The Little Smuggler

Henryka Łazowertówna

1942

Over the wall, through holes, and past the guard,
Through the wires, ruins, and fences.
Plucky, hungry, and determined
I sneak through, dart like a cat.
At noon, at night, at dawn,
In snowstorm, cold or heat,
A hundred times I risk my life
And put my head on the line.
Under my arm a gunny sack,
Tatters on my back,
On nimble young feet,
With…
Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Henryka Łazowertówna

1910–1942

Born in Warsaw, Henryka Łazowertówna belonged to the new wave of Polish poetry that arose in the immediate aftermath of World War I. Employed by the Jewish Social Self-Help Organization in the Warsaw ghetto, she was an active contributor to the Oyneg Shabes archive. Łazowertówna is best known for “The Little Smuggler,” a poem she wrote in the ghetto. The words are inscribed in Polish, English, and Hebrew on Warsaw’s Memorial to the Child Victims of the Holocaust. She was deported to Treblinka in 1942.

You may also like

The American Plan

Eva and Olivia. A table set for tea.Eva:Oh, Olivia, this dampness is terrible, every bone in my body aches. (Olivia lights a cigarette.) That is an awful habit.Olivia:(Gleefully.) Yes.Eva…
View Source

Free Love

I do not believe in free love. There is legal marriage, an institution based on ideas and pretenses. A legally married wife you can divorce, but where will you run away from free love? As for…
View Source
Two side-by-side maps made of neon lights and rubber.
Tooltip info icon

Mental Maps—Involuntary Memory

Mental Maps depicts mirrored images of a 1938 German railway map made from rubber and pigment. The left panel contains two lines of text that read “North is West” and “[I am imprinting it down…
View Source