Chapter One Karcag, Hungary April 1944 Ma nishtana ha-laila ha-zeh mi-kol ha-lelot? Why is this night different from all other nights? This night is different because our fathers are not with us. Paul listened to the familiar words of the Four Questions, the heart of the Passover Seder. This night is different because we are celebrating Passover without our fathers. He looked around the synagogue social hall, where women, children, and a few elderly men sat at tables draped with white cloth. As the rabbi chanted, Paul thought of Passovers he and his older brother, Oscar, spent at their grandparents' house, when all his aunts, uncles, and cousins were still together. But his father, like other men in town, had been taken away to some kind of work camp, so his mother and some other women had organized this Seder to celebrate Passover, the holiday of freedom. And tonight, as they recited prayers, sang familiar melodies, and ate matzo (unleavened bread), chicken soup, and roast chicken, they tried to forget, for a few hours, about the missing fathers, brothers, and grandfathers, and this thing called war raging around them. The next day, German soldiers marched into Karcag. Excerpted from The Last Train: A Holocaust Story by Rona Arato, Owlkids Books Inc. Staff All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.