Bird in Hand
Levi was a schemer, a low-grade wheeler and dealer. He ran two stalls selling bric-a-brac in central Warsaw. It was junk that he picked up for peanuts, people’s cast offs, but managed to pass them off, with a bit of spit and polish, as cute items that people wanted. He scoured the streets, doing small deals here and there, accumulating goods and making business contacts. He had an eye for things that might sell to the fashionable Warsawvites, things that they didn’t know that they even needed. Business was brisk and his two stalls were constantly busy, making him a tidy living and supporting his aged parents. Even when the Germans invaded in September1939 and he had to foreclose on his street activity, he still was able to get the items needed that were in desperate short supply. Instead of bric-a-brac, he turned his hand to converting high class clothing from the rich, into much needed food, brought in from the surrounding countryside.
His and family transfer to the Ghetto, somewhat stymied his hand but, nevertheless, he was able to turn his hand to all kinds of bargaining to ease his life. He was a survivor and was able to sweet talk his way out of all the mandatory work forces by bribing a guard here and a soldier there. His aged parents couldn’t cope with the rigours and deprivations of the Ghetto and passed away peacefully, leaving Levi to fend only for himself and to nurture his network of business contacts, to ensure uninterrupted supplies. His fate changed for the worse when he was suddenly herded into a truck and shipped eastwards, by train, to a concentration camp.
Here, he had to work extra hard to maintain a slim existence. Once he knew the run of the camp, he fared better than most, by getting himself detailed to the sorting rooms where the suitcases of the unfortunate arriving inmates were stripped of any valuables that would then be shipped off to the Homeland. He was clever enough not to actually be assigned to the sorting rooms but to the contingent that carried the domestic cases from the train platforms to the sheds, for stripping and searching. He also took the selected booty, in specially packed cases, back to the station for onward carriage to Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. He applied the stickers and labels. This was a safer task than working in the sorting sheds, where the inmates were subject to degrading searches and beatings, for squirreling away valuables. His scam was to sneak out valuables and food for the workers in the shed. The booty would be split fifty-fifty. It was rare that the carriers were searched since they didn’t have access to open luggage so the guards and Kapos didn’t suspect them of any wrong doings. He constantly switched work parties so as not to get known by the guards and Kapos. All it needed was a bribe here and a bribe there to fix a placement.
The best assignments were on the work farms where, although the work was hard, the conditions were safer and less aggressive. Lieutenant Schriber was the one who picked the labour for duties outside the camp, in the fields, farms and factories but he was known as a bit of a hard case and rather cruel. He usually picked his outside labour from the pool that worked in the quarry, the toughest assignment. Many perished out there. Those that survived for any length of time were noticed by Lieutenant Schriber and transferred into his work battalions, out of camp. Levi hatched a plan to attract Schriber’s attention and having bribed his way onto a quarry party. He decided to that a direct approach would be the best and save himself much arduous labour at the quarry face. On the first day, he approached Lieutenant Schriber and in his best German asked if the Lieutenant could see his way of getting Levi onto a farm, handing over a small packet of valuables that he had amassed for the purpose. He added that more could make its way to Lieutenant’s hands, if he kept him on the farm roster.
Lieutenant Schriber took the pouch with a smirk, opened the bag to peer at the contents of gold teeth, rings and coins. He weighed the bag in his hand as if he was making up his mind, then took out his pistol and shot Levi promptly through the head and pocketed the pouch. It was rumoured that he uttered the saying, ‘a bird in hand is worth two in a bush,’ as Levi’s body was thrown unceremoniously into a trench.
