The other prisoners were not all Jews. There were political prisoners; social outcasts like prostitutes and madams; gypsies, homeless women, and then there were the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who refused to be silenced. These Jehovah’s Witnesses were a strong bunch. Even at the risk of death they openly declared that Hitler was the anti-Christ. They refused to do any work that would help the Nazis in the war effort, and it broke Michal’s heart to see how they were punished severely with the hardest work details. Still they would not bend. Again and again the guards gave them the opportunity to renounce their religion and swear allegiance to the Nazi Party, but they refused. Michal admired their strength. In the face of terrible beatings, they still remained faithful to their religion. Michal had to admit that if she had been given the opportunity to escape and go home, she would have said anything they wanted her to say.
Each prisoner was given a patch to wear on the sleeve of her uniform. The color of the patch was determined by the crime the Nazis had convicted her of. Jews wore the yellow Star of David; the gypsies and prostitutes wore black triangles; the political prisoners, red; Jehovah’s Witness, purple; homosexuals, pink; and so on.
All Jews were separated from the other prisoners, and even if a Jewish woman was convicted of another crime, for instance political treason, her Jewish heritage was always considered the most heinous of her crimes. And the most punishable.
Then there were those who were known as the rabbits. These were poor young women in their twenties who were tortured and used for medical experimentation. Michal was not aware of them when she first arrived, but she would later learn of the horrors and inhumanity that these young girls suffered at the hands of Hitler’s Third Reich doctors.
Michal was assigned to a bunk covered in wood chips, where she was surrounded on either side by other women. All wore the Gold Star, all were Jews. Even the other prisoners in the camp, as bad as the Nazis thought they were, were not terrible enough to be subjected to sleep beside Jews.
Chapter 11
Lotti and Lev, Berlin, Germany, 1939
Lotti’s generous heart and willingness to help others always seemed to result in gifts of gratitude from friends and neighbors. On a bright fall morning, an old woman who lived in the apartment above Lotti and Lev had been fortunate enough to acquire six eggs. Six eggs, a coveted fortune in Nazi Germany in 1939. She could have selfishly saved them for her husband and herself, but she remembered how Lotti had taken her on the bus all the way across town to see a doctor one afternoon when she was afraid she was not strong enough to go alone. It was over eight months earlier. The poor old woman had told Lotti of her condition. Someone had said that a doctor across town could help, but she was weak and ill and afraid to go so far on her own. Lotti had listened; she’d been kind and understanding. In fact it had taken a full day of her time to take the woman, but Lotti had never complained. And so, on this autumn day, just a week after Britain and France had declared war on Germany, the old woman who lived upstairs knocked at Lotti’s door. Lotti opened the door and the woman handed her a small basket with a towel that covered two beautiful clean white eggs. At first Lotti tried to refuse. She didn’t want to take the old woman’s rations.
“You were so kind to me, Lotti. It gives me pleasure to share this with you. You must take it, for my sake,” the old woman said.
Lotti hugged her and carefully placed the basket on the counter.
It certainly was a treasure.
Lotti had very little butter left from her rations. She managed to find enough to grease the pan as she prepared a surprise of scrambled eggs for Lev. He had been out looking for work again as he did every day, against all possible odds. He had promised that he would be home before noon because he was building a chest of drawers for an old customer and he wanted to have it finished by the end of the day. It wasn’t much work, and he hadn’t charged very much. However, the little bit of money he earned would certainly help. And, they were both grateful for any job he was able to secure, regardless of how little it paid. Lotti could hardly contain the excitement she felt at being able to serve him such a rare treat for lunch. It had been a long time since she’d tasted eggs, and she would have loved to take a single bite. But she resisted. Instead she saved them both for Lev.
It had been difficult for Lotti after the children from the orphanage left for England and then Alina had done the unthinkable by moving all the way to Munich and moving in with her brother. As angry as she was at Alina, Lotti forgave her almost immediately. She loved her friend too much to hold any grudge.
Lev walked in just before noon as he’d promised. In all the years that she and Lev had been married, he’d never broken a single promise. She smiled when she thought of that. He kissed Lotti, then sat down at the kitchen table. Food had become so hard to come by because there was so little money. And with Lev not working, they had begun to trade their own furniture and anything else they had of value for anything edible. When Lev was able to find any wood, he’d create something that could be bartered and once in a while, like today, sold. Lotti loved him. In his eyes she saw the kind man she had come to love. He was a few years older than she. And she knew that he had always wanted to give her a better life. In the beginning of their marriage and for a while after, he’d been able to do that. But now, things were hard.
“I have a surprise for you,” she said, smiling.
“Oh?” You know how much I love surprises.” He winked at her. Always the optimist, she thought. “So, tell me already,” he said.
She carefully dished the eggs onto a plate and then added a heel of hard bread to the platter. Lotti poured Lev a cup of coffee made from acorns and served him the food.
