“I did not go,” Inga volunteered. “But when the family came home, I was still up.” She looked at Emilee. “Will you tell them about Lisa?”
Emilee hesitated but then nodded. “Yes, Mama Inga. There were Brown Shirts everywhere to make sure that no one tried to rescue any of the books or protest what was happening in any way. But when the flames finally died down—and the fire had risen at least a hundred feet into the air—there was this huge pile of smouldering ashes left. As the crowds thinned out, Lisa decided she wanted a closer look. There was still one Brown Shirt nearby, and he turned to watch what she was doing. At first, she just walked around the pile of burning ashes, and the SA man relaxed a little. But then she saw a book that had toppled off of the pile and fallen far enough away from the flames that it was only partially burned. She waited until the Brown Shirt turned away for a moment, and she snatched it up. We all saw what she did and gasped. By then the Brown Shirt was starting to get suspicious and was watching Lisa very closely, even though she had turned her back on him so he couldn’t see what she had. Care to guess what book it was that she had found?”
The others just stared at her, mesmerized by her account.
“It was a Book of Mormon, and it was about half burned. It was still smoking.”
Mitch stiffened. “The Book of Mormon was on the list of banned books?”
“Nein,” Emilee answered. “Not on the official list. But as the university students went through the libraries all over Germany searching for books that ‘offended the German spirit’—that was the official reason for the book burnings—they must have seen things in the Book of Mormon that disturbed them.”
“What is there in the Book of Mormon that could offend the Nazis?” Edie blurted.
“Words like ‘Jews.’” Inga smiled sadly. “Right there on the title page, it states that the book was written for the convincing of Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the Christ. Then open the first chapter and what do you find? Lehi’s family lived in Jerusalem, which means his whole family were Jews.”
Emilee spoke now. “When I saw that Lisa had picked up the book, I almost fainted. The SA man was watching her closely by that time. When he started toward her, Hans quickly engaged him in a conversation while the rest of us got her to the car.”
“If it was already half burned, why not just throw it back into the fire?” Mitch wondered.
“You don’t know my Lisa,” Emilee said softly. “At that moment, I think she would have gone to jail rather than give it up. She was still very upset with the whole idea of burning books. The fact that it was the Book of Mormon only intensified her feelings.”
“Wow!” was all that Edie could think of to say.
The quiet stretched on for almost a minute, and then Mitch spoke. “Thank you, Oma Inga. Thank you, Emilee. This has been most instructive and most sobering. One last question. You mentioned earlier that the Nazis are having all the textbooks rewritten. Can you give us some idea of how the new textbooks are different?”
“Oh, yes,” Emilee said gravely. “There is a huge difference, even in mathematics and social studies.”
Edie frowned. “How can you possibly promote Nazi propaganda through mathematics?”
Emilee’s smile was very sad. “Here is a story problem from Jolanda’s sixth-grade mathematics book, as nearly as I can remember it. ‘A plane takes off from Berlin carrying ten bombs that weigh a hundred pounds each. Its fuel tanks are filled with 3,000 pounds of fuel. Altogether, the airplane weighs eight tons. The aircraft flies to Warsaw, Poland, which is considered the center of international Jewry. It drops all of its bombs on the city. When it returns to base, its fuel tanks are virtually empty. What is the weight of the aircraft when it is empty?’”
Edie spoke, alarmed. “Nothing about the thousands of Jews killed in the bombing? Just how much the plane weighed?”
“Precisely,” Emilee said grimly.
Jacob was stunned. “That’s almost impossible to conceive.”
Emilee was studying her hands. “And that is not the worst that is happening to our children.” Her eyes were glistening now. “One day, Hans Otto brought me one of his reading books and said he had to read it out loud to me. When he opened the book, I noticed there was a picture in the front. It was a picture of the Führer. Curious, I took the book from him and read the caption beneath the photo. It was a very famous quote given by Adolf Hitler a few years ago.” She leaned forward, her eyes piercing theirs. “And remember, this is in a book for third- and fourth-graders. It said: ‘Who wants to live has to fight, and whoever refuses to fight in this world of eternal challenge, has no right to live.’”
Inga stirred. “Let me just add one more thing. When Lisa brought this home from Hitler Youth Camp and shared it with us, it made me want to cry. It is called ‘the Hitler Youth Prayer.’ It’s based on the Lord’s Prayer. It is recited each day by all members of the Hitler Youth Camp: Adolf Hitler, you are our great Führer. Thy name makes the enemy tremble. May thy Third Reich come that thy will alone becomes law upon the earth. Let us hear daily thy voice so that we may be ordered by Thy leadership, for we will obey you to the end, even if it requires our lives. We praise thee! Heil Hitler!”
A deep and total silence settled in around the campfire. “I think maybe we’ve heard enough. Oh, Inga. Oh, Emilee. Our hearts go out to you and your people. You are already in our prayers, and you will continue to be.”
“Thank you. Though things sound very grim,” Emilee said, “we are richly blessed and we have our little miracles each day. One of which is having friends like each of you.”
