Give my love to Mutti and Susie.
Your loving son,
Leopold
‘At least you know he’s alive and people are watching over him,’ said Frau Kraus, turning her head away. But I’d seen the tears welling in her eyes. ‘In the meantime, you’d better get busy doing what you do to bring this government to its knees,’ she said to Onkel Georg. ‘The sooner this war ends, the sooner our loved ones can come home.’
I couldn’t agree more. Although Leo had assured us he was coping, I was still worried and I could see that same unspoken concern in the faces around me too. As Germany’s inevitable loss in this war moved closer with each passing day, I was concerned about the unpredictability of the Nazis and the SS. Tante Elya’s deportation order was testament to that. And I couldn’t get the image of Leo out of my head, huddled up on a wooden floor, sleeping cheek by jowl with other strangers, having to witness and do the bidding of depraved camp leaders. It made me sick to think of it, but it fuelled my anger, too, reminding me of the reason that Leo was there in the first place.
* * *
Working long hours at the Zoo Tower hospital was a balm to my tortured soul. When I wasn’t working, I was at home helping Onkel Georg on the farm or assisting with the escape of the Russian soldiers. We’d already saved over a dozen men, but it consumed him now that Leo was gone. Onkel Georg couldn’t do anything for his own son, but, as Tante Elya explained to me, by saving these other men his sense of helplessness seemed less overwhelming. It was the same for all of us. On a visit to the village I’d told Ida that I was looking after Mina as best I could.
Berlin was in lockdown. The city centre had been bombed by the Allies and now fires raged, destroying whatever the bombs hadn’t. Cultural icons and many of the government buildings, including the Reich Chancellery, had been damaged, but still the Führer remained unscathed. Government offices were already closed and had relocated to remote and often secret locations. Just like the government to run away, I thought, but work continued the same as ever at the Zoo Tower.
Like other hospitals, we were on standby, ready to accept staff and patients of evacuated hospitals closer to the Allied and Russian lines. Whenever we weren’t looking after patients, we were conducting a stocktake of our supplies and finding ways to make what we had last as long as possible. Preparations were made to bring in experienced medical staff and resources into the more fortified positions – places where we could protect our patients and would be able to take the injured once Berlin was under siege. I was overjoyed to learn that Johann and Marika, who’d returned to the Beelitz hospital after she was married, were being transferred to the Zoo Tower. I was excited to see them both and to be working with them again.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ I said, hugging Marika tight in the middle of the hospital corridor. She looked radiant even in her nurse’s uniform. ‘Married life’s treating you well?’
She nodded. ‘We’re so happy. We have a little house in Kreuzberg now that we’ve been transferred. Johann’s been promoted to surgical registrar so now he can begin his training to become a surgeon.’
‘Well, he’ll learn quickly here,’ I said. ‘The injured are arriving much sooner now that the front line’s getting closer.’
‘I can’t believe it’s taken the Soviets so long to cross the Vistula River,’ she whispered. ‘They’ve been outside Warsaw for months.’
I pulled her into an empty room. ‘I know.’ A sense of foreboding had been growing within me as I’d been hearing reports of Soviet retribution as they made their way west towards Germany. ‘At least they’ve finally taken Warsaw and patients have spoken of them liberating Auschwitz.’
‘Any news about Tante Elya’s family?’
I shook my head sadly. ‘Nothing yet. We heard through the resistance that the camp was almost emptied when the Soviets arrived and the Nazis had already marched most of the prisoners back towards Germany. They could be anywhere.’ If they’re still alive, I thought. There were also reports from our patients, of prisoners dying by the side of the road from exhaustion, or being executed by the Germans for lingering in their lines.
‘And Leo?’
‘He’s on work detail near Buchenwald, but he’s managing.’ Her look of horror relaxed.
‘It shouldn’t be long.’
I fervently hoped not.
* * *
The Allies flew day and night, bombarding Berlin, destroying what was left of the city and forcing thousands to flee. Some lived in derelict buildings with no electricity or water, while others sought refuge in the homes of friends and family, or simply waited in shelters for it all to be over.
The ruined remains of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, damaged over a year earlier, rose above the dwindling tree line of the Berlin Zoo and Tiergarten, a constant reminder of what our city had been reduced to. Much of the surrounding woods had already been cut down for firewood during the long winter when no other fuel was available. I remembered the walks Julius and I had taken through those magnificent parklands and couldn’t help but mourn the loss of Berlin’s famous forest.
High-level Nazi leaders had moved their headquarters here next to a major communications centre, but we rarely saw any of the Nazi Command. Defeat was inevitable now. Either the Zoo Tower would become a target of Allied bombers or – if we survived the bombs – it would be one of the last places to fall in Berlin. Whether that would be to American or Russian forces, no one could be sure.
After each air raid I looked out the hospital window and saw a sea of people slowly leaving the safety of the tower bunker and returning to their homes. Hundreds of mothers settled their babies back into prams that had been left outside the bunker. It amazed me how many people the tower could shelter.
We were all so used to the air raids by now that people filed in and out in a relatively calm manner. We nurses and doctors always stayed with the patients, unless we were seconded to emergency centres set up around the city, providing first aid and emergency care as well as assessing injuries and allocating people to the already crowded hospitals of Berlin.
