‘Oh, my dear, don’t you think I’ve done precisely that? I’ve tried every means at my disposal to get us a last-minute reprieve, but the simple fact is the new library roof and other essential repairs to council buildings in the borough is going to cost an awful lot of money. Council coffers are empty.
‘The powers that be are arguing that as the central library is up and running, we’re still providing a library service.’
‘But numbers are down. People are too busy with war work and getting a space in their nearest shelter to visit the library.’
She slammed her palm down on the metal edge of the bunk.
‘Why can’t they see that our patrons deserve better than a library with limited opening hours and a bloody great hole in the roof? A library is so much more than a repository for books; it’s a place to meet, to escape, to dream... to justbe!’
Dore smiled sadly. ‘You’re preaching to the converted, my dear. I promise I’ve tried.’
Joyce felt her anger deflate.
‘I’m sorry, Dore. I can’t stand to think of us being a wartime anomaly that no one ever remembers.’
She gazed into Dore’s round brown eyes. ‘I wanted to make history with this little library.’
‘And you shall, my dear, you shall. Make tomorrow your best-ever round.’
‘I’ll drop the keys off at the council offices at the end of the shift,’ she said numbly, saddened at his defeatism.
‘Why don’t you keep it one extra day? Use it to drop Adela off to her new job with the Land Army. You’ll get there an awful lot quicker than the trains.’
‘But the fuel costs, Dore!’
‘I will settle out of my own pocket,’ he insisted.
‘But you can’t do that! It’ll be ferociously expensive.’
‘I can and I will. Adela has given so much to the library service and I want to thank her as she embarks on her new life. She deserves it after all she’s been through.’ His voice trailed off. ‘And all she is set to face.’
He looked at her searchingly and, in that moment, Joyce knew he had guessed.
Dore knocked gently on the edge of the bunk. ‘Have a good last round.’
He made to move off but Joyce caught his elbow. ‘You know, Dore, for what it’s worth, I think Mitsy was right. That library rescued her from a life of loneliness. How many other Mitsys arethere, who are isolated and forgotten with nothing but a cat and a crossword for company? This was our chance to really make a difference to the lives of people who deserve so much better.’ She shook her head in despair. ‘We didn’t try hard enough.’
Dore pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his eyes. To her shame, he was weeping. ‘It’s over, Joyce, and I’m so terribly, terribly sorry. But do your last round in the library, then use it to take Adela to safety.’
18
Dorotha
Occupied Poland, August 1944
‘Libertatem per Lectio’
Bulletin No. 182
It’s over. The ghetto’s been liquidated. Friends, this is my last bulletin. I now have to hide my letters to you. It remains my best hope that they’ll survive the war and live to tell my story, if I do not. There is so much to say and yet I do not have the strength to write more. I must save my energy for the fight that lies ahead. Aside from my ghetto library, your friendships are amongst my proudest achievements. I consign my notebook to the secret room behind my library and hope that whoever finds it will treat it with care. Our aim was to deliver books to people, when people could no longer get to the books. At least I can say I delivered on that promise.
Freedom through reading.
Forever, your Dorotha x
The ghetto’s days were numbered. Dorotha had the most profound sensation of being alone on the cusp of an apocalypse. Twelve days after Ruth, her mother and Oscar left, announcements were posted around the ghetto, signed by the chairman.
JEWS OF THE GHETTO
