The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (46 page)

Luise had felt terribly sorry for him for being confined to the dark and kept him company whenever she could. To make him feel less of a burden, Luise would engage him in conversations and asked him questions about what it meant to be a Jew, what he believed and why so many people hated them so much. He taught her everything he knew about the Jewish faith, its history and rituals, and she was deeply fascinated by the new world he showed her. Her parents had been Catholics but not very religious in their daily lives and when religion became less popular under Hitler, it served them as an excuse to abandon their half-hearted efforts altogether.

To meet a man with such strong philosophical and religious convictions and with so much other knowledge impressed her; inspired by his passion she felt strongly attracted to the world of Judaism. It was difficult to understand why the Jews had been persecuted and victimized through the centuries when there was so much wisdom and spiritual goodness in the scriptures. Luise started to think of herself as a Jewess and planned to convert at the first given opportunity.

The young couple were proud and provocatively openly Jewish. Thanks to the presence of the Militia, they felt sure of themselves and were not in the least worried about displaying their faith. They got on well with Greta and her group and represented a welcome challenge to the otherwise grim and moody atmosphere of the hut. Freddie, in particular, was a big optimist and felt very hopeful for the future. He assured everyone he knew
that not all Germans were bad people or were against the Jews, always arguing that he himself had been saved by ethnic Germans.

Luise of course had seen her share of crimes against Jews in Prague and not only regarded her partner's ideas as naïve but she also feared for more anti-Semitism in Germany in the future. Right now, it might be rare to hear a word against the Jews in public but she knew better than to expect the country to change overnight. Hildegard and Gudrun were less vocal in their hateful rants since Freddie had arrived but it did not take a psychic to read their thoughts.

Luise's hopes were to get to New York or Palestine where they could be completely themselves. She planned to convert to Judaism and help repopulate the tribe. Since she had learned that Jewishness could only be obtained through conversion or by birth from a Jewish mother, it was doubly important that she did so.

When Luise found out that Greta and Wilma were Jewish too but were not practising their faith, she put the many lessons that Freddie had given her in the loft to use and went on a mission to convince the apostate women of the necessity to keep the Jewish way of life going. Like her father, Greta had no interest in that tradition and quoted a Jewish philosopher who had called their people to “be a Jew at home and a goy in the street”.

“Being Jewish is so much more than just believing in the Talmud.  It is all the traditions and customs that make us a distinct culture,” Luise explained to her ignorant friend.

“All through my childhood and my adult life I have had very little contact with those traditions,” Greta had to disappoint the self-declared rabbi in front of her. “It is impossible for me to identify with 'our tribe' because of it. If I could do it I would.
It would suit me. My family have travelled from the Ukraine to Slovakia and now I am in Germany. I never felt completely welcome or at home in any of these places. If I felt part of a culture that could give me that feeling I would embrace it happily. ”

“Even if you reject the traditions you are always part of the same tribe,” Luise impressed upon her. “Your ancestors were Jewish and you share their blood. You cannot deny that.”

“Maybe, unless of course one of them converted,” Greta replied.

“Then their blood would also be Jewish. Don't split hairs. We need to stick together. Yes, maybe you can be a goy in the street but then please try to be a proper Jew in your heart. Don't be a traitor to your people,” Luise pleaded.

“I could only be a traitor if I was part of it in the first place,” Greta pointed out. “I don't fit in in the synagogues, I can't read a Kaddish, and so I am a traitor to you already. I have never been anything else than a Jew to others. Even my husband started to forget that I was the book loving girl he had fallen in love with and the mother of his children. He too started to think of me as a Jew even though I never practised my faith. If I were to go to Palestine with you I would remain the odd one out without the conviction of faith, don't you think?”

“No, because of your Jewish family you are part of the chosen people and Palestine will be the home for all of us,” Luise promised. “Whether you are believers or not, the rabbis and I will bring you back on the right path. You can tell us to go away, but we will be the ones to accept you completely.”

“All that preaching and persuading does not sound like I will be accepted unconditionally at all,” said Greta stubbornly. “I do appreciate your good intentions but I am content with my family and happy to try and live in the world just the way I always have been.”

“What I like most about the Jewish faith is that everyone is allowed to argue and try to find out the truth for themselves,” Luise carried on regardless. “It is not as dogmatic as I always believed it to be when I saw groups of them coming out of the Synagogue with their hats and locks.”

“Then you have not met many of them in person,” Greta said jokingly. “The orthodox or traditional ones can easily be perceived as being dogmatic. Maybe you will enjoy that, you seem to like a good argument or debate yourself. I prefer to do without it.”

Freddie adored the way Luise was fighting for the Jewish cause but tried not to be part of such discussions. His presence would have given these conversations a darker and heavier tone. He usually made a quick exit and often took the boys to an improvised playground behind one of the barracks. Ropes had been hung down from trees so that children could swing or climb. There was even a little slide made of old plastic tarpaulin. The boys took to Freddie with an enthusiasm that almost hurt the women who had tried to be everything for them and now felt they had failed the children. Ernst had never really had a father figure and had never seemed to miss it but Heinrich and Adolf had longed for more exciting and active fun than just singing and playing cards.

It was in this playground that Ernst saw the two teenage girls from Budweis again with whom he had played cards and who had seen his grandfather. He left Freddie and the two boys, who had joined a football team that was playing against young Latvians, and walked up to them.

“Hello Lisbeth, hello Margot!” he greeted them.

“Oh, look, it is our friend Edwin Ernst. Have you found out what your real name is yet?” Margot teased him.

“Yes, of course I know my real name. I was not supposed to tell anyone during the war, I don't really know why,” Ernst apologised.

