You cross the Neisse River at Görlitz and reenter Poland. From there you ride on farmers' carts or walk until you finally reach your hometown of Cracow. Practically no Jews remain alive in Poland, but those who do somehow manage to find each other. A group has gathered in Cracow and has formed Kibbutz Gordonia, dedicated to working with the few children who are still alive.
Many of these children have been hidden by Polish Catholic families who loved and protected them, but who also hoped that they would convert to Catholicism.
You work diligently to locate these children and to bring them back
into Judaism. With as many children as we have lost to the Nazi horror,
you exclaim, we cannot afford to give up even one more child.
When the children first come to live with you, they are afraid to take off the crucifixes that hang around their necks. These crosses have protected them throughout the war, and they surrender this symbol of safety very reluctantly. You and the other kibbutzniks work with them very gently and patiently, recognizing that they have already had so much trouble in their young lives. A little time is all they need — and you succeed.
Months later, it is time to lead a group of them to the west. You volunteer and take them back along the same route you took on your return to Poland. You enter the gates of Bergen-Belsen — this time a free person, leading a group of Jewish children. There is a tumultuous, hero's welcome awaiting you.