A Hidden Heart

“All the way to the end. All the way to the end. Everyone, stay close together. The water will disinfect all of you. Move! Move!” a guard at the door ordered. Then, the last group of those who made their way into the chamber reached capacity. Those unfortunate souls inside the dank room noticed that the walls were dilapidated and portions stained with what looked like russet watermarks. There were some scratches mid-way and high up on the walls, and small pieces of concrete were missing at eye level. Lights that were hung from the ceiling, along with industrial shower heads, were placed at intervals, and there was one vent at the center of the ceiling that allowed air inside. It remained open, and the prisoners inside breathed up to take in oxygen because of the closeness of the place and the excessive body heat of the other people. Slanted sunlight beams entered through the vent of the chamber and bathed some of the prisoners with warmth. There was scarcely any room to move. It was a carbon copy of the ride on the cattle car but seemingly more sadistic and frightful to all inside. Getzel was perplexed about the entire disinfection procedure, and he asked himself, “Why do we need to be disinfected, and why do all the people need to be together in the room in the structure?” Followed with, “Were the people who were directed to the right at the platform also to be disinfected?” He was bewildered to believe that people needed to be disinfected at all, as this was a practice reserved for animals. But because neither he nor anybody else was allowed to question aloud the policies and procedures at the camp, he cautiously and silently went along with what was asked of him. He did not question aloud again, lest he be beaten yet again by another soldier or an SS officer. As he and others were in line to remove their clothes, the guard at the entrance told them to halt. There was no more room, and he and the remaining people would have to wait for the initial group to complete the disinfection process. The guards did not close the heavy door until the remaining prisoners were walked away—far away—from the shower chamber. Then, when at a distance, an SS officer nodded at the guards who sealed the heavy door. Two guards wearing gas masks climbed to the roof. They carried two containers, roughly the equivalent of half a gallon each. They got to the vent, and the SS officer nodded at the guards at the door, who then turned off the lights inside. A few faint screams from the women were immediately heard inside, as the sudden blackout created a sentiment of terror in some of the prisoners inside the chamber. The guards on the roof opened the containers, dropped the contents inside, then sealed the vent. More screams were heard, including the pounding and scratching on the iron door. People inside shrieked in Hebrew and some in German. Other languages that permeated through the door were inaudible and indiscernible. The piercing screams continued from inside the gas chamber for a few minutes, along with nonstop coughing and other grotesque, inhuman moans and groans. After about twenty minutes, there was complete silence. Outside the structure, only the rustling leaves and the wind in the nearby trees swaying the branches back and forth were heard by the guards. Some guards lit cigarettes and trembled as they heard the screams inside. They inhaled their cigarettes deeply to calm their nerves, and the scent of burning tobacco masked the vile odor that slowly engulfed the camp coming from the near distance. Getzel and the other members of his group were walked by the armed guards to another location quite a distance away from the showers. They reached a grove of trees away from the structure and farther away from the factory that continued to spew a thick pillar of smoke. The people sat under the trees and finally rested their weary bodies. They were pleased they finally got the opportunity to sit down; others lay on the ground as they took brief naps. Some talked and conversed about what they saw and where they were. Some children played amid the trees while smaller children also took naps on the grass, as did the elderly. The gentle wind blew past again and swept the horrid scent away to allow quality air into their lungs. The green eaves in the trees conversed with one another, and the spears of woodland grass moved tremulously on the ground. One woman caressed and played with the grass and lay completely on the level Elysian bed, looking up at the grayish sky and the birds that flew overhead.