School, Alas!

At last September came and I was able to attend school for good. I attended first grade together with my brother Bela, who was one-and-a-half years younger than me, as were most of the pupils. No question - I was one of the outstanding students.

It did not take long for me to befriend my classmates. Early one Saturday morning, a classmate visited. Her name was Edith. Since then, we took every opportunity to be in each other's company, enjoying endless hours together. She also introduced me to a younger friend who I very much adored and later got even closer to.

During those short, fleeting years, I visited and played with each of my classmates at least once. To remember them forever - many of them perished in the gas chambers of Auschwitz! Those memories bring tears to my eyes even after so many years, because they continue to live deep within me. They took part of my feelings with them - their memories always will be a part of me.

Today's children have so many toys, television, parks and museums to go to. And still, they always look for more to fill their pleasures. It sometimes seems that nothing is good enough to satisfy them. But very few of us had any toys - maybe a doll, a ball or a few little toy dishes. When we played together, we would invent new ways to entertain ourselves.

One of our favorite games was "yes or no". Someone would ask questions, and only no or yes could be used for an answer. Or, two children would think of something and the others would have to guess what it is. Or, we would put on a play - some of us would act, sing and dance, while the others were the audience. We never got bored. We had some deep, soul-to-soul friendships between us and always enjoyed being together.

© David Muskal, 2001