The Endless Steppe facts for kids

The Endless Steppe (1968) is a powerful book written by Esther Hautzig. It tells the true story of her and her family's difficult journey and forced move to Siberia during World War II. This book shares what it was like for a young girl to grow up in a very challenging time.

What is The Endless Steppe About?

The Endless Steppe is a memoir, which means it's a true story about the author's life. It focuses on Esther Hautzig's childhood experiences. When Esther was 10 years old, she and her family were taken from their home in Vilna, Poland, by Russian soldiers. They were sent on a long, hard train ride to Siberia.

Once there, they were forced to work in terrible conditions in a gypsum mine. After some time, her family was allowed to live in a small hut in a nearby town called Rubtsovsk. They had very little money and had to find clever ways to earn a small income. They also struggled with the Russian language. To make things even harder, Esther's father was made to join the Russian army.

After several years, when the war ended, Esther's father returned. He brought the family back home to Wilno. But they found that none of their old friends or family were left. The new people living there were not very welcoming.

Esther's Life Before Exile

In 1942, Esther Rudomin, as she was known then, lived a comfortable life. She grew up in the beautiful town of Vilna in northeast Poland. This city is now the capital of Lithuania. Esther was an only child, and her family was large and loving. Her parents were wealthy and respected members of their Jewish community. Her father was a skilled electrical engineer.

Even though the Nazis had invaded and the Soviet Union had taken over their area, 10-year-old Esther felt safe. For her, the war seemed far away, ending at her garden gate.

The Day Everything Changed

One day in June, Soviet soldiers arrived at their house. They declared that the Rudomins were "capitalists and enemies of the people." This meant the soldiers thought they were against the government. Their house and all their valuable belongings were taken away.

Esther, her parents, and her grandparents were forced into cattle cars. They were then "relocated" to another part of the Soviet Union. This place turned out to be a forced labor camp in Siberia.

Life in the Labor Camp

In the first part of the book, Esther describes the terrible things she saw in this new world. Healthy people were separated from those who were weaker. This meant Esther, her parents, and her grandmother were separated from her grandfather. The train journey lasted two months and was like a nightmare. They had almost nothing to eat, just watery soup.

When they arrived at the camp, everything felt confusing and strange. They were forced to do very hard work in a gypsum mine. But even in this harsh place, there were unexpected moments of kindness. Local children would secretly bring food to the forced laborers, even though it was very dangerous for them.

Later, Britain asked for the Poles to be released from the camp. This was called an amnesty. So, the Rudomins were allowed to move to Rubtsovsk, a nearby village. The villagers there were also very kind. They had almost as little as the Rudomins, but they helped them survive their exile.

Adapting to a New Life

The Rudomins went from a life of privilege, where servants did everything for them, to a world where growing a single potato plant could mean the difference between life and death. Esther also had to learn to make clothes for the few rich people in the village. These were the kind of people her family used to be in Poland. She would get a bit of bread and milk in return for her work.

Esther even felt a strange pride that she, "the little rich girl of Vilna," could survive poverty just like anyone else.

Heartbreaking News

Besides the daily struggles in Siberia, more sad news arrived. Esther learned that her grandfather had been sent to a logging camp in another part of the country. He soon became very sick. His problems were ignored because "there were trees that needed to be cut down." He died from pneumonia and bronchitis.

Much later in the story, Esther found out that her maternal grandmother and almost all her other family members had died in the Holocaust. Her father managed to escape Rubtsovsk and eventually made his way back to Vilna. He wrote that he visited their old house one last time. It was now owned by an NKVD chief, a Soviet secret police officer. He couldn't find any photographs or family keepsakes. The Germans had completely looted the house. For Esther, this was crushing news. It meant her past was gone forever.

A Siberian Heart

Esther found it ironic that she, a "little capitalist," learned to sing The Internationale, a famous socialist song. She also learned Russian and even fell in love with a unique boy from the steppe, the vast, flat grasslands.

She grew to love Siberia so much that when the war ended, and the Rudomins were suddenly told they could return to Poland, Esther didn't want to leave. She felt like she belonged there. She thought of herself as a Sibiryak, which means a Siberian.

Further Reading

• Donald Cameron Watt (1989), How War Came: The Immediate Origins of the Second World War, 1938-1939, New York: Pantheon Books, ISBN: 9780394579160 , OCLC 19921655 .