Excerpts from
Book of David
By Stig Dalager
Early in the morning, a cold March morning with a clear grey sky, he is walking through the village in his small woollen jacket and his worn shoes. He takes up little space between the silent houses. A pair of crows flutter up from a puddle nearby and flap clumsily over the gables. The road through the village is muddy, it has been raining non-stop for two days. He stands for a moment watching the crows floating on the wind, disappearing through the air into two black spots over the fields.
He always watches the birds, especially the crows despised by almost everyone, even his father. "They are just pests, " he says. In the summer their feathers glitter and they are all shiny. Like oil. Sometimes he dreams he is a bird himself.
From a distance he spots a large framed piece of paper hanging on a barn door. He knows what it is, he has seen that kind of thing before: a public notice. First there is something in German in capital letters, then the same in Polish in small print. It is not difficult for him: he can read both German and Polish!
He hurries to the wall, reads eagerly with his head to one side. The last time he had read a public notice was with his father. His father had said:
"Do you understand what it says?"
He nodded.
"What does it say then?"
Proud of himself he said:
"It says that Jews are not allowed to travel by train.
"Do you know what it means?"
He nods again but it was as if his father was not quite convinced he had understood, he had that look in his eyes. His father bent down towards him and took his hand. He had a large wrinkled hand, his own hand was completely hidden. When his father wanted to make sure he understood something, he always took him by the hand. He wanted him to be quite calm and simply trust him. He was not to be afraid. He was to listen and do what he said. But he had noticed that his fatherīs hand trembled slightly when he clasped his. Perhaps he was afraid himself.
His father said:
"You must not take the train, no Jews must take the train, if you do, you will be punished."
"Not even to Kielce," he said, " do I have to walk to Kielce then?"
"Perhaps I can find someone who can give you a ride," said his father, "but you must never take the train. Do you understand me?"
Yes, of course he understood. He just didnīt understand why Jews were suddenly not allowed to go by train. When he asked his father why, he replied:
"Thatīs just the way things are! Weīll talk about it later!"
They should always talk about things later when his father needed to think about it or when he thought he was not "old" enough to understand.
But of course he knew what was wrong. It was the police. It was the Germans. Because of the Germans he had to wear an armband with a star on it; because of the Germans he was not allowed to go to school anymore and was forced to sit at home and read his books. Sometimes Jacob came by and they did some sums from the book together. He was good at arithmetic so it was not difficult and if they couldnīt find an answer they asked his father. He came home at the strangest hours and sat up late in the living room reading and writing. Then he would suddenly leave. He didnīt know what he was doing. He was no longer a teacher There was no more school.
Translated by Jean McVeigh Pedersen
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