Upfall

Shapira nodded, but De Jong went on. "They are also almost all men—few women, no children. I, on the other hand, am responsible for 1,700 people, of whom half are women and several hundred children."

"The two groups don't cooperate?" asked Shapira.

"Of course we do. But we don't see eye to eye on many things."

"Where is Jezek?" persisted Yatom.

"He is here and should meet us in a few minutes. Jezek is well liked by both sides. He's a teacher and philosopher, a central European, while I am a Dutch naval officer, and Sobel a Polish businessman. But Jezek has family with him. I do not. He is a reluctant leader, greatly concerned for his wife and children—which to be expected."

At that moment the Czech walked through the door, a thin and slightly stooped man with a kind face who looked much older than thirty-eight. De Jong greeted him warmly, and Jezek smiled at the commandos.

"I am sorry I was not here to meet you last night" said Jezek. "I was in the Polish village."

"The Polish village?" asked Yatom, fearing he had misunderstood the German.

"Yes. William did not explain?" asked Jezek. Yatom shook his head as Sobel rumbled into the room.

"We hadn't got to that yet" answered De Jong.

"What didn't you do yet De Jong?" Sobel taunted.

"Stop" said Jezek to the Pole. Sobel obeyed Jezek, grabbed for a crust of bread, and sat down. De Jong was right—Jezek seemed to command respect even if he didn't want to bear the mantle of leadership.

"Biali was always two villages" said Jezek. "Biali is the main town, which we are in now. It was almost all Jewish. The smaller village, Biali-Podlaski, was Polish—I mean gentile. After the Germans massacred the Jews a few months ago, the Poles helped themselves to Biali. We have moved them back to the village, which they are not very happy about."

"How many Poles are there" asked Shapira.

"Of the gentiles—about 600 people" said Jezek. "They are poor farmers mostly. We have guns now, they do not. So they do as we say. But it is not a good situation for the long term."

Yatom and Shapira exchanged glances. It was like Middle East politics. "What are you doing about it?" asked Yatom.

"My men are keeping them in their place" said Sobel. "They’ll learn that Mausers can kill Poles as well as Jews if they decide to cause trouble."

"About thirty men from Sobibor have moved into Biali-Podlaski" said Jezek. "They are not diplomats."

"Nor should they he" shot back Sobel angrily. "This is a war of survival."

Yatom looked again at Shapira. With a barely perceptible twitch he told the lieutenant that he wasn't interested in this squabble.

"There are arms enough for hundreds of men now, rifles, machineguns, grenades, even a pair of mortars" said Shapira, clearly speaking for his commander. "It‘s only a matter of time before the German army comes after you. We need to organize you into a proper militia, prepare defenses, and consider ways to protect the women and children."

"How are we going to fight off the German army?" complained Jezek "even if we have a few hundred guns."

"You don‘t have much choice" said Yatom "Sobel here knows that." He paused and tried to formulate his words carefully in German, which over the past week had come back to him rather well. "This is an excellent refuge" continued the sayeret leader. "It's hidden, defensible, out of the way. If you keep a low profile, beat off enemy patrols, and prepare for the worst, you just might survive. The alternative is certain death—so what choice do you have?"

"What do you propose?" asked Jezek.

"We distribute the weapons, train you, and build a system of bunkers and fortifications around the village and the surrounding ridgelines" said Shapira. "You'll learn how to shoot, patrol, defend, attack and keep your men organized and supplied. You will not be a crack army, but a serviceable one, and I suppose, given the alternatives, a fanatical one."

"There are enough weapons to equip a small battalion" said Yatom. "Properly prepared and motivated, you should be able to hold off a whole German regiment."

"Would they really commit such a force against so minor a threat?" asked De Jong, trying to follow the commandos logic.

"Maybe not" conceded Yatom "but that’s the point-deterrence. It could be an economy of force problem for the Germans. They have bigger fish to try."

"Hopefully" said Jezek evenly.