Page 46 - LEIBY

46 Leiby – Border Smuggler

“We’ve come regarding Yosef ’s sister,” Leiby began. “During
the war, their parents gave her to a non-Jewish family to take
care of her, and now we want to take her back.”

“You want to take her back?” Michael asked in surprise. “But
where will you take her to? And who will look after her?”

“I will,” Yosef puffed up his chest. “I promised my father that I
would always look after Mirushka.”

“But the child needs adult supervision,” Michael knocked
smartly on the table. “Who will take responsibility for her?”

“Jewish refugee families in Lida always take in orphaned
children and take care of them,” Leiby said.

“Well, here there’s no such arrangement. Why should you not
just leave the child with her adoptive family, instead of taking
her to a strange home?”

“But…but…she’ll grow up as a goy” Leiby sputtered, appalled.

“So what? She’ll integrate into her environs.”

“You’re from the Yevsektsia!”13 Leiby suddenly realized. “You
want to carry out the same criminal acts here that you do in
Russia! You want to eliminate any remnant of Judaism, and to
persecute all rabbanim and Hebrew teachers. Hitler murdered
six million Jews and had diabolical plans to kill us all, and you
want to finish up what he started and to eradicate any trace of
Judaism that has survived.” Leiby was flaming with anger, and
got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Just a moment, I’m not from the from the Yevsektsia at all, I
just want to say that…” The committee head’s voice followed
Leiby, but he blatantly ignored him.

“I only want to help you,” Michael implored, puffing and

13 Yevsektsia ʹ ƚŚĞ :ĞǁŝƐŚ ĚĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ^ŽǀŝĞƚ ŽŵŵƵŶŝƐƚ
WĂƌƚLJ͘ /ƚƐ ŽďũĞĐƟǀĞ ǁĂƐ ƚŽ ĨŽƌĐĞ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƐŵ ŽŶƚŽ ƚŚĞ :ĞǁŝƐŚ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƟĞƐ
ŽĨ ZƵƐƐŝĂ ďLJ ƉĞƌƐĞĐƵƟŶŐ ƌĞůŝŐŝŽƵƐ ĮŐƵƌĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĐůŽƐŝŶŐ ĚŽǁŶ :ĞǁŝƐŚ ƐĐŚŽŽůƐ͘
Eventually the Yevsektsia ŵĞŵďĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞŵƐĞůǀĞƐ ĐŚĂƌŐĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚƌĞĂƐŽŶ
ĂŶĚ ƐƵďǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ƚŚĞ ŐŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ǁĞƌĞ ƐĞŶƚ ŝŶƚŽ ĞdžŝůĞ ďLJ ^ƚĂůŝŶ͘