The Odyssey: Joseph’S Story

By Cheryl Freier

The book, The Odyssey, is the story about my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and my husbands older sister, Edith. They were taken from their home and put on a truck that was destined to the train station in Micholovce. The truck broke down, and the people were told that they would have to march to their destination, which was Auchwitz. The story tells of how Joseph plotted their escape. The story tells of how they escaped and how they hid in the caves of the Tatra Mountains. The story also tells of where they went in the mountains and who they met. The story is based on a true story. It is a unique and powerful story as well as captivating, intriguing, and interesting to read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546222583

Cheryl Freier

Cheryl Freier has lived in the Boston area for over 40 years. For many years, Cheryl taught young children in preschool; it is because of this great teaching experience that she grew to understand the importance of reading and children’s literature for young children. In the development of her illustrations, she has painstakingly tried to recreate images in a creative and appealing style of art for young children. She writes text for her storybooks in an exciting way, while she very deftly follows a Biblical theme or other theme that she knows the children have been familiar with and would like. She is excited over publishing two storybooks; the first is entitled, The Shepherd Boy And The Sheep Alphabet and the second storybook is entitled: Open The Gates In Jerusalem For The Queen Of Sheba. Both books are rich with flowing lines and bright, vivid colors. Both books are easy to read and the words and sentences flow from the beginning to the end of the book. Cheryl feels proud that she is enhancing her reach to the high level of literacy of the Boston area. She continues to seek themes of interest to young children.

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AuthorHouse™

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© 2018 Cheryl Freier. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/26/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2259-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2258-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017919494

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication Page

Author’s Preface

The Slovakian Resistance Movement

A Short Excerpt With Poems

Written by Martin Freier

The Beginning of the Odyssey:

