The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (10 page)

“Are you suggesting that I should leave without them?” she said, realising what he was getting at.

“Of course I am suggesting that. A larger group is much more suspicious. We would endanger Karl,” he explained.

“But they are my family. I can't just abandon them.”

“I am your family now,” came the curt reply.

Soon after this conversation
, Johanna came back from a trip to the market in town and took Greta aside.

“I think you need to tell your famil
y to get out of the country,” she said.

“Why are you saying this? Has anything happened in town? What have you heard?” Greta asked worriedly.

“I have heard nothing, calm down,” Johanna replied. “Nothing special has happened. Nothing needs to. The signs are all obvious. You don't see many Jews in the streets any more where there used to be so many of you. Now the ones that you do see don't seem to feel safe. The Germans are not even here yet and already it feels strange and dangerous in the streets. Don't your family tell you anything?”

“They
have said nothing about that,” Greta had to admit. “I am never in town, so I will have to trust your word. Wilhelm seems to feel the same as you. Maybe you are both right. I will speak to my father and ask him to consider it when they come here next.”

“That is the other thing I was going to ask you,” Johanna added.  “I don't think it is wise for them to do that. They can no longer come here to visit at all. It is too dangerous for us and for them.”

“Why?” Greta asked.

“It is a long way from town to here,” Johanna pointed out. “They should stay indoors as much as they can. Bratislava is dangerous now. There are so many of you Jews, it has become the perfect pl
ace for excitable aspiring Nazis to stir things up. They are brutal and they are not scared of resistance, they want a proper fight and they know the police will look the other way.”

“It can't be that bad, surely, I would have heard,” Greta insisted.

“Do you think anyone would tell you about it? They want to spare you the pain of knowing, which is understandable. I, on the other hand, want to spare you the pain of seeing your family getting hurt, especially with the worry about your new baby. You lost the last one. You are safe here. We can cover for you and Karl, especially since you have rarely left the house in the last few months. If Jonah and Wilma come here and are seen, it will attract unnecessary attention and will refresh people's memory that you or rather that we know Jews. We need the neighbours to forget about that so if, or when, Hitler comes we won't get into any trouble. We keep agreeing to this and then we let things slide and the visits happen again. I’m afraid that we need to be more disciplined about it from now on. ”

“Wilhelm thinks so too,” Greta said with a sad tone. “He wants us to get away from here altogether before anything happens. He is looki
ng for me and Karl to get clean German passports and leave via Poland.

“Thank G
od! That is an excellent idea,” Johanna exclaimed. “I hope he does it sooner rather than later. There won't be much time.”

“I just don't know where we would be going,” Greta wondered. “We don't speak any other languages. He said he wants us to go to England or France.”

“Why there?” Johanna asked surprised, as she knew little about International politics and other countries beyond Germany and Austria.

“It is where the biggest Jewish communities are,” Greta explained. “France is especially liberal in its laws and has been so
ever since the Great Revolution. He says that the political situation in most other European countries is not very Jew friendly or stable. He thinks it would be safety by numbers there. A larger community would be better equipped to help us.”

“I see the logic in that but you must be aware that over there you wouldn't be Jewish. You would be German. They would look at your blond child and your passport and exclude you. How would you prove to them that you are Jewish
if you want their help? They will never believe you. You never even practised your religion and you don't look your race. Even if the Jews abroad are willing to help you, they would not help Wilhelm. He can't prove he is Jewish and neither could Karl. You married a goy, how could they ever accept you as a family? You are too naïve my darling.”

“But I am Jewish by birth and even more so
by the German racial laws,” Greta insisted. “It makes no difference to Hitler that I converted. In his society we are
nothing. You think that any place that welcomes me and Karl as Jews won't welcome my German husband? That would be ridiculous. I am not the only one who is married to a non-Jew.”

“You know your people better than I do,” Johanna said with doom i
n her voice.  “I hope for Wilhelm’s sake that you are right.”

Greta sat down and stared into space.
All of a sudden, life was so complicated. She was just a young woman trying to live her life without hurting anybody. Now the situation in countries that had nothing to do with her was changing and as a consequence she had become a pawn in a political chess game. Did she have to leave Europe altogether to escape that hateful Hitler? Suddenly, nowhere seemed to be safe anymore.

“Don't worry Greta,” said Johanna. “Our W
ilhelm will think of something.

When Wilhelm came home that night
, the two women were busy giving little Karl his weekly bath. Greta withdrew from the room, gave her husband a kiss and started preparing the food, while he went to the bathroom to say hello to his little boy.

“How is my little Karl the Great?” he asked jokingly.

“I am cold Daddy. The water is too cold,” Karl screamed playfully.

“Oh it is not!” Johanna disagreed. “Don't be such a wimp.”

“How old are you now?” Wilhelm asked his son.

“Three. Three years old!” Karl said proudly.

“Well at that age you need to start being a little bit more tough my son. If the water is cold you have to be a brave boy and learn to tolerate it without letting on that you are cold. Then you will become a brave and strong man when you grow up,” he told him.

“Why do I have to be a brave man, Daddy?” Karl asked. “Uncle Benedikt says he is strong enough for all of us.”

“Yes he is but you want to be strong yourself so you don't have to rely on him all the time,” Wilhelm replied.

“I'm not cold D
addy,” Karl said with a cheeky grin on his face. “It is warm water, it is too warm. I need to get out.”

