Sunday, October 3, 2010

Holocaust



This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 15; the fifteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.








In the warm summer's evening, the train finally rolled to a stop at the quaint village of Wüstungen. There were few people left in Lukas's carriage. Everybody had gotten off at the previous station. He took his rucksack off the rack and got down the train steps. There wasn't anyone to receive him at the station which seemed quite abandoned and dilapidated.

It was 1944. Lukas was returning home on leave to his family after being stationed for nearly two years in Austria. He hadn't even heard from them for the last five months or so. But he knew they were alive. They must be. They were Christian. Who would kill them?

As Lukas walked onto the platform, he noticed a lot of dust everywhere, as though none live there anymore. True, he could see nobody in the vicinity. He walked on and out through the station gates, walking over his favourite roads down to his old house where his parents and little brother lived. Wüstungen had become a ghost town. People had fled. There were many Jews in that area. They must all be dead. Lukas sighed with relief that the vermin was gone from the streets of his beloved village. He walked on home thinking this.

As a Nazi soldier, he had killed many Jews. He did so with pride. He felt like he was taking out the garbage. He had been a good comrade to his mates and a stubborn fighter. After being in the field for a few years, he used to drive a Panzer. He'd even fought alongside the great Rommel, the Desert Fox in battle. He waited with baited breath as he walked the empty streets back home, those that had been flushed clean of the filthy Jews that he hated. The thought of telling his brother about the war and the tanks and prisoners from the Red Army before they lost the war and he fled, were lost in his mind. He was happy to back home.

As he neared the house where he had spent his childhood days, Lukas dumped his rucksack in the yard and ran up the porch, throwing open the front door. It was unlocked. There wasn't anyone inside in the hall. He got inside and moved around the house calling everyone's names. There was nobody there. The house was empty, just like the rest of the village.

He now started thinking that something was fishy here. Why was the village abandoned? Where was his parents? Where was Timm? He grew wary and getting out of the house, started roaming around the rest of the village calling his family members' names.

As he reached the local church, he went inside and straight into the priest's quarters. He called out for the old man. None answered. As he turned his back and started heading away, a faint voice reached his years.

“They're all dead, son. I'm so sorry.”

Lukas turned back immediately and as he was heading back, he saw the wizened old priest rambling slowly out of his basement.

“What do you mean, they're all dead?”
Go back, son. There's nothing here anymore. Many men with guns killed everyone. Even those nice people that lived on top of the hill. Pity.”

“What are you saying? Who came here?”

“I don't know. I don't know. They're all dead.”

Lukas went into the church, and kneeling before Christ, he wept.
“They killed my mother, my father. They killed little Timm. I will not spare them. These filthy dogs. Those Jews must have done this. God, if I have learned anything in life, it is that those infidels must be wiped out off the face of this Earth. I shall avenge my family. How could they do this to little Timm?”

He walked out of the church, wiping his tears. He walked solemnly back to the train station. He knew the same train by which he came would come back the next day, if another didn't earlier. So he sat down on a bench and cried. And he thought about vengeance. He thought about joining the army again and killing the dogs that killed his little brother. How could they possibly kill a little boy. He would have been nine in a few more weeks. Lukas was filled with rage.

As he lay on the bench contemplating revenge, a notice on the wall caught his eye. He got up sombrely and walked up to it.

“By order of the Führer, all Jews in this village and those surrounding it have been killed.
Anyone who has helped hide the Jews have been killed.
Heil Hitler.”

His parents had always been friendly with everyone. The thought of loose and broken floorboards in his house crept into Lukas's mind. His parents had helped. They had hidden the Jews underneath their floor. The Nazis killed them. His own army had butchered little Timm.

Lukas took his service revolver out and placed it against his temple.

“Father. You killed my little brother. Shame on you. I shall now meet you in hell.”






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18 comments:

Amity said...

Oh so sad!

What you sow, you reap! But there is an element of truth in your story. During the Nazi occupation where there is manslaughter in mass proportion, no one is spared even a Christian.

I do hate the character of Lukas here, boasting of how he has killed so many Jews.

Killing himself won't be enough to vindicate his sins!

Very well narrated D2, I wish you all the best for the contest!

Cherry Blossom said...

A firm and realistic political background. One realizes his sin only when he suffers the same loss himself, but then it becomes too late. As usual, a well written piece with intense thought. All the best.

Samadrita said...

Awesome narration and a gripping story line! Ironic that the man who considered Jews to be vermin had a family which was sympathetic towards them. All the best for BAT! :)

D2 said...

@Amity :
The 2nd World War was a hard time for everyone. Thanks a lot.

@Cherry Blossom :
Thanks.

@Sammy :
Life is filled with ironies.
Thanks. :)

MuddassirShah said...

As you sow, so you reap well said amity.
D2,
You write well, but please write in time limits.
I am sure your post would have garnered many votes if you were in time.
:)

D2 said...

Thanks, Md. Muddassir.
I'd had it written but there were some problems while I was posting it and I crossed the limit by a few minutes.
Thanks, anyway. :)

Cherry Blossom said...

I truly regret, D2 that your post will not be considered to gain votes. Wish you would have tried to post it a bit earlier. Its very well written. Be more cautious next time.

Brijender Singh said...

What a lovely twist you have rendered unto the protagonists conceptions of a live well lived-the sheer pathos of triumph interlaced with such profound loss is just heart-rending.
And you have spared no effort to convey it delicately yet bluntly.
Great job !!

D2 said...

@Cherry Blossom : I regret that too. There had been some technical issues and thus, there was a slight delay. Next time, maybe, I'll be in! :)

@Brijender : Thanks a lot. :)

Sadiya Merchant said...

hate to sound so cold...but i cudn help feelin dat it served him right. great story btw.
this i think is my third time on ur blog and all write ups have been war related! speciality? :-)

D2 said...

Sadiya, everyone has a point of view. Maybe it served him right, but I do wish such terrible things hadn't happened in those times.

And no, I don't think it's a specialty, but wars do fascinate me. Do read my other posts. They're NOT war-related. :D

Someone is Special said...

D2 this is one of the best I had read in this entry.. The way it ended was sad.. Wishing you good luck for BAT..

--Someone Is Special--

D2 said...

@Someone Is Special : Thanks a lot.
Unfortunately, I posted this a few minutes too late and can't get votes!

Dr. Pratibha Singh said...

very well written sad story.

D2 said...

Thanks, Pratibha.

Sidra Sayeed said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sidra Sayeed said...

D2 I just finished reading all the posts and I was going to vote for you but then realized that your submission was a minute or so too late. But that surely does speak for my opinion of this particular post. Look forward to reading more of your posts.

D2 said...

Thanks, Sidra. I'm glad you liked my post enough to want to vote for it. :)

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