Breadcrumbs and Bombs

by Susan Finlay

  “I do.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Lucas Landry, September 2017, Sacramento, California—

  LUCAS HAD A ton of work to do to get ready for Tawny and the baby to come home. Luckily he had time, since the hospital was keeping Tawny and the baby a few extra days. The baby was a preemie and Tawny also had minor blood pressure problems they decided to address. That gave him, along with his aunts and mother-in-law, time to get their new home ready. One of his cousins who owned a pick–up truck volunteered to help move furniture.

  After looking around Lucas’s Roseville house and being told it was going on the market, the cousin told Lucas he wanted to buy it. He and his wife had been looking for a house in the area for almost a year. He said they were even willing to pay full asking price. When Lucas had called Tawny and told her the good news, she was overjoyed and told him now everything was perfect. It would save them the hassle of listing it and the expense of paying realtors.

  Lucas finished setting up the crib in their new-old house and took a final look around, proud and feeling satisfied with what they had accomplished, before heading back to the hospital. At the hospital, while they all waited for the doctor to come into Tawny’s room and sign her release papers, Lucas turned to his aunts and asked, “Aunt Elsa, did anyone ever tell you who you were named after?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Why? Do you know?”

  “I do. Do you remember me telling you about a second girl in Germany who’d written diaries? Her name was Ilse Seidel.”

  “I remember you mentioned her. What about Ilse? How does she fit in?”

  “Well, Ilse and your uncle, Ron Landry, met during the war. He was a wounded pilot and she nursed him back to health. He was killed, later, but before he died, he fathered a child with her. Your parents named you after Ilse—the more American version of her name, that is.”

  The aunts exchanged startled looks.

  Continuing, Lucas said, “Ilse gave birth to a boy named Julian, and her aunt, Karolina Wagner, adopted and raised him. I got to meet him while I was in Germany.”

  “What? Wasn’t that the name of our baby brother?” Aunt Anna asked.

  “Yes. I almost forgot about him.”

  “Baby brother?” Lucas and Tawny asked in unison, exchanging glances.

  Aunt Anna nodded. “Our Julian was born in Biberach, in between Elsa and Joseph. He was what was called a blue baby, because his heart wasn’t fully developed. Back in those days, the doctors couldn’t do much for blue babies. He only lived a few days. It devastated our parents. We were too young to understand what was happening.”

  Aunt Elsa said, “Do you think our parents named him after Ron’s baby?”

  “That’s entirely possible,” Lucas said. He looked at Tawny. She nodded. “Tawny and I talked the other day about our son’s name. We decided he will be named Julian Ronald Landry.” Both women broke into tears.

  Aunt Anna sniffled and dabbed her eyes dry with a tissue. “Thank you, both of you.”

  Lucas reached out and touched her arm. “We are honored to be a part of this family. Thank you for being there for us.”

  After much hugging and the women drying their eyes, Tawny’s mother, Lani, handed the swaddled and nearly sleeping baby to Elsa.

  Tawny, who had been reading the partially translated diaries and papers Lucas had found and put together, said, “One thing still baffles me. How did the diaries, papers, and all the other stuff from the Sudetenland get here to California? Did I miss something? The family left home with nothing but a suitcase each, and those were left those behind after the first day of walking when they were being expelled. They lost their coats and clothing that had jewels and money sewn inside. So where did all that stuff come from, and how?”

  “That’s a really good question,” Aunt Anna said.

  Lucas smiled. “I don’t know how much you know about the expulsion of ethnic Germans from the former Sudetenland. I’ve done quite a lot of research on the topic. At the time, Germans made up about twenty-eight percent of the population of Czechoslovakia. That was almost three and a half million ethnic Germans whose ancestors had called that area home for a thousand years.” He paused to recall more of the details.

  Aunt Elsa, taking advantage of the pause, said, “So the Germans living in that part of the world hadn’t just moved there at the start of the war, when the Reich took it over?”

