| Len's cousin
Another border incident
And there was something else I was going to tell you. Oh, and another thing happened, also, talking about border guards. That was after the war. We were sending out people from Poland to Germany, Jews, as German Jews. As German Jews. Most of the time we used to tell them, “Remember, you don’t understand Polish.” You see, the same thing as we told the guy where we were going, “You don’t act Polish. You're a German Jew, and you are going home.”
And we came on the border, and somehow, it was some kind of a mixup on the border. And they got caught, you know, and they wouldn’t let them go through. Either the guard changed or something. I really don’t know what happened. But anyway, they got caught. But it must have... Likely that is what happened.
So they got arrested. And a guard comes in, a border guard, and goes straight to my father, and says in Polish, “Mr. Berliner, how are you? How did you survive the war.” And he spoke to him in Polish.
And my father looked at him, like dumb, you know, that he doesn’t understand what he says. And he says again, he says [thinks?], maybe he’s not hearing or something, you know, and he went and shook my father’s hand.
And my father still plays dumb. And he started to laugh. He says, “Come on, what do you think? That we don’t know that you are Polish Jews. You think you are fooling us or something? We just look the other way. We know that you are Polish Jews. But as far as you are concerned, don’t you remember me?”
You see, he was a border guard. He worked on the border police. And he had to do with my father [that is, he had done business with him] all the time. His name was Bloch. I remember, you know. “So,” he says, “I am Bloch. I know [several words inaudible] not to say. We know all about it. Don’t worry. And don’t worry about your detention.”
Len: I’m sure the reason they were looking the other way is because they were bribed, too.
Mannes: Oh, naturally, they were bribed. But the Polish government unofficially, actually, wanted us to leave, because they knew there would be future trouble. They didn’t want us, that’s all.
But that border guard, you know, anyway, they embraced my father, and asked him who was left and everything. And he told him about some people that he knew that went through. But the other guard that he didn’t want to say anything in front of the other guard, you see. And he told him also not to go about the detention, because as soon as they go out of the building, they are free. [laughs] It was all bought, you know. |
