Page 119 - LEIBY

Chapter 15 119

been hanging posters all over the city, warning Christians to
protect their children from the Jews who are about to celebrate
Passover and need our children’s blood for their matzos. We
decided to stage a pogrom to force out the Jews from Praga.
The name we gave to our operation is ‘Free Warsaw.’ Yashko
Kozdlovsky, the boy reputed to have disappeared, is actually
hidden in his grandmother’s home on Pildovsky Street. His
parents run a textile store that was previously owned by a Jewish
family named Stefansky. This Stefansky has had the impudence
to return here and try to reclaim his store. Yashko’s mother,
Fania Yanina Kozdlovsky was instrumental in planning the
operation, and she urged us to carry it out as soon as possible
before the Bolshevik Jew Stefansky would succeed in getting
his hands on all her property.The police chief is her brother, and
he promised that the police would turn a blind eye to any unrest
here in Praga. The police also feel that the town has become far
too overrun by Jews, and they’re happy to let the residents sort
out the issue and drive them all out from here.”

“Very good, very good,” Alexander-Shikorsky rubbed his hands
together in glee. Leiby’s blood ran cold. Alexander was playing
the part too well – with his fair complexion, watery eyes, and
rough voice, he totally looked like a genuine Polish anti-Semite.

“What’s your real name, dear second-in-command?” Shikorsky
asked.

“My name is… Adam Lushinsky,” the ‘Red Bull’ replied slowly.
He evidently still didn’t trust them completely.

“Is that the truth?”

“Yes.”

With a theatrical flourish, Alexander pulled a bottle of English
gin out of his pocket. Since the outbreak of the war the drink
had been unobtainable in Poland, and Adam’s eyes gleamed at
the sight of it. They raised glasses to the triumph of Poland and
the eradication of the Jews until the bottle was empty and the
Pole was thoroughly tipsy. Under the influence, he pulled out a
small dog-eared notebook and handed it to Leiby.