  “That’s right. Glad you mentioned that. From what I can surmise, the borders in that region of Europe had been open to migration and settling for at least a thousand years. Ethnic Germans had called Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Poland home, and likely the other way around, too. Anyway, at the end of the war, all the ethnic Germans, regardless of their political beliefs, were physically and violently expelled from all the Eastern European countries. Somewhere between twelve and fourteen million of them were uprooted, mostly women, children, and the elderly.”

  All of the women in the room gaped.

  Lani said, “Where were they expelled to?”

  “Germany. Some were sent to Eastern Germany and lived under communist rule but most ended up in Western Germany. As far as I can tell, none were given a choice.”

  “I feel bad for them, especially those who were sent to Eastern Germany,” Aunt Elsa said. “I can’t imagine how horrible it was for them.”

  Lucas said, “I tell you this, because it’s important to understand the extent of what occurred over there. While I was in Germany, I asked Ilse Seidel—now Ilse Jaroslav—how the Nagels got their diaries and other belongings back after their expulsion. She told me that Christa and Tom, and a couple of Christa’s siblings were able to travel back to the Sudetenland in the early 1950’s. They found their old house in Altstadt and spoke to the people who were living there. They told them who they were and that their family had buried some items, which they hoped they might be allowed to retrieve.”

  “And they let them?” Tawny asked, wide eyed.

  “Yes, but not only that, they let them inside the house and let them take some of their belongings that the Nagels had stored—hidden—under the floorboards. The Nagels took everything they could fit into their vehicles, thanked the family who lived there, and left. They never returned to Altstadt after that. They told Ilse that there was nothing for them there anymore.”

  “Wow,” Tawny said. “That’s wonderful they were able to retrieve all that stuff. Didn’t Christa’s parents or siblings want to keep it?”

  “Nope. They wanted Christa to keep it all for safekeeping, in the hopes someday someone would write about their lives. Ilse also gave them some of her things, and so did her husband, Petr Jaroslav.”

  “Do you think anyone will ever write about them?” Aunt Elsa said. “The part about many millions of Jews being imprisoned, tortured, and killed is widely known, but I doubt most people know about the expulsion and torture of the ethnic Germans.”

  “Some people still don’t believe any of the atrocities really happened—the holocaust or the expulsion. That’s why I think I want to write their story,” Lucas said. “The Germans and the Jews and the carnages that happened to them are all entwined with my ancestry and my story. My family’s story. The American allies who fought alongside soldiers from many other countries to end the Hitler Regime, including my grandfather and my Great-Uncle Ron, and the Resistance fighters, are part of that story, too. Tawny says she’ll help me organize everything better, while she’s on maternity leave.”

  “I’m actually excited to help,” Tawny said, smiling from her hospital bed.

  “I’ll be starting my new job and will be busy, but when things settle down, I plan to write our story. It’s something I can do on weekends and occasionally in the evenings.”

  “I’m going to help him with some of the writing, too,” Tawny said.

  “Yeah, and when the kids are able to travel, I think we’ll take a trip to Germany and maybe even to the former Sudetenland for research, but also giving us a chance to see mor
e of our roots.”

  “Maybe we can help, too,” Aunt Anna said. “I used to teach writing in a university. Bet you didn’t know that.”

  He shook his head and grinned. “You’re full of surprises.”

  “Oh, you don’t know the half of it.”

  Aunt Elsa said, “Don’t forget that those family roots are spread out in other directions too. Our father’s—your grandfather’s— family went back to the gold rush days right here in this country.”

  And Tawny jumped in, “Your mother’s family originally came from Ireland, isn’t that what you told me? You might have to include Ireland and Great Britain in a future trip.”

  Lani joined the fray, saying, “Your children’s roots also go back to South Africa, don’t forget.”

  Aunt Anna said, “I’m pretty sure our grandfather on Dad’s side was in this country for many years, but I’m not sure where our grandmother came from. Dad’s mother. I vaguely remember hearing someone say she came from somewhere like Poland or Hungary or someplace like that.”