The Nazis Come Again To Collect Jewish People

The Selection and Deportation

of People Begins Again

The Odyssey for Faith Continues

Thinking Thoughts About Escaping

On The Forced March

They Passed Scenery That

Depicted Peaceful, Settled Beauty and Calmness

The Winter Chill Adds to the Intrigue Happening with

Joseph and His Family

Joseph Freier’s Thoughts As He Is Determined to Escape

As They Walked Further to the East—The Road Was Much Easier to Travel On

Continuing Their Escape and The Journey across The Mountain

Traveling Where The Mountain Pass Descended

They Come To The Valley On Their Travels

The City In The Cloud Above Them

They Are Ready To Go Down To the Valley

Joseph Thinks About King Solomon and His Admiration

for Brotherly Love

Joseph and Anna and Edith See A Magnificent Goat on the Mountain Top

Joseph Thinks About Composing

A Poem About the Mountain

Joseph Decides to Write Another Poem

Joseph, Anna, and Edith Come

Across A Doglike Creature

Joseph, Anna, and Edith Walk Down to the Valley

With Hope in Their Hearts

Anna, Joseph, and Edith Came To The Valley And Viewed

The Valley For Its Beauty

Joseph Rethinks His Original Decision for the

Safety of His Family

Visions of Ephraim In Joseph’s Mind

Joseph Awoke From His Dream

Thoughts About Auschwitz

Joseph Awakes from His Dream

and Knows That He Is All Right

Joseph and the Wolf Find A Safe

Place To Stay for the Night

Joseph Remembers the Story

about Abraham in the Bible

Joseph Gets Ready To Go Back To The Cave

Joseph Returned To The Cave

A New Day Begins

Joseph Makes the Decision To Leave The Cave

Joseph Takes Control of the

Group As They Fear For Joshua

Joshua And The Group of Women and Men Were Heading

For A Cabin In The Woods

Joshua and Joseph Take Off To Explore the Area

Joseph and Joshua See A Beam Of Light Coming

From Behind The Boulders

The Wolf Was the Harbinger Of

What Was Going To Happen

Joshua and Joseph Realize That

There Is a Second Nazi Lurking

Joshua and Joseph Go Back To

The Women And The Men

The Animals Enjoyed Living in This Habitat

The Group Gets Ready To Eat A Meal By The Oasis

The Partisan Christian Tells His Story

The Man Who Was So Quiet

And Always Appeared Serene Tells His Story

Sometimes This Group of Partisans Was Lucky

Joshua and Joseph Take Off To Find Two More Wolves

A Young Woman Finds Help In the Valley

Joshua and Joseph’s Return Trip To The Oasis

Hope for the Young Woman’s Survival Springs Well in the

Heart of a Young Boy

The Young Woman Is Taken To A Nearby Farm

Discovering the Mystery: Who Is The Nazi Mole

The Farmer Catches His Son

Collaborating With Nazi Youth

The farmer’s Son Obeys His Father And Smashes the

Radio Receiver Into Pieces

The Imminent Clash Between The Good and the Bad

The Nazis Rest For A While Along The Way

The German Command Sets Up a Command Post

The Partisan Soldiers Attempt to Rejoin Their Group

There Is A Confrontation Brewing Between

The Different Forces

Joseph and Joshua Go Back To The Oasis

Joshua and Joseph and the Wolves Go Back at the Oasis

in the Woods in Micholovce

Joseph Was at Peace for He Knew In His Heart

That His Sons Were All right

Joseph Travels on Mountain Trails

Joseph Sees Visions of His Sons In His Dreams

Joshua and the Other People

Continue Their Walk to Safety

The Group Heads Back to Micholovce

The Group of People Walk Joseph

and His Family to His Home

Years Later In America When Martin Was Much Older

And When We First Met

Dedication Page

This book, The Odyssey: Joseph’s Story is dedicated to my husband, Martin Freier, who had faith in me as a writer and as an illustrator. The book is also dedicated to my two daughters, Pearl and Deborah, who encouraged me to continue to write the stories that their grandmother, Anna told them. There would, of course, be no story without my recognition to Joseph Freier, who unceasingly made every attempt to escape from the onslaught of the Nazis. He was responsible for saving his family and for saving many other people. Today, we have daughters and sons of the survivors, because of people like Joseph Freier and their vision and faith for a more peaceful time in the world.

It is fitting that this dedication should also recite some of the verses from Martin Freier’s poem, Wondering for we must all strive for the wondering and the wonder for a future of peace and stability in the world. We must all wonder about the age-old saying in the Bible, Do Onto Others As You Would Want Others To Do Onto You.

"Wondering why the sun in the sky makes each day a new day.

Why do the moon and the stars light up for the night?

…….. There is still no justice and liberty…………

I keep wondering if mankind will ever unite in a common cause that is right.

So that children can sleep at night.

Will there ever be an end to strife and the taking of innocent life?"

I wish to also thank my Publisher, Author House for this great accomplishment of the publishing of this novel, The Odyssey: Joseph’s Story.

I thank you all. Cheryl Freier, author/illustrator

Author’s Preface

This is the story of the Freier family’s incredible escape in war-torn Slovakia from a forced march to the Auschwitz extermination camp. This is the story of their incredible odyssey for survival during their escape from this forced march. This is Joseph Freier’s story of what happened to him, his wife, and his daughter, Edith, when they escaped; and this story expresses their dedication and solemn views to continue their faith in G-d.

Joseph knew that the family needed strong feelings of faith in order to survive. Faith was required to face the need for continuous resistance. The fight for survival was always against insurmountable odds—against forces of evil never before seen in history. Their odyssey took a journey through the mountains and forests of Slovakia, and into the realm of the unknown forests and fields of the heavens in the sky. Joseph at times paused to reminisce of times gone by; Joseph at times stretched his imaginative thoughts to reach out to G-d. G-d knew of his appeals and answered them. This is an epic story of resistance showing resilience and inner strength. This was needed to elude and evade the evil forces of the Nazis.

This is the story of Joseph in the woods and mountains of Slovakia carefully surveying the lands and its inhabitants. This is Joseph’s story about his odyssey through a jungle of fears and elation over his triumphs over the Nazis. This is Joseph’s journey to elude the Germans who had captured his town, cities that he had known, and the country that he was loyal to—his country Slovakia.

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The story begins with Joseph and his wife and daughter being captured by the Germans. Joseph, like so many innocent people in his country was captured and forced to go on a forced march with his wife, Anna, and his daughter, Edith.

The key question in this story becomes: Exactly what was the meaning behind this odyssey? The answer would be: His odyssey is a journey over many unknown and known pathways that led him towards a renewal of faith and belief in his G-d; his renewed faith provides him with the inner strength to survive the war. This journey would take him and his family through an odyssey through his country’s woods and mountains in the Tatra Mountains and as a result, the family was successful in eluding the Nazis and survived the war.

