Page 122 of Villa of Secrets

We arrived at Piraeus, the port of Athens seven days later. Lorries waited at the quayside. After ten days in the dark, the light was blinding. We were filthy, foul-smelling, and desperate for water. I felt sorry for the mothers, unable to console their weeping children. You could see their hearts breaking.

They separated men from women, loaded us into trucks and transported us to the camp of Haidari. We were forced to sit in the middle of a field, surrounded by armed soldiers. There I found Papa, Uncle Levi, and my brothers, their faces and necks blistered and peeling to the flesh, but being united after such an ordeal lifted our spirits. Grandpa was missing. We guessed he was a casualty of the ship.

We prayed for him.

From the field, we saw the trucks full of women and girls entering the barracks. Papa worried about Mama and about Grandma. Mama’s legs had swollen after standing for so long. Naively, I hoped there’d be a doctor in the barracks.

We stayed in that field for three days, until finally we were reunited with the women and children.

Dearest Dora, I’m tired of this misery. I want to tell you my good news. I am living with an Italian nurse who looks after me very well. I am in love. Her name is Lucia, and one day I intend to marry her. She’s beautiful and kind, but bossy. She tells me to stop now. It’s time to eat and sleep. I’ll write again in a few days.

All my love, dear sister, from your brother,

Jacob, XXX

Naomi realised Jacob would be her great-uncle. So, Dora had written to him in Italy. She wondered what had become of him as she unfolded the next letter.

14th June, 1947

My Dearest Pandora,

I hope you received my previous correspondence, which told of our journey to the prison camp at Haidari, outside Piraeus. They gave us bean soup, which was sour with maggots in it, but being so hungry and thirsty, we all got some down.

We had to strip completely to be searched. The women too. Their shame at being naked in front of children and other men was heartbreaking. The soldiers were brutal to the young girls, prodding and taunting them, and we all thanked God that you and Evangelisa were spared that humiliation.

When the guards had finished degrading us, we were crammed onto lorries and transported to Athens, then packed into cattle trains, over seventy to a wagon. They sealed the doors. Moving was impossible. Ventilation consisted of a small window in the roof that didn’t let in enough air for everyone. We almost suffocated in the heat.

The wagons remained locked for fourteen days while we travelled over land. We had nothing but a drum of rancid, undrinkable water and dry bread. At one stop, they gave us a few onions and a handful of raisins to share. We cried for people to give us water, but our guards threatened anyone who went near them. There was so much suffering!

We crossed Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and headed towards Austria. When we entered Czechoslovakia, the local people recognised our distress. When we stopped, people brought us fruit, bread, and sweets, but the Germans confiscated everything. Exhausted, we lay on top of each other in the filth of the wagons that had been our prison for the previous two weeks.

The children and babies didn’t even have the strength left to cry.

We arrived at Auschwitz on the 16th of August 1944, but that was not the end of our journey.

It is, however, the end of my story, Dora. Separated from the others, I never saw any of them again. We made a pact that should any of us survive, for we accepted that most of us would probably not, we would write to you.

I still hope so badly, Dora, that I am afraid to ask.

Did anyone else contact you?

Although I didn’t see any of our family again, I believe that, like me, they thought about you and Evangelisa every day. You gave us light in our darkest hours, and hope for the future.

Please write back and answer the question that has haunted me for so long. Did you hear from Mama? I miss her more than anyone. I dream about her, and I’m afraid for her.

You are in my heart, Dora. My darling Lucia’s very pleased with my progress. I’ve gained a little weight since hearing from you, and I am all the better for it.

All my love, my dearest sister,

Jacob, XX

Naomi carefully flicked through the diary, and wondered what had happened to the rest of the correspondence? Perhaps the priest still had the letters.

16 October 1947

Dear Diary, I am so excited! Jacob is coming home. I received a telegram at noon, which he had sent on his way to the port this morning. Right at this moment, he is on the ship sailing from Athens. I’m thrilled but also terribly sad; my family should be with him, but they’re not. I recall Jacob’s words: they’ve gone to God.

17 October 1947