Upfall

"We are Jews! We are Jews!" cried Sandler as he crossed the open area. He paused to fire a burst at the women's barrack, and then continued his run toward the men's barrack on the opposite side of the square. Fliegel's men followed, Chaim and Roi with them. The two Israelis stitched the women's building with automatic fire, while Sandler and his men stormed into the men's barrack. Sandler burst into the men's building, a bundle of nerves and excitement, his finger on the trigger. But there were no Germans inside, just frightened men and boys.

In the women's barrack two Ukranians fell back dead from their firing posts at the windows, while Schweinsteiger ducked back in the room, bleeding from bullet fragments and wood splinters in his face and hands.

"It's no use" said the SS Corporal resignedly. Erbel looked around the room. He noticed that the women were remarkably calm. These were not recent deportees recently off the train, but prison laborers who had already seen as much horror and death. They seemed not so much afraid, as hopeful and curious. As bad as this was, to them it was better than a normal day at Treblinka, and it was pretty clear that this day the Germans were getting the worst of it. Erbel still had a plan. He may not have run Treblinka flawlessly, but he was not a fool. A trained lawyer, he was had a cold-blooded instinct for survival, if nothing else.

Erbel looked at Schweinsteiger, Engel and the Ukranians.

"Forget about outside" said Erbel, his voice jagged. "Turn your guns on these women. They are our hostages. If one moves, kill her."

He looked around the darkened room, lit only by the reflection of random fires and the waning moon. "You understand me too, don't you?" he asked, addressing his question to the prisoners. None replied.

Outside, all around the deportation square, Treblenka's Jews pulled themselves up out of the dirt. Slowly, it dawned on them that they were rescued. Here and there loud rejoicing broke out and the Jewish soldiers joined in the celebrations, forgetting for the moment that there were still a band of Germans watching from the building across the square.

Shapira disregarded the celebrations, and kept the night-sight of his Tavor on the women's barrack. There was no longer shooting from the building, but through the open doorway Shapira could see the huddled forms of women and girls inside. Suddenly the door closed.

He ordered Roi to cover the women's barrack and moved with Chaim to the entrance to the Himmelgang. The passageway was clear. He radioed Yatom that the rest of the sayeret could move safely down the passage, but warned that there were still Germans in the square, holed up in a barrack building.

"Why don't you take them out?" asked Yatom impatiently.

"Because" said Shapira "I think we have a hostage situation."

Yatom decided to leave Camp 4 and move his men dovm the Himmelgang to the deportation square. By default, the extermination camp now fell into the hands of Treblinka's Sonderkommando. These desperate scarecrows came out of their hiding places, mostly near the burial pits. The thin haunted men stared at the Israeli commandos but comprehended that the strange looking men were not hostile. The prisoners knew that things had changed, but were uncertain what to do next. Yatom simply said to them in Hebrew "you're free." This only surprised and confused them more. Yatom had neither the time nor patience to deal with these desperate men and their garbled questions. Instead Yatom assembled his men and walked to the Himmelgang entranceway.

"You explain the situation to them" he told Feldhandler. "This is your shining moment."

Feldhandler nodded, and smiled, as if he'd forgotten why he was there. "Beseder. I'll join you in a few minutes."

‘Take your time" yelled Yatom as he hurried down the Himmelgang bringing up the rear of the sayeret.

Shapira was waiting for him with Mofaz. The square was crowded with Jewish prisoners milling around, mixed in with the Sandler's and Fliegel's armed men. A few of the newly freed Jews seemed to have picked up arms themselves, and were playing with them dangerously.

Many were leaving the area, armed or not, in search of food. It looked and sounded like a festival. For all intents and purposes, Treblinka had fallen.

Yatom scowled. "Is the rest of the camp secure?"

"Who knows" answered Shapira. "Fleigel's men can scour the place. Between them and the released prisoners it should be pretty clear of Germans soon."

Yatom turned to Mofaz. "Take your team and help Fliegel secure the camp. Let's not have this place get totally out of control." Mofaz nodded and set off.

"What's going on there?" Yatom nodded toward the women's barrack.

"A group of Germans is inside, as are women and girls."

"Have the Germans done anything?"

"They fired at us, but stopped when we shot back. Since then nothing" said Shapira.

"You speak good German. Tell them to come out, and they won't be harmed."

"Alright, but we need to quiet this place down first."