bunk. Chaya held her as she sobbed.

A man walked into the barrack. The officer pointed his gun at him, seeing the Star of David band around his arm. The tan man had his head shaved and a terribly used suit on. Moth holes covered the blazer. A brown club was gripped tightly in his right hand. He was the Kapos that always walked with 635798.

“What she do now?” the man asked angrily.

“Stole food from the Nazi headquarters,” Gretel said. “She’s in her bunk. You know what to do, Yitzchak.”

A sinister chuckle escaped his lips. Everyone watched him, the officer curious, Gretel smirking, and the inmates terrified. Yitzchak grabbed 635798 by her roots near her neck. A loud plunk was heard when she fell out of her bunk. She began to scream as Yitzchak pulled her to her feet and dragged her outside. The screaming faded within a minute.

“Hmm,” Gretel moaned, still smirking. She looked towards me. “What are you doing with that rifle?”

I put it down.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed outside, making everyone in the barrack, even Gretel, jump. My eyes widened and I held up the rifle again. Gretel looked at me with her intense brown-eyed stare.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she said. “I don’t trust you.” And with that, she moved a strand of blond hair from her face and left the barrack.

The screaming continued.

“What is he doing to her?” I asked.

“Beats me,” the officer said.

I heard a crack.

“I’ll be back,” I said.

Before the officer could protest, I ran outside, closing the doors behind me. I followed the screams. As I did this, no one stirred. It was routine for things like this to go on at night. No one came to each other’s rescue. Everyone just wanted to save their own skin.

The screams guided me to another barrack that stood in front of the electrified fence. Something was being beaten repetitively. I hid myself against the side of the barrack and held my rifle high. I found Yitzchak and 635798. Yitzchak beat her with his club while she lied on the ground. After each blow to her spine, 635798 let out a yelp. Judging by her shaky breaths, I knew she was crying. Yitzchak must’ve beaten her face before I got here. From where I stood, I saw that her left eye was turning purple and she had a split lip. I squinted, trying to find the source of the crack I heard earlier. Her ankle was twisted in a grotesque position.

“You mangy brute!” Yitzchak yelled, smacking her side this time. “I take you to work every day, and this is how you reward me? Making me get up to punish your dumb ass?”

He smacked his club against 635798’s head. She turned quiet. The trigger of my rifle clicked as I put pressure on it.

Yitzchak kicked her side. “You’re not dead yet. I got one more thing to do.”

He yanked her up by the collar of her uniform. 635798 was biting her lip as she braced for the next piece of action.

“This will be fun,” Yitzchak said, chuckling sinisterly.

Before I could even blink, 635798 was thrown against the electrified barbed-wire fence.