Back at the tower, the booming sound of the anti-aircraft guns on the platform above us was somewhat unnerving as it announced the arrival of Allied bombers within range, but these guns gave us our greatest protection. My heart went out to the brave souls manning those guns, visible and vulnerable to enemy fire.
I’d told Marika about the young flak helpers and we made sure we saw Mina and her friends whenever we could. One afternoon, Marika and I slipped into the girls’ dormitory with contraband: chocolate. The girls were still in uniform, but exhausted after the continuous night-time attacks, some smoking cigarettes to keep them going. Nobody was getting much sleep and nerves were beginning to fray.
‘I want to go home,’ said Frieda, one of Mina’s twelve-year-old friends, her voice wavering. ‘I’d rather go to prison than spend another day up on the platform waiting for enemy aircraft. When they come, we work as fast as we can to fetch the ammunition, but I’m so scared. All we can hear is the guns, hoping we’ve hit them, but what we really do is keep them from flying too low. Then there’s the explosion of bombs falling across the city and we’re always waiting for a bomb to fall on us.’ She burst into tears, and Mina put her arms around her, comforting her as best she could.
‘I just want to hug my mother before I die and tell my little brother to be a good boy and look after her.’ Frieda dashed the tears away angrily. ‘But I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance.’
‘I have no home,’ whispered another young girl, still holding her chocolate. ‘Our apartment block was bombed and my mother and brother have left the city. I don’t know where they’ve gone. We haven’t been granted leave for weeks. None of us can be spared now.’
‘We’re the ones defending our city,’ said a tall, lanky girl, ‘but nobody sees us shaking so hard we can’t hold our machine guns.’ Frieda’s words had punctured the tough façade of these young soldiers and they were
now voicing their true feelings. ‘It’s when we’re in bed, when nobody’s watching, that many of us cry. Some want to go home so badly they’re ready to desert.’
Marika and I looked at each other, speechless. Then a loud boom reverberated through the dormitory and a number of girls screamed, quivering.
‘Mama!’ cried a young girl with large blue eyes, chocolate smeared across her mouth. ‘I want my mama.’ The others moved quickly to her, hugging her and whispering soft words.
‘It’s all right, Emilie,’ said Mina. ‘You’re safe here.’ I noticed a puddle of urine pool on the floor, beginning to trickle towards us, and then an explosive sob. Marika and I glanced at each other.
‘Come,’ I said, gently steering the girl towards the bathrooms. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up.’
* * *
Over dinner that night at Marika’s new home in Kreuzberg, I was furious about the abuse of these children. ‘We have to get them out,’ I said angrily. ‘Before one of them deserts and gets themselves arrested.’ I couldn’t do anything about Leo or Tante Elya’s precarious situation but I could help these youngsters.
Marika nodded.
‘I promised to watch over Mina, but none of them are safe. We might be in a fortress, but those children are terrified. And with the way this war’s going, some might never see their families again.’
‘What are you thinking?’
‘I’ll speak to Onkel Georg. We have to put the perfect plan in place. Those children deserve to be home with their families.’
‘Count me in,’ said Marika with a defiant tilt of her chin.
Mina, Frieda and their two friends were our test run. Marika handled the logistics on the Berlin end, making sure they were escorted out of the city. I met them on the road near the village, and we made our way to the estate where Onkel Georg and Tante Elya hid them for a few days, feeding and clothing them and then arranging their journeys home. Nobody knew what was going to happen over the next few months and time with family was precious. A week later, Frieda was the last to be picked up by her mother, and I hugged her tiny frame to me.
‘Goodbye, Frieda, and good luck.’
‘Thank you, Susie. I’m going home because of you,’ she said, smiling, her breath misting in the cold air.
‘Hug your mother, and your brother, too. Be safe and be careful until the war’s over.’ She nodded. ‘Now go. She’s waiting for you.’
As the car pulled away and disappeared down the road, gladness filled my heart.
* * *
Around this time Onkel Georg received word that Russian officers were being summarily executed at Sachsenhausen – forty-five had been shot dead in one day.
‘The Nazis know the war’s lost,’ he said, sitting behind his desk. ‘It’s only a matter of time before Germany’s completely occupied and Berlin falls. They’re killing as many of their enemies as they can before that day comes.’
‘Jewish people and communists,’ I muttered. In some districts, even protected Jewish people like Tante Elya were being sent to prisons and camps within German borders, despite the law. It seemed very haphazard.
‘I’ve been told that, as the Red Army’s advancing, the camps are emptying – mass executions ahead of the long march west by the more able prisoners.’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘We have to do what we can and move quickly to get as many out of Sachsenhausen as we can. But it’s also time to think about getting Leo out.’ He spoke grimly.
Dread sat heavy in my belly. ‘Count me in.’
19
At the hospital a couple of weeks later, I was told I had a visitor. At first I was fearful, worried it could be Julius. Emilie, one of the remaining young flak helpers, accompanied me into the snow-covered street. I’d promised Mina that I’d look out for her until we could get her home.
