by Donald Hunt
Thousands of men and some women were taken to the concentration camps. Most spent the night standing on the parade grounds. They were stripped of all clothing and their heads shaved. They were then dressed in blue and white striped jump suits. Many were assaulted by SS guards and those who struck back were beaten senseless. Deaths were officially listed in the records as suicides. Trips to the latrines could be fatal. Some who fell into the three meter deep pits could not get out and died in the excrement.
There was significant international condemnation of the Nazi pogrom. The American ambassador was recalled from Berlin. But the reality was that the civilized world was generally indifferent to these Jewish problems. Most countries had highly restrictive Jewish immigration laws and humanitarian rhetoric did not alter that fact.
By now, Germany’s Jews were living on nerves. They were officially banned from public schools and universities and forbidden from practicing trades or owning shops. Isolated in their homes, they would hurry along the streets, not bothering to rest on the segregated park benches painted yellow to ensure that only non-Aryans sat on them. The Nazi goal at this stage was forced immigration. But the 500,000 German and Austrian Jews remained highly vulnerable. Immigration as a solution could turn at any time to extermination.
Anna Eichenwald was keenly aware of what was happening around her. She had no call obligation for the last week-end in January and planned to spend the afternoon after Synagogue with her parents. She had been involved with the care of some of the victims of the murderous violence of Kristallnacht, and felt that she must be certain that her parents understood the gravity of the situation.
Anna and Christian were quietly devising a plan that would keep her from being trapped by the Gestapo. They had deliberately kept their romance a secret. Only Anna’s secretary, Theresa Schmidt was aware of it. Anna had yet to share her secret even with her parents.
To the Eichenwalds, Anna was magic. They could not look at her without being struck by her beauty, her intelligence and her grace. Time and again, she surprised them. Given the temerity with which she accomplished her goals and her oblivion at what others would perceive as challenges, the Eichenwalds were not surprised that she had become the rising star of the University Surgical Department.
Optimistic themselves, the Eichenwalds had passed on to Anna an unwavering hope. Even during the onset of the political turmoil, the Eichenwalds had remained calm and positive, watching her successful endeavors with pride. She had a golden touch and was clearly admired and noted for her abilities. They were proud of her. They believed in her future, until the Night of Broken Glass. At dawn, the Eichenwalds looked out upon the crystal drops that littered the streets of Germany. They saw in those tiny shards, a reflection of the future of the Jewish people.
“I think it is over,” Hanz whispered from the window. “I think my daughter’s future….”
From behind him, his wife reached up to touch his mouth. “Don’t say it, Hanz.”
The two stood quietly together. They had given their daughter hope. And it was being stolen from her. Anna, the young girl who carried sunshine with her, the one whose smile could light the dark, whose hands could heal the sick – had one great mark against her – she was Jewish.
Late in the afternoon, Anna went to see her parents. As though nothing in the world had happened, Marlene poured tea and the three sat comfortably in the main room of the townhouse. Then Anna did something uncharacteristic. She scribbled words on a piece of paper and handed it to her parents.
Is your home secure? Are you sure there are no listening devices?
Hans read the note and looked at his daughter.
“I have had an engineer from the Institute come and look over the house. He believes it is clean.”
“Good,” said Anna. “I actually considered meeting you in a public place. But I wanted to come here. I just wasn’t sure if it was safe. I need to share some things with you…things that have happened in the last few months.”
“Well?” asked her mother with a smile.
“Well…I’m in love! Actually, love may not be the best choice of words…I am committed and irreversibly bound to Christian Engel.”
“Anna! Is he Dr. Engel, the one we met last year?” asked Marlene. “He’s the one.”
Anna smiled and felt herself blushing. She felt suddenly giddy and silly. Here she was at 37 years old acting like a little school girl.
“Anna, this is wonderful for you. But…he isn’t Jewish, is he?” Anna took a deep breath.
“No, mother. But I didn’t exactly plan this.”
Marlene smiled and glanced at Hanz. This was bringing back memories of their early years when Hanz began courting her as a teen. Hanz decided it was time to speak, despite the fact that he didn’t like the subject. “Anna…it’s against the law. Who knows about this?”
“Nobody. We are extremely cautious. Our call schedules and long hours in the hospital give us time together. We have not spoken of marriage. We know it is impossible with all that is going on…but possible maybe someday. We take each day as a gift. Soon we will be separated.”
“What do you mean, separated?” asked Marlene. “Let me finish.”
Anna sat back in her chair.
“May I have a little more tea? I want to talk about Christian. But first, I have to talk about something else. I need to explain about the Eugenics meeting. The Nazis are beginning a program of medical experimentation for the military. I can’t go into detail but I will tell you that it’s barbaric and completely immoral. I will not do it. The other program is just as bad but I won’t be involved in that either. The Reich Criminal Office and The Law for Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases are involved. They have classified certain individuals as ‘asocial.’ It’s a catch-all term that can mean anything from beggars to gypsies or homosexuals and even the mentally ill, or anyone with an inherited defect. Large numbers of children are being involved. There is a three physician panel for review. Each case is scored with colors. Red for death, blue for survival, and white for further assessment. Most children get red. The defective children, like those with Downs Syndrome or some with just physical defects like a club foot are sent to camps. Then one by one they are selected for ‘immunization.’ The children who are immunized…”
Anna closed her mouth and shut her eyes tightly. The tears fell as she spoke again.
