An excerpt from the new book My Gulag Life: Stories of a Soviet Prisoner, Reb Mendel Futerfas:
When merchant ships arrived at the Soviet labor camp to pick up logs, the strongest prisoners were required to load them.
The foreman, who cared little for Jews, gave me one of the most dangerous tasks: I was to stand atop the logs on the ship and guide the crane unloading the next log.
Since the crane was unsteady, and it was difficult to balance on the logs, I was in constant danger of being hit and killed.
During work, I would sometimes slip, landing in the icy water. Other prisoners would quickly jump in to save me, and when they brought me to shore, they would tell me how sorry they were that I had to endure yet another fall.
The truth is that my mishap was intentional, and I was thrilled. Thanks to the antisemitic foreman, I was finally able to immerse myself in a mikvah every day.
Very inspirational
Love this story!