INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK – THE STAIRS by Mort Laitner
INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK
THE STAIRS
by Mort Laitner
Sometimes an inspiring story is more than a feel-good tale.
Perhaps The Stairs is a wake up call for us today.
As a ten-year old child, he eavesdropped as his father told a harrowing story of almost being gassed to death by the Nazis. The boy sat in darkness at the top of the stairs, head pushed forward so he wouldn’t miss a word. His father sat with his friends in the living room below and spoke in his thick Germanic accent.
The child sat within a few yards of his father but totally out of his sight. If anyone started to climb the stairs, within a second he could escape to the safety of his bedroom. His father’s friends sat quietly and listened. Many had not seen him since before the war, but were fellow survivors with numbers tattooed on their arms and memories permanently burned into their brains. As invited guests, they allowed his father, the doctor, to speak first, never interrupting, too polite to ask questions. Perhaps they did not want to hear the answers, but he captured their minds with unimaginable horrors.
Dr. Laitner as a young man
The child listened and memorized his father’s words as if he knew one day it would be his duty to pass them on. The child is now the man, Mort Laitner, who passes his father’s story on to all who care to listen.
This story is now published in
Tales2Inspire ~ The Sapphire Collection
Stories that Echo in the Mind
BUY HERE.
Mort, you have done an amazing job by sharing this with so many. I really think that The Stairs should be shared in many schools. Everyone should read A Hebraic Obsession.
I would like to thank you.
Marianne, so nice of you to take the time to let Mort know your appreciation of his amazing story. We need to share all the Holocaust stories we can find, before they are lost and the word Holocaust has little meaning to upcoming generations.
Thanks so much,
Lois W. Stern
Creator of Tales2Inspire, an Authors Helping Authors Project/Contest
Thanks for your kind words.
Dear Mr. Laitner~
How much of what you heard on the tape do you recall hearing as a child? Why do you wish your father had been less protective of you as a child? How did what you hear as a child change you? How did listening to the tape change you?
Your story is riveting from beginning to end. Thank you for sharing it.
Adrienne Drake
Adrienne, I only story I remember is the Stairs story. I have written a memoir which addresses your questions. It is called A Hebraic Obsessin. I think you will find it enlightening. It is available on Amazon.
I think we had better read The Hebraic Obsession to get some of those answers which are keeping readers of The Stairs most curious! I know I will!
Great questions, Adrienne. I am curious as well so I hope Mort answers you!
Dear Lois ~
Mort gave me the answer I expected!!! Looks like I will be ordering his book. 🙂 I will be glad to, since this is a period of history one can not know too much about…man’s inhumanity to man. The resilience of those who live through abuse (of any kind) has always fascinated me. And our future depends on not repeating the mistakes of our past.
Adrienne
I guess there is a method to his madness, Adrienne!
LOL ~ FOR SURE !! He is leading us on with a trail of tantalizing crumbs… as any good author needs to do.
Adrienne, Thanks for understanding. Mort