EXCERPT FROM THE LONG NIGHT:
“From the moment my parents had started on the road to Auschwitz, love, compassion, goodness and justice were words that no longer held any meaning or significance for me.
Many of my comrades had similar thoughts. Some of them became Kapos and were so contemptuous of others that they did not even save their former friends and acquaintances. Some of these Kapos were seized by a barbaric and destructive instinct that I could not comprehend; sometimes, in an insane rage, they would persecute the innocent fellow inmates. Perhaps this was a futile protest against their own tormented existence.
However, not all Kapos were like that. Many helped their comrades, even though it may have endangered their position. Many had reason to fear that they too would be severely punished. Vogel, the Kapo of the Forge Group, was very helpful. Not only did he allow inmates to obtain food, when they cooked potatoes he would keep a careful watch to ensure the SS guards did not catch them.”
