The Watcher
Page 20
1) Lebensborn (meaning “fountain of life”), was formed by Heinrich Himmler in 1935, where he hoped to create a perfect race of children who would one day rule the world. The children of the Lebensborn program were born of blond, blue-eyed German mothers. Their handsome fathers were Schutzstaffel (SS) officers, who were already approved as having German forbears for many past generations. The children born to them belonged to and were under the protection of the SS. Thousands of children were born in the Lebensborn program. Others, who were blond and blue-eyed, were stolen from countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland—like Hunfrid in my story.
After the war ended, the Lebensborn children who were born in occupied countries were ill-treated because of their German heritage. For example, ten thousand or more children were born to Norwegian mothers and German fathers. However, when World War II ended, many of their offspring were homeless, orphaned, and victimized. It was not until the year 2000 that the prime minister of Norway formally apologized for the cruelty shown to this group.
I was shocked to discover the concept of Lebensborn originated in California decades before Himmler’s project. http://hnn.us/article/1796
There were many Lebensborn Homes around Germany and other countries. However, I could not find one in Berlin. So I created a home there to introduce Johanna to the plot, and to keep the story focused in Berlin.
2) I have used the Bibelforscher in my story as another group that was mercilessly victimized by Nazis. Bible Students were also known in Germany and around the world as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Wendy’s new friend, Johanna, represents this Christian group of German citizens who could not conscientiously take part in the war efforts or the armed services. They considered themselves as citizens of God’s coming kingdom and obeyed the Biblical command, “We must obey God as ruler, rather than men.” They would not salute (Heil) Hitler as their savior. Most stood firm and were either executed or sent to concentration camps and forced to labor, where they were required to wear the purple triangle to identify them. Amazingly, all they had to do was sign a paper renouncing their religion and they could go free! Very few took that way out.
The Bibelforscher kept in constant contact with the world outside, bringing news of the concentration camps, murder of Jews, and persecution of Christians via their Watchtower magazines, which were smuggled in and out of Germany through hidden mountain paths at midnight or in a myriad of other ways. Although they were few in number, their steadfastness angered the SS and Hitler obsessively. “We will wipe out this brood from the face of the earth,” he vowed.
A wing at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, is dedicated to the Bibelforscher—Jehovah’s Witnesses—for their firm stand against war and the fierce persecution they endured. Documentaries and videos of Jehovah’s Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault can be found at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum site: ushmm.org. Several other documentaries and videos are available on the Internet. Search for “Jehovah’s Witnesses Stand Firm Against Nazi Assault.” For more information, visit JW.org.
3) A question has hung over Germany and the world since that dreadful war: Why did the German people tolerate the horrors of the death camps, the final solution, euthanasia, etc. in their country? The White Rose resistance group was a group of German students who did speak out against the Nazi regime. These young people felt it was the duty of citizens to stand up against an evil regime that sent hundreds of thousands of its own citizens to death. So they spoke up anonymously. When they were found out, they were given a show trial by the fanatic judge Roland Freisler, who ordered their execution by Fallbeil (a German variation of the French guillotine).
Today the German nation recognizes the White Rose group’s courage and levelheaded reasoning during a time when logic, choice, and freedom were lost. A statue honors them in Munich and the government has issued stamps to memorialize this brave group of German young people. You can read about them at: jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/rose.html.
Acknowledgment and Appreciation go to . . .
My amazing daughter, friend, and advocate, Deborah Balas, for her TLC and encouragement as I underwent surgery and worked on this story as well.
Kristan, Stephanie, Jennifer, Lisa, Scott, and Judy—for visits, calls, goodies, and the joy that kept my writing muse alive and glowing.
Gabriele Mues, MD TAMHSC Baylor College of Dentistry, and her expertise in the mystery of the missing tooth.
Marita Smith, for translating much of my text into German. Ich liebe dich!
The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and the Jewish Virtual Library, who, through their programs and archives, keep the history of the Holocaust alive in the hope that such horrors will never happen again.
Ruta Rimas, my talented and considerate editor. Cheers!
Claire and Larry Krane, who made sure I ate well as I journeyed to 1942 Germany. Thank you, as always, for affection and friendship.
My writing group: Thanks for your candor and support over the years.
Congratulations to June Estep Fiorelli, for her new book, Stuck Toast and Mud Pies: Poems For Kids; Gail E. Hedrick, for her award-winning book, Something Stinks!; and to Elizabeth A. Conard for her book, Tori and the Terrific Tiger. My, aren’t we the creative bunch?
My Pi Iota Gamma sorority sisters, for listening patiently to my breathless and continual chatter about World War II history—a group hug is coming up!
Joan Hiatt Harlow is the author of several popular historical novels on the Margaret K. McElderry Books list, including Secret of the Night Ponies, Shadows on the Sea, Midnight Rider, Star in the Storm, Joshua’s Song, and Thunder from the Sea. Ms. Harlow lives in Venice, Florida. For more information, visit her at JoanHiattHarlow.com.
Margaret K. McElderry Books
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Also by Joan Hiatt Harlow
Shadows on the Sea (a companion to The Watcher)
Star in the Storm
Thunder from the Sea
Blown Away!
Joshua’s Song
Midnight Rider
Secret of the Night Ponies
Firestorm
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MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Joan Hiatt Harlow
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