Chapter 19

Germany 1942.

Notes from news sources:

In February, the Japanese captured Singapore and took twenty to thirty thousand prisoners many of them were later used as slave labour to build vital infrastructure, such as the Burma railway, for Japanese war needs. - NY Times

Germany suffers setbacks at Stalingrad and El Alamein.

The USA wins the Battle of Midway in June and later this was seen as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

The Allies learn of the mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz and resolve to bring the perpetrators to justice.

After learning of the atrocities in the German camps, the Russian soldiers fighting against the German army always fought to the bitter end rather than be taken prisoner.

June 6th 1942. Cornelia's contractions had started twelve hours ago and now they were regular and her pain was increasing. Manfred had to leave her bedroom when her screams had become more frequent. Sleep was not possible and the whole house knew that she was in labour.

It was ten in the morning and Cornelia was still moaning and screaming from a prolonged labour.

Manfred had three large boilers of water on the stove; he pushed more wood into the fire and closed the fire door. Gerry had been watching him become more distressed with each scream and beckoned him over to the table so they could share a cup of coffee.

Gerry had been watching him and saw how distressed he was and beckoned him to join him at the kitchen table and drink his coffee.

Manfred sat down noisily and then Cornelia screamed again. He jumped to his feet, he wanted to go to her but he knew that Alex and Anna would not let him in to her room. He knew that they would throw him out like they had done before.

'I want to be with her, ' he thought, 'but I'm too scared to be of any use to her. She hasn't had any medical advice and I won't forgive myself if anything goes wrong, ' Manfred thought.

"Sit down and relax Manfred; you're making me nervous," Gerry said as he handed him his coffee.

"Go and have a look and see how she's going." Manfred pleaded with Gerry.

Gerry didn't like that idea at all. Cornelia delivering a baby was a big mystery to him and her obvious pain underlined by her moans and screams was unsettling his composure. He sat still pretending that he hadn't heard Manfred's plea and he looked anywhere but at him.

"Please Gerry, go and look for me."

Anna rushed into the kitchen and taking a boiler of hot water she walked quickly back in the direction of Cornelia's room.

"What are they doing with all that hot water?" Gerry asked.

"It's women's secret business. I have no idea. Go and get the boiler that Anna just took and see how Cornelia is coping."

Gerry looked at Manfred, he looked beaten, cowed by the event that he couldn't cope with.

It was a cool day yet Manfred was sweating and fidgeting. He was worried because Cornelia had not had the benefit of any medical care or advice. When he had discussed this privately with Alex she had assured him that she had been monitoring Cornelia and throughout her pregnancy she had suffered from nothing more than morning sickness.

It was her last words on this subject that had reassured Manfred at the time.

"In Germany, more women give birth at home than ever give birth in a hospital, stop worrying Manfred it's a completely natural happening, and we women have been giving birth since Eve became pregnant," Alex had said.

But now Alex's words had been forgotten and Manfred was as flighty as a horse being led through fire.

Gerry decided that he would go and fetch the boiler and bring him news of Cornelia's progress. He knocked lightly on Cornelia's door and without waiting he entered. The scene before him frightened him. Cornelia was on her large bed propped up with pillows, her legs were spread wide and bent at the knees, sheets stained with blood were underneath her and pillows supported her arms. Alex sat on the bed at Cornelia's right side mopping her forehead with a cloth while Anna was between Cornelia's legs urging her to push.

None of them had acknowledged his presence.

"Push, Cornelia, push. The top of the head is showing, come on another push," Anna encouraged her.

Cornelia pushed and screamed, the sound choking in her throat.

It was too much for Gerry and he quickly picked up the empty boiler where it sat alongside the tub and turning he hurriedly left the room.

"How is she?" Manfred asked looking like a chastened dog.

"The top of the head is showing."

For the next twenty minutes Manfred paced up and down the kitchen, when Cornelia moaned loudly he seemed to walk faster. Finally he heard her scream loudly and a minute later her heard a strange crying sound and Alex burst out of Cornelia's room.

"Manfred!" she shouted, "Manfred it's a boy."

She rushed into Manfred's arms sobbing loudly. When he tried to pull away she clung to him but he continued forward taking her with him as he strode across the dining room. When she released him he dashed into Cornelia's room.

Anna was pulling the sheets out from under Cornelia and rolling them into bundles, Manfred pulled up short of her bed, it shocked him when he saw the amount of blood on the sheets.

When he saw Cornelia nestling the baby against her enlarged breasts covered by a thin shawl, he stopped and his heart went out to her. Settling on to the bed along side her he put his arm around her shoulders. He started to talk but his mouth was dry and then he blurted out, "Are you okay, is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine darling, look at your son," she pulled the towel away from the baby and exposed him as if to prove that the child was male.

Manfred clasped Cornelia closer; tears tumbled down his cheeks as he kissed her forehead. 'I can't believe it, a son, ' he thought, 'I can't believe how emotional I feel.'

