Returning to the ghetto places you in great danger, but these are your people, your family. You care for them, and you are proud to be among them; you are proud to be a Jew. If the world wants to kill you, at least you will die honestly and openly as a Jew, with the Shema on your lips. You would prefer not to be a martyr, but, should it come to that . . . .
The Germans begin to reduce the number of Jews in the ghetto. Roundups and deportations continue through the winter of 1943 and into the spring of 1944, when most of the Jews of Budapest are sent to concentration camps. Among the last to leave, you are puzzled by the delay in your deportation. But, then again, much of what has happened doesn't make any sense!
You are sent to the camp at Buchenwald where you see the sign over the
gate: Arbeit Macht Frei,
Work Leads to Freedom. You've heard
about this freedom through work; it really means the Germans will work you
so hard that the only freedom you will find is freedom from life.
Many of the inmates slave at making shoes from, of all things, corn husks. Others have different jobs, all from the long hours, little food, and very hard conditions. You are more fortunate. A fellow inmate, a friend from Budapest, offers you the opportunity to join a choir he organized at the camp.
Moreover, the Germans, upon reviewing your records, learn of your medical training and give you a chance to work in the camp hospital.
If you decide to join the choir, continue to page 138
If you choose to work in the hospital, continue to page 139.