Page 72 - LEIBY

72 Leiby – Border Smuggler

the papers were palpably nervous, their eyes darting around in
panic, their faces pallid, and their empty hands trembling, while
the passengers who were fortunate enough to have the right
documents confidently held them out for display even before
the inspectors asked for them. Leiby limped alongside the long
line of people, demanding to see their documents and ostensibly
examining them thoroughly. When he was faced with Jews
lacking Polish ID papers, he whispered to them to run and hide
in the nearby wheat field and to try crossing the border after
nightfall, under cover of darkness. They caught on to the idea,
and soon Leiby could distinguish between the swaying wheat
stalks and dark shadows stealthily scurrying between them.

Leiby tried his best to shout and generally raise a ruckus in
order to divert the soldiers’ attention from the fleeing Jews. He
emptied out knapsacks and strewed their contents all around in
an effort to create a smokescreen, noting with satisfaction that
many people indeed succeeded in running away to the field. But
to his dismay, one of the soldiers reached Yosef and Mirushka
before he did and demanded to see their papers.

“Leave these poor children alone,” he hurried over to them
and requested. “They’re Poles, just like me, and we’re traveling
together.” In his haste, he forgot to limp, and suddenly noticed
that some of the soldiers were looking at him strangely, clearly
suspicious. Immediately, he fell to the ground, and then
struggled to heave himself up.

“That always happens to me when I try to walk normally,” he
murmured. “These children, I know them and can vouch for
them. They don’t have any papers because their parents were
killed in the war, but their aunt is waiting for them in Warsaw
and has promised to take care of them. Let them go with
everyone else.”

Leiby had successfully earned the soldiers’trust and they nodded
their heads in agreement, and Leiby gleefully instructed Yosef
and Mirushka to return to the train.

It grew late, another train approached, and the soldiers rushed