by Ally Rose
When Bernd arrived, he and Klaus wrapped up warm and took a rowing boat out onto the lake to be sure no one could hear their conversation. Ingrid had made them a flask of coffee and sandwiches, which they tucked into. The lake was calm and winter seemed milder here than in the snowbound streets of Berlin. Klaus dropped anchor in the middle of the lake.
‘The party’s moribund. I’m not sure what to do next, job-wise that is,’ Bernd confessed.
‘You can always work here with me. There’s no shame in that,’ Klaus told him.
‘Thanks, I may just do that,’ Bernd replied.
‘What’s all this talk of giving us in the East one Deutschmark for one Ostmark?’ asked Klaus.
‘It’s true. It’ll be announced on television on 3rdDecember, and how about this, brother… The Politburo will resign and the central committee will assist Helmut Kohl with the integration of one Germany, moving the capital back to Berlin from Bonn.’
‘3rdDecember? That’s tomorrow! It’s all happening so fast,’ said Klaus.
‘Aren’t you glad?’
‘More than you know,’ Klaus replied.
‘Hey, we could really build this place up for the tourist trade and make a lot of money in the process,’ Bernd enthused.
‘I think so too. There’s a bit of land around here, and the Russian Army recently left their military base about 10 kilometres from here that’s ripe for development. I’ve been thinking, I’d be interested in opening up a golf course.’
Bernd laughed. ‘Golf? My dear Klaus, you know nothing about golf! ‘
‘But you do. Ask about the possible sites and use your connections. I think there’s a lot of money to be made in golf,’ stated Klaus.
Bernd nodded. ‘We sound like capitalists already.’
‘Is there anything you’ve done that’ll bring repercussions? You’re my brother and we stick together no matter what, but I need to know, just to be prepared,’ Klaus asked.
Bernd knew what his brother meant. ‘No. I’ve not shamed you, my family or myself. Nor have I been a part of any decisions made within the party that have compromised the safety and security of any individual. My conscience is clear, you have my word.’
‘Good lad,’ said Klaus and patted his brother on the back.
‘But you didn’t ask me here to talk about golf.’
‘Nor to discuss what we’re doing with Mutti for Weihnachten. I’ve a confession of my own,’ Klaus began. ‘I’ve been hiding a runaway in Das Kino.’
Bernd was flabbergasted. ‘Scheisse !’
‘I know how dangerous a situation it was. Ingrid and I told no one because we had no choice. We had to protect the boy at all costs. Luckily, events have gone in our favour and now is the time the boy can come out of hiding.’
‘Klaus! Are you mad? Who is this boy you risked your life for?’
‘Felix, our nephew.’
‘Sofie’s boy?’ Bernd was incredulous.
Klaus nodded. ‘Yes. You remember when Ingrid and Sofie fell out at Gertrude’s funeral and they lost contact? A few years later, that stupid drunk of a father, Jakob, drowned, and then Sofie died in an accident. Nobody told us so we never knew, and the twins ended up in Torgau.’
‘Nein ! Fic ! Fic !’ Bernd screamed, banging his fists on the hull of the boat.
‘And the first news Ingrid heard about her beloved Sofie was that she’d died.’
‘That’s tragic. Poor Ingrid,’ said Bernd.
‘She’s not forgiven herself. She’s been very brave, hiding her grief from Felix. He was in a state when he turned up here in the spring. Bouts of shaking and nightmares, the poor kid. He needed us to be strong. He’s on the mend now, thanks to Ingrid’s love.’
Bernd admired his brother’s modesty. ‘Sorry to hear that. How can I help?’
‘We need to know what’s happened to Susanne,’ Klaus told him.
‘We’ll go there today.’
‘Before we go, I want you to meet Felix.’
‘Hopefully he’ll remember me,’ Bernd ventured.
‘He’s got a fine eye for detail and he’s incredibly bright,’ Klaus began. ‘He’s gone through a lot, poor kid. We don’t want him just to be a Torgau boy.’
Felix was in Das Kino, reading in his room. He heard footsteps down below and Klaus calling his name. Appearing on the balcony, he looked down to find his Onkel was not alone. There was another man with him, similar in looks to Klaus but a better dressed and slimmer version.