Chapter Notes
The information given in this chapter comes from three main sources: Anderson, Mormons and Germany, 122–59; Scharffs, Mormonism in Germany, 82–90; and Carter, “The Rise of the Nazi Dictatorship and Its Relation with the Mormon Church,” International Journal of Mormon Studies, Spring 2010, 56–89.
As in other chapters, a few of the conditions or events described here as already having happened by August 1933, actually occurred a year or so later. They are included here to give the reader a broader feeling for the interactions between the Nazi government and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The information on what the Nazis were doing in the schools, including actual examples of what was put into the textbooks of children and the slogans taught to them, come from three Internet sources: www.spartacus-educational.com/GEReducation.htm; www.johndclare.net/Nazi_Germany3_Youth.htm; www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/hj-timeline.htm.
August 11, 1933, 7:48 a.m.—East Fork,
Upper Leprechaun Canyon
Don’t let go of me!” Jo blurted as they edged forward toward the lip of the cliff.
“I’ve got you,” Benji said.
Abby, Edna June, Grace, Noah, and Liesel were in front of them. Liesel was holding on to Noah’s hand so tightly her fingers were turning white. They moved to within about five feet of the lip of the cliff, close enough to where they could see down into the canyon, and then stopped. A moment later Benji and Jo joined them, with Jo standing three feet behind Benji. She was holding on to his hand so tightly that Benji could feel his fingers going numb.
No one spoke for almost a minute as they stared into the narrow crevasse that they had decided to rappel down. Then Liesel sighed. “I don’t know if I can do it, Noah.”
“That’s all right,” he said. “You don’t have to. But, Liesel, remember, you’re not going down alone. I’m going to take you down.”
That brought her head up.
“Benji and I rigged the ropes so that two of us can go together. You’ll be in the harness, and I’ll be on the rope right beside you.”
Abby giggled softly. “And, Liesel, you can put your arms around him and look deeply into those big, brown eyes of his all the way down.”
Jo pulled on Benji’s hand and he turned to look at
her. “Is that true? About you being beside me on the rope, I mean.” She managed a smile. “Not getting to look into your eyes all the way down.”
He chuckled. “We’ll go together, facing each other. You’ll be in the harness holding on to me and I’ll handle the ropes.”
Jolanda slowly let out her breath, which she felt she had been holding for the last fifteen minutes or so. That did make a difference. She had pictured herself going down alone. She let go of Benji’s hand and quickly backed away from the edge, not stopping until she was back to where they had all their gear. “I’ll think about it,” she said as the others came back to join her.
They didn’t speak of the descent as they ate a light snack and drank plenty of water. Then Benji and Noah helped the first girls go down the crevasse, taking Grace in the harness while Abby and Edna June went down on their own. Jo had to turn away as they disappeared over the edge, for her stomach lurched dangerously.
When Noah and Benji returned, Noah took Liesel’s hand. “What do you say? Do you want to do this?”
Liesel closed her eyes. “No, absolutely not.” As Noah’s face fell, she smiled wanly at him. “You asked me the wrong question. Ask me if I am going to do it, not if I want to.”
He asked again, smiling.
“Yes, I am. If you take me down.”
Jo, who was watching Liesel very closely, saw that her hands were trembling. And that made her feel a tiny bit better. She turned to Benji. “I . . . uh . . . I know this is stupid, but could I wait until Liesel and Noah are down before I decide?”
“Of course,” Benji said. “You stay back there with our stuff while I help them. Then I’ll come and wait with you.” Then to Noah, he added, “When you get down, don’t wait for us. Go on ahead. If we do come down, we’ll catch up.”
8:17 a.m.
When Benji came back and sat down beside Jolanda, he removed his cowboy hat and wiped at his forehead with his sleeve. “Well,” he said quietly. “They’re on their way.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “Thank you for not having them wait for us. I feel bad enough as it is.”
He leaned in and looked into her eyes. “We’re going to take this at your pace, Jo. You can take as long as you want to decide.”
“I’m so sorry to put all of you through this,” she said quietly. “I didn’t realize I would be so scared.” Then, before he could answer, she quickly added, “Can we talk about something else for a while?”
“Of course. What would you like to talk about?”
“Anything!” But even as she said it, she had her answer. “How about Lisa?”
Benji laughed. “I could go with that.”
Jolanda picked up a small stick and began drawing on the rock. Without looking up, she asked, “Will you come to Germany as a missionary?”
“I hope so. But even if I get to go on a mission, we don’t get to choose where we go. The First Presidency decides where to send us.”
“Really? I thought you got to go wherever you wanted.”
Benji gave her a strange look but then saw that she was teasing him and chuckled. She gave him a wan smile. “Lisa is praying that you’ll come to Germany.”
That took him aback. “I. . . . Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t ever be in Munich.”
“Oh, she knows that. But. . . .” She flipped the stick away. “It would be nice to know you were in Germany even if we never got to see you.” Jolanda sighed and turned to gaze in the direction of the canyon.
“You don’t have to go, Jo,” Benji said, watching her closely. “We’ll hike back down to where we can climb down into the canyon without ropes. The family will be coming along about then and we’ll join them. No one is ever going to tease if you decide not to go down.”
