Dorothy Kraus Memoir - We Leave Antwerp

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Dorothy Kraus Memoir

We Leave Antwerp
Mother made a quick decision: to go back home by the same route we had come, through Brest-Litovsk. But she heard that civilians were no longer permitted to go that way: these trains were reserved for military use only. So mother got a ticket to the city of Kobryn, where father's mother and her two youngest children lived.

We got to the station very early and waited. Every so often mother asked the same question out loud: “When will the train arrive and will we be able to get on it?” The platform was crowded, everyone was pushing. The train arrived late and then the fierce pushing began, people yelling and cursing. Mother made another quick decision. She left all of our possessions right there on the platform. She held on to one package of food and then she too began to push. She was holding Miriam in her arms and holding on to me as well. I was petrified but didn't cry. A soldier helped us by letting us go ahead of him. Thus we got in. We rode for along time, day and night. The train stopped for long intervals, [during which] soldiers would leave and others would get on. A lady who had a seat took me on her lap. Then she offered to take Miriam but she wouldn't leave mother.

The train didn't have any water so at every stop people dashed off the cars with bottles and tea urns, running in the direction of the water spigots. Every time mother left, Miriam would start to whimper but I tried to be brave. Sometimes mother would be gone what seemed an eternity, then I too was ready to cry. At times she'd return without water, afraid to remain longer in case the trains started off. But sometimes she was able to buy a sweet roll and once she brought a jug of hot chocolate!

I don't know how long we were on the train. I didn't dare to ask questions. My beautiful mother looked so tired, so much older and my heart ached for her. I wanted to kiss her, to embrace her, but I didn't dare.

Editor's Notes: no longer permitted to go that way: Dorothy's explanation is somewhat garbled. Kobryn was the second major town to the east of Brest; a train from the direction of Antwerp would certainly have passed through Brest, which was also marked the transition from European track-gauge to the wider Russian gauge. A ticket: presumably, multiple tickets, one for each family member.

This material is from Original Page 19 and Original Page 20 .

Page Last Updated: 23-Oct-2012