It was five a.m. when I awoke, I could smell the aroma of burning Jews in the furnaces. I had been awakening to this smell since I had been stationed at Auschwitz three months ago. I looked at my calendar and saw that it was August 19, 1941, just one more year until I
would be relocated somewhere else. As I headed towards my post at the furnace, I wondered how we had been so fortunate to have a leader like Adolf Hitler. I conversed with the guards as I showed them my identification card that was required to pass through the gate. Rumor had it that we would have three or four groups of Jews to incinerate today, man I loved my job. At seven o’ clock a.m., a giant bell rung to wake-up all the Jewish slobs so they could ready themselves for the things we put them through during the day.
Around the time the bell rang, I had slipped back into thought about Adolf Hitler. With him as our leader, there was no way that we could lose this war. He was smart, cunning, and extremely brave, it was my pleasure to have been selected as one of his soldiers. The only bad part was that I had been stationed at this foul place with Jews running around and contaminating everything.
`“Toot Toot!”, the sudden sound of the train startled me as it reached the platform with the first load of passengers. Some Jews were selected for work while the others were sent to the gas chambers to be killed en masse. Later, some Jewish slaves came and picked up all the dead bodies around camp, and then delivered them to my group in the crematoria to be burned. We prepared the bodies for burning then incinerated them and buried the bones in a big pile. Occasionally, rapid bursts from machine guns broke the silence as they mowed down Jews. I had grown accustomed to these outbreaks, whereas a new recruit that had just joined our faction, was startled every time. This led to laughter and it lightened up our spirit during this boring work. I estimated about four hundred dead Jews today.
It was eight p.m. when we were relieved from our duty by the night watch. As I headed towards my bed, I passed a lone Jew and shoved his face in the dirt and walked on his head. He got up and punched me in the back, so I whipped out my pistol and shot him in the head.
Shooting people makes me hungry, so I stopped in for a quick snack at the main building and listened to the idle chatter and offered my input on how the war was going. I fell asleep around ten o’ clock, the quiet sounds of night lulling me to sleep. I dreamed of shooting hundreds of Jews as they were trying to run away from me. To my disappointment, I awoke to the same amount of Jews during their daily role count.
Later that day, I was alone with one of the Jews that carried dead bodies. We were alone and he asked me my name. I had grown somewhat fond of this man and, seeing no harm in it, told him my name and asked him his. He said his name was David. Then the rest of my group came around the corner and I acted like I didn’t even know him and I took the bodies and prepared them for burning. The rest of my day was quite un eventful, but David and I exchanged secretive glances throughout the day.
Somehow, David eventually softened me up and my hatred for his kind diminished a little and I felt that I had made a new friend. One day, David approached me as I was headed through his section of camp. He told me that he had heard talk about planning an escape and that he would keep me informed so I would not be targeted by the prisoners when they broke out. I thanked him and provided him with a couple of maps of the place so that I could stay on their good side and help make amends. A couple of days past before David contacted me. He asked if I could provide them with a couple of pistols and knives, we arranged a drop spot and away I went. That night I sneaked into the armory and put a couple of weapons into a duffle bag and then I was able to successfully sneak back outside and to the drop point.
As I was falling asleep I wondered how I had gotten into this situation. I was helping the people I had previously hated with all my heart. I was glad to help them because it would mean that I would live and be able to return to my wife and kids. I had left them back in Berlin, and I hoped that they were doing well. Even though I had been here only six months it felt like a lifetime, and the bodies I burned were starting to haunt me. I figured that if I let the prisoners escape then I would get relieved of my duties and then I could return to my home. When I awoke, it was six in the morning so I ate, got dressed, and meandered over to my post at the crematoria. When I rounded a corner I ran into David and he told me that the escape would happen in two days. He told me that I should stay inside the crematoria since the escape would happen on the other side of Auschwitz, where there were forests to hide themselves.
Te next day was uneventful and there were no unnecessary deaths in the camp. This left me wondering how the Jews could remain calm when they were about to escape a major death camp. When I awoke the next morning I headed to my post and tried to look busy, even though I was only waiting for the escape to occur. It was dusk when I heard a big explosion sound throughout the air, they had found explosives! The explosion was nearer to me than David had said, and I could see the shrapnel raining down. Then I heard machine guns and rifles gun down Jews. When my commanding officer told me to get my German butt down there and help kill Jews I shot him and anyone else who saw what happened. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, I shot one of my fellow soldiers over some Jews escaping. I looked around and couldn’t believe my luck. I saw that a car was parked near the crematorium I was at. I ran over then hot-wired it. I then proceeded to drive away from Auschwitz and towards Berlin.
I needed to see my family and friends, I needed to look upon living people. The dead Jews I had killed filled my thoughts as I drove and I prayed that the Jews would live after their escape.
Ten years later, I was driving past Auschwitz and into the nearby town. I was surprised when I saw all the Jews running around and I stopped at one of their stores to see what they had. When I walked inside , I saw the one man I never thought I would see again, David. We exchanged greetings and I asked how he had escaped from the forests. He told me a story filled with horrors and I was happy that I had the things I did. David and I were friends forever and always remembered that weird way we had met and helped each other achieve happiness.