Cornelia gently rocked her son as Anna wrapped her arms around the large bundle of soiled linen and left the room as Gerry and Alex entered.

"How do I feed him, mama," Cornelia asked, "can I feed him now?"

Alex eased Manfred from his position alongside Cornelia because she was shy and embarrassed by what she now wanted to show her daughter.

She lifted the shawl away from Cornelia's shoulders exposing Cornelia's plump breasts.

"You don't want him just sucking on the nipple because that will lead to soreness and cracked nipples; you want him to suckle and that means he must have his mouth over your aureole; the nipple is just for milk delivery. He has to learn how to do this so let me show you how to get him interested."

Alex milked Cornelia's nipple and an ample amount of liquid issued forth, it looked very diluted to Manfred but he said nothing, fearful that something was amiss.

"Now bring his head close and feed the nipple into his mouth."

Gerry and Manfred were enthralled by Alex's tuition and watched the baby as Alex placed her finger in its mouth. Reflexively his mouth dropped open and Cornelia fed her teat in, he was a quick learner and he suckled eagerly making much noise as he received his first meal.

"My God, he's going to suck my whole tit into his mouth, what suction!" Cornelia said as she looked up at her astonished audience.

"When you want to change sides you'll have to break that suction because he won't want to stop. The way to do that is to slip your finger inside his lower lip and the seal will be broken then you can change to the other breast," Alex explained.

Anna returned with clean sheets and hesitated, Alex knew what to do and ordered Gerry and Manfred out of the room. Gerry complied but Manfred protested at being ordered out.

"If you want to witness the ejection of the afterbirth, by all means stay," Alex said.

Manfred only vaguely knew what she was saying but realising that it would be unpleasant he kissed Cornelia on the forehead and quickly left the room.

Anna sat quietly in a small chair just outside the kitchen door; she was sunning herself and relaxing after assisting Cornelia. She seemed to be looking into the far distance but she was in her past remembering her happier times with her own newly born children.

'How I miss my babies and I miss you Stefan, I miss you all so much, ' she thought as she sank deeper into her reverie.

And as her mind wandered she saw herself standing in the alleyway in the centre of Berlin, the mob was terrorising them after they had chased them out of their shop and along the street.

"Kill the Jews." They were chanting wildly. They were wielding the knives given to them by the Nazi youth movement. The knives were inscribed "Blut und Ehre". (Blood and Honor)

She looked in terror as the leader of the pack of angry young men produced a pistol and raising it he shot her daughter, then, Stefan, her husband blind with rage was racing headlong at the shooter. Stefan was three metres from the shooter when another shot rang out.

She watched as Stefan was toppled backwards by the impact of the bullet, with the left side of his head missing, he was dead as he dropped like a bag of wheat to the cobblestones. Her youngest daughter screamed in terror and as Anna started to run towards her a fire door leading to the department store opened. Another shot rang out it's sound was amplified in the narrow lane. A strong pair of hands hustled her through the doorway and as the door slammed shut she fainted and fell to the floor.

Anna awakened on a small cot and started to scream, a woman's hand quickly covered her mouth.

"Please don't scream anymore, the mob have been surging through the store looking for you, we're in a dangerous position. Do you understand what I'm saying? Nod your head and I'll take my hand away."

Anna's chest hitched with deep sobs, but she nodded her head.

"Where am I?" Anna asked plaintively.

"You're on the second floor of the department store in the ladies rest room. My husband rescued you and he left to get our car, he'll drive close to the store front and then we'll drive you to our place after the mob have dispersed."

"The police, have they taken any action?"

"Police?"

"Yes we ran towards them with the mob following us, they were standing on the sidewalk watching and when I tried to explain that we needed help they turned their backs on us."

"I'm sorry but the police did nothing to help, they regard mobs like that as beyond the law."

Anna started sobbing deeply again, her body violently shaking.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"Anna Fellstein, we ran into the alley hoping that the police would turn the mob away but my eldest girl was murdered; my husband tried to attack the murderer and then he was shot. I heard my youngest daughter screaming, a shot rang out and... and then she wasn't screaming anymore."

Anna eyes glazed frightening Romy Chessel the wife of Anna's rescuer.

"Anna!" Romy almost shrieked, her voice bringing Anna back from the brink of insanity.

"Anna here, please have a sip of water," Romy said.

She raised the glass to Anna's lips. When she had gulped a mouthful of water Romy tried to keep her attention.

"My husband will be returning shortly, do you have any money with you Anna?"

Anna looked confused, "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Romy and my husband Franck rescued you from the mob in the alley, he'll be returning to the store shortly and we're going to drive you away from here," she saw that Anna was listening and although her face was pale she now seemed to be attentive.

"Why did you ask if I had any money with me," Anna asked.

"My husband works at the store here and we want to buy you a different colored coat so that we can walk unnoticed through the front door of the shop and into his car."

"Oh, I don't think that I have enough for an overcoat."

"That's okay, we'll figure something out for you."

