Page 134 - LEIBY

134 Leiby – Border Smuggler

And they were not the only Jews who found their deaths at the
hands of the A.K. – many others who were found in basement
hideouts were killed by them too. Don’t be sorry that our
enemies are getting their just desserts! As they say in Russian –
a dog’s death for dogs.”

That evening,Alexander arrived together with the group that had
been sent to obliterate the Poles. He was pale and withdrawn,
the only one of his entire detachment to have remained alive.
During the Russian partisan attack, he had climbed to the top
of a tree and had remained there, undetected. Eventually the
Soviets had discovered him, but he had begged them not to kill
him.

“I’m really a Jew,”he confessed.“I only joined the Polish partisan
group because I thought that I would be safer there. I fought
side by side with partisans from all the troops, I also derailed
enemy trains and blew up German targets, just like you. We’re
all fighting the same enemy.” The Russian partisans hesitated,
unsure of what to do with him.

Stefan and Gregory, two of the most vicious anti-Semites in
the group, hit him with the butts of their guns and ordered him
to turn around and stand up straight to face his death. “Jews are
even worse than Poles,” they snarled.

But Vladimir, their commanding officer, an honest and fair-
minded young man with a shock of blond hair and a child-like
face, was hesitant. Fortunately for Alexander, some members of
the Bielski group happened to pass by just then, and Vladimir
decided to consult with them as to how to deal with the last
survivor of the Fascist Polish unit.

“He’s fearless and brave as a lion,” they declared. “It’s certainly
worth your while to keep him alive!”

“Is he a Jew?” Vladimir questioned.

“If someone calls himself a Jew at a time like this, when Jews
are being attacked on all fronts, then we can assume he’s telling
the truth,” they asserted. And so, Alexander joined the Bielski