Slovakia was captured earlier than the other countries in Europe by the Nazis in World War II with the exception of Austria; thus, the people in this area of the world were subjected to a longer period of captivity and a longer period of time to endure, and a longer period of time to test the duration of their faith. Thus, those persons who survived had to be more resourceful, and had to have more faith in themselves, and in their G-d in order for them to survive.

The world has never before seen a period in history and hopefully will never see again a time of horrific brutality of men against innocent people. What happened was a virtual defiance of G-d, and a defiance of all good achievements that was established for people; it was a defiance of good intentions throughout the world. Madness prevailed as it became dangerous for many people to live in their countries. The Jewish people and other innocent people who showed opposition and defiance were hunted and killed in Nazi Slovakia. Those people who showed defiance to the Nazi regime were hunted and killed. It was a tragic time to live in history. There was no sense of ‘normalcy’ and diplomacy throughout the world. Beasts had literally taken over the governing of the world.

The year 1943 was marked as a year with sharpened and heightened strife and more killing of innocent people and soldiers dying in the fighting in the fierce battles. This was an indication to the world that the conflict in Europe with the Nazi occupation of several of the countries of Europe were embroiled in a conflict that had to be solved as soon as possible for it had been raging for at least five years. Hitler had virtually destroyed the hard-won peace of the First World War. His armies were occupying most of the countries of Europe. Peace and prosperity were virtually non-existent. It was a war of extreme and extended conflict that would to be recorded in history as extreme encounters, the struggles of which had never before happened in all of the history of the world. There was no doubt about it—history in its making revealed violence of one army against another.

Many people who escaped from the Nazis had to travel an odyssey—long and dangerous, arduous mountain trails and tirelessly trek through thick, wooden areas with unkempt, which were fraught with dangers—Nazis, looters, wild animals: bears, tigers, lions, wild boars, untamed wolves, wild dogs, robbers, deserters, and many more dangers, unfortuntely. They were caught in the throes of a labyrinth of danger, and fearful situations, and often depended upon the goodness of local people who would help them—for lodging in barns and for foods; they were, however, resolved to feel stronger with renewed faith. They were resolved that they had to travel this odyssey in order to survive; they were resolved to live.

Although not a character in this novel, my husband, Martin Freier, as a young boy of 10 years of age traveled this sphere of the unknown; many times the unreal in this odyssey of time and faith became the reality. Through his odyssey of faith and resilience, Martin was to become a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust and this was indelibly printed in his mind and in the fibers of his feeling.

This novel is the story of my father-in-law’s, my mother-in-law’s, and sister-in-law’s journey, their odyssey to freedom from the Nazis; they were trapped and traveled in this time zone of terror. In the space of the war years, their task was to constantly be on an odyssey to survive.

This is the story of the time when my father-in-law, Joseph and his wife, Anna, and their eldest child, Edith were forcibly taken from their home, put into a van, and were being taken to a transportation depot when the van broke down, and the captives were forced to endure a long march through towns and through mountain paths.

The Freier’s were able to escape from the march and endured a journey in time and in space with other escapees and people that they met along the way; most notably, the character, Joshua. They lived in the mountains and their odyssey for living was enhanced with the friendship of people that they met on the mountain paths. In this book you will be able to travel on the journey with Joseph Freier on his Odyssey for survival, and his odyssey for renewal of personal faith, and on his odyssey: his quest for peace.

Throughout the years that I was married to Martin Freier, I listened as my mother-in-law, Anna, told me the story about her travails during her escape from the Nazis in Slovakia in WWII. Her memory was keen. She remembered it all. Surviving the hostilities as a Jew was difficult as early as the war began.

As the war raged, survival for a Jew became that much harder. There was more fear. Even though there were times when the fighting let up and the Germans did not appear to be in Micholovce, or in the surrounding mountains, or in the adjourning woodlands, there was always the feeling of oppressiveness—of being caught in the throes of a deadly evil force.

This is the seventh novel that I have written about the family’s journey to freedom—my husband, Martin Freier’s story when he was a young boy in Nazi Slovakia. The novels tell the story of the family’s many escapes from the Nazis during the occupation in Slovakia. All of the stories are about their odyssey—a journey towards freedom.

