Page 7 - LEIBY

Chapter 1 7

night, Mama and Chava had taken them all and thrown them
down into the sewage pit in their yard. They were afraid that
somehow, they would attract the attention of representatives
of the Red Army who would try to draft Leiby into the armed
forces. They also warned Leiby to keep a healthy distance from
any military personnel. The picture was still standing on his
desk – but that would certainly change as soon as Mama took
notice of it!

“So, my mother was right after all,” Leiby mused. “If I would
have made sure everyone knew about everything I did in the
forest, I would also have received a draft order, just like Zalman.”

Zalman, like Leiby, was an expert scout, and walked around
town with his medals clearly on display, but he had no family
concerned for his wellbeing, and he had ambitions. He would
never stop fighting until he would get all the way to Germany.

The Nazi army was not yet completely defeated, and the Red
Army was suffering heavy losses every day. They needed every
drop of new blood that they could possibly get their hands on.
Cannon fodder, as Leiby’s mother called it.

Leiby objected to the name. How could you call the brave
soldiers, putting their lives in danger every moment of the day,
mere cannon fodder? And if everyone would just stay at home,
who would beat the Germans? But he had no choice but to
obey Mama, and reluctantly hid his gun deep in the courtyard
ground. When he walked through the streets, shabby and
unarmed like a penniless refugee, he felt himself to be weak
and vulnerable, and only Mama’s repeated severe warnings
prevented him from pulling out his gun and using it once again.

Zalman was all alone in the world, and their partisan unit had
become like family for him after his home had been destroyed
and his parents and siblings murdered. He was vehemently
determined to continue fighting and to reach Germany. He
harbored a secret hope deep in his heart – that maybe, just
maybe, someone in his family had survived the inferno after all
and was languishing behind the barbed wire in a labor camp