“Muriel smiled, but it was a smile tinged with regret. ‘They were left behind.’
“That realization made Karolina cry. ‘How can I take these? They were given to other little children with love, children who were rounded up and sent off on the trains. These clothes belong to those children.’
“‘They’re not here anymore,’ Muriel said in a consoling tone. ‘I’m sure the parents would want you to have them rather than see the Nazis throw them away.’
“Karolina nodded. She hugged the clothes. ‘I’m sure you’re right. I’ll treat them with love and care.’
“As we entered March, we felt reasonably secure for the time being. The basement apartment was warm, we were well stocked with food, drink, clothing and coal, and we had solved the day care dilemma. After all, as Colonel Müller had said, it’s all about survival. One day to the next. Little did we know what would happen within the next thirty days.”
THIRTY
KAROLINA’S BABIES WERE ADORABLE. I couldn’t wait to finish my shift, return to the apartment and hold Rachel and Leah. By the middle of March, the babies were two and a half months old and growing quickly. Both of them smiled so sweetly and would eagerly make eye contact. They could lie on their backs and grab at ribbons that I dangled in the air.
“I’d come in from shift change and Muriel would be laughing and giggling with them. She wouldn’t want to leave. There were many days when Muriel would curl up and spend the night just to be with them. Imagine that. Two babies and three women in a tiny little furnace room. But there were no complaints. The three of us were raising those twins. Despite the horrors of the occupation, there was joy in that room.
“Those babies were our babies. They belonged to the three of us. When we looked at those babies, we saw hope. We saw the future. No matter what happened around us, we never saw despair. The twins were our hope, they were the hope of our people, they were Poland’s hope. They were our twins!
“By now the ghetto population was sparse. There were no more Jewish shops, no Jewish bakeries, no townsmen coming through with black market goods. Very few of us remained. Even the hundred or so that were held back to work at the Shop were decreasing in number. Rations were passed out in the Shop during the day, but many found them insufficient. They certainly didn’t contain sufficient protein or vitamins. Malnutrition was taking its toll.
“The harsh winter hung on through March and was unrelenting and unforgiving. Snow was deep on the way to and from the Shop. Many did not have warm clothes, and no one but the four of us had any heat. We felt guilty about having a heated room, but Siegfried’s few pieces of coal were only able to warm a very small area. People died from exposure. It seemed like if a person didn’t die from starvation or hypothermia, then she’d die from typhus. And, of course, that suited the Nazis’ purpose.
“You can’t imagine how important Siegfried’s provisions were—those few pieces of fruit and a balanced meal could stave off disease. Our stockpile of coal was nearly gone, but April was arriving and we felt relief in having survived another winter.
“I was coming home from my shift, eager to see the twins, when a German soldier stepped out of a darkened alleyway. ‘Fräulein Scheinman,’ he said quietly.
“‘Siegfried! Did you come to visit? Karolina’s working, but Muriel and the babies are here. Rachel and Leah want to thank you for all the milk and food and coal.’
“He was solemn. ‘I’ve just been given orders. Ten minutes ago. I am being sent to Ukraine. My train leaves right away.’
“He took a piece of paper from his pocket. ‘This is the address of my mother’s house. She lives on a farm a few miles south of Regensburg in Bavaria. I have written a letter to her to tell her that I am married to Karolina. I told her that my wife would be coming to live with her but I didn’t know when. I told her we wanted to live on the farm and make a family. Tell Karolina, if I die in battle, she should go to my mother’s and tell her that we were married. That this is now my family. I hope my letter will get to my mother, but the war…’
“As he turned to leave, I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘Come and say hello to Muriel and the babies that you’ve been keeping alive. They’re beautiful.’
“Siegfried shook his head. ‘I can’t.’
“I pulled on his sleeve. ‘Yes, you can.’
“The two of us entered the ghetto and walked down the stairs to the basement, where Muriel was holding the babies. At first he was afraid, but when Muriel handed them to him, his mouth dropped open and he got all teary-eyed. ‘They’re beautiful.’
“‘They’re alive because of you, Siegfried,’ Muriel said. ‘They’re beautiful and strong because a caring German soldier provided for them.’