The Slovakian Resistance Movement

Formed to counter the severe forces of the Nazis, the partisan forces by the year 1943 had grown to very large numbers. The number of partisans grew despite the Nazi’s attempt to kill off these insurgents. Partisan leaders had recognized that espionage by the partisans was an effective ways of defeating the Nazis and knowing that there were forces that were active in fighting the Nazis boosted the morale of all of those people who constantly had to escape from the deadly throes of the relentless Nazis scourge.

By 1943, the partisans were highly successful in their war strategies. The Yugoslavian partisans, in particular, became quite adept at guerilla warfare and hindered the German army’s ability to go forward with the winning of the war greatly. Fighting between the Yugoslavian partisans and the Germans were so fierce at times. The Yugoslav partisans lost the largest number of men in their battles against the Nazis.

A Short Excerpt With Poems

Written by Martin Freier

Before going into the story of what happened to the Freier family on this odyssey, I wish to present some of the exceptionally well-written poetry that my husband wrote. Martin was a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. This is some of his poetry:

Someone Is Watching

Miles from shore I felt lost in a stormy sea all alone without a friend.

I contemplated my untimely end.

I saw nothing but hungry sharks circling all around me.

The stormy clouds in the sky gave me no shelter.

I found no peace in slumber,

For I always woke up with empty dreams.

I felt surrounded by all my fears.

In all this chaos and despair I remember that someone

Out there is watching his creation with great care.

Suddenly, I felt his presence.

He was there to hear and to accept my prayer.

Through the thickest clouds the sun suddenly appeared.

The wind drove away the clouds and all the things I feared.

As I reached to shore once more,

I found my way and a new day.

Mother At Eighty-Eight

Though she’s lost some of her zest,

For me she is still the best.

My mother’s smile at eighty-eight still lifts my spirit and faith.

Gone from her face and brow is that former glow.

Yet, it feels so good for me to know that this great lady is still there

And on her lips there is still a prayer.

Whether she is happy or blue,

Her love is so true.

Beneath her smile she hides her pain.

Even on the days of rain, she sheds no tears for all those suffering bitter years Of suffering and travail.

Her lost loved ones she remembers in great detail.

They’ve been long gone, murdered by the SS—leaving no embers.

Their burned ashes are scattered somewhere,

Who knows where?

It is so unfair we all declare,

Though some wish to deny young and old, mother, brother, sister, and child were dragged out

In the middle of the night,

By those ready to commit murder.

They were never given a chance to fight for what’s right.

Nothing left of their remains,

Not even a trace.

What a disgrace for the whole human race!

But for her their memory will always live on.

Kristallnacht

On a night in November in the middle of the night the sound of glass hit the pavement,

Shattering it into pieces.

Kill the Jews, they cried as they broke the glass.

Above the echoes of the noise,

Shrill greetings were heard of Heil Hitler everywhere,

As innocent people died.

That horrible night many dreams were shattered into little pieces.

That year an early winter followed November.

Suddenly, the world became much colder.

Over the years that followed that night in November

Was all but forgotten.

Only the wind carefully carried the pieces of glass

To each corner of the earth.

On each piece of glass was a message from an innocent soul.

The message was clear,

As clear as the morning light that follows the moonlit night.

Stop this hate, it said.

before it’s too late.

Though many have died,

No one paid heed to the message carried by the wind.

Somewhere in the mountains covered with snow,

Where no flowers grow,

The message was buried and got lost.

No one knows at what cost.

So many years later and lots of rain failed to wash away the tears

And so much pain of shattered pieces of glass

And many innocent dreams.

The book: The Odyssey: Joseph’s Story: Hidden Truth Poems begins:

The Beginning of the Odyssey:

The Nazis Come Again To Collect Jewish People

The inevitable would happen in this war—it was as clear as the morning day arrived with the setting of the sun. At times the fighting was at different locations and at unexpected locations, and for a while there were no forced collections of people, the war was raging with a fierce force, nevertheless; the situation was precarious—at any time if the Germans changed their mind, the Germans could begin the collection and transportation of the Jewish people and the other victims of the war.

The Nazis had been convinced to stop the forceful collection of Jews for a while, by outside forces, but ultimately, they had plans to exterminate the entire Jewish population. People, however, began to think that the reprieve of collections would go on indefinitely and they were wrong. People had stopped hiding and had begun to walk outside their homes again. At the very least, most everyone had thought that this temporary reprieve would last until the end of the war. They were very wrong in their thinking. They were mistaken and grossly underestimated the sick hate of the Nazis. And they paid dearly for their naïve thinking.

