Adam
Legacy Name: Adam

1916
First day at school. Very soon it becomes apparent that Adam is pretty smart and especially in the scientific subjects he often receives outstanding grades. His teachers like him for his dilligence and politeness, his classmates for his sense of humor and his absolute loyalty towards friends so, to cut a long story short, his time couldn't be better. After school he often plays outside with his friends but there's one thing that he chooses to never share with anyone else but to solely use as his very own and secret hideout - the tree house.

1925
Changes from his old school to the gymnasium of Heidenheim. Here, for the first time in his life, he is faced with anti-Semitism coming from a handful of boys in his class. The self-proclaimed leader of the group, a haughty and irascible boy named Erich, apparently has to bully Adam at least once per day in order to be satisfied. At one point Erich and his "disciples" even attack him after school and finally lock him up inside of an old barn where Adam isn't found and rescued until the next morning. Nonetheless, and thanks to the support of his family and friends, he manages to stay focused on his goals and when he leaves school his Abitur is one of the best of his year.

1928
Starts to study natural sciences with focus on geology, chemistry and mineralogy at the university of Tübingen. Sadly, out of all people, Erich decided for the same university but once again Adam tries his best to ignore all the aggressive and primitive assaults that are coming from his bully and to fully concentrate on his studies instead. Although the political climate in Tübingen drifts more and more to the right he is eventually able to obtain his doctorate, however as one of the last Jews being in that lucky position.

1934
Adam moves to Berlin in order to work for the famous Kaiser Wilhelm Society. Unfortunately the infamous Nuremberg Laws turn his stay there into a short one and so he has to change his place again - this time his destination is Prague where he joins the scientific team of the German Charles-Ferdinand University. For a few years Adam's life seems to have settled down a bit, he makes new friends, has success at work and from the money he earns he isn't only able to finance his own life but later also to support his parents after his father decides to retire.

1939
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia Adam decides to go back home which marks for him the end of his scientific career. For a while he considers emigration but when his parents tell him that they'd never want to leave Germany Adam chooses to stay as well and, like many Jews, part of him still hopes for a turn to the better. During the next two years however life becomes more and more difficult for him and his family and whenever he is on the edge of despair he, despite being in his late twenties already, searches shelter in his old tree house. There Adam feels like the carefree little boy again who is allowed to dream of a life full of miracles where fear is nothing but a word.

1941
Deportation to concentration camp Theresienstadt in December. Life in the Nazi's so-called "model Jewish settlement" is hard and full of deprivations but Adam always tells himself that it could be worse and that there is no room for self-pity. He also still hopes for a happy ending, even after his mother dies of a disease about six months later. To make the best of their situation and to take their minds off their fears Adam and his father apply themselves to the prisoner's self-administration that especially tries to make life easier for the children in the ghetto. With that they spend their time in Theresienstadt until the day when they are jammed into a train again...

1944
October 2nd - Arrivial in Auschwitz I. There's a man standing at the ramp telling everyone where to go. Somehow he doesn't fit in as he is acting more like a conductor than a "SS-Mann". He wears white gloves and obviously he isn't affected in the slightest by the fear and tension lying in the air, for a moment it even sounds like he is humming a cheerful melody. During the process Adam is directed to the right, his father to the left - maybe to a part of the camp specifically for elder people? At least that's what his son wants to believe.
After being brought to a larger building Adam receives his prisoner's garb as well as a head shaving that's going to be repeated once per week. The worst thing however is a tattoo - B11237 - that gets inked into his left forearm. This number from now on will replace his name he learns, an inhuman and degrading act that infuriates and saddens Adam. He is smart enough to hide his feelings though and so he gets sent to his next destination without any problems.

October 3rd - First day in the subcamp Goleszów where around 1,000 prisoners are forced to toil in a SS-cement factory. Work starts at 5am and often enough doesn't end before midnight, the wardens are cruel, the quarters horribly cold and damp and the food rations are even smaller than those that people received in Theresienstadt. It's not unusual for a prisoner to become sick under these conditions and those who are immediately go back to the main camp of Auschwitz, allegedly for medical treatment. Strangely enough many of these men never make a return but are simply replaced by another nameless face.

