Fear

I stumbled across this photo last night, entirely by accident. I had seen it before though, more than twenty years ago, and I recognized it instantly. Seeing it again made me catch my breath.

I had never forgotten it. It always rose to the surface of my memory when I would read a book or an article about The Holocaust, or watched a documentary, or really anything related to the 1940s. I never remember the details. I just remember the little boy to the right of center. It chilled me when I first saw the picture, and it continues to chill me now. Hands raised in the air, a look of fear and helplessness on his face as a soldier stood behind him, machine gun in hand.