After the assassination of Heyrich in May of 1942, the Nazi leaders again renewed their efforts changed their plans and wanted to deal harshly with the Jews, and Partisans, and the insurgents. The Nazis dealt a tough hand. They meant to show that they were the superiors. They dealt with all opposition with a vengeance that ultimately meant succumbing to them.

It took the Nazis a while to plan their complex actions against the Jews and any insurgents, but they resumed their collection of Jews and others whom they considered as insurgents by the end of the year and then into the next year, 1943. They were coming to Micholovce; the Nazis were coming to the surrounding towns too in Slovakia, particularly, to the towns which bordered Poland and Russia as well. There was no doubt about it that before the war would end that the war would get worse and fierce for a victory. Soldiers were never seen again. People disappeared on a daily basis. No one ever came back when the Nazis put them on trains with the destinations to the extermination camps.

Many partisan soldiers were killed while fighting the war. Anyone who survived the Nazi’s prejudice and onslaught thought day and night about survival and worked seriously on surviving this horrible war. Some people were luckier than others. Most people, however, made their own luck. They survived by thinking constantly about how to survive. Other people were not lucky, and they were caught by the Nazis. They became the unfortunate statistics, and perished. Most of who perished left no markers. They left no descendants. They never got a chance to develop their capacities to become someone amongst their people. They could have made a significant accomplishment for the world, and so many who were innocently killed were very brilliant people. The complexities of the war were stark.

The Selection and Deportation

of People Begins Again

On one November day, the day began like any other day, but everyone knew that it was not a normal day. One could clearly see the cloud of dust, a funnel of dust moving forward and moving closer and closer to the town of Micholovce. It was not a phenomenon from nature. It was a manmade instrument used for hate. The dust funneled into the air as a tornado sweeping away anything in its pathway. The earth soon gave way to a rumble and tumble in a thunderous vibration of shocking sound waves as metal trucks, and jeeps with large rubber tires, and tanks that pointed their nozzles high above the ground made their way into the pristine, pure town with mellow people of Micholovce.

From a distance, the soldiers on the ground looked like they were points of toxic pimples moving closer and closer to the established, steadily mounted edifices of businesses, of established culture and advanced, civilized civilization. The wheels of their motorized cars churned round and round until the rubber no longer was its native color of black. The mud had oozed around the tires and had slowed down their pace, but the relentless drivers of the iron hunks of motorcycles, and automobiles, and trucks, and jeeps cracked the whip, and the horse power in the engines heated and ran miles in an anxious heat.

This was not a race to get to the finish line to win an acceptable prize by any means. The onlookers certainly did not cheer on the participant racers. The onlookers grimaced in anxious fear of their lives and they were right to have this fear, as they knew that the monsters had come to choose them for selection.

The jeeps’ tires screeched, pressed into, and clutched the scrambling and crying earth as their drivers stepped hard on their brakes around steep turns in the unpaved, dirt roads. Everyone could easily determine that the jeeps were going to stop near their homes by the sounds of the screeching, screaming brakes, the rattling of the bodies of the trucks, and the loud sounds of the car’s motors gasping and belching loud sounds for relief from the stress of the constant acceleration and deceleration of the gas pedals, and brakes, and clutches.

As the jostling jeeps stopped and gawking eyes of the drivers aimed their eyes like shotguns on the doors of the houses, the doors to the jeeps swung open with a loud grunt and slammed shut tight with a loud, resounding sound.

Out walked the bi-polar robots of Hell with destructive intentions towards the innocent and frail earth. They walked in complete synchrony to the rhythm and beat of the staccato melody of destruction. Their skulls bore the brains, which were similar to the tiny-sized extinct rex dinosaurs, and their reflexes were the same as the extinct dinosaurs—stark, raving, mad, and quick, as they darted out relentlessly for the tragic killings. Kill. Kill, and kill, and then kill again, were the thoughts on their minds. That was the maximum extent that their robotic brains were capable of thinking.

The robotic Nazi monolith dinosaurs pounded on the framed, arched, skillfully designed and crafted doors of the houses. Knocking and knocking—each knock louder and louder than the other and then a rumble of steady knocks, and the door gave in, and broke down its very natural wood defenses. The Nazis forced themselves into the homes of the people, while most of the people stood shivering with fear.

