The Boy From Buchenwald: Chapter 18–Epilogue

by Robbie Waisman, Susan McClelland
Born Romek Wajsman in Poland's Skarżysko-Kamienna, an eighty-nine-year-old Canadian activist remembers how he survived the Holocaust, first as an eleven-year-old slave laborer in a German-occupied factory and later as a teenage prisoner in concentration camps.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapter 18–Epilogue
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. omit
    leave undone or leave out
    I told Rose, Henri, and Jacques what I could remember of my life...my life before, omitting, of course, the anger that had been brewing inside me toward Papa.
  2. intersperse
    place between or among
    After several weeks had passed and still no news from Switzerland, after my usual schedule of studying, followed by trying to catch a glimpse of Aurore, and then more studying, interspersed with eating, I just couldn’t take it anymore.
  3. versed
    thoroughly acquainted through study or experience
    I was well versed in the passé composé and the other tenses.
  4. imbecile
    a person of subnormal intelligence
    I was in a classroom with ten-year-olds, ten-year-olds who spoke faster and better French than I did and who whispered in quiet voices that I was stupid, slow, an imbecile.
  5. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    Many French businesses, she said in a conspiratorial voice, had to cater to the Nazis, but the French staff often worked for the resistance movements, passing on information about the conversations they overheard.
  6. meringue
    sweet dessert or topping made of beaten egg whites and sugar
    I also had several boxes of meringues to hand out to the boys.
  7. barge
    a flatbottom boat for carrying heavy loads
    We sometimes stopped to have seafood lunches on a barge with Jane’s friends, who she told me after were famous actors, politicians, playwrights, and singers.
  8. latke
    a pancake made of grated potato
    Hannah made cabbage rolls, salted herring, and potato latkes to remind me of Poland and, for dessert, Polish cream cake.
  9. integrate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    They, too, had met mentors and people like Jane who were helping them integrate back into life.
  10. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    Papa and the elders were there, flanked by Chaim and some of his Jewish friends from the army.
  11. perennial
    lasting an indefinitely long time
    Three years later, at HASAG, in the gray, the sun seemingly covered in a perennial cloud, Papa started disappearing.
  12. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    The perfume of the roses was soft, delicate, warm, and peaceful.
  13. introverted
    shy, reserved, or inward looking
    Henri and Jacques said I was sullen a lot of the time, that I didn’t talk much, that I was introverted and seemed to come across as shy and standoffish.
  14. standoffish
    lacking cordiality; unfriendly
    Henri and Jacques said I was sullen a lot of the time, that I didn’t talk much, that I was introverted and seemed to come across as shy and standoffish.
  15. void
    an empty area or space
    Inside me was a deep, hollow void where Papa was supposed to be.
  16. taffeta
    a crisp, smooth, lustrous fabric
    I now had my own room in Jane’s apartment, sleeping in a four-poster bed underneath a tapestry of silks and taffetas.
  17. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    Jane knew it and explained that it was La Vérité sortant du puits armée de son fouet pour châtier I’humanité (Truth coming out of her well, armed with her whip, to chastise mankind).
  18. grandeur
    elevation of mind and exaltation of character or ideals
    Head of the French Resistance during German occupation and politician Charles De Gaulle said after French liberation that we needed grandeur, not the truth: “We, who have lived the greatest hours of our History, we have nothing else to wish than to show ourselves, up to the end, worthy of France. Long live France!”
  19. vitriolic
    harsh, bitter, or malicious in tone
    “This is Truth, coming out of her well. She can only remain there for so long before she comes out, angry, vitriolic, reminding us of what we need to really do to heal and move forward.”
  20. niggle
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    But niggling, chewing at me from the inside, was something I, indeed, was not looking at. I knew that Truth was trying to get me to see her, to hear her, to embrace her.
  21. frolic
    play boisterously
    All the while, sailboats and water-skiers frolicked back and forth, and fans basked in the sun, emerging from the day sunburned and wind-kissed.
  22. bask
    expose oneself to warmth and light, as for relaxation
    All the while, sailboats and water-skiers frolicked back and forth, and fans basked in the sun, emerging from the day sunburned and wind-kissed.
  23. saucy
    improperly forward or bold
    He’d play an old failing lady, then turn around and play her saucy grandson.
  24. charade
    a word acted out in an episode of a game
    He would pretend to be animals, too, and we’d have to guess which ones. I learned how to play charades with Jakow in the camp.
  25. clog
    footwear usually with wooden soles
    Since Częstochowa, I was forced to wear wooden shoes or clogs, which gave my feet blisters and got stuck in the mud.
  26. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    I started rambling, mumbling, stammering to the man, I think, maybe to the air, that I was a good worker.
  27. insignia
    a distinguishing mark or symbol
    I had put insignia on the guns for HASAG and was faster than all the others, the men who did the same job.
  28. reminisce
    recall the past
    But on this one night, with a fall wind rustling the leaves outside our window, the electric lights flickering on and off from a storm, we found ourselves reminiscing about the past.
  29. dupe
    fool or hoax
    The barrack of Polish Jewish brickmasons, some of whom worked for the underground, and other Jewish Poles, including Jack Werber and that infamous Gustav, devised an intricate plan to dupe the Nazis. They told the Nazis that they wanted to set up schools for us boys where we would learn the German language, German order, and how to be good German workers.
  30. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    For one, they were known for kidnapping children that they deemed German- or Aryan-looking enough and could be further Germanized.
  31. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    He also didn’t exude that cocky confidence. He seemed almost jittery, like he was nervous.
  32. wage
    carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns)
    “I have been waging a battle inside me of all I have seen and experienced. It was easier to forget that and fight for something else than overcome my own demons.”
  33. canopy
    a covering (usually of cloth) that shelters an area
    The staff would let me tie up Tarzan underneath the canopy where patrons could sit outside, watching passersby while sipping their lattes.
  34. rationalize
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    “Whatever it is you believe in,” he finally said, his gaze drifting over the river, “it has to come from the soul. Not the heart that fuels passion and sometimes is blind or the mind that tries to rationalize things. The soul. The Communists at Buchenwald, they didn’t help us because of their political beliefs. They helped us because they were good people.”
  35. dole out
    distribute or dispense, as in small portions
    They saw goodness in people. Gustav did, too, even though he’d taken it into his own hands to decide good people from bad people and dole out the punishment for the latter.
  36. latter
    the second of two or the second mentioned of two
    Gustav did, too, even though he’d taken it into his own hands to decide good people from bad people and dole out the punishment for the latter.
  37. inherently
    in an essential manner
    “People are inherently good, Romek,” he whispered to me as we walked back to the barrack.
  38. resonate
    evoke or suggest a strong meaning or belief
    But for some reason, Canada resonated most with me. I liked the idea of snow and that Canada’s natural environment was a lot like Poland’s.
  39. quota
    a prescribed number
    Canada, like Poland, had quotas on the number of Jews who could study at universities.
  40. reconciliation
    the reestablishment of cordial relations
    Robbie has become a mentor for other survivors of genocide, including from Rwanda. He is also an Honorary Witness to the First Nation Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established in 2008 to look at the long-term impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system on indigenous Canadians and their families.
Created on Mon Dec 11 11:40:36 EST 2023 (updated Tue Dec 12 14:37:42 EST 2023)

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