“They are never seen again.”
She opened her eyes and looked at her mother. Marlene was gazing down at the floor with a bewildered expression. Hanz fixed his eyes on Anna. It was worse than he had thought. He was trying to imagine the torment his daughter was enduring.
“The program also includes adults who are considered defective,” Anna went on. “I have met a retired physician from Stuttgart who had a grown daughter with epilepsy. She was sent to an asylum. He fully understood that his daughter had been selected out for extermination. He tried to have her removed from the list and she was removed. But not in time. He brought me her last letter.
She reached into her bag and brought out an envelope, then unfolded the pages and began to read.
Dearest beloved Father,
Unfortunately it cannot be otherwise. Today I must write these words of farewell as I leave this earthly life for an eternal home. This will cause you much, much heartache. But think that I must die as a martyr and that this is not happening without the will of my heavenly redeemer, for whom I have longed for many years. Father, good Father, I do not want to part from you without asking you and all my dear brothers and sisters once more for forgiveness, for all that I have failed you in throughout my entire life. May the dear Lord God accept my illness and this sacrifice as a penance for this.
I embrace you with undying love and with the firm promise I made when we last said our goodbyes, which I will persevere with fortitude.
Your child Helene.
On
2 October 1940. Please pray a lot for the peace of my soul. See you again, good Father, in heaven.’
Anna folded the letter and carefully replaced it in her bag.
“I have been made aware of the diabolical procedures to rid society of these people. They are placed into the hands of uncaring people and transported to extermination centers. They are then shepherded through rehearsed procedures that result in their being locked into hermetically sealed gas chambers disguised as showers. Some are even given bars of soap. Death comes in the dark. I expect that many finally realize what is happening to them.” Anna looked into the faces of her parents. They were ashen.
“The corpses are disposed of in crematoriums. Helen’s father was notified of her death from ‘breathing problems.’ This country is headed down a dark, dark road and there is no turning back. Fortunately, physicians are not being forced to participate in the exterminations. I feel I still have my position at the University because I saved the life of the SS officer, but I know I am being watched by the Gestapo. If I do not participate in their barbaric experiments, I will be arrested. None of the non-Jewish physicians are being forced to participate in the experiments; that is voluntary so Christian is safe.” Anna took a deep breath. This would be the hardest part for her.
“Christian and I have planned my escape. I can’t give you any details. The less you know the better. I will contact you through Christian. Also know that I completely trust my secretary Theresa Schmidt. You will not be given any information about where I am or what I am doing. If questioned, your response can only be that I have left the country. Any message that contains the word ‘complete’ or any form of that word will mean that I am well. Do not try to contact Christian. He will contact you.”
As startling as Anna’s words, they were not unexpected. The Night of Broken Glass had changed all perspective for the Eichenwalds. The political situation had deteriorated even since Hanz had decided to remain at the KWI.
Anna stood up to leave. She stressed again, the critical importance of secrecy. Then she hugged her parents. Marlene began to sob quietly.
“I love you both more than I can ever express to you. The Lord Jehovah will take care of me. And I will see you again.”
Anna left with one last smile and shut the door behind her. She did not break down until her parent’s townhouse was out of sight.
* * *
The code name for the surprise attack on Czechoslovakia was Case Green. The plan was originally devised in June 1937. Czechoslovakia was made up of several minorities including one million Hungarians, one-half million Ruthenians and three and a half million Sudeten Germans. The plight of the Sudeten Germans would be the pretext for military action. But defending them was only a ruse. Hitler’s goal was the destruction of the Czechoslovakian State and the occupation of the entire territory. Despite what had just happened in Austria, France and Britain were blind to the plan. It began with the High Command of the Armed Forces – Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, or OKW. In May, the Goebbels’ propaganda machine put out multiple stories of ‘Czech terror’ against the Sudeten Germans. On May 19th, a Leipzig newspaper ran a front page report of German troop movements. But British and French intelligence could not confirm this. In the meantime, the Czech military mobilized. Hitler was at his mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden and felt humiliated by the Czech government. He had been accused of an aggression he had not committed, but fully intended to. He swallowed the humiliation and sent messages to the Czech, French and British envoys that there were no troop movements and there would be none. Most liars become angry only when caught lying.
By September of ’38, two critical developments had occurred. First, several high-ranking officers decided to overthrow Hitler. Second, invasion plans had been re-set for October 1st. The Generals in the conspiracy sent a secret emissary to London for assurances that Britain would stand against the invasion, but there was no concrete answer. A September 7th editorial in the London Times suggested the Czech government give up the Sudetenland to Germany for the cause of peace.
