Page 70 - LEIBY

70 Leiby – Border Smuggler

children, and no one even bothered to check their documents.”

Leiby breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. It seemed that
everything would go smoothly after all, and he allowed his eyes
to slowly close as the train sped past the Polish landscape. The
abrupt stop a short while later jolted Leiby forward,and he woke
up with a start. Craning his neck to see what had happened to
cause the train to stop so suddenly, he saw a large signpost:
Stop! Border Ahead! Leiby froze as the realization struck him
– his fellow passenger’s recount of what had happened just the
week before was no longer relevant. Things had changed since
then, and now there was no chance that the Russians would let
people cross over without the proper credentials. During the
past week, the Eastern Polish border had become part of the
Soviet Union, with the Russians promising the disappointed
Poles that soon areas of Germany would be annexed to their
country in place of the territories that they had taken over. The
world map was changing at an unbelievable pace, with state
lines moving rapidly. But what would they do now?

Leiby looked out of the window at the lone strip of platform,
edged by a barbed wire fence. A group of uniformed soldiers
had stopped the train and were now ordering all the passengers
to get off. It would be impossible to check everyone’s ID papers
on the packed train, but out in the open field there was plenty
of space and the travelers formed a long line, while the soldiers
examined all the documents, one by one.

Leiby thought quickly. He looked all around, noting the massive
billboard: “The Motherland welcomes her returning citizens.”
He glanced at the Soviet soldiers standing at the document
inspection point. They looked harsh and unyielding.

Leiby walked toward them, dragging his foot in a pronounced
limp. He tried to strike up a conversation with them. “Have you
been here for long?” he inquired.

The soldiers ignored him.

“I was a partisan.” Leiby informed them. “I derailed lots of
trains.”