Upfall

Sandler led his men forward. He ducked through the opening first, heading back into a death camp despite his reservations. He crossed the patrol area between the twin wire fences, MP—40 at the ready and stepped into Treblinka proper. The former Sonderkommando didn't know whether his men recognized the irony of their act, or shared his trepidations. It was enough, thought Sandler that they continued to follow him. Seconds later Sandler and the Bulls were in Treblinka.

Sandler led his men into an uneasy hush. Other than an occasional shot from the snipers in the towers and the sound of several burning buildings, Treblinka was as quiet as a sleepy Polish hamlet. It reminded him of his grandparents’ village — before it was liquidated.

Chapter 25

Erbel stayed in his office, bereft of Sergeant Major Hahn, and the rest of his officers, who as best he could tell, had either died, run away or gone into hiding. Wirth had run. Erbel would have run too, but feared facing General Globocnik as much as staying put. Wirth would be able to make his excuses, he would not. Like the thousands of victims murdered in his camp, Erbel found himself strangely resigned to his fate. He was terrified, but unable to act. His only companions were Klum and Engel, a pair of SS headquarters clerks who now awaited his orders. He had none. Finally, one of the boys screwed up the courage to speak.

"Herr Kommandant, what are your orders?" asked Klum. "What is it like outside, Klum?" whispered Erbel, as if the deadly men in the towers could overhear him. "Are they still shooting?"

"Weiss nicht Herr Kommandant. The shooting has died down. Perhaps the attack is over. Maybe we won the battle" said Klum hopefully, but without much conviction. "Shall Private Engel and I go see?" Klum wanted to flee the Koinmandanfs quarters, which he was sure was a death trap.

"No" said Erbel morosely. "Are there any other German soldiers nearby?"

"There are a few right outside the door, Herr Kommandant” said Engel, a little less rattled then Klum. "There are others hiding behind other buildings, or in them, I‘m sure."

Erbel pulled a bottle of vodka from his desk, and took a long swallow. The two clerks looked on expectantly, but Erbel corked the bottle and put it down. The liquor burned his throat and numbed his teeth, but gave him a bit of courage, and an idea.

"Engel, do you think you could lead us out of here, under cover of the buildings, as far as the deportation square."

"Yes, Mein Herr. I think so."

"Good. Gather the men at the back of the building and have them come with us. You lead the way Engel. I'm counting on you." Erbel took another swallow of the vodka, and tucked it into a small haversack, with a bit of food from a sideboard. He checked his pistol.

Engel stood at attention, proud that he would soon be leading an SS column, or something like it. Erbel motioned toward the door, and the two SS priv'ates grabbed their rifles and went out into the shadow of the headquarters building. There they found four Ukranians and an SS Corporal named Schweinsteiger. After briefly explaining the movement, the clerks set off for the deportation square with the other Germans, including Erbel, and the Ukranians in tow.

From their position in the tower at the northeast corner of the camp, llan and Bolander could see almost all the open areas of Treblinka, except those in defilade due to the camp's buildings. The snipers suspected that Germans and Ukranians hid in the lee of the buildings. They waited patiently for the enemy troops to expose themselves. Both marksmen had chalked up impressive scores through the night, but business now lagged. Either most of the enemy was already dead or gone, or they were sensibly not moving.

Engel led the group advanced quickly and cautiously through this defilade, hiding in the shadows, avoiding open spaces. Ilan briefly caught sight of the group, and fired a single round at one of the moving targets.

Klum fell like a sack of sand, hit flush in the face by Ilan's bullet. Engel shook off Klum's sudden death and pressed the column onward. Erbel ran by the dead clerk without a second glance. A few meters from where Klum fell, Engel reached defilade again, ir1 the lee of the food storage shed, opposite the roll call square. The deportation square, where the Jews were held and where Erbel demanded the go, was only a few dozen meters beyond that. To reach it they would have to cross another exposed area.

Engel looked back at Klum's body, a rich pool ofblack blood seeping into the dust near his shattered head as they leaned against the storage shed. "Ignore that" said Erbel coldly. He turned to the Schweinsteiger, waving his pistol. "Go now for the deportation square! Run. I will follow." Schweinsteiger looked at Erbel wide-eyed, while the four Ukranians huddled behind him.