Read Online I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman - Free Book Online

camp on a weekly basis. He stopped at my desk now and then. We talked about the weather and how I liked Poland—as if he didn’t know I was not here of my own free will. From the very beginning I was puzzled over the resemblance he bore to a Jewish boy I had known in Berlin. His name too was Schlesinger. I became obsessed with the idea that the captain might be a Jew in disguise. I so wanted this to be true that I created a fantasy around him. I saw him as someone living with a false identity, someone who had come to rescue Jews.
    One day Captain Schlesinger stayed longer than usual. After some meaningless talk he became more personal. “Judging from your dialect, you come from northern Germany,” he said.
    â€œYes, I do.” I realized that I had been too quick to answer. “I lived in Aurich, Ostfriesland, not far from the North Sea.”
    â€œThat makes us practically neighbors,” he joked. “I come from Hamburg. Have you ever been there?”
    â€œYes, many times. My mother’s cousin lives there. He owns a haberdashery store.”
    â€œIt wouldn’t be Salo Walden’s haberdashery, would it?”
    â€œUh, yes,” I muttered. “What a coincidence.”
    Schlesinger, appearing somewhat embarrassed, scratched his head. “The last time I saw Salo was a year ago. He and his family were on their way to Riga . . . deported, just like yourself. I personally sealed the apartment.”
    I didn’t know what to say. My heart skipped a few beats when I heard the word deported . I hoped they were still alive.
    â€œI bought hats and ties from Salo Walden before all this happened,” Schlesingercontinued. “Too bad he is a Jew, or I’d still be buying from him.”
    Unable to sleep that night, I thought of nothing else but Captain Schlesinger. It was impossible to figure him out. One moment I believed him to be a Jew in disguise, the next moment I didn’t trust him. It was all so confusing.
    When I didn’t see him for several weeks, I thought he had been transferred, and in a way I was glad for that. But he did come back one day, leaning over my desk and laughing.
    â€œI see our little Jewish girl is still here. I was wondering if they had sent you to Riga yet. Sooner or later you’ll all go.”
    He went into Manek’s office and I thought I had seen the last of him, but on the way out he stopped at my desk again. I was totally unprepared for what he had to say next: “I can get you out of here.”
    I thought I hadn’t heard right.
    â€œI can get you papers, Aryan papers,” hecontinued. “I let a Polish girl disappear this week. You can have her apartment, her clothes. She was about your size. It’s certainly better than going to Riga. No one comes back from Riga, and how long do you think Kranik can last? Think it over.”
    I didn’t know what to say. Perhaps my first perception of him had been correct—that he was a Jew and wanted to save fellow Jews. My decision to accept or decline his offer changed from hour to hour. In the end I convinced myself that he was trying to help me survive and that perhaps he knew something was about to happen in Kranik.
    The next time he came into the office, I was ready.
    â€œYou’ll have to get a pass from Manek that allows you to leave the camp,” he told me. “How about next Thursday? Tell him you have to help me with some office work.”
    It sounded innocent enough, so I asked Manek for the pass. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.
    The look on his face was one of reluctance. But the moment passed, and I said, yes, I wanted the pass.
    On Thursday, Captain Schlesinger arrived. I followed him out the gate and through the streets of Kranik, feeling apprehensive but excited. Not having been on an ordinary street since leaving Weimar, I stared at everything around me. Life seemed to be normal . . . for non-Jewish people.