One is the loneliest, number, one is the loneliest number, one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do
She was living through the separation of war. The hiding, the running, the whispers, the long trips in the middle of the night to avoid suspicion. It was cold; it was always cold.
Hungry. A little bit of bread, some cold meat, if it was a good day. Beans, maybe a cold potato. Her stomach had gotten used to the grumbling. She hardly noticed it anymore except when she tried to go to sleep, then it was like a gnawing inside that would not go away.
They still had each other…for now. But other families were not so lucky. The men always went first. They were taken by force, some never to be seen again. No reason, they were not guilty of anything other than being alive.
Being white.
Christian.
Jewish.
It didn’t matter.
They were taken.
So on they traveled, trying to get to a safe place. Was there such a haven? Would they make it in time?
But they did not make it, they were caught and sent to the worst place imaginable in those days…The Death Camps. Her first husband was sent to Auschwitz. Most never came back out of this horrific place. One of the most unspeakable concentration camps in Europe, thousands and thousands suffered horrible deaths there.
He never came home either.
Our friend and her family ended up in the camp at Novaky. She was one of the fortunate, she did make it out, (her parents did not), and she lived to tell about it.
And tell about it she did! She married the doctor from the concentration camp and they began a new life together in the U.S. She turned her loneliness into a triumph over the death that tried to take her, and fought back by telling her story and the story of millions of others.
One doesn’t have to be lonely forever.
(This is a true story. I was privileged to meet this gracious lady, Erika Mandler, before she passed away several years ago. A book and a play were both made of her life. Both of the pictures below were taken in 2012 when I was in Poland and visited Auschwitz and Berkinau Concentration Camps. May we never forget.)
Thank you for this story!
Hi Nannette! What a story! And I appreciated your explanation of the story in your response to Julie. What a change her story had made in your life. We really can inspire each other with our words.
Just like you do here, my good friend 🙂
Ceil
What is the book title?
Dear Candace Jo
Those truly were horrible times. It reminds me how thousands upon thousands of the Boer women and children were put in concentration camps in South Africa by the English during the Anglo-Boer wars where they died!
Luv XX
Mia
Her story was actually a book and a high school play! My son played her brother in the drama, it was one of the biggest things to happen to our small town when we were pastoring in Northern Missouri. Dignitaries from the U.S. Consulate and news crews from Kansas City were there, people flew in from all over the country and even OUT of the country to be there. It was a pretty big deal. I intend to do a “real” blog post about her, she was quite a lady. But there is so much to tell, it would be more justice to share her book. I will see if I can find it and post the link. Blessings for coming by and commenting! ♥
Wow! Powerful. I loved that it was a story turned into FMF.
“Two…can be as bad as one…” I hummed this the whole time!
Thank you for sharing her story, what a blessing to hear of how the Lord delivered her out of such horrific trouble.