  “Yikes. Whoa there, everyone. I’ll need to quit my job if I try to go everywhere and research my whole family tree—and Tawny’s family tree. Let’s just take it one step at a time. I really do feel excited about all of it, though.

  Lucas looked around the room at his family and felt comforted. “You have no idea how lonely I felt before my father died. Then, when he died, this incredible guilt hit me. I should have tried to reach him. I should have tried to save him from the drugs. It’s too late, but maybe there is still a chance for me to save someone.”

  “You mean Seth?” Tawny said.

  Lucas had finally told her more about Seth’s beliefs a couple of days ago, when they were alone in the hospital room. “Yep. I’ve thought about this a lot. He may be unreachable. If so, I’ll leave him be. All I can say is that I have to try. It’s time I sit down with him and really talk.”

  “When will you do it?” Tawny asked.

  “After we get you home and settled in, I’ll go over to Seth’s house and give him copies of everything—the diaries, family tree drawings. I’ll leave them with him and plead with him, if I have to, to read them and call me when he’s finished.” He worried that Seth was far too entrenched in his radical beliefs, and that no one could dig him out of it but, by God, he had to try.

  “It’s worth a try,” Tawny said. “I hope you can reach him. You’ve been missing your brother for far too long.”

  Aunt Anna said, “Are you going to tell him that he’s half Jewish—ancestry—I mean?”

  “Not directly, if I don’t have to,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to set him off by just telling him and having him just dig his heels in.” Seth could be a time bomb, but Lucas didn’t want to say that out loud and worry his family. “If he reads the materials and figures it out on his own, at a pace that won’t shock the crap out of him, I think he might be more willing to re-evaluate his beliefs on his own, you know what I mean?”

  “That sounds right,” Tawny said. “He might be more willing to accept it if it’s not thrown in his face.”

  “That’s the hope anyway,” Lucas said. He would be putting himself out there and risking getting hurt again, the way he had when he’d shown up on his father’s doorstep with his newborn daughter all those years ago. He was only now getting over that hurt. But if there was a chance he could repair his relationship with his brother, he had to try. At least now he felt stronger, having family support to rely on.

  No one spoke for a few minutes.

  Aunt Anna, glancing at her sister and then looking at Lucas broke the awkward silence. “We would like to read more of those diaries, if we can.”

  “Of course you can,” Lucas said. “I made extra copies of all that material so that you could have your own copies. I’ve translated a lot of it into English.”

  “Thank you,” the aunts said in unison.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Lucas continued, “after things calm down a bit, I’d like to have you all over to the house for dinner. I have lots to tell you about the Germany trip and all the family members I met. I finally have all the missing pieces—or at least most of them.”

  “I can’t wait,” Aunt Elsa beamed.

  Later, as Lucas helped Tawny out of the car in the driveway of his father’s—no, their—house, he paused and said, “I didn’t know about the baby Julian who died, when I suggested we name our baby Julian. If you want to change his name, it’s probably not too late.”

  “No. I love the name and think it’s perfect. I feel like we are now also honoring that poor little soul who never got a chance to live his life.”

  Lucas kissed her and whispered in her ear, “I love you, Tawny Landry.”

  Inside the house, Tawny gushed over the way Lucas and the aunts and her mother had redecorated the bedrooms and the living room. “I love it so much,” she said. “Everything is exactly the way I imagined. The baby’s room and Bianca’s room are perfect. Thank you!” She pulled Lucas into a tight embrace and kissed him. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  After settling Tawny, the baby, and Bianca in their new house, he went into his new office and picked up the box he’d put together. He said, “I’ll see you in a while. Going to drop this stuff off at Seth’s.”

  “Okay. Good luck.”

  A short time later, after fighting rush hour traffic, he arrived in front of Seth’s house. He took a deep breath, trying to work up the nerve to face his brother. Guess I better do it before his neighbors call the police and report me as suspicious.

  He got out of his Jeep, opened the back door and grabbed the box, then strode up to the door and rang the bell.

  Seth opened the door, his eyes showing surprise.

  “Didn’t expect to see you again.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You got what you came here for, the contact list. Figured you didn’t need me anymore.”

