The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (11 page)

“Just something I read about Jewish genes.” Wilhelm replied.

“What about their genes?” she asked interested.

“They are meant to be faulty,” he said.

“Is that true? I never heard about that,” she admitted.

“Neither had I,” he said. “In fact, I didn't know anything at all about the Jews before I married Greta. I wish I had known a few things. Now I am finding out more and more about them. Not only
do they have faulty genes but they also carry diseases. I was lucky that Karl turned out this blond and healthy boy. Now remember the miscarriage. Did she really work too hard or was that her weak Jewish body that made the baby come away? I do wonder. This time I may well be unlucky again.”

“Oh, you mean about the baby that's coming?” Johanna asked with such horror that the words came out far too loud.

“Quiet! Greta could be back any minute. Don't scream," he scolded her.

“Sorry.
It is just that I never thought about it,” she said, perturbed.

“Me neither. Now it is all I can think about. The new baby is a bit of a gamble,” he said.

“So you think it might have the bad genes?” she asked.

“I don't know what the chances
are. What if it did? If I stayed here and ended up with a child that looks like Wilma, Jewish nose, gypsy features? What on earth am I letting myself in for?” he said miserably.

At that moment Greta came into the communal living room. Johanna got up to give up the good seat to the pregnant woman and picked up her sewing kit.

“Benedikt is so careless,” she mumbled as if only to herself, trying to give the impression that nothing important had been discussed while Greta was out of the room. “Hole after hole after hole. You'd think he could take a little care when he works, but no, he rushes and pushes and I have to mend the torn clothes, as if I had nothing better to do.”

“Give me some!”
offered Greta. “I can help you.”

“No, you must only think of
the baby,” Johanna refused. “You must rest. I am just moaning about that husband of mine because he is so careless but really the mending is no trouble at all, believe me. I do enjoy the work. You should probably try and get some sleep, you have not had a quiet day either.”

“Yes you are right b
ut if I keep doing that I will never get to spend time with my husband.” Greta said and squeezed his hand.

“Darling I know we see very little of each other at the moment but that will change. I am starting to get really respected at work now,” Wilhelm said.

“You are not going to get any use out of your time with your husband if you are tired Greta dear,” Johanna said. “Just go to bed, you have done more than enough for one day. You don't want to lose this baby too,” she added, knowing well that the memory of this still hurt Greta every time. It had become Johanna’s magic response whenever she wanted to manipulate Greta.

“Thank you
,” was the predictable response. “I think I will just do that. I am exhausted. Good night you two.”

After Greta left Johanna changed seats and
again sat down next to Wilhelm.

“If you are worried about the baby, I can help. I can let you know when it has been born and if it is healthy I can always bring it to Berlin for you. If the child is too Jewish looking or unhealthy we can leave it here with her.”

“Thank you
for the offer. I will think about it,” Wilhelm promised.

“Don't think about it
for long,” Johanna said with emphasis. “You don't have that luxury. A German passport is not going to be any use for her. I hope you have not paid for it yet. It would be a waste of money. The police know exactly what they are looking for and they can spot a Jew from a mile away. Just take Karl on his own and move back to Berlin. Our family will arrange the rest over there.”

“I am scared for Karl. I am not sure it will be safe in Berlin for him. What if they take him away from me at the border?” Wilhelm worried.

“They won't take him away at the border. Not if we get him the right papers. I have a few friends in the right places for that. It would be fast and it wouldn't even cost you,” she promised.

“Are you sure?  Can we trust your friends?”

“Oh yes. I have a friend in Bratislava, Marika. Her husband is not entirely Aryan but she fixed that. I know she will help us. She and I go way back.”

“Could she help Greta as well?”

“I will ask,” Johanna lied. “I will come into town with you tomorrow morning and pay her a visit.”

Johanna had no intention of helping Greta but decided to leave that discussion with Wilhelm for another day. His main concern was clearly for the boy. If he was prepared to risk his safe escape by taking his wife on a false passport across the border as well then maybe Johanna had to engineer a situation
in which he would not have the luxury of such a choice. She hoped that once he and Karl had the opportunity to leave Wilhelm would see sense and go without the extra burden around his neck.

The next morning she knocked on her
friend’s door in Bratislava and explained that she needed Karl’s Aryan status 'cleaned' up. Marika nodded and said with a business-like and pragmatic manner that she would contact Johanna on the farm within one week.

“Things are a little slow because of the many refugees,” Marika exp
lained. “Everyone wants papers. It took a long time for ours to come through and we did not even want a visa to get out.”

“Is there no faster way?” Johanna asked impat
iently. “It doesn't seem as if we have much time left.”

“A
good forgery takes time,” Marika explained. “The good 'manufacturers' are all extremely busy right now. You mustn't upset or rush those guys, your life lies in their artistic hands.”

“What do you mean?” Johanna asked confused.

“What would be stopping them to produce an inferior product that lands you in jail right away? Only the fear of being caught themselves. There are many tricksters out there who sell inferior papers and then move on to where they cannot be found. You are lucky that my guys are totally trustworthy and pressuring them would only defeat the objective. In the current market they can name their price and they can chose who they work for.”

