Matt McKeon
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This is an early realist novel by Lem, better known for his science fiction. In it a young doctor finds a post working in a mental institution in the fall of 1939. Poland has lost the war against the Germans, and conditions are unsettled. The somewhat callow doctor dutifully, if unenthusiastically makes the rounds of somewhat ineffectual treatment at the hospital, and reluctantly visits with his declining father. He engages in philosophical debates with a famous poet having a rest cure. Then in a savage climax, a unit of SS arrive to slaughter all the patients.
At one point, fleeing the Germans, two of the medical staff seek shelter from a peasant, who knows that harboring them could mean his death. One of the doctors offers money, and the peasant declines. "A banknote won't stop a bullet." Then he sighs, and mutters to himself, "What can you do?" and lets them stay in his barn, a brief moment of humanity.
At one point, fleeing the Germans, two of the medical staff seek shelter from a peasant, who knows that harboring them could mean his death. One of the doctors offers money, and the peasant declines. "A banknote won't stop a bullet." Then he sighs, and mutters to himself, "What can you do?" and lets them stay in his barn, a brief moment of humanity.