their lives together. Shortly after the war a third child was born. This was to be my Aunt Doris.
Despite Grandma’s efforts, Ruth and Mom would have none of Germany. They wanted a new life far from the hateful communities of Europe. They found more in common with the collection of displaced persons in Bergen-Belsen. There, everyone was hoping to obtain visas out of Europe and into the New World free of Nazi memories, anti-Semitism and war. From this D.P.camp both Mom and Ruth would later immigrate to the U.S. leaving Grandpa, Grandma and their younger sister, Doris, behind.
Dad had come to Bergen-Belsen from another Displaced Persons camp in southern Italy. The warm Italian climate and the generosity of its people provided a nurturing environment after five years of Nazi torment. Believing he had been the sole survivor of his family, Dad had planned to join the few illegal immigrants into Palestine. His days were spent lazily along the warm Italian coast filled with romance and fantasies of a future in a new land. Sometimes he would torment imprisoned German troops, just for fun. He and his buddies would strive to relive this adventurous period in Barre, Italy in the years to come.
The American troops were especially friendly towards the survivors. They were his liberators. Dad distinctly recalled how the Americans had entered Abensee (a sub-camp of Mathausen) in May 1945. Shortly before their arrival, the Ukrainian guard seemed unusually preoccupied and tense. He hastily closed all of the shutters while attempting to club to death the remaining lives in the crowded barracks - where Dad was awaiting death. Fortunately, he was lying on a top bunk and out of reach. He had also been protected from the Ukrainian’s fierce blows by the two dead bodies that had been lying with him for several days in order to receive extra rations of food.
Suddenly the Ukrainian disappeared. There were sounds of panic outside. Pushing the dead bodies aside Dad could peak through a crack in the shutter. “What do you see, Chaim?” someone shouted. “There are no guards,” he replied. “It’s a group of scouts…. with guns,” he reported with astonishment. Someone mentioned that he had once seen a photograph of the American troops. They weren’t like real soldiers, but wore scout uniforms.
They waited and waited until the doors of the death chamber burst open. The liberating Americans faced them in shock and horror. They simply stood motionless, covering their noses from the stench, vomiting and crying. Dad couldn’t understand this strange reaction. “Why don’t they take us from here?” he wondered. “Why don’t they bring us food? What manner of liberators are these?”
In Italy, he had met an American soldier from New York - who managed a broken Yiddish. He and his friend, Yonkel, were invited to the American’s tent for a drink. The soldier reached down under his cot and pulled out a case of warm Coca-Cola. They exploded with a fizz upon opening. Amazingly the soldier gulped down his drink without batting an eyelid. He then handed Dad and his friend a bottle. Dad was impressed. He had never seen carbonated drinks before. These Americans, he thought, handle their vodka even better than the Russians that he had met. He attempted to meet the American’s challenge but surrendered to the drink’s harsh swallow after two gulps. Naively, he felt intoxicated.
The Americans were so amused by Dad’s reaction that they offered him an American uniform to wear. He was also given a pass permitting free entrance to any American camp.
One fateful day news arrived that Dad’s sister, Esther, was alive and well in a D.P.camp in Germany. Plans to immigrate into Palestine were abandoned as Dad made his way to Bergen-Belsen to re-unite with his only living relative.
In Bergen-Belsen he joined the Jewish Police force. The British hosts had established an infrastructure of self-government within the camp. For some this allowed for a lucrative trade in the black market.
Eventually Dad met Mom. He fell in love with this frightened, sickly young girl and vowed to be her protector, her provider and her partner for life. They married in the camp along with hundreds of other young couples anxious to re-build their lives and leave the horrible blackness of the war behind. Together they managed to obtain visas for entry into the United States. It would be a new beginning in a new world of opportunity. They had survived.
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