A cantor who used to be the chazan in the Great Synagogue of Pest has organized a choir in Buchenwald. You find it strange and eerie to hear beautiful music in the midst of such tragedy, but the German officers enjoy the entertainment. You look upon the singing as a way to keep yourself alive.
On April 11, 1945 – a day you will never forget – American soldiers liberate Buchenwald and its few remaining inmates. These are the first Americans you have ever met. They overflow with kindness, doing everything they can to help you. They give you a chocolate bar which you eat so quickly that you become ill; you are not used to so many calories at once. But gradually you adjust to your life as a free person.
Some time later you get the opportunity to go to America where you live in Brooklyn, New York. There you work in a small clothing business and join a small synagogue. Every time you hear the chazan or look at the Shabbat candles, you see the ghosts of people you knew in Buchenwald. You know that someday you must return.
Year-after-year, you save your money until you have enough for a journey
back to Buchenwald. You reenter this camp of horrors and find the place
where your barracks were located. Quietly, to yourself, you sing
El Male Rachamim and then recite the Kaddish.
With tears in your eyes, you know that you will never forget.
END