You Are My Sunshine: A Novel Of The Holocaust (All My Love Detrick Companion Novel) (26 page)

Chapter
43

The phone rang at half past midnight. Christa jumped out of bed. A late night call could only mean one of her parents were ill. As she picked up the receiver, Manfred appeared at her side pushing the hair out of his face.

“Hello” She said.

“I need to speak to Manfred Blau. This is Dr. Goebbels.”

“One moment, please…” She said to the caller, then turning to
Manfred, she handed him the phone. “It’s Dr. Goebbels.”

Goebbels, at this time of night? He thought. “Hello, Dr.” He said into the receiver “This is Manfred.”

“You must meet me at the
office immediately. There is a serious problem.”

“I will be right there.”

Manfred hung up the phone.

“What did he want at this time
of night?” Christa asked.
“I don’t know.” Manfred said as he dressed quickly.

“Be careful my darling, don’t drive to
o fast.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “Go back to bed I will be home as soon as I can.” He said. Then he left quietly closing the door.

Manfred’s hands trembled as he drove through the sleeping city. Almost no cars were on the road and only a few people walked the sidewalks. For the most part darkness surrounded him save only small illuminations from the street lamps. His mind raced. Why would Goebbels be calling him at this time of night? What could be happening that could not wait until morning? Perhaps, it was a personal problem. Lately, Dr. Goebbels had begun to discuss his person problems with Manfred. Would he call at this time of night for something of that nature? Or perhaps, Hitler was making a surprise visit and the Dr. wanted everything to go well.  Maybe something had happened to Hitler that would be terrible. Manfred pressed the gas moving the automobile faster down the road.

Manfred parked his car in front
of the door and went inside. The entire structure was dark except for one dim light in Goebbels office. Manfred entered.

“Dr.
Goebbels, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes. Your father in law was arrested tonight for hiding Jews
in the attic of his office building. The Gestapo is on their way to arrest your mother in law. If not for my intervention, they would have come for you and your wife. This is serious, Manfred. This is treason.”

Manfred sunk into the chair opposite
Goebbels. “I had no idea, none.”

“I knew that. That’s why I intervened. But things are going to get very ugly.”

“My wife? My career? I had nothing to do with this Dr. I swear it, on my life, on my wife’s life. Neither of us knew.”

Goebbels
lit a cigarette. “Your father in law has done a terrible thing. He’s broken the Nuremburg laws. I won’t be able to keep you here at the office. I will be forced to find you work elsewhere.  Because of this you must prove your loyalty to the Fatherland.”

“But you know me
sir; you know I am devoted heart and soul to Hitler and the cause.”

“I do know this. Still,
there is much that is not under my control.  Chances are good that you will be taken in for questioning.”

“What can I do? Help me sir, please help me.”

Dr. Goebbels rubbed his chin. The minister of propaganda was lost in thought. He got up and looked out the window. For several moments, he was silent. Manfred felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest and lie bleeding on the floor.

Finally,
Joseph Goebbels turned to Manfred.  “I have an idea.”

“Sir?” Manfred said hope rising with his heartbeat into his throat.

“I will stand by you, but sadly, I think I must ask you to do something that will be very difficult for you.” Goebbels said taking a long drag of his cigarette.

“Anything, anything at all just ask.”

“You must show your devotion to the party by executing Dr. Henkener. You will be the one to fire the shot. Your wife must be present to witness the execution of the traitor.  Manfred, you must kill your wife’s father, he must die at your hand. This and only this will prove your loyalty.”

Manfred
gasped he hung his head. He did not care much for Thomas Henkener, but he knew Christa would be devastated. Would she ever forgive him? He put his hands to his temples and squeezed.

“My wife…she will never forgive me.”

“She should be thankful that she is not being arrested and sent to a camp. She must be made to understand the seriousness of all of this. Her father is a traitor. Either way, he will be destroyed. If you are the one to complete the task, things will be better for both of you. You realize that you too are at risk here. If it is somehow suspected that you are a traitor, you could easily face execution yourself. Now, I’ve come up with an idea that I believe will work. But you must do as I say.”

Manfred’s head was spinning. He felt himself falling plummeting from his high position to a slave in a concentration
camp. Damn his father in law, damn him to hell for this.

“I’ll do it.” Manfred said. He’d never killed anyone. Just the idea was horrifying. And now, he had to kill his wife’s father.
There was simply no refusing.

Chapter
44

Christa was awake when Manfred turned the key in the door and walked into the house. She was sitting at the edge of an overstuffed chair in the living room. When he entered, she jumped to her feet.

“Manfred, what is going on here? My mother just called, my father went to the
office earlier, and he has not returned. She is frantic.”

“Yes.” Manfred said, but he could not meet her eyes. Instead he walked to the window and faced away from her

“What is happening, please tell me.” Christa ran to him and put her arm around his waist. “Manfred, talk to me, please…”

He took a deep breath then turned t
o face her. She looked at him pleading her eyes swollen with crying.

“Has my father been in an accident? Is he…”

“Christa” He cleared his throat “Your father has been arrested by the Gestapo for hiding Jews in the attic of his office building. When did you last speak to your mother?”

“Over an hour ago
, I told her I would call her back as soon as you came home.”

“She has probably been arrested. She is most likely already at headquarters for questioning.”

“Mama? For what?”

“It is really your
father they are after. They know he committed this crime. But I believe your mother will probably be released after questioning.”