‘Felix, don’t be alarmed. Guess who’s here to see you?’
‘Hello, Felix,’ Bernd said warmly. ‘Do you remember me?’
‘Onkel Bernd?’
While they all had lunch together in the cottage, Felix was pleased to hear Klaus and Bernd were going to Torgau that very afternoon.
‘I want to come with you,’ he told them.
‘No, I’m sorry lad,’ Klaus replied.
Felix frowned. ‘Please. I’m not afraid. Please let me come with you.’
Bernd concurred with his brother. ‘Sorry, best not.’
‘Susi needs me! Onkel, she might not even recognise you,’ Felix insisted, growing more and more frustrated. ‘She’ll think you’re just another bastard wanting to take advantage of her!’
‘Felix!’ Ingrid cried. ‘Mind your language.’
Angry, tearful and frustrated but wanting to hide his emotions, Felix ran out of the room.
‘He’s upset. Leave him,’ Klaus ordered.
‘He’s got a mind of his own,’ observed Bernd.
‘Feisty, like his mother and Tante,’ said Klaus, glancing at Ingrid. ‘When he’s calmed down, we’ll be able to reason with him.’
‘What if he’s right and Susanne doesn’t recognise you?’
‘Susanne will know her Onkel Klaus,’ Klaus replied, assuredly.
Bernd telephoned a colleague in the Dresden Politburo and was given the information he needed about Torgau. He and Klaus reached it a few hours later and were taken aback at the size of the imposing, fortress-styled building on the River Elbe as it came into view. The main prison was not their destination; the annexed fortress was where the children had been housed. The gates were open so they drove through a cobbled courtyard and parked. It was getting dark and they noticed that the only lights were coming from a reception area in the entrance hall. The place seemed empty. As they went inside, a middle-aged man with a bird-like face and glasses greeted them.
‘Gentlemen, how may I help you?’
Bernd spoke for his brother. ‘I’m from the Politburo,’ he began, showing his official identity badge. ‘We’re looking for a girl… our niece.’
‘You’ll need to fill out a form and it’ll be dealt with in the next few weeks.’
‘A few weeks!’ Klaus was instantly livid. ‘We want news today!’
‘As you can see, we’re working with a skeleton staff here,’ the man explained.
Bernd intervened. ‘How convenient. Everyone does a disappearing act so there’s no one left to answer any questions.’
‘Well, since you are from the Politburo, you should know,’ the man said accusingly. ‘Everyone knows Egon Krenz is yesterday’s man and so you’ll excuse me for asking, but what jurisdiction do you have in the party?’
It was the first time Bernd had experienced his authority being challenged.
‘Krenz was an asshole and may serve a sentence at the prison here, given time,’ Bernd began, confidently and self-assured. ‘I believe orders came through from my colleague. Our newly-elected minister from Dresden, Hans Modrow, ordered Torgau’s penal colony for children to close with immediate effect. All detainees should have been sent home to their families, fostered or released.’
‘Correct… and I’m here with a few colleagues to deal with enquiries.’
‘And all the bastards who worked here, where have they disappeared to?’ Klaus shouted.
The man defended himself. ‘Sir, I am not here to be abused.’
‘No. Only the kids a
re to be abused,’ was Klaus’s riposte.
‘I’m only doing my job,’ the man replied.
Klaus banged his fist on the desk. ‘You don’t have to deal with the aftermath of these screwed-up kids!’
Bernd intervened. ‘Klaus! Calm down. Let me deal with this. Do you have a list of where these kids have gone?’ Bernd asked the man in a civil voice.
The man nodded. ‘I do. Child’s name?’
‘Susanne Waltz. She’s 14.’ Bernd told him.
‘I’ll get you a form.’
Bernd read the man’s name on his identity badge. ‘Herr Stokowski, you have files in your office. I want details of our niece, today. Is that clear?’
Bernd and Stokowski faced one another. There was a second’s pause before Stokowski conceded defeat and disappeared to a back office.
Bernd shook his head and wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow. ‘Believe me when I tell you this is the best day of my political life.’
