Page 137 - LEIBY

Chapter 17 137

sitting here on a barrel of gunpowder – the slightest wrong move
and everything can blow up in our faces. Imagine the headlines
tomorrow, if what you did becomes public: ‘Jews killed a Polish
Soldier.’ Think how many Jews could be massacred because of
your one, impulsive act of revenge. Yes, the war is over, but the
peace is tenuous and we have to tread on eggshells if we want
to be safe. Our only option, if we want to really be free, is to
leave Poland.”

He stopped to take a deep breath, and then continued. “I
promised myself that I wouldn’t leave alone, but that I would
help as many Jews as I can to leave together with me. We won’t
leave one Jew behind in Poland.”

Alexander approached the dead soldier. “It could look like an
accident,” he said hopefully.

“So let’s get out of here and let the police reach that conclusion
too,” Leiby said.

A cargo train approached them with a deafening roar. Leiby
and Alexander jumped onto one of the open carriages, hung for
a few moments on the outside wall, and rolled inside. The wind
blasted in their faces, and lumps of coal covered them, making
it hard to breathe. But they were getting away, and that was the
main thing.

“Green Border” was the name given to the remote weak spots
on the Polish border that served as the escape routes for the
illegal border crossers. At the green border there was no need
for authorizations and documents; the passport required was
called “prula,” – a simple piece of paper with words in Hebrew
or Yiddish scribbled on it. The group leaders would hand over
the prula to Alexander, and then the group was allowed to
stay overnight in the isolated farm. They would receive food,
provisions to take with them on their way, assistance, and a
guide who would cross the border with them. Their ultimate