Amid The Ruins

Part Three: The Ride

Once on the platform Irina was pulled onto the other side of the platform, on a train to Essen. Claudia, Hanna, and I were set for Berlin. "Irina!" Hanna and Irina stopped nothing trying to get to each other, but then the trains arrived. The one heading to Essen arrived a hour later, and Irina was put on that train with many other orphans. Hanna tried to get to the train, but the crowd was to much, and she was constantly redirected to the other side of the platform. Once the train left, Hanna sat down on a bench, and sobbed. Claudia sat next to Hanna and reassured her that we would get in contact with Irina soon enough. We both knew we probably wouldn't.

    The three of us sat on the bench, shivering from the cold until the train to Berlin arrived. The sun now was starting to set, and the train still hadn't arrived. It was probably around 7:35 when it did. I stood up, clutching the sides of my coat, walking up to the edge of the platform. Claudia had to convince Irina to get up, and get her to the train. When we got on, I nearly expected it to be a lavish train car, but it was war and it would be reserved for Officers, and soldiers, but no- It almost looked like a cattle car. We had to ride in this..? I pulled myself up, into the box car. It was a empty brown space, with a small window in the side. I huddled myself fin the corner, but when more, and more orphans got on, everything was worse. Everyone was crammed in together, and had barely any room to sit. Most everyone was standing just for the slightest room. I remained in the corner, loosing track of Claudia and Hanna. More orphans seemed to be entering the train car, but then I saw Frau Kleist. Frau Kleist was riding in this too...?

      My confusion was to the point where I couldn't think. The box car door was shut, and seemed to be latched. It was loud in the train car when we started moving, everyone talking and confused but most were quite like me. I then saw Claudia. She grasped Hanna's arm, pulling her over into the corner next to me. We stood next to each other trying to grasp the situation. Frau Kleist then tried to get everyone's attention. I felt like everything was happening at once.
"We are going to Berlin."

   Almost everyone knew our destination, but my stomach dropped. Why were we being taken to Berlin? Frau Kleist moved into a corner across from us and stood there, looking slightly shocked herself. I left the corner of the box car, trying to get through the crowd of children. Once I reached Frau Kleist I looked at her a moment before speaking. "Why are we going to Berlin?" I asked loudly, over the pound of all the children in the car talking. "We are going to work in a ammunitions factory." 

   I slightly nodded. I acted as if I were calm, but I wasn't and it was chaos in this box car. I moved over to Claudia and Hanna again, pushing through the crowd. Once I reached the two, I spoke. "We're going to a ammunition's factory to work." Their eyes seemed to widen at my words. I pulled myself up trying to see outside the tiny window of the box car. I looked at the sunset, taking it in. It reminded me of Poland. I had almost all my good memories there, but no memory of family. It made my stomach drop to think I had been taken from my country since I was little and out in a orphanage and no one knew. Was I in no one's good memories..? Was I....forgotten?

   That thought ate away at me, but I knew that I had to have relatives somewhere. There was someone out there who knew I existed.
                It was probably about an hour before I looked around again, at the crowded box car, full of other children. Hanna and Claudia leaned against the wall and seemed to be...asleep? I made no attempt to sleep through the train ride. I just looked out the small window, pretty much lost in thought. I thought of the future, what would happen when we got off the train, my past, and anything else to distract me from the chaos of the situation. Then sunset finally disappeared, and it was now nighttime. I moved back into the corner of the box car. I felt my eyes getting heavy, and I closed my eyes.

||

  ||January 21st, 1945|| I felt the box car jerk, and my eyes shot open. The train had stopped. Those who had been asleep were now awake, and everyone stood up. Claudia and Hanna were up too, and they stood next to me. Everyone waited in silence with a few whispers before the box car door was pulled open.  

                                                       We marched to the factory where we would work, boy and girls were split up.

Once we entered the factory we were told how to work, and we were under surveillance almost at all times. Almost. The supervisor that was supposed to watch us usually left for a few minutes each day.  The job wasn't easy, and my job was to cool the bombs once they were packed with ammunition so they wouldn't explode. One spark, and the whole building was gone, and everyone in the room would be killed. Claudia filled the bombs with ammunition, and Hanna helped her carry it to the cooling station. Not to mention the building was cold. The cold floors and walls were no help, and whenever we had to sleep night was even colder.

   Frau Kleist had other jobs but some were helping us in the factory. When we worked I met another girl that wasn't from the orphanage. She was Polish. Polish, like me. Her name was Kalina, and she too was sixteen. I spoke Polish from everyone in the orphanage but barely. Polish wasn't a language to be spoken. We were all to speak German and my Polish wasn't that good, and I stuttered but at least I knew it.

Months passed, and we were still working in the factory. I was sure it was around March, or April. I wanted to know the date. We were clueless of the time or date, and didn't know how long we had been working.