Uprising at Janowska.

As I sit atop the men's barracks, I can see the whole landscape around me. It looks
like a wasteland barren of anything good. I am surrounded on all sides by brick
walls, concrete, and barbed wire; the walls and buildings look saturated, giving
off no emotions. The cold wind whips around my hair relentlessly. I look over the
shop stands; just out of view, I see Janowska Street, made of old, rugged stones,
right behind the wall. I fantasize about the old times when I used to walk along
that street to school or visit my grandparents or run through the lush green fields
with tall grass when I was young. I push the thought right out of my mind; I can't
think of it anymore.

"Hey, Adam, what are you looking at?" asks Nathan. "Oh, hi Nathan, just looking at
the sun set." I say this while concealing my nostalgia."You know you shouldn't be
up here if they see you... ", "yeah, that's a good point, I don't want to be
transferred to the death barracks; once there, you never come back." We decide to
head back to our barracks so we don’t get into trouble. I sneak down the side of
the building with Nathan. We start to walk back to our bunks when an SS guard sees
us. The guard is wearing a tight uniform with no wrinkles. He had a black belt
around his waist, a hat with an eagle in it, and that disgusting Nazi swastika on a
red band around his left arm. He grabs me and Nathan by our scrawny arms and throws
us to the ground. "Get back to your bunks now, you kikes!" He shouts, his words as
sharp as a knife. As Nathan goes to get up, the officer hits him with a baton, and
he falls back down. He starts beating us both. With each blow, it feels like a
brick hitting me, harder and harder each time. I look around, and everything is in
slow motion. My vision started spinning, then my mind goes numb, and my vision goes
dark.

When I wake up, my head feels like it has been played with like a soccer ball. I
looked up; I was laying on the bottom bunk in a column of three. I look down;
Nathan is sitting at the bottom of the bed. He turned to me and said, "They almost
killed you." I feel bruises all over my body; when I look at Nathan, he has bruises
all over too, some looking like pools of purple forming under his skin. I decided
to get some rest for the night. We will have another long day tomorrow of burning
more dug-up corpses. It was a disgusting job and made me sick to think about it. I
roll around in my uncomfortable bed; it hurts as my rugged clothing rubs against my
bruised and scraped skin. For at least an hour, I cannot fall asleep; the pain is
just too much.

I wake up to the sound of the SS troops yelling, "Wake up! Time to get to work!" I
woke up and looked outside. It was dark, and the air was cold; the cold seeped into
my bed from the sky.I reluctantly get out of bed, shivering. I put on my shoes, and
I stand up. My back still stings from the strikes before; as the rough cloth hits
my scratches, it burns like a hot coal.

I spent the entire day dragging the limp, filthy bodies of my Jewish brothers and
sisters from a pile where the dig team had dumped them to a massive fire.The number
of people the Nazis had killed disgusted me. I could not even look at the fire; I
had to distract myself. I could not think about what the Nazis had done to so many
innocent people. They had not done anything but simply lived a peaceful life and
worshiped Jewish traditions. Then an SS officer yelled, "Lunch!" We all lined up,
and they handed us each a bowl of “soup.” (it was mainly a tasteless liquid with no
flavor and maybe 2 or 3 noodles) After around 20 minutes, they would force us to
get back to work, so I ate quickly. Then another SS officer said, "Lunch is over;
get back to work, NOW!" I feel a raindrop, and the sky fills with clouds that cover
the moon. I just ignored the light drizzle and went back to the pile and started
moving more bodies. The more I carried the dead bodies to the fire, the more
fatigued and frustrated I got. After about 13 hours of work, we were allowed to
return to our barracks. On the way back, for dinner, we were handed a single piece
of bread. I was so hungry that the piece of bread lasted maybe 10 seconds.

I fall asleep right as I get back to my bunk. I don't even think I was asleep for
more than an hour when Daniel jumped down from his bunk, two bunks above mine,
waking me up. I did not like the guy; he was off putting. He gave off a weird
persona. All of a sudden he says, "Guys, listen to me; there’s something important
I need to tell you." He said that to all of us in the two rows of bunks. We all
look at him, as attentive as a lion locked on prey. He says, quietly, "We have
plans to take over this jail but we need all of you to help. We will show no mercy;
just as the Nazis have not shown us any, we will kill every last one of those SS
troopers and commanders. When we do, we will be freed."

I hate the Nazis. They ripped me from my mom and killed my dad right in front of
me. They make us dig up and burn all the people who have done nothing to them. Then
they send us here to rot away doing labor that only helps them. I immediately raise
my hand and say, "I'll help!" "Thank you, Adam," says Daniel. Nathian looks at me,
shocked, and pulls me aside, saying, "What are you doing? Are you trying to get us
killed?" "No, look, we have had to burn bodies and dig hundreds, maybe thousands,
of bodies up. They are going to kill us all soon; I feel it. We have to escape,
even if we have to risk our lives to do it. Trust me, this is the only chance at
freedom we will get. "Well, I guess I know you're right, deep down," Nathian
sighs."I'll join too!" Soon, most of the barracks will have agreed, and a day later
we will put our plan into action.

We all met in the 2nd men's barracks late at night when most guards were sleeping
or guarding the walls. The day was November 19. We would attack soon. Daniel once
again stands up on the side of a bunk, his voice loud and confident. He says,
"Tonight is the night we have all been waiting for. On this night, we will be freed
from all the pain and suffering of this labor camp. No, now is not the time to back
down; if we don't escape, we’ll all die. You all have had to bury and dig up
bodies; you can see how many of us they have killed. The camp will be liquidated
soon. This is our only chance.” He paused and looked around. Our eyes focused on
him like hawks. "Now, here's the plan: find SS troopers that are asleep or dozing
off. We will take their guns and any other weapons they possess.Show them no mercy,
just as they have not shown us any… Now get out there, and let our liberation
begin!" We all rush outside in unison. Right as we come out the doors, we are met
with gunfire. I run over to an SS trooper that is not awake and go to grab his gun
that is sitting on a rock right next to him. As I start to pull it, the gun jolts
to a stop; the strap is around his arm. I panic as he wakes up and sees what is
happening. My heart goes from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds; my adrenaline
spikes, and I pull it as hard as I can. It slips from his arm, and I fall
backwards. He comes at me like an angry bull, charging. I don't think; I just do—I
pull the trigger, and with a dull thud he falls on top of me. I quickly and swiftly
roll out from under him and sling the gun over my shoulder. I run to the back side
of the jail. On the way, I'm shooting and slamming my buttstock into all the SS
that I deem a threat. I climb up the wall as fast as I can, cutting my hands on the
glass scattered all over the top of the wall. I see many doing the same, climbing
the walls, and making an escape. I jump over the top of the wall, landing on my
ankle and likely spraining it. I scream in pain, but I get up and run the best I
can, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I run and run until I pass out. Who
knows how far I got—maybe a mile or so.