“Can you help Papa? Please? You must Manfred. You have lots
of important friends. Do something…” She began shaking him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Her face was blotchy and he could he see that she was terrified.

He
shook his head. His shoulders slumped. “I can’t do anything. I tried. The only thing I can do now, at this point is to try and save your mother, you and myself.”

“And Papa?”

“I’m sorry.” He looked away

“Sorry?” she raised her
voice both in pitch and in volume. “Manfred, please, Manfred, he is my father.”

“He is a traitor. Look what he has done to m
e, to us? How dare he put all of us in this position! Whatever happens to him, he deserves.”

“And what will that be Manfred?” She as
ked her voice cracking “What will that be?” She grabbed him spinning him towards her.

“I don’t know.” He said turning away again. “But whatever it is, he deserves it.”

For the first time since they were, married Manfred and Christa slept apart. He went to the guest room where he sat up trying to devise some sort of plan and she lay in their bed staring at the ceiling until the sun rose.

By
morning, Manfred felt as if he might collapse with exhaustion.  He walked slowly to the kitchen. The baby was in her high chair playing with a toy. Christa did not turn to look at him as he entered. She filled a pot with water for coffee, and then cut two thick slices of bread for his toast. Watching her do this every day common act almost brought tears to his eyes. He wanted to get up and take her into his arms, to beg her forgiveness. The last person on this earth he would ever want to hurt was his beloved Christa. Everything he did he had done for her, to woo her, to win her, to build their lives together. But now, should he refuse to carry out the dreadful task Goebbels demanded of him, they would all be sent to a camp. Even Christa, delicate Christa, she would die in if she were exposed to the harsh conditions of a work camp.  He must do as Goebbels asked. But how could he ever make her understand?

Gingerly, he walked up behind her and put his arms around her small waist. “I’m sorry.” He said.

She turned around “Me too.” There were tears in her eyes.

He kissed her.

“Then you will help Papa?” She asked.

“Christa, if I could help him I would, but I can’t he has destroyed himself and if we don’t turn away from him he will take all
of us right down with him. I can’t bear the thought of you in a camp.”

“They would do that to us? To you? After you have been such a loyal party member?”

“The Nazi party is hard to explain. It is filled with treachery. Goebbels is my friend, yes, but I still must be careful. Everyone is always a suspect. If they can prove that I knew about your father’s activates, we are all doomed.”

“But you didn’t”

“That doesn’t matter, Christa. If they think that I am taking his side, in any way, all of us will be finished.”

“I don’t care if they fire you.
I would rather that you cleaned the streets than worked for a man who would not stand by you when you need him.”

“Silly girl, I wish that
were all there was too it. The Nazi officials will do far more than that. They may even execute all of us. You don’t realize what they are capable of” He said wanting to shake her until she saw the truth.

“So what will they do to Mama and
Papa? Dear God, Manfred, did you know they were so terrible?”

“What difference does it make what I knew or what I didn’t know. All I know is that your father has proven himself a traitor to the party and now we must all pay a dear price.”

She struggled away from him. “Who were the Jews he was hiding?”

“I don’t have any idea
. What difference does it make? A Jew is a Jew. And you don’t hide Jews from the government. It’s against the law. Your father broke the law.”

“I think I know who it was. Dr.
Shulman.”

“So what difference does that make to us? Why should I give a damn about Dr.
Shulman? He’s a Jew, and that makes him a problem”

“Because
, he saved my life when I was just a little girl, I have a heart condition. If it weren’t for him I would have been dead long ago.”

She picked up a dish towel and began wiping the counter.
“Christa, I am sorry. I understand why your father did what he did. But you must understand that if we don’t turn away from him there will be no way out for us. If he must go down, then at least you and your mother will be saved. It is better than nothing.”

She hung her head and wept.

Manfred grabbed his coat off the coat rack. He couldn’t bear to be in that house any longer. He’d get something to eat at the restaurant next door to his office.

“Please Christa, try to understand. I a
m going in to work now. Let me do what I can.  I will check on your mother and call you as soon as I know anything.”

“Don’t let them
hurt her, Manfred. Please. OH DEAR GOD” She cried, yelping “My PAPA, my sweet, gentle PAPA.”

Manfred left
as quickly as possible closing the door behind him.

Chapter 45
 

When he arrived at the
office, his coworkers usually so eager to win his friendship, were cool but polite. But more importantly, Joseph Goebbels did not extend his usual luncheon initiation. Manfred sat in his office working quietly, feeling disconnected from the world in which he’d grown so comfortable. He could muster no appetite for his afternoon meal. As the day progressed, his resentment towards Dr. Henkener grew. All that he’d built, all that he’d strived for seemed to be sifting through his fingertips like sand at the ocean and by no fault of his own. Damn his father in law, no matter what Manfred tried to do, this crack in the foundation of his character would strangle his former rise to success. He’d been drawing with a charcoal pencil and didn’t realize that he’d broken it in two. Right at this very moment, he could kill Dr Henkener with his bare hands, everything, gone in a single careless moment. What a fool Henkener proved to be. If not for Christa, it would be a sheer pleasure to make him pay for what he’d done. Manfred imagined standing over his father in law and kicking him, then choking the very life from the man.

At the end
of the day Manfred waited, hoping Joseph Goebbels would call him into his office for an afterhour’s sip of schnapps, a common occurrence.  But Goebbels never asked.