“Arriving off the train …” He rubbed a thick hand over his face. “You don’t forget a thing like that. The sound of the train brakes. The smell. There was an awful smell in the air—always that smell.

“The Germans and the Ukrainian guards separated us into two groups—men on one side, women and children on the other, with a space between us. They said that those boys fourteen and under should stay with their mother. I was barely fourteen, I could not decide whether I should go with her or my father. My mother made the decision. I do not know if it was because she had my younger brother and sister and did not want my father to be alone, or if she somehow knew what was to happen, but she told me to go with my father.

“The commandant who met us at the station had a speech. We were all so tired and hungry and thirsty, so we did not think right. We were ready to believe anything. The commandant told us that Sobibor was a work camp. That it would not be easy for us and we were to work hard, but because hard work was good for the soul we should thank them.

“They said that Sobibor was a safe place to be and as long as we did as we were told, we would be well off. But if we disobeyed, we would be punished.

“On the way to the camp a rumor had passed through the train that Sobibor was a death camp, so even as bad as things were, we thought this was very good news.”

Tears collected in the corner of Leszek’s eyes, but didn’t fall, as if he was unwilling to allow them.

“The officer who spoke to the arriving prisoners was an SS officer named Hermann Michel. We called him ‘the preacher,’ because he was a clever preacher of lies. It is a lesson I learned well, to never trust people with soft voices and guns.

“After he welcomed us to the camp, he told us that there had been an outbreak of typhus at one of the other camps, and since our health was important to him, before we were allowed inside our barracks, we would have to be showered and our clothes to be washed. He told us that was the only reason why men and women had to be separated but we would soon be together and would be able to live together as families. I remember seeing my mother smiling at my father. She believed we would be okay.

“Michel said, ‘Fold your clothes and remember where they are, I shall not be with you to help you find them.’