Page 172 - LEIBY

172 Leiby – Border Smuggler

“On the sixth day of my interrogation, I told the story of my
capture in the ghetto. And then, after I described the aktzia,
where the Germans invaded the building and pulled me out
of the closet where I was hiding, the interrogator handed me
a pen and paper and asked me to sign. I looked at the paper
and thought that I was hallucinating. It said there that I had
confessed to cooperating with the Germans and that I had
voluntarily gone to work for the German Reich and had even
disclosed some classified military information.

“Of course, I objected heatedly. ‘It was just the reverse! I didn’t
go voluntarily; they took me at gunpoint… I couldn’t get away.
And of course I didn’t reveal any secrets – if they would have
guessed that I was actually a partisan, they would have shot me
on the spot!’

“’You know that every day in the war, thousands of Russian
soldiers died,’ the interrogator replied coldly. ‘They died because
of you – because of your dedicated work in the labor camps for
the German war effort. You should never have allowed yourself
to fall into their hands!’

“’And where were you during the war?” I burst out. “What did
you do? Did you fight at the Tashkent Front? If you would have
been a fighter like me, you wouldn’t be alive now to interrogate
me. You would have been killed a thousand times over!’

“The investigator’s face turned a full spectrum of colors, but he
recovered quickly. He thrust his pen between my fingers and
barked ‘Sign here!’

“I pushed his hand away. ‘Never!’

“After more physical and emotional torment, the investigation
was over. I fell, totally drained, onto the floor of my cell. That
morning, I received a new cellmate – a young Jewish doctor by
the name of Vladimir. He saw my pale face and vacuous eyes
and tried to lift my spirits.

“’Don’t take the situation so hard, we’re all in the same boat