Chapter 31 Derek Returns
Derek Returns
Berlin
War had been declared five months before, but it had made little difference in the everyday lives of Berliners. The only ones
who seemed concerned about the conflict were the mothers and wives whose men were now far away. In the “Phony War,” the Nazis
had taken complete control of Poland, while the Allied countries made no move to attack.
Derek had been sent to Poland. His letters gave very few details, but Helene could tell the months in Warsaw had been terrible
for him.
After they had helped Rabbi Shlomo’s family escape on Kristallnacht, Helene and the children had spent a week at Derek’s parents’ house.
That was all the time that Blaz’s hostility toward his daughter-in-law allowed.
Helene had then moved with Alexander and Matilde into the Secret Library.
The building was crowded with books and was not outfitted with living quarters, but there was a fireplace and chimney in one room.
Before he’d left for the front, Derek had turned that room into a bedroom and worked on the kitchenette and bathroom plumbing to set up Helene with the essentials.
Helene found a way to make it a pleasant home during his absence.
When she and the children were not cooped up there, they were at the Neukolln library with Lena and Klaus.
Fortunately, Klaus had not been called to fight, nor had Lena’s husband, Gabor.
Lena, stroking her protruding belly, said, “How did I let this happen? I’m such a planner, but here I am, pregnant in the
middle of a war. Could there be a worse time to bring a child into the world?”
Helene smiled. Alexander, now four and a half, was studiously examining the contents of a children’s book on the floor, while
nineteen-month-old Matilde was opening the empty bottom drawer of Helene’s former desk, then slamming it closed with glee.
Helene did not stop her but deftly slipped in a towel to muffle the noise and keep the girl from accidentally crushing her
fingers.
“Alexander is really captivated by books. He doesn’t just flip through them; he’s really trying to make out the words,” Klaus
said, nodding to Alexander’s head shifting from side to side as he tried to match the pictures to the words that described
them.
“What do you expect? We live in a library, and he sees me with a book in my hand all day. So I guess it’s only natural. But,
Lena,” Helene turned to see a grimace on Lena’s face, “it’s always a good time for a child to be born. The nightmare we’re
in—it can’t last much longer. Much of the army is opposed to war, and so are the German people.”
“The people,” Lena snorted. She sipped at her tea then said, “People like winning. So as long as Hitler keeps winning, no one will try to stop him. Everything he’s tried has gone in his favor. But anyhow, how are your parents? You haven’t told us about them lately.”
The answer was complex. The Jewish area of Berlin had been dismantled. The Jews remaining in the capital hunkered down at
home, hoping that things would get better after the war. Helene’s grandfather had died in January and, oddly, Helene was glad.
He had been unhappy for so long and terrified of being sent to a concentration camp.
“Well, they’re all right as far as things go. It’s hard on my mom to not have either of her parents anymore. My dad tried
to get a visa to Norway, but the North Sea is on alert, and it was rejected. Most countries have closed their borders to Jews.
We’re surrounded by a bunch of hypocrites. They criticize Hitler, but they basically believe the same things he does.”
“Do you know if your Nazi neighbors ever denounced you?”
Helene shrugged, then gently took the paper cutter Matilde had just grabbed and swapped it out with a fabric doll. As long
as her children were all right, nothing else mattered very much to Helene. Hitler had been in power for seven years, and nothing
was like what it used to be, but at least they were getting by.
The front door opened with a bang and they all looked up to see old Fuchs, who was sporting an SS uniform. Apparently Himmler’s
thugs had lowered their standards significantly when choosing the supposed elite of the Aryan race.
“Good day to you all, and what a pleasant surprise to find an old friend here!” he gushed.
Helene frowned and pulled the children close to her. Klaus jumped up, but Lena grabbed his hand to hold him back.
“Mrs. von Sholtz,” Fuchs spat her surname out, “surely you know you’re not allowed to work in a public library?”
“And is it a crime to visit friends?” She kept her voice even and unaffected. She did not want him to think he had the power to make her afraid, though inside she was trembling.
“I’ll have to ask Captain Kummer about that. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to have news of you. We thought you had left the country,
but you must be as stubborn as your parents. It won’t be long, though, until you people stop causing trouble. Good day!” he
called, turning and marching out. The black uniform did nothing to make him look more commanding or more Aryan.
Helene, Lena, and Klaus exchanged a glance. “One day that pig is going to get his comeuppance. You know how he got promoted
so quickly? By ratting out all his old commie comrades.” Lena made no attempt to hide her anger and disgust.
“Well, let’s not give him the pleasure of ruining our day,” Klaus said.
They chatted awhile longer and then Helene headed back to their makeshift home at the Secret Library.
Taking her customary pains to ensure she was not followed, Helene entered the yard and adroitly got the stroller up the stairs.
The front door was shut as usual, but unlocked. She thought about turning around and leaving, but there was nowhere else she
could go.
On high alert, she led the children into the expansive foyer, though the sky was too cloudy for the waning sunlight to be
of any help.
Alexander turned on the light. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room. The light reached halfway up the staircase
at the far end of the room.
Helene heard footsteps descending. Would she have time to grab a knife from the kitchenette?
Before she could take action, black boots were visible on the stairs, then baggy, greenish-gray army pants, and then an army jacket. Helene was flooded with relief when Derek’s face appeared next.
Cries of “Derek!” and “Daddy!” rang out, and the family embraced in a tangle of arms and legs. Derek kissed Helene until Alexander
pulled at his uniform for attention.
“Who is this strapping young man?” Derek asked, picking Alexander up. “Have you taken good care of your mother and sister
like I asked?”
The boy’s blond curls jiggled as he nodded his head vigorously and toyed with the gold buttons on Derek’s coat. With his other
arm, Derek scooped up Matilde. She buried her face into his neck and giggled.
“When did you get back?” Helene asked, then thought better of it. “No, let’s get the kids ready for bed, then we can talk
all about it.”
They went up to the floor above. Derek bathed Alexander and Matilde while Helene prepared dinner. The children ate first,
but Derek and Helene waited to eat until after the little ones were asleep.
“Tell me all about it. What kept you in Poland so long? I thought you’d never get sent back.”
Derek winced. He knew he would have to talk about it, but he preferred to pretend that the last few months had been a bad dream.
“The war part was short. The poor Poles fought bravely and heroically but were no match for us. What we’re doing to their country is unbelievable.
Besides jailing or executing their leaders, any Pole who stands out at all gets executed, and now they’re shutting the Jews into ghettos—which are big, but nowhere near large enough for all the people getting crammed into them.
In these conditions, the population will die by the thousands—tens of thousands. ”
Helene hung on his every word. So Hitler was not content to torture his own people. He would spread the horror throughout
Europe.
“And it’s not slowing down. Keitel has told me that once we’ve secured the western front, Russia is next. It’s madness!”
Helene squeezed Derek’s hand. “Couldn’t you go ahead and retire?”
Derek shook his head and raised his shoulders in helpless anger. “Now? It’s impossible. We’re stuck. I’ve not had to fire
a shot, but I’m one of the guys responsible for it all. But getting out would mean . . .”
“And what if they send you to Russia, or somewhere worse?”
Derek leaned over and hugged Helene. They pushed thoughts of the future aside. The past few years had taught them the value
of enjoying each particular moment as it came. There was no guarantee that another would come.