The Storm Within

         The Storm Within

Suzanne Marsh

The two women walked slowly toward the gallows; their time had come. They held hands as they walked up the steps to meet their fate.

1943 Auschwitz-Birkenau

Frannie Tolov and Maria Horowitz met the day they arrived at Auschwitz. They were both selected to live at least for a short while. Frannie was a petite dark eyed young woman. Maria was neither pretty nor petite but she was loyal or so Frannie thought at first. Both women were thankful they were still alive in September of 1943. Most of the people they had arrived with were wisps of smoke now. Stealing of anything was against the rules but hunger often made people betray each other.

Frannie was sent to the kitchens where she cooked twenty out of twenty-four hours. Bread was mostly what she made. Maria was sent to a labor camp. Frannie smuggled her out small pieces of bread every few days. Maria, who once had stood almost six feet was shrunken down to five feet eight inches with the manual labor she was forced to do. Frannie felt safe enough working in the kitchens. The kapos for the most part left them alone.

Maria appeared at the kitchen one afternoon begging for something to eat. Frannie quickly gave her a small piece of bread. Maria snatched it up. A Kapo standing nearby saw a crumb on Maria’s cheek.

“Where did you get the bread?” Who gave it to you 55478?

“I took it, no one gave it to me.”

The Kapo raised her whip and beat Maria, all the way back to the barracks.

“You will stay here and rot!”

The Kapo left Maria beaten and bleeding. Frannie knew that the truth would save Maria, the question was did she really want to risk both their lives.

Frannie avoided Maria for several weeks. Maria prayed that Frannie would sneak her some bread, she was starving, like most of the women in Auschwitz. Skeletons that walked that was what the healthy ones said. Starving was now their way of life. Maria, wanted to survive as did Frannie.

Frannie went about baking bread as she had done since she arrived in this hell hole Auschwitz. Bread was perhaps the best staple to come out of the bakery. Frannie was good at making bread and supervised the others. Maria was not as lucky as Frannie, she was forced to move rocks from one end of the road to the other. The Nazi was machine never rested and neither did the women of Auschwitz.

Time began to take a toll on Maria. She was gaunt, if not a skeleton walking. Frannie maintained her health and enjoyed the pieces of bread she was given daily.

Frannie one day caught sight of Maria or who she thought was Maria. She quickly grabbed a piece of stale bread she kept in her pocket for emergency purposes. She motioned to the skeleton to come over:

“Maria, Maria my God is that you?”

“Yes, Frannie.”

“What have they done to you? What can I do to help you?”

“There is nothing really that you can do Frannie. They treat us worse than animals.

We lug stones in wheel barrels to help build roads. We are always hungry.”

Frannie knew she had to try and help Maria and her friends. The dirt and dust began to rise from the ovens and crematorium. That made Frannie shivered every time she saw that. Frannie knew she had been lying to save herself. She was guilty of trying to help others besides Maria. She prayed fervently every night for deliverance from this place of nightmares. She told herself soon or later she would get caught but for now she would continue to do what she could.

Frannie returned several times to sneak Maria bread. The Kapo in the kitchen wondered but said nothing. The less she knew the better off they all were. Life went on in the camp. Rising very early in the morning to begin making bread. Kneading the bread to make it rise. The German soldiers loved the bread that Frannie made. They turned a blind eye when she would sneak a small piece to Maria. Both women knew what would happen if they were caught. Time continued to move on. Each day brought more women to the camps only to disappear a few days later. Frannie would not make friends with anyone for fear of losing them. She watched as women were whipped for small infractions like on moving quickly enough. She knew she had to find a way out of there and soon. She began to plot. She would take Maria with her. They would be free once again. What lovely thoughts ran through Frannie’s head as she worked the bread dough.

Maria had no thoughts other than getting through the day without a whip across her back. Winter was setting in when Frannie came to Maria again. She whispered to Maria:

“I am trying to find a way out of here for you and I. You must not say anything to anyone.

I will let you know when I am ready and how we are going to leave.”

Maria could merely nod her head. She was tired, cold and hungry. Time had not been kind to her. Frannie, wanted to cry every time she looked at Maria. Tall strong Maria who always stood tall.

Frannie, toward the end of winter was no closer to solving the problem when a guard came looking for her. She went with him, there was no room for argument. The head of the block waited impatiently for her to arrive. Frannie, the pit of her stomach about to give way when she realized someone had betrayed her. There were civilian clothes two sets.

Maria was dragged forcefully to the block. The women looked at each other. The head of the block looked at both women through the evil eyes of one who doesn’t care:

“Since you two wish to steal. One of you had better tell me now what these were for.

Don’t lie it will only make matters worse for you.”

Frannie, stood up:

“I took those clothes, Maria had nothing to do with this.”

Maria, shook her head:

“I wanted to escape as much as Frannie.”

“You two will hang in the morning, theft is not tolerated.”

Their final morning the women prayed for the courage to walk up to the gallows together. Both women climbed up on the chairs that were used. The chairs were kicked out from under them. They died as they had lived truth set them free.