“Ha!” she cried. “Do you forget I have a little brother?”
“Ah, yeah.” He hadn’t thought about Hans Otto.
“But it’s not him I’m worried about. Nor anyone in your family.”
“Who, then?”
“Lisa.”
“Lisa? She doesn’t have to know.”
“Of course she does,” Jolanda scoffed. “We don’t keep anything from each other. And if I don’t go down that rope, she will never let me live it down. Never!”
“Because she would go down?”
“Absolutely. In a heartbeat. She’d be the first one down. And she probably wouldn’t let you take her down either.” But as she said that a slow smile stole across her face. “Well, now that I think about it, maybe she would. Have you hold her close so she didn’t get scared.”
Benji chortled. “You are an imp, young lady.”
“Oh, Lisa thinks I am much worse than that.” Then she sobered. “My stomach is doing flip-flops again.”
“I’ll distract you,” Benji offered. “Can I ask you some questions about your sister?”
“Of course.”
“Why was coming to America a good excuse for you to miss Hitler Youth Camp, but not good enough to let Lisa come too? That’s assuming she wanted to come.”
“Oh, she did. More than you could ever know. But Papa said that if we both went, it could create problems for him with his bosses in the Nazi Party. Me going with Mama and Grandma to come help Aunt Paula was logical. Having both of us go was not.”
She looked up and stared at Benji, her eyes huge, deep pools of brown.
“What?” he finally asked. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“Because Lisa made me solemnly promise to tell her everything about you when I get home. So I’m just trying to commit your face to memory.” Then she gave him a crooked smile. “But now that I look at you more closely, maybe that’s not such a good idea. Maybe that’s what’s making my stomach upset.”
Benji roared. “For someone who is supposedly so quiet and gentle in spirit,” he growled, “you’re kind of feisty, aren’t you?”
Jolanda just laughed. “So, what other questions do you have about Lisa?”
“Does she like Hitler Youth Camp?”
“Yes and no. She loves being outdoors, learning to shoot rifles, learning how to defend herself, the hiking and camping skills, and all of that kind of stuff, but. . . .” She hesitated but then nodded, as if she were telling herself it was all right to share this with him. “But not so much this year.”
“And why do you suppose that is? Because she didn’t get to come here with you?”
Jolanda lay back on the rock and pulled her hat down over her eyes. “No. Well, maybe a little, but not really. I think it was the book burning, to be honest.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Being there almost made me physically sick, but it hit a deep nerve in Lisa. It wrenched something down inside her.”
“Tell me more. I heard them talking about it but that’s all.”
So she told him, describing in vivid detail their experience in the plaza that night three months before. “Something down in the core of Lisa’s being found it deeply repulsive. And it wasn’t just the burning of the books. It was. . . .” Jolanda searched for the right word. “It was the rejoicing in it. The jubilation. The exultation.” She finally looked at him directly. “It was a chilling thing.”
“And Hitler Youth is another manifestation of that same sickness?”
“Yes!” she cried. “That’s it.”
They both fell silent for a time, lost in their own thoughts. Then Benji stirred. “Tell me what’s going behind those brown eyes of yours.”
Jolanda looked startled for a moment, but then she seemed to make up her mind about something and sat up, turning so she faced him directly. “There are some things about Lisa that she made me promise not to tell anyone. So I was just having this little conversation in my head about whether I should tell you anyway.”
“Conversation? With whom?”
“With Lisa,
of course. I asked her if it would be all right if I told you about her.”
Chuckling, Benji said, “I see, and what did she say when you asked her?”
She gave him that same quick, impish smile. “She said no, not on my life. But that’s just Lisa. I know that down deep she really does want me to tell you.”
He laughed aloud. “I see. And this is how sisters communicate, is it?”
“Absolutely. So do you want to hear it or not?”
“Of course.”
So, as she stared out across the desolate landscape, Jolanda began to speak. She told Benji about Lisa’s first year in camp and a boy named Gunther Dangel. As she saw the amazement in his eyes, she told him about Bully Boy and Little Pig and the Zeidner sisters.
When she finished, Benji was staring at her in amazement. “Wow! I mean, wow! That’s amazing.”
“She is amazing, Benj. That’s why I love her so much. And, by the way, the Zeidner girls are now our best friends, and their parents are best friends with our parents.”
When he only nodded, she took a quick breath and said, “Okay. With that out of the way, I have one question I must ask you. And this is from Lisa, not from me.”
Benji leaned forward a little. “All right.”
“You have to promise me that you will answer it honestly. If you are not comfortable doing that, then just don’t answer at all.”
“All right,” he said again.
“Gut.” She inhaled quickly. “I know that you and Lisa have become good friends through your letters.”
“Yes we have. So what is your question?”
“Is there. . . . Would you say that your feelings for Lisa are . . . um . . . in any way more than. . . .” Her face was quickly turning pink.
“More than what?”
“More than just being . . . friends?”
He locked eyes with her for several seconds. Then, to her surprise, he got to his feet and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet and removed a faded piece of paper that was folded into a two-inch square. Very carefully he unfolded it and held it out.
Fire and Steel, Volume 6 Page 6