‘It’s great to have perks if you use them wisely. Welcome to the real world,’ Klaus told him.
Stokowski returned. ‘Susanne Waltz. Date of birth 30thJanuary 1975.’
‘That’s right.’
Stokowski looked uneasy. ‘She left sometime in September.’
‘September!’ Klaus exclaimed.
‘Where’d she go?’ enquired Bernd.
‘To a nursing home down in the town,’ Stokowski informed them.
Klaus was worried. ‘A nursing home? Is she ill?’
‘I’ll give you the address of the nursing home. They’ll fill you in on the details.’
Klaus was frustrated. There was no one to take out his anger out on and no one to blame. He went outside into the courtyard and punched the cold air.
Bernd was a calming influence. ‘Klaus, she’s alive! This isn’t the time for revenge, just get in the car and let me do the talking when we get there.’
Convinced another spanner would be put in the works once they got to the nursing home, Klaus was amazed when he was told Susanne had been there over a month and with Torgau’s closure the doctors were wondering what to do next for her, believing she didn’t have any relatives.
‘Susanne can go home with you as long as you can prove you are related to her,’ said the nurse.
Bernd handed over the necessary proof of kinship: Gertrude Baum’s will, stating her grandchildren Felix and Susanne Waltz would inherit her house in Motzen. With Klaus’s marriage certificate to Ingrid, whose maiden name was Baum, it was adequate proof.
‘Is she all right? Can we see her?’ Klaus asked.
The nurse said she would arrange for them to see her. ‘Susanne is fine and much improved but still a little weak, recovering from complications she’d experienced giving birth,’ she added. ‘She had a baby eight weeks ago, a son called Axel.’
Chapter Seven: The Girl
SUSANNE RECOGNISED KLAUS EVEN though it had been five long years since she’d last seen him. He hadn’t changed much – but she had. Gone was the carefree girl, with flowing, sunshine locks and happy, hazel eyes. She had been replaced by a young woman with shorter, mousey, lank hair that fell on slightly hunched shoulders, and a smile that no longer sparkled. She showed little emotion when the nurse told her that her Onkel Klaus had come to take her home. She’d said nothing to anyone about having relatives and had long stopped believing that people were fair and kind. In fact, she was sceptical that anything positive was ever going to happen in her life. At 14, the birth of her son had taken its toll on her young body. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, from the abuse she’d lived through at Torgau, although at the nursing home they just viewed her as a troubled teenager from Torgau with a baby in tow. No one knew or even thought to question whether she was also suffering from post-natal depression.
The tiny baby slept untroubled in his cot. Susanne glanced at Axel. She was supposed to bond with him and love him but she felt numb. She breastfed him and looked after him in a perfunctory way and that was all she could manage for now.
Bernd met with the superintendent at the home and dealt with the legal formalities while Klaus went alone to see his niece. He didn’t know what to expect as he knocked and opened the door to a small, clean room but he was taken aback when he saw Susanne, thinking she looked in a worse state than Felix had when he’d turned up at Motzen. Klaus attributed her lifelessness to the trauma of giving birth and motherhood.
‘Susanne, it’s me, Onkel Klaus,’ he said softly, wanting to put his arms around her but holding himself back.
‘Onkel. Is that really you?’ she said, managing a half smile and holding out her hand.
‘Yes, it’s Onkel Klaus. I’ve come to take you home,’ he told her, taking her small hands in his and holding them.
‘This is Axel, my son.’ Susanne said, pointing at her sleeping baby.
Klaus peered into the cot. ‘He’s a handsome devil.’
‘Did Dr Jens tell you I was here?’ she asked.
Klaus shook his head. ‘Bernd and I came to find you as soon as we could. Who is this doctor?’
‘It doesn’t matter now,’ Susanne sighed. ‘I haven’t seen Dr Jens since Axel was born. I thought you’d all forgotten me.’
Klaus was emphatic. ‘Never! We just didn’t know and weren’t able to help you until now. I’m so sorry.’
‘Will you take me and Axel home with you?’ Susanne asked.
‘Of course we will! Ingrid and Felix are waiting to see you and the baby.’
Susanne’s face crumbled with confusion. ‘Felix? He’s alive? I thought he’d drowned, jumping into the river.’