“Where did you ever get eggs?” he asked.
“A present from Mrs. Slienberg upstairs.”
“Very nice. Where did she get them?”
“I have no idea. I never asked. She probably got them on the black market somehow, who knows. I don’t like to pry,” Lotti said.
“Nu Where is yours?” he asked.
“I ate mine already. I ate with Mrs. Slienberg. She wanted me to eat with her. I hope you’re not angry?” Lotti lied. She knew he would never eat the eggs unless he thought she had already had some. If he knew the truth, he would have insisted she eat them.
“She brought enough for the two of you and this left over for me too?” Lev said as one of his eyebrows lifted slightly
“Yes. She did.” Lotti smiled at him.
“You’re sure you ate?” he asked again.
“Lev, have I ever lied to you?” She had never lied unless the lie was something like this. “I told you that I had some earlier. I promise. Now, please eat before it gets cold.”
Lotti watched as he savored every bite, and she got more joy from watching him savor the food than she would have gotten from eating. Instead of asking him about his job search, she decided to just sit quietly and take pleasure in his company.
Just as Lev was finishing his food, a loud knock came at the door.
“Gestapo, open the door,” a harsh voice hollered.
Lotti felt her heart plummet. She looked at Lev. He dropped the fork that was dangling in his hand.
“Open the door!” the voice boomed again from outside.
“Hide!” Lotti said.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. In the closet. Hurry.”
He did what she said, but it was no use. They found him within minutes. “Glassman? You dirty Jewish pig. Is this your wife? A clean Aryan woman. You soiled her. You should know this is against the law!”
Lev didn’t speak; he was more worried about Lotti than he was about himself. The man kicked him in the calf with the toe of his black leather boot. A sharp pain shot through Lev’s leg and down through his foot, but he grabbed on to the wall and remained standing.
“And you, you’re an Aryan.” The Gestapo agent shook his head and glared at Lotti. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Did you lie with this Jew? Tell me you didn’t,
tell me he forced you and I will take him away and arrest him for rape.”
“She didn’t. I forced her. It’s not her fault. Nothing is her fault,” Lev said The Gestapo agent hit Lev across the face and blood spurted on the agent’s black leather coat. Lotti gasped and ran to her husband.
“Stay away from him. You’ve done enough damage to yourself.” The agent turned to the other Gestapo agents who’d come with him and said, “Take him!”
The two men in long black leather coats grabbed Lev’s arms and pushed him down the stairs. Lotti ran to the window. She saw the Nazis push her husband into the back of a black automobile. He hit his head. Lotti felt the pain that Lev must have felt shoot through her. A small scream that no one heard escaped her lips. “Oh Mein Gott,” she cried. Lotti was shaking. As she ran through the kitchen she looked down at the half-eaten plate of eggs and felt a gut wrenching sadness. Tears rolled down her cheeks Her heart was racing with fear. She couldn’t feel the danger to herself as an Aryan woman who had broken the law. All she could feel was that she was losing Lev. Lotti tripped and fell, skinning her knee as she ran down the wooden stairs of the apartment building. She was crying out loudly so he could hear. “Lev, Lev, I am here waiting for you. I love you. Please come back. Lev….” She got to her feet and rushed outside. The Nazis were getting into the car. She was just in time to see Lev turn his head to look at her. It was just a brief moment. Lev’s eyes caught Lotti’s.
He tried to muster a smile as if to say he was alright. She knew he was trying to protect her. But he couldn’t. The car began to pull away. Lev blew her a single kiss and then he was gone. Lotti fell to her knees on the side of the road and leaned against a tree. Then she wept.
Chapter 12
Lev
Lev was taken to the local police station. His crime was considered especially vile. He’d dared to spoil an Aryan woman by marrying her. The men who surrounded him at the station were young, strong, and armed. Lev was over forty; he was thin and had not eaten well in a long time. He knew they planned to hurt him, and all the way to the station he’d been afraid. But now, as they circled him like a pack of hyenas coming in for the kill, he was no longer afraid. A light went on inside of him and he felt the presence of God. The Nazis were yelling at him, damning him, but he could not hear what they were saying. All he could hear was a voice in his head that told him he would be all right. “Take care of my Lotti,” Lev told the voice. Someone struck him. The pain rushed through him like a lightning bolt. Then the voice in his head returned. “I’ll watch over Lotti,” it said, and the pain was gone. Again, they struck him. He heard himself cry out. Then the tender voice was once again in his mind. It said, “Lotti will be all right. Surrender to them, Lev, you cannot fight this. Fighting will only prolong the pain. Lotti will be with you soon enough.” The voice in his mind was clear and it drowned out the voices of the Nazis. Lev saw the Gestapo agent point the gun at his head. He gasped. “Hold my hand,” the voice of spirit said, and Lev felt the warmth of God beside him.
He never heard or felt the bullet enter his brain.