There was dark, almost unbearable tension gripping each of the capitols of Europe, except of course, in Germany. The Nazis were holding a five day party rally in Nuremberg. Goering made one of the final speeches with these closing words:
“A petty segment of Europe is harassing the human race… this miserable pygmy race (the Czechs) is oppressing a cultured people, and behind it is Moscow and the eternal mask of the Jew Devil.”
Hitler’s closing remarks were more of the same, demanding the Czech government give ‘justice’ to the Sudeten Germans.
With mounting pressure, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain decided to visit Hitler personally. He flew to Munich and boarded the train for a three-hour trip to Berchtesgaden. Chamberlain did not fail to notice the dozens of train cars loaded with German troops and artillery passing on the opposite track. Hitler demanded a right of self-determination. Chamberlain agreed in principle - and another domino fell. Hitler gave him assurances that no military action would be forthcoming. While Chamberlain returned to transmit the good news to his Cabinet and to the French, the Germans prepared for the October 1st invasion as planned.
A second meeting was set up between the two heads of state, this time in the small Rhine town of Godesberg. Chamberlain was bringing everything for which Hitler had asked. At the meeting in the Dreesen Hotel, Chamberlain talked for an hour, carefully laying out the planned agreement to the German Chancellor. Then Hitler spoke.
“Do I understand that the British, French and Czechoslovakian governments have agreed to the transfer of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany?”
“Yes!” Chamberlain exclaimed with a broad smile.
“I am sorry,” Hitler replied, “but after the events of the last few days, this plan is no longer of any use to us.”
Chamberlain had been deceived. He was bitterly disappointed and withdrew across the Rhine to consider his options. A final meeting occurred the following evening and an ultimatum for October 1st was given to Chamberlain for German forces to occupy the Sudetenland. Frantic diplomatic efforts by Britain and France were to no avail.
September 28th was called ‘Black Wednesday.’ War seemed inevitable. To the officers who had considered removing Hitler, the time had come. But there was one major reason not to implement the plan. At least two of the Generals involved suspected that London and Paris had secretly told Hitler they would not go to war over Czechoslovakia. The only reason for a planned coup was to prevent a European war which seemed unlikely under any circumstance.
At noon on Black Wednesday, Hitler received an urgent message from Mussolini asking him to hold off another 24 hours. Hitler acquiesced.
“Tell the Duce that I accept his proposal,” he responded.
With this, Hitler sent invitations to the heads of Britain, France and Italy, to meet with him at noon in Munich the following day. The Czechs were not invited. The meeting would seal their fate.
There was more than a little irony to the fact that within the baroque, Bavarian city of Munich where Hitler made his start as a lowly politician, he was now greeted like an emperor. The talks with the heads of state were anticlimactic, rendering to Hitler exactly what he wanted when he wanted it. Unknown to Chamberlain, Hitler and Mussolini, had vowed two days earlier to fight ‘side by side’ against Great Britain.
Churchill was not in the government at the time. Yet he alone seemed to understand what had happened. On October 5th, he spoke to the House of Commons.
“We have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat…We are in the midst of a disaster of the first magnitude. The road down the Danube…the road to the Black Sea has been opened…
All the countries of Mittel Europa and the Danube valley, one after another, will be drawn in the vast system of Nazi politics…radiating from Berlin…And do not suppose that this is the end. It is only the beginning!”
; Even as Churchill spoke these words, German troops were occupying the Sudetenland. His words, for the most part, went unheeded.
Chapter 11
Germany invades Poland
As a young man in Hungary, Leo Szilard had dreamed of saving the world.
“If we could find an element which could be split by neutrons,” he would muse. Otto Hahn had now found the element to be uranium. As a result, many physicists in Germany as well as the U.S. began to believe that a bomb of massive proportions was possible using the U-235 isotope. This is not exactly what Szilard had in mind when he thought of saving the world.
Szilard had ideas about how to proceed. He shared them by letter with Enrico Fermi who was teaching the summer session at the University of Michigan. Szilard’s idea was to mix the uranium with carbon in the form of graphite. The graphite would slow the neutron bombardment which might lead to a chain reaction and possibly to a bomb. But Fermi did not share those views. Szilard saw a need for urgency because he realized that his German counter-parts would eventually come to the same conclusions about a chain reaction and a weapon. So he decided to contact two Hungarian colleagues, Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner. They knew that Belgium was mining large quantities of Uranium in their African colony of Congo. Teller and Wigner feared that the Germans might be able to get their hands on it and wanted to contact the Belgian government. Then they were reminded that Albert Einstein, the world’s most influential physicist maintained a close friendship with Elizabeth, the Queen of Belgium.
Einstein was spending the summer at a cottage on Long Island. Wigner and Szilard called him and arranged a meeting. On Sunday, July 16th, the two drove to Long Island and after some difficulty, found the cottage. These men knew Einstein only by reputation and were surprised at his physical appearance. Later Szilard would recall the following.