‘Onkel Georg! What are you doing here?’ I hugged him tight, relief coursing through my body.
‘I have news.’ His face was sombre. He glanced at Emilie, small in her oversized uniform and bulky coat.
‘Come on, Emilie. Let’s take a walk to the zoo. Maybe they still sell ice-cream.’ The look of sheer bliss that came over the girl’s sharp features was enough to melt my heart.
‘Can we see some of the animals?’
I smiled. ‘Why not?’ Although there had been substantial damage to the enclosures, repairs had been made and it was possible to view the animals that remained. Berlin wasn’t going to be deterred by the Allied attacks: it was business as usual.
Emilie ran ahead, her plaits swinging, as Onkel Georg and I followed. I bought her a small ice-cream cone which she carefully licked, savouring every sweet mouthful while wandering nearby between the enclosures.
‘What’s happened?’ I asked in a low voice. He was pale and his forehead beaded with sweat despite the snow on the ground. Trepidation swirled through my body.
‘It’s Leopold. I received this letter from my contact here in Berlin.’ He pulled the paper out of his pocket with a trembling hand and passed it to me.
We’ve recently discovered that Isaac Guttenberg, the physicist nominated for the Nobel Prize, and your son Leopold have been placed on the Level 3 listing and are marked for execution. The Nazis are accelerating their attempts to exterminate all Jews in their jurisdiction before they lose this war, even good workers like them. However, now that Auschwitz has been liberated by the Soviets, we fear that we have little time to instigate a plan to ensure their safety…
I stared at Onkel Georg, numb with fear. ‘We have to get them out of Ohrdruf.’
Onkel Georg nodded, taking off his glasses. ‘We’re out of time,’ he said.
I glanced at where Emilie had last been standing. She was still there, safe and sound. I placed my hand on Onkel Georg’s arm. It was tense, coiled tight. ‘What can I do?’
‘With the help of the resistance, I’ve been formulating a plan, but we’ll have to rethink it so we can implement something sooner.’ I could see him already running through scenarios and casting aside options. ‘But there are very few I can trust with this. Hans is helping, of course.’
‘My shift has finished. Let me come with you. I want to help him as much as you do,’ I pleaded.
‘I know, liebling.’ He smoothed my hair from my face as he had done when I was a child. ‘That’s why I’m here.’ He glanced across to Emilie, who was enchanted by the antics of the monkeys. ‘Let me arrange a few things and I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours.’ Pride flamed bright within me. Onkel Georg knew what I was capable of and he knew I’d give everything to help.
‘Onkel Georg, if anyone can get them out of there, it’s you.’ I kissed his icy cold cheek. ‘I’ll do whatever you need.’
‘I just hope we have a watertight plan in time,’ he said, rising heavily to his feet.
‘So do I,’ I whispered. This was the day I had feared the most. I had to put all my emotions to one side for the sake of what we were about to do. Whatever else I’d tried to do to keep my family safe, this was the time to risk it all, the time my actions mattered the most.
‘Emilie, it’s time to go,’ I called. Shyly she slid her hand in mine as we walked through the zoo.
‘Thank you for bringing me. I’ve never been to the zoo before,’ she said quietly. I squeezed her hand.
‘Well, we’ll have to come again,’ I said smiling, although all I could think about was Leo. This world meant nothing without him.
* * *
Later that evening, in the forester’s cottage at Gut Birkenhof, we ran through the possibilities with Hans, plotting long into the night. The resistance had already supplied officers’ uniforms and they could forge documents and a fake pass to gain access to Ohrdruf, but it would take time, and none of us knew how long Leo and Isaac had.
‘The truck’s the best option,’ said Hans, his weathered face creased in concentration.
‘I agree,’ said Onkel Georg, pouring over the detailed notes and plans of the sub-camp and the surrounding area. ‘Trucks are
coming and going constantly on a work site like that.’
‘How can you tell?’ I asked anxiously.
‘Between removal of dirt and rock from the tunnels, delivery of steel and timber sleepers for the railway line and gravel for the road, there’ll be plenty of activity,’ explained Hans, finishing the cold coffee left in his cup. His confidence and knowledge made the knot in my stomach begin to relax. Like Frau Kraus, he was someone we could always rely on.
‘That gives us opportunity to go in with one of the resistance’s modified trucks,’ said Onkel Georg. ‘There’s a hidden compartment that Leopold and Isaac can stow away in.’
‘But we still have to get in without arousing suspicion and somehow get them into the loading area and the truck without anyone noticing. Then get out again and safely away before anyone realises they’re missing… There’s a lot that can go wrong.’ Panic began deep within me at the thought of it all, but Hans only nodded slowly, his shaggy mane of greying hair falling over his eyes, while Onkel Georg just looked thoughtful.
‘That’s why we have to make sure every part of our plan is perfectly arranged, timed and organised,’ said Hans grimly. ‘Georg and I have a lot of experience now and know the pitfalls, but we still have to go over each section of the plan again and again until we’ve ironed out any potential problems and lowered the risk as much as possible. Leopold has powerful people on his side in the camp and they’ll get him and Isaac into position, but we’ll only get one attempt.’
Letters from Berlin Page 26