“Through his sobs, he made attempts at speech with phrases that were totally incomprehensible. The only thing I understood was ‘Damn this ungodly war.’ He hugged them tightly and sat on the bed.
“‘Which is which?’ he asked.
“‘This one’s Rachel. This one’s Leah.’
“He kissed each one. ‘Good-bye Rachel; good-bye, Leah. I hope to see you again soon.’ He handed the babies back to Muriel, bowed slightly and quickly left the room. That was the last we ever heard from Siegfried. I put the paper with his mother’s address safely away in my duffel.
“That night, when Karolina came home, we told her about Siegfried’s visit.
“She walked over to look at her sleeping babies. ‘I told you he loved me. I told you he cared about all of us. He’s kind, Lena. He’s done whatever he could to keep us and the babies alive. It hasn’t been easy for him.’
“Two weeks later, Major Fahlstein called a meeting and addressed all of the shop workers. ‘We have received orders to close the Shop on April fifteenth. All material will be shipped to other centers. All Jews will be sent for resettlement. There will be trains to take you to other work centers. The ghetto area in the northeast section will be demolished. I have given each of you a strong recommendation.’ He swallowed hard. ‘Of course, I do not have so much influence, but I requested that each of you be sent to a work center where your sewing skills will be valuable. I am sorry. Truly so.’
“All I could think about was the babies. How could we protect them? I already knew the fate of Jewish babies sent for resettlement. I knew what awaited them when they disembarked from the train cars. That night, we gathered in the basement.
“‘We only have days,’ I said. ‘We need to find a home for Rachel and Leah.’
“‘Why do we need to find a home?’ Karolina said. ‘I’m a top seamstress. Fahlstein will recommend me. I’ll take the girls with me to wherever they send me. You’ll come too, Lena, and we’ll work the shifts just like we do here. We’ll all be together.’
“I shook my head. ‘They won’t let you take the babies to a labor camp.’
“‘What will they let me do with them?’ Her voice was cracking.
“All I could do was shake my head.
“‘Oh no. They can’t take my babies from me. I’ll hide from them here in the ghetto.’
“Again, I shook my head sadly. ‘They’ll sweep the ghetto. You’ve seen them on roll calls. They’ll search every room.’
“‘They’ve never searched the basement.’
“‘I’m sure this time there’ll be no room left unsearched. Besides, Karolina, they’ve made plans to destroy the ghetto. They’ll bulldoze these buildings.’
“‘I can’t let them take my babies.’ Karolina became agitated. She paced quickly back and forth, her muscles twitching. ‘They can’t have my babies!’ she shrieked.
“I picked up my duffel and took out the folded paper. ‘This is the address of Siegfried’s mother in Germany. He has written to her and told her to expect you.’
“‘What good does that do us? How am I supposed to get to Bavaria?’
“I took a deep breath. ‘I have an idea. Would you trust Colonel Müller to take you and the twins to Siegfried’s mother’s house?’
“‘A Nazi colonel
? Absolutely not. What kind of idea is that? The Nazis murder Jewish babies.’
“‘I trust Colonel Müller.’
“‘Why would you trust him? Do you think he got to be a colonel by befriending Jews?’
“‘I can’t tell you why. I just do. And I think you can depend on my judgment here.’
“Muriel walked over to Karolina and put her arm around her. ‘I don’t think we have much choice.’
“The three of us stood together in a group embrace. I said, ‘Let me talk to the colonel tomorrow night.’”
THIRTY-ONE
THE NEXT NIGHT, AFTER work, I left the twins with Muriel and made my way to Colonel Müller’s. The evening was unusually warm for a spring night and the square had seen many such nights filled with German partiers. But it was April 1943 and Chrzanów was quiet. Most of the Germans had left. The ghetto was almost vacant. I didn’t see a soul on the way to my house.
“It was nine o’clock when I arrived. The lights were on in the living room. If only time could reverse itself and I could open the door and walk into 1938. I stood at the door a few minutes before I knocked.
