He's the only one left to call

Leo 

© David Greenfield 2016

in the hand-held photo, Joe and Leo - 1945

He is the only one left; my remaining witness. I call him every year on the 5th of May. At ninety Leo can recall a distant May 5th like it was yesterday.  Mainly he remembers the guys with him. I used to call them all,  but now Leo is the only one left to call. He’s the only one left, the only one who can remember.

Allies were advancing, closing in from east and west. Units of Germany’s once invincible army were in retreat, moving closer to the heartland. Three thousand of their surviving prisoners - camp inmates and forced laborers - had to be dragged along; there could be no ’evidence’ left behind. Although broken in body and spirit, each was a witness to unspeakable crimes. But now with the perpetrators trapped in a pincer and no way out, the ’evidence’ had to be eliminated. Elimination operations in wartime should not be confused with release from a jury pool and a pass to go home. Elimination meant liquidation, you go to your eternal home. 

Eighteen prisoners were selected to ‘clean up’ after the operation - Leo, my father Joe, and sixteen other young men. Selection in those times was not a reprieve. They knew after ‘clean up’, their crew  would soon join the ranks of the three thousand. But it didn’t turn out that way as all prisoners saw the sun the next morning. At dawn on May 5th 1945, US 11th Armored Division tanks reached the camp perimeter and rammed the gates. Guards scattered - it was Liberation.

In the ensuing years after that eleventh hour rescue, my father adopted the 5th of May as his second birthday. No matter where I happened to be, no matter what, I always called him in celebration of what he considered his ‘rebirth’. I also called his remaining 5th of May buddies, Leo, Hymie, Freidel, and my favorite uncle Mendush.

Leo remembers like it was yesterday. He continues to tell the story, reminding us of what happened, and what is still happening.

He’s the only one left for me to call. 

Joe and Leo working for the American Occupation Army a few months after Liberation

Austria, 1945

Visit my web site anytime to view Galleries, Photo-essays, and read previous blog-posts.