Chapter 13
Alina
Johan helped Alina move her things into the small apartment that he rented. It was walking distance to the University of Munich. He’d made sure that out of respect Alina would have her own bedroom as did he, but they shared a kitchen and a bathroom with the rest of the students who lived in the building. Alina registered at the university with false papers that Johan had paid someone with his late mother’s pearl ring to prepare. The papers said that she was a Christian, and she and Johan were siblings. Alina had protested at first when Johan told her that he was planning to sell the piece of jewelry, and he’d promised that he wouldn’t. But he hadn’t kept the promise. Instead he’d given her the papers on her arrival and insisted that she use them. Alina’s new name was Adelheid Strombeck. “You shouldn’t have sold that ring, Johan. It was your mother’s,” she said.
“Yes, but you will need papers to survive. It was necessary, and besides, I have other things of my mother’s to keep as memories. So, please don’t even think about it.”
“Adelheid?”
Johan laughed. “Yes.”
“Oh, Johan, I don’t know what to say. I feel like I owe you so much. Why did you do all of this, why did you sell your things and put yourself in danger for me?”
“Because I knew you wanted to go to university. You couldn’t go as Alina Margolis, could you? Now you don’t have to wear the yellow star on your sleeve or live in fear anymore.”
“Johan, Johan....” She hesitated, choked up. “And you did this for me?” she said, shaking her head.
“Of course.”
“Johan…” she whispered his name again.
He smiled. “I wanted to give you the opportunity to fulfill your dreams, Alina. But now that we are at war, I am very concerned about the future even here in Munich. You see, I was sent away for a time when I was twenty-three. I don’t know if you were aware of the RAD, the Reich’s Labour Service.”
“I heard something about it, but I really don’t know much.”
“It was terrible. Hitler wanted to put everybody to work, but it was very physical hard work. The government sent me off to various farms to dig ditches. In exchange, I received a few dollars to spend, some food, and a place to sleep. I had to go away for six months’ training. And then l had to live in a military camp and wear a uniform.”
“Was it the army?”
“It was a sort of prelude. I served six months and came home to find my parents both very ill.”
“That had to be terrible. I mean, to come home and see them both sick.”
“Yes, it was. They needed care. I felt responsible. In fact it was in many ways like a weight that I carried around with me all the time.”
“Were you planning to join the army?”
“Me, no.” He smiled. “I’m not that brave, I guess. So, the answer is no. I would not voluntarily join the army. But, now that the country is at war, I am afraid I may be called up.”
“And you would have to go?”
“Yes, probably I would.”
She looked at him. “I know where this conversation is going. You think we should get out of Germany?”
He scratched his head. “Well, actually, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you want to further your education, and I want that for you too. In fact, I had every intention of finding work while you attended classes. But Germany is a dangerous place for both of us right now and it seems to be getting worse every day. I worry for you because if for some reason the man who forged your papers is ever caught, I have no doubt he would give you up. After all, forging papers is punishable by death. I know him well, that is why he was willing to take the risk for me. But if he were tortured, I am sure he would turn us in.”
“I am sure he is your friend, but the ring didn’t hurt,” she said.
“Yes, that is true. The ring, and even a little cash, helped to convince him. But I understand how much he had to risk. Still, he is not the kind of man who would keep a secret to protect his integrity. And, truth be told, how could I blame him? So, even though you have the papers, every day that you spend here in Germany is unsafe. And as a man, for me, the war changes everything. I could be called up to fight at any time. If I were taken away and you were all alone here, I don’t know if you would be safe. There is so much to consider. I realize this may sound cowardly to you, but yes, I think we should try to get out of Germany. Would you go with me? I mean, if I can find a way for us to get out? You have papers now, if, God willing, the papers pass, and we are out of Germany, we will be free of Hitler…”
“My family, Johan? I can’t even contact my sister anymore. I send her letters, but they come back unopened. Germany is at war with Britain, of course no mail can get through. Still I try. Once we leave, how will we stay in touch with Lotti and Lev? When my parents return they will go to Lotti and Lev first before anyone else. That is how I will find them
again. My sister too. As soon as she can come back, she will go to them. We can’t lose touch with Lotti and Lev. What do you suggest we do?”
“Letters. We will stay in touch with my sister through letters. Perhaps we will have a code so that when the Nazis censor our mail they will not know what we are asking ... I mean, we will have double meanings for everything that we write, meanings that only Lotti and Lev will understand. What do you think?”
“Oh, Johan, my life is a disaster. I don’t want to play spy, I just want my family back. I feel that I’ve lost everyone and everything I know and love.”
“You haven’t lost me.”
“No.”
“But you don’t love me,” he said.
“I don’t know. I have so many mixed emotions. Part of me is terrified to love. After all, our lives are so fragile right now. It’s hard enough just to stay alive.”
A Family Shattered: Book Two in the Michal's Destiny Series Page 6