last, Sam said, “Tell, me Mr. Nocek”…
Bruno interrupted. Seeing in Dr. Sam Tepper a very empathetic man, he said, “Please, Dr. Tepper, call me Bruno.”
“Yes, I will, Bruno,” answered Sam. “First, as to your wound; your grandfather of blessed memory saved your life. There’s no doubt about that. You are lucky and he is happy in heaven. I’m sure your grandfather took many bullets meant for you. The one wound that you have on the lower right and back side of your chest cage is clearly a bullet wound that shattered a rib. The bullet must have been fortunately deflected away because I can’t see it on the x-ray. The wound on your chest wall is small, but it is showing signs of an early infection which needs treatment. So, to make a long story short, we’ll have to keep you in the hospital and see how you do. The good news is that whatever small amount of damage was done to your lung should heal well. And there is no evidence of a lung collapse. You are a very lucky man.”
“Thank you, doctor. I appreciate everything you can do for me.”
At that point, a nurse entered. “Dr. Rosen, there is a man in the waiting room who says his name is Albert Tepper and he wants to see you.”
An immediate smile crossed Sam’s features as his eyes opened wide. “Bruno, I’ve got a very old friend who just came in who I haven’t seen in a long time. I’ll be back soon to answer your questions and talk to you more.”
“Sure, doc, see you later, I’m sure not going anywhere.”
Sam followed the nurse to Al. Tears flowed as they hugged in an embrace of two men victimized by a tyrant whose distorted view of the world would change it drastically and be responsible for the death of God knows how many. They both knew what they had to do. The death of their wives and daughters mandated revenge, and in this they were not alone. Their task was now to organize resistance fighters to carry out their mission. Judging from Bruno, the Jews were by no means alone in their desire for revenge.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, Al. You’ll stay here with me, and we’ll get you settled in soon, but first I want you to meet a patient who knows first-hand what Hitler is capable of. He fled to the Russian zone here after the Germans killed his entire family.”
As they walked to see Bruno, Sam related the story of Bruno’s miraculous escape from death while Al shook his head in disbelief saying, “Hitler is assassinating non-Jews?”
“Yes, Sam. Jews, non-Jews who he views as a threat to his future plan for world domination, intellectuals who can question his authority and values; anyone who can offer opposition to him. It is a case of extreme narcissism such as the world has never seen, and the world will have to pay the price until he and his poisonous philosophy is done away with!”
They arrived back in Bruno’s room where Sam introduced Al. “I’ve written all your orders, Bruno, if all goes as well as I expect, I hope you won’t be here more than three or four days. I want you to meet my good friend, Al. Al, this is Bruno.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” said Bruno.
“You may dispense with the ‘sir,’ Bruno, and I’m pleased to meet you,” answered Al.
Sam added, “I told Al here, Bruno, about your family all being killed. We can relate to you, Bruno, because we both lost a wife and daughter in Hitler’s bombing and terror raids, but you lost your whole family! What are you feeling now, Bruno?”
A stunned Bruno with tears in his eyes hesitated and waited, trying to recover a voice that he knew would crack if he attempted to speak. After drawing a deep breath, he said, “I’m feeling grief and hate at the same time”…
Sam interrupted. “We know what you mean, Bruno. We both felt those twin curses the same way you feel them, but over time we combined the grief and the hate into one emotion which directs our life into a single emotion called revenge that will guide us forever. You are young. We are 44 years old and we both have military experience. We fought in the German army in World War I.”
Bruno stiffened. He bolted upright in bed and winced at the lower left chest pain his sudden motion caused. Wide-eyed he said, “German army? Did you say German army?”
Sam immediately said, “Yes, that’s right, the German army. We were both born in Germany in 1896. That makes us 44 years old. In 1914, we graduated from high school and had to fight in the army. We are both Jews, but in those days, before anybody ever heard of Hitler, Jews had it good in Germany. Oh, there was some anti-Semitism there like the rest of the world, but it was not part of government policy so there was no force behind it. Conditions were good for German Jews at the time, but with the rise of Hitler, and since 1933 when Hitler took power, it all changed for the worse, and we had to flee for our lives. All opportunities were taken away from Jews. As Hitler gets stronger and stronger, the future for Jews gets worse. But tell me, Bruno, what does he have against the Poles? Why did the German army assassinate so many non-Jews like your family?”
A sad-faced Bruno said, “My grandfather warned us about that. He was mayor of the town and knew many famous Polish government big shots, and they warned that Hitler wanted to get rid of all Poles who held any power. He said the Germans wanted to make all of Poland into a big farm and get rid of all people who could organize a force against Hitler and fight back He also said that the Jews will come next after Hitler herds them like cattle into places were the killing will be easier. As far as I know that’s what is going on with the Jews right now. I haven’t had much time to think since the killing in the pit. I’m lucky to be alive, but yes I want to take revenge for my family. Would you teach me what to do? Could I join you?”
Sam answered quickly, “Yes, you can. I’ve been waiting for my friend Al to show up, and if anyone can teach you the art of warfare, it is he. He spent four years in the infantry, so he’s seen and done it all. Also, many Poles are fleeing from German occupied Poland and coming to eastern Poland. I hope you will be able to meet old friends and help us recruit.”
“You can count on me. I have to keep busy or I’ll go mad. I have only one goal now, the same as yours,” said Bruno with intense resolve written on his face.
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