Work sets you free
Benjamin was sitting in
a horse drawn cart, reflecting upon the harsh realities of life. He was present
with many other ostracized inside the car, all going to face their doom. The landscape
outside was harsh as well, with the heavy onset of snow and frost; there was
little evidence of life to be seen. The cart stopped near a fenced building which
echoed death and outside the building were resplendent German officers ever
ready to lay down their lives for the sake of Germany. Benjamin was part of a
program which made Jews like him mandatory to have their names registered,
though for what purpose they did not know, all he knew at this point was the
fact that he was separated from his parents and was forcefully coerced into
coming to this building- his father, Wolfgang had revolted but the result was a
bullet wound and a dead father. His mother, Katja a beautiful woman was abducted
as well.
While on the cart,
Benjamin befriended another boy of about his age- his name was Phillip. During
the journey Phillip told Benjamin that they were all going to die-the fascist
Hitler who had recently taken power would kill all of the likes of Phillip and
Benjamin. Benjamin though optimistic and hopeful could not believe Phillip’s
nonchalant talks-
Benjamin: My father was shot because he had
not obeyed the police’s instructions; he was my stepfather so I to be honest
don’t feel sad about him being dead.
Phillip: Shut up! We’re all going to die…
Benjamin: Be a little lively and optimistic
Phillip, we are going to complete some formalities, that is all.
Phillip: My own cousin was transported to a
place like we’re going and I have not heard from him since,
Benjamin: Oh! There you see, your fault lies
in you being so overtly negative- how do you know we’re going to a place like
the one you’ve mentioned now? Have you tried to know of his whereabouts
recently? I tell you this is only the German governments’ initiative to
separate us from their own race. Are we so different?
Sebastian: Please shut up you both! Stop your
philosophical non-sense…
‘Benji’ as he was
affectionately called disembarked from the cart along with several other boys
of his age; the camp which greeted them all was carefully double fenced and
electrified to prevent all prisoners from possible escape. Many towers with
gunmen (sharp shooters) made sure nobody made out alive. On the plaque
decorating the camp, in German it was written boldly “Work sets you free”- it
obviously gave the boys an eerie and uncanny feeling.
Phillip: Still you’re sure we’ve been
bought here to do some formalities and then leave?
Benjamin: Silent
Sebastian: Is this some kind of joke huh?
Benjamin, answer me…
Peter: I can give you telltale
information; the government is using this facility to do research on boys like
us…
The boys were lined up
to old decrepit rooms and in front of those rooms, a table, chair and a German
officer werepoised perfectly. A neat stack of papers were kept- the overall
view was kept as if this was the place where the boys would be registered and
all the formalities completed. Indeed all the formalities were completed here
for good. The dilapidated rooms were indeed small to house so many children.
The rooms were installed with cylindrical metal containers and pipes led out of
these containers in both directions. Phillip, Peter, Sebastian, Benjamin and
the others were actually brought to a gas chamber, the largest one in fact for
killing. Gas chambers were set up in Hitler’s regime for killing Jews as well
as homosexuals and criminals.
As each of the boys
dictated their names to the officers present there, they all made a mental
preparation and a list of questions to be asked upon facing God. Phillip,
Benji, Peter and Sebastian luckily got the same room allotted for dying.
Sebastian: Still hopeful about’ living’,
Benji?
Benjamin
gave his friends a know-it-all smile ensuring everybody that he had been pretending
the whole trip, he knew they were all going to die, but it did not stop him
from being optimistic. The cylinder produced a monotonous mechanical sound and
the pipesin the room threw out gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide-
the little boys died eventually as a result of asphyxiation.
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