October 28th - After a workplace accident Adam is rushed to Auschwitz I again where he is immediately sent to the main infirmary camp. Quickly it becomes apparent that his right arm is severely injured which makes it impossible for him to keep working in the factory. The doctor who is telling him about it expresses his deep regret and it nearly seems as if he'd be serious with that. But isn't he that man from the ramp? The conductor with the white gloves? As much as Adam tries to remember he doesn't come to a definite conclusion, it's like those last weeks of hard work have erased most of his memories from that day. Everyone looks the same...
"But don't be upset!" Adam hears the doctor's voice. "You might not be able to work in the factory again but you are still a strong young man. I am sure we will find something else for you, something that's far more important than cement."

November 3rd - What exactly did happen during the past few days Adam isn't able to say. He only remembers that there were doctors again who examined him and gave him medicine. They never said for what this medication was but at that time Adam assumed it must have something to do with his injured arm. Shortly after however he wasn't sure about that anymore. His body started to cramp and he felt a sort of pain he had never experienced before, sometimes piercing, sometimes hammering and nearly unbearable. Again the doctors gave him pills as well as some injections and miraculously after a few minutes his suffering was over and Adam fell asleep. Since then his life feels like a never-ending dream. He cannot say how many days have passed, what time it is or even if he is awake or asleep. Sometimes he thinks that he can hear voices but there's no way for him to understand what they are saying.

The only thing that seems real these days is the tree house. Just like he did in his childhood Adam now spends most of his time up there. Everything is so peaceful, birds are singing, there are bees and bugs and butterflies in the air and a soft warm wind is playing with the branches of the willow tree. Down in the garden Adam can see his mother hanging out the laundry. Only a few moments later his father appears as well. He talks with his wife and they laugh, happily and free from all worries. Somewhere in the neighborhood a rooster crows...

November 4th - For the first time Adam is truly awake again but very soon he wishes that it wasn't so. Pain is back but it is by no means comparable to the pain he had a few days ago - this time it is much worse. Out of reflex Adam tries to move but there's something keeping him from doing so, the only effect is that his pain increases even more. Quickly he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, then he begins to turn his head around to see what is blocking his movements. It's a man. Panic rises inside of Adam's body, it can't be, it just can't! He tries to move again but his attempts are as fruitless as the first one. He opens his mouth, he wants to scream for help but before there's any noise cutting the silence his fear and pain send him back to a state of unconsciousness.

November 6th - The other mans' name is Richard. When he's awake and able to speak he talks a lot: about his wonderful wife, the Jewish children they adopted to their little family and also about his true origin. That he wasn't a German actually but from the Ukraine, something that he kept as a secret for most of his life. Talking about all that seems to help Richard, as if he sees it as some kind of confession. And Adam? Well, he just listens.
Then, when Richard isn't in the mood to talk, it is his turn and he tells the other one about the things that he loves the most. About his warm-hearted mother, always worrying about her only child and about his father with his wonderful sense of humor and his undying optimism that he kept until the end. Besides that however Adam talks about the only place in the world where he, down to this day, is able to hide from all the things that are trying to destroy him - the tree house of his childhood, up in the big willow tree.

November 7th - Adam's medical condition has vastly deteriorated, his temperature rises steadily but he also often breaks into bouts of shivering. He stopped talking for the most part, only checking if Richard is still with him from time to time. Outside it is raining as if God has sent another Flood. Inside the air is filled with the stench of pus and death, the tree house slowly fades away.

November 8th - Prisoner B11237 is declared dead at 10:15am, the other one, 198018, merely two hours later. An autopsy is supposed follow the next day in order to investigate what exactly has caused exitus. Strangely enough the two bodies in question vanish over night which causes a brief uproar within the infirmary camp. Very soon everyone calms down again though, probably just a logistic error that can happen and it's not that these subjects were irreplaceable, right?


Here the story of Adam Goldwasser ends, only one human destiny out of so many. How would his life have been in a more peaceful and open-minded time? No one will ever know...