It was another hour before the mob had dispersed, Anna now wore a fashionably grey overcoat she looked suitably attired as an affluent shopper, her makeup had been repaired by Romy and together they strolled from the store and across the sidewalk into the Chessel's car. Romy had to gently restrain her from dashing to the car but when she was safely ensconced in the rear seat of the car Franck drove them away to his house.

It took four days before Anna would eat regularly and ten days later Romy sat with her while they ate lunch.

"I have a friend who I think may help you, I want you to meet her. You realise that you will have to hide until this madness that is sweeping our country goes away," Romy said.

"Yes, I know but then I wish I had been shot by the mob."

"Anna stop thinking like that, we want to help you."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so..."

Anna started crying and Romy reached across the table and held her hands until Anna pulled away and dabbed at her tears with her handkerchief.

"I have a friend who works for Der Berlin Spiegel, she's a brilliant reporter and I know that she has connections. I want you to go with me tomorrow and meet her. Will you come with me?"

"I just don't know how I can thank you, your husband saved me, I'm living in your house putting both of you in great danger, and I'm wearing your clothing, of course I'll go with you if you think that it's the right thing to do," Anna said.

The following day after dinner, they travelled into the centre of Berlin and after parking the car in a side street, Anna walked with Franck and Romy to an apartment building. Taking the lift to the third floor, they stepped out of the lift and followed Franck to an apartment where Franck knocked a special signal on the front door.

Erika Ruel opened the door and smiling she bid them to enter.

They sat in Erika's living room and they told her of the killing of Anna's family but when Erika saw the suffering on Anna's face she interrupted.

"Would you care for a drink Anna? I know what these drunken friends of mine like to drink, so I don't have to ask them."

She saw the start of a weak smile on her face when Anna asked, "Do you have brandy?"

In quick succession Anna downed two brandies and was listening intently to Erika.

"I have a friend who has a farm, it's down near Stuttgart, he could certainly help you if you don't mind living on a farm. Would you like to meet him? He'll be in Berlin next weekend and perhaps we could meet at your house Franck?"

"Sure, that's fine with me," Franck said.

The following weekend Anna was nervous and full of fear of the unknown twist that her life was taking. When Erika and Richard arrived she greeted them politely but sat and listened nervously to Richard as he outlined the conditions at his farm.

"In case you're wondering, I expect you to work for me Anna," Richard said guessing that Anna would want it that way.

"What would you want me to do," she asked.

"Oh, anything and everything, really. I need someone who can help with the upkeep of the household. Do you know anything about wireless communications?"

"Nooo," Anna stuttered and half laughed.

"Well my sister does and after four months training from her you'll know a lot about it. You know what that means don't you?" Richard asked.

"No I'm sorry; I don't."

"You'll be working with us in a resistance network, do you have any problems doing that?"

"Not at all, I don't have to think twice about it. Not if it means working against the people who murdered my family and the insanity that now pervades my country." Anna drew herself upright; the slump disappeared from her shoulders.

'You're a brave woman, and a fighter too, ' Richard thought when he saw the change in Anna's posture. Instead he said "I'm travelling back to Stuttgart tomorrow and I can drop you off at the farm before I return to work. Would that suit you?"

Anna didn't ask Richard why he was interested in helping her, there was something about his demeanour that told her that he was perhaps a professional of some kind, and she couldn't imagine him shooting a rifle.

'Time to find out about him later, ' she thought.

Anna had not experienced any problems working with Alex and Cornelia and they had shared the work on the farm when a month later Richard visited the farm again. He brought with him a stranger that he introduced as Manfred. Anna thought that he was a little reserved and sometimes quick to anger but in the following weeks she talked with him and found that he was still grieving for his parents.

Richard took Anna aside and handed her an envelope, "Inside is your new identity, I want you to memorize all of the background material, where you were born, where you went to school, who your parents were and where they lived. When you're sure that you have become that other person I want you to burn the background material and keep your new identity paper with you at all times."

"I understand, I just don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you," she stood on her toes and reaching up she kissed him on the cheek. She thought that he looked embarrassed so she moved away and sat on a chair at the back of the room.

Richard had been watching Anna closely and while she was talking he noticed that she didn't breakdown anymore, 'You're a fighter and I like that, you've come a long way in a month, ' Richard thought.

"Tell me what you know about communications?" Richard asked jokingly from across the room.

"Not a lot yet, but I can tell you that I'm learning quickly," Anna said.

"Well, now that you're officially Anna Felden, you have nothing to fear."

Manfred sat quietly, the newness of the people around him made him a little introverted but he was quick to notice Cornelia.

Anna became conscious of someone sitting on their haunches next to her. When she looked she saw that it was Gerry, she wasn't aware how long he had been there.

"A penny for your thoughts," he said but because he was smiling she could tell that he wasn't prying.

She reached down and squeezed his knee, "It seems like a lifetime that we've been here together."

He pulled her hand from his knee and kissed it, "I feel like I've had three lives since the war started. But I don't want to talk about the war, let's go for a walk."