“Else opened the door and stared at me. She had a martini glass in her hand and was dressed in a full-length, black sequined party dress. Her blond hair was pulled back tightly and clasped with a pearl ring. She looked at me and made a face, like she had encountered a slug in the middle of her sidewalk.
“‘I suppose you want to see my husband?’
“‘Yes, please, if I may.’
“‘Ach. I am so happy to be getting out of this Polish shithole and back to Berlin. Wait here.’ She turned and walked inside, slamming the door.
“They’re sending Colonel Müller back to Germany, I thought. That’s perfect. He can find a way to take our babies to Regensburg.
“He came to the door, fully decked out in his dress grays, braids hanging from his shoulder boards, and rows of medals sat above his breast pocket. He motioned for me to step back onto the sidewalk. ‘What are you doing here? Are you crazy? I told you not to come here anymore.’
“‘I need a favor.’
“‘From me?’
“I explained about the babies and our need to get them to Regensburg. ‘I think Karolina and I will be sent to a labor camp, but the two girls…’
“He shook his head. ‘Impossible. They won’t survive.’
“‘That’s why I need you to take them to Bavaria.’
“He laughed out loud. ‘And how am I supposed to do that? In ten days I’m driving my car to Berlin. Shall I just make a five-hundred-mile side trip to Regensburg? And perhaps you’d like to explain this whole scenario to Else. I’m sure she’d love to help. She loves Jewish babies.’
“‘You’re our only hope.’
“‘Please. This conversation is going nowhere.’
“‘What are we supposed to do with the two little girls?’
“‘Put them on the train.’
“‘They’ll die.’
“‘Yes, they will.’
“‘If you won’t take them to Regensburg, help me drive them out to the Tarnowskis.’
“‘Herr farmer? Hmph. Herr farmer and Herr farmer’s wife are long gone. They took off in the middle of the night long ago for parts unknown. I guess they were the smart ones.’
“Just then, I remembered Mr. Tarnowski telling me that they had a plan. And I could have gone with them. But that was water under the bridge. I stared directly at the colonel. ‘You have to find a way to help us. I know you are a good man. You’re not one of them.’
“‘You’re wrong. I am a colonel in the Wehrmacht. I have stayed alive knowing what I can do and what I can’t. If what I’ve done with the network brings an end to the war, saves millions of lives, then the risk was justified. For these two little babies, whose odds of growing up are next to none, I’m sorry, little hitchhiker, but there’s nothing I can do. Good night.’ He turned, walked into the house and left me standing on the sidewalk.
“Muriel and Karolina were anxiously waiting for me when I returned, but when she saw my expression, Karolina started to cry.
“‘We’ll figure something out,’ I said.
“We debated going to work for the next few days, but although the Shop was closing, we were required to go. Major Fahlstein’s recommendation could mean the difference between being sent to a work camp or being sent to Auschwitz. So, once again, I worked the day shift, Karolina worked the night shift and Muriel stayed with the twins.
“It was eerie at the Shop, just a handful of workers, most of them busy packing up supplies for transport north. The German overseers were gone. Only Major Fahlstein and two guards remained.
“Two days before the Shop was set to close, Major Fahlstein said, ‘There will not be a night shift today. If you know any of the night shift workers, go get them, we could use them now.’
“I walked back to the apartment. Karolina was playing with the babies and humming a lullaby. She shook her head. ‘I’m not going in. I’m going to spend my time with our babies. Every minute we have left.’
“‘But Major Fahlstein’s recommendations—you don’t want to be left off the list.’
“‘I don’t care.’
“I nodded. Who could blame her? I returned to work. Major Fahlstein noted that Karolina was a no-show.
“After work that night we caucused again. I was out of ideas. I wished David were there; he’d always had a plan. I missed David.
“Finally, Karolina stood. ‘Let’s make a run for it,’ she said. ‘I think we can make our way to the country. There aren’t that many Germans left. We’ll find a family that will take us in and hide us till the war is over.’
“‘You’re dreaming,’ I said. ‘First of all, you’d never make the country; you’d be shot leaving the city. There are still guards here. Second, even if you could get to the country, where are you going to find a family that’ll take in three Jewish women and two babies?’
