In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

Irena must first return to Ternopol, where she was a prisoner in the hospital, to register as a Polish national who needs to cross into German territory. She finds that the line to register is blocks long and the wait could be over a day, but she sees a shorter line before a table marked “Registration for German Citizens and Polish Citizens of German Descent.” Irena realizes that as she is blonde and blue-eyed, speaks German, and has a German name, so she can pass as being of German descent. She decides to join this line instead. When she reaches the table, she finds out that her family’s home has become part of Germany, and she must first register to cross into the Polish General Gouvernement. Once there, she can see about crossing into Germany.

The officers accept her ruse as a German, and they allow her to register. She decides to return to Radom first, within German-occupied Poland, and see if her aunt there can give her more information about her family. She buys a transport pass to Radom that she hides in her brassiere and, with several hours to wait, sits on a nearby park bench. Two Russian soldiers pass by, staring at her, and she realizes that they seem familiar.