Poems that matter

Doctor Katowa's boys

Doctor Katowa's boys

I once had a promising career

A banker's family and a wealthy childhood

Perched on Leszno Street in the center of Warsaw

I lost my brother in the Great War, my parents not long after

In the Twenties I met my bride to be, my Ana

I wanted to help people like my family did

I closed the bank and opened a hospital

Life was good as I saw life and loss as a doctor

Then the Depression hit

Me and Ana did what we could as the world held its breath

Then came the beady eyes of a disgruntled politician

We were assured nothing would happen

Before the Germans attacked

During the bombing, I lost my dear Ana

The city was rife with smoke as the invaders entered

After the Germans came, I received many more patients

I was on the turn of psychosis

Then they built the Ghetto

my hospital and home were just across the street

I could hear shots and crying day and night

Germans screaming and shrieks of horror from behind the brick wall

Once more I wished to help

One evening, a young boy came to my door

Bruise and bleeding, I tended to him

Young Jan had an armband and was covered in dirt

He must have come from the ghetto

I managed to find room for him

He was kind and timid, like so many others

Months pass, and more boys found a way out and came to me

I took pity on them and allowed them to stay

In the end, twelve boys from the ghetto were under my wing

Ana would have wanted me to do so

Germans would come to the hospital

Sometimes they would take shots at a patient

When they saw the boys, they presumed a labor force

By day, they worked with me

By night, we danced and sang, told stories

When they first came, they all needed food and a bath

The War had tolled their bodies and spirits

Back in April of '43, the Germans went into the Ghetto

I had heard of terrible things happening in there from the boys

The Jews fought back, with more courage than I ever had

After a month, the Krauts burnt down the whole area

It fell eerily silent, save for the few lucky enough to escape

My twelve boys grew to fifteen

I tried desperately to keep them safe

But one day, the Germans returned

They were searching for anyone who might have been aiding the Ghetto

After checking through my boys, they knew they were the hidden

I pleaded with them for the boys' safety

I needed them to keep the hospital going

I could not do it all on my own

We were all left alone while the Germans destroyed the Ghetto

These boys now had nothing left

We were all in the same boat, losing everything we had

All orphans of the war

Another year passed as more of the city was destroyed

All we could do was huddle together

Awaiting the Soviets from the east

In August, the entire city rose up

Yet the Soviets did nothing

The Germans crushed the resistance, then took out their anger everywhere

I feared for all the boys

Who would come to help us?

Finally, the Germans went door to door

Looting, killing, and burning everything in sight

I hid the boys throughout the hospital before the soldiers barged in

Eventually, they shot all my remaining patients and tracked down the boys

Once again I begged, but the soldiers only allowed me to keep one

The barbarity of the soldiers killed off the hopes I had for humanity

All fifteen cried in a line inside the hospital

I stood blank-faced and pale at gun point

I could not leave any of the boys to fend for themselves

In my angst, I sought to accompany the boys to wherever they were headed

As I write, I am surrounded by soldiers and my boys in my office

The whole city burns from my sill

This will be my last entry

Hopefully God will be kinder in the next world

May my family and dear Ana forgive me

Anton Katowa (1894 - 1944)

Jan (1935 - 1944) Josef (1932 - 1944) Jakub (1931 - 1944) Patryk (1933 - 1944)

Henryk (1934 - 1944) Mateusz (1938 - 1944) Franciszek (1934 - 1944) Piotr (1935 - 1944)

Stanislaw (1936 - 1944) Nikolai (1937 - 1944) Wiktor (1931 - 1944) Aleksander (1935 - 1944)

Stefan (1937 - 1944) Julian (1932 - 1944) Marian (1933 - 1944)

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