“‘We’ll have to take that chance. Maybe they’ll just take in the babies. We’ll keep walking until we find someone. What’s our choice, Lena? Hand the babies over to the Nazis?’
“‘She’s right,’ Muriel said. ‘What are we supposed to do? If we board a train with the twins, they’ll be taken from us on arrival. And you know what they’ll do.’ She walked over and put her arm around Karolina. ‘Don’t you worry, honey. I’ll go with you.’
“‘You’re both nuts,’ I said. ‘There’s an excellent chance that we can all get assigned to a work camp. We can sew clothes and survive the war.’
“‘Not the babies.’
“I nodded. ‘Not the babies.’ I walked over and joined them in a hug. ‘I must be as crazy as you two, but count me in.’”
THIRTY-TWO
“COLONEL KARL HEINZ MÜLLER, decorated at the battle of Galicia in World War I, was assigned to Chrzanów in the Upper Silesia district in 1941,” Liam said. “He was transferred to Berlin in 1943, where he was stationed at the Bendlerstrasse and attached to General Friedrich Olbricht. While working there he was introduced to Oberstlieutenant Klaus von Stauffenberg. Both Olbricht and von Stauffenberg were members of the secret German Resistance.”
“Why do I know the name von Stauffenberg?” Catherine said.
“From the plot to kill Hitler in the bunker.”
“Right. The failed coup.”
“Müller himself was actually part of the German Resistance going back several years, but he became a serious conspirator with von Stauffenberg in 1944. He was present at the Wolfsschanze on July 20, 1944, when the bomb exploded and failed to kill Hitler. Von Stauffenberg was executed on July twenty-first. Müller was shot by a firing squad for high treason on August first.”
“So, there actually was a Colonel Müller who was a member of the German underground? Lena wasn’t lying and she wasn’t delusional.”
“Not as concerns Colonel Müller. Her story about the network is very believable. And about his aloofness when it came to helping Lena hid
e the babies. My research disclosed that while many of the German high command despised Hitler and his ambition, they were still German loyalists. They deplored Hitler’s genocide, but they were the German elite. They liked the political structure and their social privileges. They enjoyed their status. Many of them were fascistic.
“Müller may have spearheaded underground resistance groups, and died trying to overthrow Hitler and the Nazi Party, but he was no Thomas Jefferson. He cut his teeth on authoritarianism.”
Catherine cleared the breakfast dishes. “It’s good to have Lena’s story corroborated. Thanks for the research.”
“But you still think she’s holding back?”
Catherine nodded. “There’s no doubt in my mind. There’s a story beneath the surface here, I just don’t know what it is. I don’t know why, I just know that there’s a part that’s locked away, that we may never find out.”
Liam’s cell phone buzzed. He saw the caller ID, raised his eyebrows and motioned for Catherine to come close.
“Liam Taggart … Hello, Arthur … This morning?… I don’t know, I’ll have to run it by Ms. Lockhart. Why don’t I call you back in a while … Good-bye.”
Catherine stood with her hands on her hips. “Arthur Woodward? What the hell did he want?”
“He wants to meet with me later this morning.”
“Did he say why?”
“Nope.”
“Fascinating.”
“Do you want me to meet with him?”
“Sure. Why not?”
At eleven o’clock, Arthur and his personal assistant, Rico, arrived at Liam’s one-room office. Liam stood at the door and shook Arthur’s hand. “Can we leave the muscle outside?”
“Of course.” Arthur turned to Rico. “Why don’t you wait in the car?”
Liam walked over to his credenza. “I’m brewing a pot. Can I offer you a cup?”
Arthur nodded. “Just black.”
“So, what brings you out today?”
“Are we off the record, Liam? Just you and me?”
Liam nodded.
Arthur took a sip of coffee. “Look, I’m not a bad guy, no matter what you may think. Maybe I’m overprotective of my mother, but she’s eighty-nine and I’m her only relative. I’ve seen her go from a socialite, very involved in civic matters, serving on the boards of substantial charitable foundations, to a woman obsessed with finding two girls for which no evidence exists or has ever existed. Do you understand? She’s Sir Galahad in search of the Holy Grail. The only thing on her mind is this Karolina matter.
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