When one thinks of World War II and the horror of the Holocaust, Lvov, Poland does not immediately come to mind. Yet it is here where first the Soviets, and then the Nazis, committed acts so horrific that Lvov maintains its place in history as a witness to the highest levels of inhumanity. The two occupation periods were manifested by two different approaches, but they shared one common aim. The Soviets, by means of spiritual torture and elaborate system of persecutions aimed at exterminating the inhabitants of the occupied territories in a gradual, yet effective way. On the other hand, the Nazis immediately implemented physical methods of annihilating Jews, fulfilling Hitler’s fantasies.
Suddenly absorbed in the whirl of these tragic events was the seemingly ordinary Chiger family, whose fortunes took a diametrically different turn as they went through a five-year ordeal. Struggling toward a new tomorrow, through unbelievable adventures and unlikely miracles, they personified the triumph of the human spirit.
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Yellow Darkness begins when fifty-seven-year-old Doron Keren discovers a book among his parent’s belongings while they are packing to move. His mother Kristine Keren, aka, Krystyna Chiger, explains that it’s a memoir written by her father, Ignacy, about living in Lvov during World War II. Doron is familiar with Lvov. Krystyna, who was seven then, has recently penned a book called The Girl in the Green Sweater, chronicling her recollection of hiding in the sewers of Lvov – a darkness- immersed realm, with deadly dangers that threatened her family for fourteen months. An earlier book, entitled In the Sewers of Lvov,
includes interviews with survivors, one of them being Paulina Chiger, Krystyna’s mother. And there is a film, In Darkness, which highlights the story of ex-criminal Leopold Socha, the poor Catholic Polish sewer inspector “angel” with whom the Chiger family and others entrusted their lives and valuables, and without whose charity they would surely have perished. It was directed by award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland and received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film in 2012. Ignacy is a character in that drama.
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Yet what Doron now holds in his hands is something quite different
- an eyewitness account written by the patriarch of his family. What does it reveal? As Doron will soon find out, the previous books and film only touch on a part of the story. Ignacy’s memoir not only includes those months in the sewers from his unique point of view, but also provides intimate details of the events leading up to his family seeking refuge in the dark, putrid environs of the Lvov underground. Friends and neighbors disappearing without a trace. Torture. Murder. Compassion.
Romance. Terror. Betrayal.
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The memoir is in Polish, so Doron hires a translator. While waiting for its return, he recalls the special relationship he had as a young boy in Israel with his grandfather, whom he called dziadzio - Polish for grandpa. Ignacy raised him while his parents were studying in college.
Despite the conflict going on in the Middle East at the time, Doron remembers those days with dziadzio fondly. Yet there is one question about Ignacy that his grandfather always declined to answer. Ignacy had one pale, blue life-less eye. What happened? By now, Doron understands survivors of the Holocaust rarely spoke of the pain and humiliation they endured. So, would the answer be in the memoir?
It is! And it’s worse than Doron could have imagined.
As Doron immerses himself in the memoir, he is mesmerized by Ignacy’s carefully chosen words. Every brutal moment of Soviet occupation and each vicious detail of the subsequent German invasion are all there.
However, although Yellow Darkness is set against the backdrop of the Holocaust,
it is a character study of Ignacy Chiger, a highly intelligent, relentless, brave, charming, witty, and opportunistic man.
Beyond the adoration Doron feels for his dziadzio, Ignacy emerges from the pages of the memoir as a superhero, accomplishing astonishing feats time and time again. He learns how his grandfather continually outwitted his Soviet and Nazi tormentors, men who would not lose any sleep if they killed him on the spot. Incredibly, Ignacy managed to stay alive to save a countless number of people. The memoir is a gift more precious than anything dziadzio could have left behind, as it leads Doron on a journey of discovery about the courage it takes to prevail against impossible odds.
From Soviet officer, comrade Jakow Grona, a wretched and ambitious sadist teetering on the edge of sanity, to Hauptscharführer Josef Grzimek, a genocidal killer so evil as to defy description, Yellow Darkness contains two egomaniacal villains so blatantly ruthless that it’s hard to believe they existed. But, in fact, they did.
Despite the cruelty he endured at the hands of these men, Ignacy considers whether he can still find a way to see them as human beings. Are they people or jackals? he wonders within the pages of A World in Darkness.
Eight decades later, his grandson Doron’s attempt to come to terms with barbarity then and the antisemitism today, brings it all full circle. And it will be left to Doron to answer the question posed by his grandfather.
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Ignacy’s sharply crafted historical record provides the IP for an unforgettable television series. And Doron’s wrap-around observations and narration imparts relevance today. Together they confirm philosopher George Santayana’s admonition:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