  “Brother, I will always need you, but not in the way you think. I need you precisely because you’re my brother. You need me for the same reason.”

  “Using your psycho-babble on me, huh?”

  “What? No. I’m just trying to reach out to you. I brought you something.”

  “Oh, yeah, what?”

  “This box is full of our family history. I’ve spent months collecting it, putting it all together. These are copies—for you and your family. I’m hoping—you’ll read it.”

  “Why would I want to do that? Maybe you’re into all that ancestry crap, but not me. Just go away and leave me alone. Just go, and take that shit with you.”

  “Seth, wait. I found most of this stuff in Dad’s attic. I’m not sure if he ever knew it was up there. I know ancestry isn’t your thing. To be honest, it never was mine, either. Not until I started looking at this stuff. There’s some fascinating material here. Diaries, poems, old letters. Oh and identity cards. You may have heard of them—officially, they were Ahnenpaβ. That translates to ‘family tree of Aryan descent’. They were required of all citizens during WWII.”

  Seth stood up straighter, his attention obvious. “I’ve heard of them.”

  “You studied German in school, too, didn’t you? I seem to remember you talking about the teacher. Same teacher I had in high school.”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  Lucas, hoping against all hope to appeal to his brother, said, “The stuff is mostly in German. I translated some of it and made copies of my translations for you, too, in case I was wrong and you didn’t know or remember German. Oh, and some of the diaries are in Czech. I had to get a professor to translate those for me.”

  “Czech? Why would you have Czech documents?”

  “Ever heard of the Czech Resistance fighters?”

  “Nope.” He inched the door closer to being closed.

  Crap, I’m losing him. What can I say to get him interested?

  “Did you know we have some Czech ancestry, Seth?”

  “What? You’re crazy, man. L
ook, like I said, I’m not interested in that old family history shit. Forget it. Get lost.”

  No, no, no, that’s not the way this was supposed to go. Oh, man, how can I convince a Neo-Nazi to read stuff about his family’s history? Wait, I’ve got it.

  “You like guns and wars and Nazi stuff, right?”

  Seth nodded, his eyes now showing interest.

  “There’s lots of stuff about the war. The Red Army. Concentration camps. You’ll be hooked. I’m telling you, you’ve gotta read this. All of it. I’ve packaged things together in the order you should read.”

  Seth sighed so loudly it could more accurately be called groaned. He took the box from Lucas. “Fine. I’ll read some of it. Not guaranteeing I’ll read it all. Like I said, I don’t care about family history and I don’t want to talk to you about it. Ever. I’m just saying I’ll read some to get you to leave.”

  “Fair enough. When you’re done, call me and let’s talk. Please promise me you’ll call.”

  “Okay. I’ll call. Geez.”

  Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but Seth shut the door in his face before he got another word out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Christa Nagel, July 1948-June 1950, Memmingen, Germany—

  CHRISTA AND TOM sat in a church pew, beside Christa’s family, watching Ilse and Petr exchange wedding vows. Ilse, her long blonde hair styled in a fancy do, flower wreath atop her head, looked stunning in her long white embroidered gown trimmed in lace. Vati, though only her uncle by marriage, had walked Ilse down the aisle, and Ernst had served as best man. Christa knew that Ilse’s brother, Robert, had been disappointed when Petr asked Ernst to be his best man, but he understood that Petr had a connection with all the Nagel siblings.

  Completing their vows, husband and wife kissed and everyone cheered. The happy couple turned to face the audience—their families, neighbors, and co-workers. Christa sighed as the bride and groom walked arm in arm, stopping briefly to talk to guests as they meandered down the aisle,. How she wished she were the bride and Tom were the groom. It wasn’t to be. Not now, maybe not ever. At fifteen, Christa knew she was too young to marry, which also meant she couldn’t ask Tom to take her with him to the states. Once back in California, for the remainder of his three-year tour of duty, Christa worried he would probably find a beautiful woman who would sweep him off his feet, and he would forget about her and Germany.