“Well never mind, Ernst. We knew and we don't mind,” Margot replied.

“What did you know?” Ernst wondered.

“That you were Jews. You must tell your mother. She must not think we meant any harm,” said Lisbeth.

Freddie joined them, looking to see if Ernst was troubling these sweet girls.

“Not at all!”
Lisbeth assured him. “We are old acquaintances from Budweis. We met on the road. We also met his grandfather on a different occasion and apparently we scared all of them, unintentionally. I was just explaining to Ernst here that our father was very hurt about it. He was offering to help Ernst’s grandfather and his wife but they did not trust him and left in the middle of the night.”

“You wouldn't trust a stranger on the road those days as a Jew,” Freddie said, defending Jonah. “Even now, I am not sure it is a good idea.”

“We understood that, but grandfather was wondering for days what he had said that had upset or frightened any of you. He never meant any harm. We understood that Ernst and his mother were panicking because we knew about their fake names. With Jonah he really did not know why. Maybe it was because father had asked to see his papers. He only did that to help them,” swore Margot.

“How would that have helped Jonah?” asked Freddie visibly confused.

“You see, my aunt married a Jew. She tried to escape on forged papers that were not very good ones and got arrested at the border to Hungary. Father was devastated that he had not seen that the forgeries were poorly done. Since then he tried to help others avoid the same fate,” explained Margot.

“What a nice man. I hope he got over his hurt,” said Freddie diplomatically.

“Did you find your missing bag?” asked Ernst.

“Yes, we did get it back, thank God,” said Lisbeth animatedly.  “A man next to us looked after it, so that no one would steal it. When he returned it we didn't know if anything was missing. We didn't dare search it in front of him but I think he felt that we wanted to. He looked very angry over that. Everything was still there: Passports and money. We were so relieved but when we looked for the man to thank him properly he had gone.”

“Where is your father now?” asked Freddie.

“We got separated in Budweis. The men were taken away. The soldiers here are saying that he is going to be released soon and sent here as well. I cannot wait,” Lisbeth said excitedly.

“I hope so too!” Freddie assured her. “The Czechs want to start their own life now and won't need him. The politicians are all going to agree on that, don't worry.

Back at the barracks Edith and Esther were discussing their own future. Life as a same sex couple in Germany seemed unthinkable and they both longed for a more sophisticated and flamboyant surrounding than the dire camp. Since Adolf and Heinrich had taken so well to Freddie and Luise, the ladies had serious doubts that adopting the boys themselves was beneficial for any party. Would the young couple consider taking care of them?

If so, the ladies were free to go and seek the pleasures and amusements of gay Paris. Edith still had some of her fortune in Switzerland,
so the two of them were not without means but it probably would not be enough to bring up two children and keep the lifestyle the two lovers had in mind to return to after all this. 

Greta encouraged them to seek their own luck. Now that she had Evka with her, she was more than capable of looking after Wilma and Ernst. Freddie and Luise seemed very fond of the boys but if they were to decline the task of fostering them Greta would happily step in. Three was almost easier than one she said. They kept each other company and let her to do other things while only needing to keep one eye on them. The last thing she wanted was any of her friends to suffer any more hardship. The two ladies were free and could be themselves in France without the added burden.

Greta’s own life was already defined by motherhood and being a carer for her sister, she might as well take on some more responsibility. Besides, she still remembered how horrible the German mother had been. It was a sweet irony to think that the children were not only safe from the mother's hateful influence but on top of that were going to be raised as Jewish.

Greta had been surprised how little they cried after their mother had gone and how quickly they adapted to their new situation. Adolf had suffered from nightmares for the first few days but neither of them ever dared ask what had happened to their mother. When Esther tried to reassure them that she would only be looking after them until their own mother returned, they were completely silent and tense. Only when Edith added that the boys would never have to be alone and could always stay with the two ladies did the grim young faces turn into shy smiles. This promise was the only obstacle on their path to Paris now.

Luise had spent the afternoon in the eastern European section of the camp, looking for a rabbi who would convert her and marry her to Freddie. Despite awkward language barriers and a fair deal of mistrust and disbelief on the part of the people she spoke to, she eventually succeeded in finding a man who promised he could help her. Arriving at the hut full of joy and excitement she ran up to Greta to tell her the good news. It was the opportunity Greta had waited for.

“I am so happy for you Luise,” she said, genuinely pleased. The girl had waited for such an opportunity for so
long, one had to rejoice with her. “Are you going to have babies right away?”

“I hope so. We haven't really spoken about it yet. Freddie is a little unsure if he can survive making and repairing toys but I keep telling him that he has a gift to sell things. He loves talking to people and he is always so happy and upbeat, I am sure he can find a position almost anywhere.” Luise said full of excitement.

“You are right there,” agreed Greta. “He has a gift. Have you noticed how the boys adore him? They have taken to him really well, don't you agree. I have to let you in on a little secret. Will you promise me to keep it?”

“I am not sure I can do that,” Luise replied.

“Promise anyway,” demanded Greta.

“Can I tell Freddie?” Luise asked, pleading like a little girl.

“That you can,” agreed her friend.

“I am very curious now,” Luise admitted.

“Edith and Esther....they are not just old friends. They.....they have been very, very close for a long time now. You see.....you could call them a couple if you wanted,” said Greta hesitantly.

“You mean like......oh....oooh! I see. No, that can't be,” Luise tried to grasp the news but found it hard to take it in. She had heard about such things before but had no idea what to make of it. Her mind was trying hard to make sense of what she had just heard.
Lovers? Two women? Was that not a sin? She would have to tell Freddie and ask him about it. What did the Bible have to say to that?