Laura Tellez 8b

 

What would you have done? What could I have done. Be polite? Be genuine? Maybe be humane? But how could I be my best version with them, knowing that if someone discovered me they would kick me out, even murder me! All the different possibilities were flooding my mind. Should I be as evil as the other S.S officers? Or should I be the most down to earth person these Jews would ever encounter during their time in the camp? I decided to do what I would have liked someone else to do if I were in their position, be humane. I was inside the block of the Arbeit Macht Frei camp, when all the Jews entered. They looked so exhausted, frightened and in defense, that all I wanted to do was help them escape, and let them have the life they deserved, but I couldn’t. All I could do in that moment was give them a genuine smile, and a message. “Have faith in life, a thousand times faith,” I said, “hell doesn’t last forever.” Almost three weeks had gone by from their arrival, and they somehow started looking like humans again, I was delighted that I could, one way or another, contribute to that. One day while I was resting inside the block, the major officer entered and asked me, “Does the rumor of a humane officer have to do anything with you?” I didn’t knew what to answer, so I reminded quiet thinking about a good response. When I finally talked, I owned up my actions. You could see the angriness building up in the major’s face from China, but he just commanded me to leave, and that’s what I did. Remember, if you have the power to help someone, do it. The world needs more of that.