Rhapsody Blues

5. Held Captive

About it:

Do you know about that dark time in history called the Holocaust? It was time when Adolf Hitler was tyrant in Nazi Germany. He had a plan to get rid of any group of people that didn't have: Blond hair and blue eyes. That was half the population that was going to be wiped out. Ironically, he, himself, wasn't a blond hair, blue eyed man. The main group he focused on to get rid of were the Jewish population. He thought of these people as not pure people and he wanted to create a pure population.

Now that you know piecemeals about the Holocaust, you might be wondering if there are any survivors. Well, there are survivors from the Holocaust. Some of the survivors have recently passed away due to old age, while others are also at a very old age. There are Nazi survivors too. Yet, they have changed their identities so they wouldn't be held in trial for their past. 

Have you ever read the novel, "Diary of A Young Girl: Anne Frank.?" It is about a girl named Anne Frank while she went into hiding with her family to protect themselves from the Nazi's. It is a time span of 2 years total that they are in hiding. They aren't alone in this scheme. They have friends and helpers. The helpers are responsible for giving them their necesities. On the other hand, the Van Dann and Mr. Dussel share their secret hiding spot with them. Their secret hiding was Anne Frank's father (Otto Frank's) business. In the attic of his business is an apartment like spot. 

If you haven't read "Diary of Anne Frank" yet, then you might be wondering, 'What are the personal stories of these survivors?' Well, I wrote a non-fiction based story about a boy named Royce Braun. He thinks back at his old life and thinks of the time when he was forced to agree to Hitler's ideas at German Youth Day. He, himself, was Jew but later was sworn in as one of Hitler's followers. Now, he thinks that he no longer considers himself as Hitler's followers because he thinks that his ideas will lead everyone down a road of destruction. 

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My name is Royce Braun and I am forty-four years old. There was one particular day that occurred thirty-eight years ago and changed the course of my future.

    I was six years old when German soldiers took us away from our homes because of our beliefs of being Jewish. With a gun barrel pressed to the back of my head, we were forced to walk to the train station where we were loaded onto a cargo train with other Jews. For weeks, we were provided with meager food and water by Nazi soldiers as we traveled farther away from home. At that time, I didn’t understand why we were forced to travel hundreds of miles from our homes. When we finally arrived at the concentration camps in Potsdam, Germany, the German soldiers prepared us to work there. The tyrant leader of these German soldiers who took us from our homes was Adolf Hitler. For about three months, we worked tiring and endless shifts at the concentration camp.

    A year later, Hitler visited our concentration camp. He called all the children who were ten years and younger to come forth. He ordered us to dress as German soldiers to salute to him during German Youth Day which was the following day. Saluting to him meant that we were willing to work under his rule. German soldiers handed my family a Storm Trooper uniform for me to wear. During the ceremony, I stood amongst a crowd of other young children as we took turns walking to the front of the audience and saluting to Hitler. When it was finally my turn, I trudged towards the front. The parents of these children were forced to watch as their children saluted to the him. Hitler stood before me as his rigid glare stared down at me. Behind me, German soldiers were lined up neatly; while some soldiers turned to watch the ceremony. My adrenaline rush and fear caused my hands to quake uncontrollably. The daunting expression cast upon Hitler’s face forced me to raise right hand in a Nazi salute. Eventually I earned a nod from him, meaning that I had fulfilled his orders.

    In a wink of an eye, three years flew by. Unfortunately, my mother and father had passed away due to the starvation and heat exhaustion from their working conditions. Few more years passed when the United States defeated Germany. My parents didn’t live to see this day occur. The following day Hitler ended his own life, knowing that he will have to endure brutal punishments for his past actions. We were free now; a sensation that I haven’t felt for years. Nobody knew what to do, now that we had no leader. As time passed, more and more people abandoned the concentration camp as they either returned home or immigrated to the U.S. to begin a new life. I was torn apart with the choices that needed to be determined. From the years that I’ve spent here, I fell in love with a girl named Elisa Morales and I didn’t want to abandon her. Together, Elisa and I made the decision together: We both agreed to immigrate to the US. When we reached the US, we found the other Jews whom had already established a Jewish community. As years passed, Elisa and I got married in that community.

    From the years that I’ve spent my life at concentration camp, I learned one valuable life lesson that I will never forget: No one can deny in your beliefs.