‘Is that what they told you? No, it’s not true. Wait a minute, Dr Jens! That’s the man who helped Felix escape.’
Her eyes had the look of betrayal. ‘He had more luck than our father then. Felix never told me he was planning to escape. Nor did Dr Jens.’
‘Maybe they couldn’t,’ Klaus began. ‘Felix is alive and well and so are you. You know the Berlin Wall came down and Germany is reunited?’
‘Yes, I heard. And I don’t have to go back to Torgau?’
Klaus shook his head. ‘No. You won’t ever have to go back.’
Susanne looked afraid. ‘Promise?’
‘I promise,’ Klaus said, reassuringly. ‘We’re a family again. Come on, get your things packed, bring your baby and let’s go home.’
Klaus called Ingrid from the office of the nursing home to say they were on their way and update her on all the necessary news. He asked her to break the news to Felix that his sister was coming home.
Ingrid got a bedroom ready, hastily ironing some clean sheets, then made a dish she remembered was one of Susanne’s favourites, a green bean stew called grune-bohneneintopf .
She heard the latch of the door click open. It was Felix who had just returned from a long run as he tried to work off the frustration of his earlier outburst. The aroma of the stew filtered through from the kitchen.
‘Tante, I behaved badly earlier, I was rude. I’m sorry.’
‘Oh, it’s forgotten. If it means you feel safe enough to speak your mind with Klaus and myself, well, that’s a good thing – from time to time,’ she said with a wry smile.
Felix nodded in agreement but he understood that poor behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated on a regular basis.
‘Mmm, something smells nice,’ he told her.
‘I have the best news,’ said Ingrid. ‘Susanne is on her way home with Klaus and Bernd.’
Ecstatic, Felix hugged Ingrid. ‘Is she all right?’
‘She’s as well as to be expected but there is something else. She’s had a baby.’ Ingrid waited for his reaction and realised Felix was not in the least bit surprised.
Felix frowned. ‘A boy or a girl?’
‘A boy. Felix, did you know Susanne was pregnant when you last saw her?’
‘Yes.’
Ingrid’s disappointment was tangible. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’
‘It was Susi’s secret. I
couldn’t tell anyone.’
‘You can’t keep a baby a secret!’
‘I hoped she’d lose it, or get rid of it.’
Ingrid was shocked at her nephew’s attitude. ‘Felix!’
‘Who wants a Torgau baby? Not my sister, that’s for sure. He’ll be a constant reminder of… I didn’t want Susi to become a mother at 14. Who would?’ Felix cried.
‘No, of course not. But it’s happened and she is a mother. We’ll all have to help her and just get on with it as best we can.’
Susanne was quiet on the drive home and Klaus and Bernd didn’t tax her with questions or force conversations. Mostly, she stared wistfully out of the window at scenery she’d long forgotten whilst Axel slept peacefully in the carrycot beside her.
Felix heard the sound of a car engine and tyres crunching on the snowy terrain as they drew up outside. He began to panic. He had betrayed his sister by leaving her behind in Torgau. Would she, could she ever forgive him? Nervously, he waited in inside the cottage with Ingrid. It felt like an eternity waiting for the door to open and Susanne to walk in carrying Axel in his carrycot. She smiled at Ingrid and Felix but they could tell by the look in her eyes she was vague, disorientated and fragile. Klaus and Bernd followed her inside.
‘Susanne, it’s so lovely to see you,’ Ingrid said, embracing her niece.
‘For me too,’ Susanne replied and looked her brother in the eye. ‘Hello, Felix.’
Felix smiled. ‘Susi… You’re here at last.’
Brother and sister held one another briefly and each could feel the other trembling as they hugged.
Klaus broke their awkward moment. ‘Well, we’re all hungry, let’s eat.’ And turning to his brother he asked, ‘You’ll eat with us before you go?’
‘I wouldn’t turn down Ingrid’s cooking,’ Bernd said, winking at his sister-in-law.
Klaus patted his belly. ‘Nor me.’
Felix turned his attention to the baby. He bent down and held the boy’s little fingers in his. ‘What’s your name, little man?’