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Irka unpacked the bag quickly and offered Jan a cup of hot tea.He took it and sat at the kitchen table while the family plied him with questions.Nacha was content to stand nearby, watching him speak and absorbing the news from their side of town.
Jan and his family lived in Old Town, but Irka’s apartment was in Praga, almost five kilometres away.And with the state of transportation the way it was, Jan would’ve walked all the way there unless he was willing to pay for a taxi, but money was tight for them all.
“The transports continue each day,” said Jan in answer to a question from Tata about theUmschlagplatz.“I’ve watched from nearby, and it seems to me they take about five or six thousand Jews per day.There are other trains too, taking Poles, Gypsies, Russians and other prisoners down the same track.They’re headed for Treblinka.”
“The labour camp there must be rapidly filling up.How long can it go on like this?”Tata glanced around the room, his question lingering in the air.But none of them had an answer for him.
Nacha couldn’t imagine how large a camp must be to hold so many Jews, not to mention the Poles and others who were also being sent.“It must be very big.”
Jan’s gaze met her own for a moment and his blue eyes crinkled at the edges.“I’m grateful you’re not on the train, but I can’t help worrying for Babcia and Papa, along with all of the others.”
Tata ran fingers over his smooth, dark hair.He slammed a fist down on the table, startling them all and making Nacha jump.“We’ve got to find a way to get them out of there.”
“I’ve tried, but I can’t find a way into the ghetto.It’s too heavily guarded, and even the guards I usually bribe are refusing to help.None of the smugglers are getting through any longer.”Jan shook his head.“I’ll keep trying, though.In the meantime, we’ve got to come up with a solution for all of you.The four weeks is almost at an end.”
Tata paced across the kitchen and back again.“Where can we go?What are our options?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Jan said.“I could smuggle you into the Otwock ghetto.It’s smaller and still peaceful.”
“How far away is that?”Nathan asked.
“About twenty-five kilometres.We’d have to hire a taxi, but Mother and I have been saving for it.”
Tata rubbed a hand over his stubbled chin.“It’s a possibility.We wouldn’t stand out.But what are the chances they’ll begin to deport Jews from there to Treblinka as well?”
“Probably high,” admitted Jan.“But I could smuggle you out again if that happens.”
“I’m not sure where else you could go,” Irka added.“People are turning in any Jews they see.They’re afraid that if they don’t, the Gestapo will come for them and their families.”
Tata sighed.“It is our best option.We’ll do it.Let us know when, Jan.We’ll be ready.”
