No Rest For the Weary
Glasner, Jack
No Rest For the Weary It was June 1 , 1 9 4 1 , and Crete had surrendered to the Germans. I was 19 and a member of the 606 AMPC Palestinian Company. My friends and I, among the few who had...
...One night, as two of us were being taken back from our work place to the camp, I saw my chance...
...The woman, probably in her 50s, and the boy, not more than seven, didn't reply...
...I saw her shudder...
...Under my uniform, I wore a pair of nondescript pants and shirt...
...I found myself on the outskirts of a little Polish town called Rybnik...
...In fact, I might have already sealed their fate...
...I got permission from the guard to use the bathroom...
...I have no way of atoning.—Jack Glasner...
...I followed them into their modest apartment...
...Calm down...
...I decided it would be safer to buy a ticket during the early morning rush hour, which meant I'd have to stay in Rybnik for the night...
...I was transported to a prisonerof- war camp in Lamsdorf, Germany, near the Polish border...
...The streets of the city were awash with people...
...They didn't turn around...
...But we were...
...That night, I slept in a park, shielded by the newspaper I had bought...
...Madam," I said, "don't look behind you...
...She was trying to reply...
...Instead, I went to the adjoining wagon, and jumped from the train...
...Please," I pleaded...
...I escaped from a prisoner of war camp...
...Her lips moved, but no words came out...
...Go straight to your home—I am following you...
...To fit in, I bought myself a local newspaper...
...It's been 62 years, and the terror in the woman's eyes still haunts me...
...Please...can you assist me...
...Railway stations were guarded by soldiers who scrutinized every passenger...
...Trembling, still holding the apartment keys in her sweaty hands, she desperately tried to speak...
...Don't be afraid," I assured her...
...After wandering through Germany and France, I was eventually caught and sent to a new POW camp in Holland...
...The yellow star with the word "Jude" was sewn on their jackets...
...I am Jewish, from Palestine...
...But searching for a place in a small town to spend the night was a big problem—a young man not in uniform would immediately arouse suspicion...
...It is unlikely that she and the boy even survived the war...
...As I looked at the woman and child, I realized I was putting their lives in danger...
...I had a compass, money, vitamins, maps of my escape route towards the west, and letters written in German, attesting that I was employed by a supply depot in Gleiwitz, all thanks to our POW escape committee...
...It was a desperation so physical, I was taken aback...
...I need a place to sleep until tomorrow...
...No Rest For the Weary It was June 1 , 1 9 4 1 , and Crete had surrendered to the Germans...
...Walking along the street, I found myself facing a woman holding the hand of a little boy...
...Turning, I started walking right behind the pair...
...My friends and I, among the few who had survived desperate battles, dreaded being taken prisoner by the Germans...
Vol. 29 • August 2004 • No. 4