Their commander yelled with a high-witch-like cackling sounding voice, Collect all of the Jews. Hurry. Hurry. Make it quick, was the thought on the monolith’s mind and these were the words of the commander. Their minds associated the collection of Jews with the winning of the war. The robots then hustled the people quickly into their monolith trucks and jeeps as if every moment of delay cost them something. The trucks sped off quickly from the town, exiting like robbers and thieves in the night in a quick hurry to get away. Dust collected and covered the fronts of the houses immediately in an ominous sign that something very bad had happened to the people who lived in these homes, obscuring the visions of the houses—obscuring the reality that these houses actually existed, obscuring the realities that people lived their lives peacefully in these homes. The homes no longer were part of the time zone; they were suspended in an in-between time zone. No one would know that people lived, and worked nearby, and enjoyed living in these houses.

The robots destroyed so much of the existence of these innocent people. Unless, these captured people were able to resist, and escape, and come back to their homes and begin planning their lives all over again, the houses would remain covered by dust and would become oblivious to ordinary people, and would decay, and would crumble with time. Archeologists would centuries later uncover the remains of the houses and their once vibrant colorful people—it would be said.

Sadness and fears emanated on the expressions of these people’s faces and most of the people were stymied by the events. They were stilled—could not be moved because of the shock. Gone was their past, the living in the present, and the thoughts and hopes for the future. Gone was to be their passion for living. They were going to die unless some miracle unbeknown to them stopped the usurpers from carrying out their robotic mission. Maybe the partisans would rescue them. Maybe the Americans would come and end the war, and they would be rescued. Maybe the Russians would fight the Nazis fiercely and liberate the innocent victims. They were longing for life, but caught in a quagmire of time and hate.

This was the stark reality of the situation—unless they could take the chance to escape from the Nazis. Then their lives would be in their own hands. The Freier family chose to think about escaping. They worked on many plans. They were ready to escape. They would not allow themselves to go like sheep to the slaughter. Joseph was their leader. Joseph thought many times to himself, I need the help of the Lord, and he prayed for the Lord to give him direction. There were times, he confided to his wife, Anna, that I see the Lord in my dreams. He would say, I hear the saying to me, Here I am. Do not despair, and he always felt reassured of the Lord’s existence.

For this time they had several plans in their minds for escaping, but the Nazis came sooner than they expected, and they knew that they would have to chance it in the van. There were only three of them in the house. The boys were already taken in the night to a famer’s barn that was located in a small town and located about three towns away. Joseph took comfort in his mind that the boys would be safe. Now, he thought to himself, the task is to save my wife and daughter and to save myself.

Joseph glanced through the lace curtains that were hanging very neatly from the curtain rods that he had hammered into the wood molding that encased the thick glass windows of the house over 20 years before. He looked down the street, and he spotted a jeep that was stopped in front of one of the homes that was three to four houses down from his home.

He knew that it was only a matter of time before the Nazi’s truck would be stopped in the front of his own home. He held his breath as he closed the curtain. He just did not wish to look any more. They the Germans were coming. They were coming. They were coming, he noted to himself, and then he noted that they were just two doors down the street. He knew to call Anna, and Edith, and he thought and hoped that maybe if they voluntarily walked outside the house that maybe, just maybe the German soldiers would not be as rough with them. He muttered the words, maybe to himself while his lips slipped at least two inches to the left and his face had the strong appearance of a smirk.

In what seemed like the very next minute, there was a loud knocking on the door. The tapping noise on the outside of the door was a distinct noise of its own—it was like demon snakes capable of knocking continuously on a door. Joseph cringed and moved backwards from the thought of the sound. He did not wish to face the reality. The noise almost had a most distinct voice of its own, saying I am going to capture you". Joseph’s mind started to bring him thoughts about what he had heard about Masada, but he knew that any thoughts of giving up the fight to survive would only make the situation worse.

The noise brought him back though into the thoughts of reality. He knew that he had to answer the door, otherwise the worst would happen, and he did not wish to confront a worse situation like the braking down of the door. He walked forward from the inside of the house hallway, and the pounding got louder and louder from the outside. He had to tug and tug at the handle, because the wood of the door was sticking to the frame of the door, as though crying out, do not enter this house of peace. He could not help but notice that the lock was just about ready to give way.

He called out loudly, I am coming. I am coming. He felt as though it was as though the door had fears of its own and was trying to hold back the residents of the house from going into