“Nice try,
” laughed Johanna. “You are not clean yet.

Later when Greta took Karl into the bedroom to read him his bedtime story Johanna took Wilhelm aside for a little heart to heart.

“Wilhelm you need to do something about Karl. You need to get him out of Slovakia as soon as possible,” she implored him.

“I know Johanna. I am working on it,” he replied.

“I had a word with your wife today and she knows it will be difficult for you three wherever you go. People are either on Hitler’s side or against him. The way he is acting, the countries that are against him might end up being invaded. I don't think there are any completely safe options for you,” she said resigned.

“I know. I am trying to figu
re out what to do.”

“Greta says you are trying to get forged passports for her. I hope you understand that together you are never going
to be safe anywhere in his sphere of influence. Even your party membership won't help you,” she said.

“The German
Sudeten Party is not a Nazi party!” Wilhelm insisted.

“Not yet, but where else do you think he will recruit his helpers from? Th
ey will all be supporting the Nazis if they know what is good for them but whatever future you have, she will always be a liability,” Johanna said with emphasis.

“Don't you think I know that?” he
asked. “I have been over the options many times and I am not sure if anywhere but America will do for us.”

“Oh my, that is a long way. You won't be coming back from there. We'll never see you again. Why
settle there?” she asked.

“Because from what I hear
, they have had civil rights for the Jews since the founding days and also because it is so far away. If anywhere is safe from Hitler these days it is across the Atlantic,” he replied.

“Do they give out v
isas?”

“They do, but that is
very difficult and expensive, as would be the journey. I am already spending a lot on the passports.”

“Who is arranging those for you?” she asked.

“A communist who used to come to the book shop. We know a lot about people by the kind of books they buy. Now that the politics are turning so anti-communist, he has helped to get some of his comrades out of the country. It is expensive though,” he said.

“Couldn't her family fork out some money for her passport? They are Jews, they must have more money salted away than they let on,” Johanna said.

“I think so, but they will need their money for themselves. They too are refugees in the making. I don't want to involve her family. Jonah and Wilma don't want to be separated from Greta and Karl. They probably will want to go wherever we are going, so they will be the last people on earth I am going to talk about my plans with,” he explained.

“Those Jews are a bloody pain
in your neck,” Johanna swore. “Listen Wilhelm, wouldn't it be much easier if you just took care of Karl?”

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“If you left her,” Johanna suggested. “Just leave with Karl for Germany where she can't follow.”

“That is absurd!” Wilhelm exclaimed. “How could I take him to Germany when he is half Jewish?”

“He is only a boy. There are ways of fixing him up with the right connections. If you can get him to Berlin on a fake passport you can make further arrangements there. I have heard there are ways,” she said knowingly.

“What ways?” Wilhelm asked.

“There are forgers in Berlin too,” Johanna explained. “New identities can be provided for c
hildren. I don't know, declare him the son of a deported communist and then adopt him. There are people who are experts in these things. Your son is not the only half Jew in Germany but he has the advantage of being born outside of Germany so fewer questions will be asked. Nobody would expect you to bring a Jewish child into Germany. You would have to be mad to do so. What is more, he does not deserve to be treated as a Jew. He has done nothing wrong and he looks nothing like them.”

“Maybe you are on to something,” Wilhelm admitted. “What would I do about Greta?”

“Nothing. Leave her here with us. She should not travel while pregnant anyway. We will look after her. If she knows what is good for her son she will not make any trouble. She is a sensible woman and I will talk sense into her if needed,” Johanna promised.

“I would put her in great danger here,” Wilhelm point
ed out. “Karl and I would be of leaving because we all mistrust the future in Slovakia.”

“
We all agree that it is out of the question for her to come to Germany with you. Maybe she could leave with her precious family and go to England, France or even to America if she wants, or even Palestine. That decision is hers,” Johanna said coldly.

“She probably would not want to be too far away from Karl,” Wilhelm said.

“Exactly. If she leaves she will want to be able to come back eventually. I think that if she stays here on her own she has a fair chance. We don't know how bad it really would be for her here as there are less Germans and less Nazis. The Hlinka Guard may act like Nazi police but they are soft on Jews that have converted,” Johanna said persuasively. “They are more religious than racists.”

“If she stays she would never agree to
give up Karl,” Wilhelm said suddenly.

“Then mak
e her agree,” Johanna suggested. “Make up a story or just take him and leave without telling her if you think she is going to kick up a fuss about it. It is your child's safety that is at stake. You know what is going on in town, it could get a lot worse and then what?”

“I know
but she is my wife,” he said. “It is not right to leave one’s wife. We made vows and promises,” Wilhelm pointed out.

“Do you want to have a dead wife and son or do you want them to be alive, even if it means you have to give up being together as a family?” Johanna asked him pointedly. “It may not be forever, just for now until we know more. She must see that it would
make a lot of sense. She is a Jew, she has brought this on herself by marrying a German. She brought the danger to you and to Karl, now she should have the decency and make a sacrifice for her chosen family.”

“I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about it myself,” he admitted.

“Really?” Johanna almost cried out loud for joy. “Oh Wilhelm I am so relieved. I never thought you would.”

“I never thought so
myself but lately I have had my eyes opened,” he told her.

“Your eyes opened?” she asked.
“How come? What happened?”