A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - JERZY HOJKA
A gusty, frosty wind was blowing, carrying snow. It was February of 1943. The 17-year-old Jurek protected his face from icy specks that pricked his cheeks. He was walking home, with a loaf of rationed bread in his hand. Even though he was bundled up in a warm coat and a thick scarf, he still felt the acute cold. As he was crossing the street, his eyes met those of a young girl that he barely recognised. Gaunt and clad in unseasonable clothes, she loomed almost as a ghost. He recognised his Jewish schoolmate and, without a word, gave her his loaf of bread. Unfortunately, this didn’t go unnoticed by an SS soldier. Jerzy Hojka was not allowed to even say a word in his defense: he was arrested and put into the Montelupich prison. After that, he was taken to Auschwitz. He survived captivity, but suffered from concentration camp syndrome until his dying day. He died on 20 February 1991. The fate of his friend of Jewish extraction remains unknown.
