Stein, our relative from Antwerp, continued to visit us and, from time to time, he would bring a half portion of bread:
"Here, this is for you, Eliezer."
Every time he came, tears would roll down his icy cheeks. He would often say to my father:
"Take care of your son. He is very weak, very dehydrated. Take care of yourselves, you must avoid selection. Eat! Anything, anytime. Eat all you can. The weak don’t last very long around here …"
And he himself was so thing, so withered, so weak …
"The only thing that keeps me alive," he kept saying, "is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up."
One evening he came to see us, his face radiant.
"A transport just arrived from Antwerp. I shall go to see them tomorrow. Surely they will have news …"
He left.
We never saw him again. He had been given the news. The real news. (3.164-173)
Stein reminds father and son the importance of keeping each other alive during such a hard time. The way Stein sees it, family is the only thing worth living for. For that reason, when he learns that his family is dead, Stein sees no reason to keep on living.
"You don’t know me? … You don’t recognize me. I’m your relative, Stein. Already forgotten? Stein. Stein from Antwerp. Reizel’s husband. Your wife was Reizel’s aunt … She often wrote to us… and such letters!"
[…] I recognized him right away. I had known Reizel, his wife, before she had left for Belgium.
He told us that he had been deported in 1942. He said, "I heard people say that a transport had arrived from your region and I came to look for you. I thought you might have some news of Reizel and my two small boys who stayed in Antwerp …"
I knew nothing about them … Since 1940, my mother had not received a single letter from them. But I lied:
"Yes, my mother did hear from them. Reizel is fine. So are the children …"
He was weeping with joy. He would have liked to stay longer, to learn more details, to soak up the good news, but an SS was heading in our direction and he had to go, telling us that he would come back the next day. (3.152-157)
Even though it’s a lie, Eliezer can’t help but try to provide his relative with some hope, even false hope – he sees deception as a better alternative to crushing Stein.
The only thing that keeps me alive," he [Stein] kept saying, "is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up."
One evening he came to see us, his face radiant.
"A transport just arrived from Antwerp. I shall go to see them tomorrow. Surely they will have news …"
He left.
We never saw him again. He had been given the news. The real news. (3.169-173)
Stein was kept alive by the lie that his wife and children were okay. But once he realizes the deception, and the truth of his family’s situation, he feels he has no reason to keep on living.