Gertruda's Oath: A Child, a Promise, and a Heroic Escape During World War II by Ram Oren Page B

preparations to greet the invaders.
    The Polish army, much smaller than the force of the attacker, fought bravely and inflicted losses on the Germans. Tens of thousands of invaders were killed, almost three hundred planes were brought down, and about 240 tanks were destroyed. It was a hard blow for the German army, but not hard enough to make it retreat. In fact, the Poles had no chance from the very first shot. The Germans conquered one village after another, one town after another, and killed civilians mercilessly.
    The German army invasion of Poland stunned the whole world. Even though the Germans were still far from the capital city of Warsaw, the thunder of cannons was already echoing in the city day and night. Agitated people gathered in the streets. The central railroad station teemed with scared families who had snatched up all their valuables, left their homes, and tried in vain to board a train to take them out of the country. Trucks and private cars filled with refugees flooded the roads leading out of Warsaw.
    Lydia Stolowitzky walked around her house confused and helpless. Her husband’s absence only increased her despair. For the last two days she hadn’t heard a word from him, and that wasn’t like him. When he traveled, he always made sure to send her telegrams or call every day and report on where he was and tell her exactly when he would be coming home. This time he hadn’t. She had no idea where he was in Paris or what his phone number was. She tried to call her parents in Krakow, but the lines were disconnected.
    Dejected and desperate, Lydia understood that she couldn’t stay in Warsaw for long, that she had to flee to safety. But she couldn’t imagine how. Only now did she realize that she had never had to make a truly fateful decision. In her pampered life with Jacob Stolowitzky, the only decisions she had made were what to serve for dinner or which artist to invite for a private appearance in herhome. Now she herself would have to decide her fate and the fate of her son, and that burden was already unbearable.

8.
     
    The news of the invasion of Poland couldn’t have come at a worse time for Jacob Stolowitzky. Just when he had to be home, to support his wife and son and find a way to get the family to safety, he was far away from them, helpless, unable to save them.
    At first he thought of hurrying to Warsaw before the Germans got there and moving his family to a safe place. He had enough money to guarantee that that would be done in the best way. He called his travel agent, hoping to find a way to get home, but was met with rejection. All trains and buses to Warsaw were canceled until further notice. Again Stolowitzky wanted to call home, but couldn’t. Surprisingly, the operator asked him: “Haven’t you heard of the war, sir?”
    Not knowing what to do, he took a cab to the Polish embassy, where pandemonium reigned. Officials ran around panicky in the corridors, pleading with the operators to get them an urgent line and paid no attention whatsoever to him. He made his way to the ambassador’s office. They were old friends and whenever the millionaire from Warsaw was in Paris, they had dinner together at an expensive restaurant.
    “Help me get back home,” Stolowitzky asked the ambassador, even before he said hello.
    The ambassador gave him a wan smile and said: “Forget it. There’s no chance you’ll get there. The Germans are advancing rapidly. They’ll soon be in Warsaw.”
    “But … my wife and child … I can’t leave them there alone.”
    “Unfortunately, I can’t help you.”
    A new idea suddenly popped up in Stolowitzky’s mind. “I could hire a driver and get to Warsaw with him,” he said. “Maybe it’s not too late.”
    “You’re endangering your own life,” the ambassador warned him. “The Germans would arrest you at the border and you probably wouldn’t get out alive.”
    Jacob Stolowitzky believed the ambassador was right. His life would indeed be in