“I see, well I suppose
when they see that we are trying to save a little boy they might feel a moral obligation to do the best they can,” Johanna said hopefully.

When Marika named the price Johanna almost fainted. It would eliminate all of her savings and then some. There was no way that she could have helped with Greta as well even if she had wanted to. She agreed and said she would bring the money and the original passport later this afternoon. They could not afford any more delays.

Benedikt would kill her if he found out what she was about to do for his family. He would never agree that the situation was dire enough to justify such desperate measures and extravagant expenses. The farmer was much
more concerned about the future of the business and his own children to give anything to Wilhelm and Karl. They were his family though and so she had to make that decision for him.

Wilhelm was overjoyed when she told him that Marika had promised to organise the papers as quickly as she could and that things had been set in to motion. He still had not heard back from his own contacts. It had been some time and the communist seemed to have disappeared from the city.
Fortunately, Johanna always seemed to know what she was doing. He trusted her sources much more than he did his own and never questioned her when she informed him that the forgers would only help Karl.

Wilhelm st
ill had his doubts about Greta's safety in Czechoslovakia and had no idea how he would bring up the matter of leaving her behind; he could only hope that she would understand his predicament. They simply did not have the kind of money to travel to America, he could not possibly move to Palestine for her and any other place was questionable. For the time being, they would have to separate. Karl would be safe in Germany. They could wait this out, watch the developments in the world and plan further later. In the mean time she would be fairly safe hidden on the farm.

There was no use in upsetting her by telling her about it for now. Until he held the papers in his hands it would be easier not to trouble her at all, after all she was pregnant and emotional.
Because of his wedding vows, he would never even have considered leaving her behind if Johanna and her forgers had not got him into this situation. Finding himself with the prospect of not having a choice about the matter he realised how comfortable this solution was. He had to admit to himself that he had simply fallen out of love with his wife. If things were different maybe he would not feel this way. She was lovely, beautiful and had a great mind but the circumstances which had come between them, showed that their bond simply had not been as strong as thought. All he really cared about was Karl. He wanted Greta to be safe and had enjoyed their intellectual discussions of late but he was not going to risk anything for a woman for whom he felt so little. No one could blame him for protecting Karl, the thing he valued most. His family was going to look after Greta now and there was nothing he had to blame himself for.

Karl'
s papers came at the end of September, the same day on which the European powers announced the secession of the Sudetenland to Germany. Nobody was in the least surprised by the development. The members of the German Sudeten Party in Bratislava reaped no immediate benefit from this development and their region remained in Czechoslovak territory. They still celebrated and were pleased in principle. Local politicians were already seeking independence for Slovakia and were rumoured to having been in touch with the Germans in Berlin to discuss that possibility, something which made the Czech politicians very nervous.

The political situation was most unstable and threatening.
Many Germans living in the remaining part of Czechoslovakia were seen as hate figures and the discrimination of the remaining Czechs and Slovaks in the regions that were now part of the Reich did not help that sentiment. Public opinion continuously swayed between optimistic denial and pessimism. Supporters of either conviction were sure that the future was entirely predictable according to their gospel. Half of the population painted a doom and gloom picture with an end-of-times vision of an impending German invasion and the end of all good for the republic, while the other half stuck their heads into the sand and swore that everything would be just fine. The members of the latter group believed that the European powers did not want to upset the mighty Germans, but it seemed absurd to them to imagine that the world leaders would concede any more land to Hitler and allow him further aggressive moves.

Wilhelm didn't have the heart to tell Greta about his decision to go to Berlin without her. Johanna ur
ged him on a daily basis just to go and leave and not to waste any more of the little time that was left.

Greta occasionally asked Wilhelm about his progress with the documents, meaning of course the German passports that would see them all into Poland together as one family
, but her interest was only half hearted. She was preoccupied with her pregnancy and did not want to think about the future and the prospect of possibly leaving her family behind. Still remembering the pain she felt after her miscarriage, she was happy that this pregnancy had gone so well and that she had had so much support from Johanna.

Her siblings Egon and Wilma had not shown any interest in fleeing the country and her father too felt that his livelihood was to be found only in those two weaving frames and his reputation
in the region as a craftsman. With the Countess and her circle of friends being such great customers, he could not see himself earning a similar livelihood and reputation by taking his family and his business across the border. He also felt too old to start all over again and wherever he would go he would have to do just that. So the Weissensteiner family joined the group of people in denial. Now that Hitler had the German territories why should he bother with the rest of Czechoslovakia? If the three had had more contact with the Jewish community they probably would have been a little bit more informed and slightly more worried, yet even in those circles many refused to believe that it would ever come to an invasion of their country without an automatic massive foreign intervention.

By November the borders of the remaining Czechoslovakia that had not been swallowed up by Germany were redrawn
. The new state was renamed into Czecho-Slovakia and - as had been decided at the Conference in Munich – further territories were lost to both Poland and Hungary. Large portions of southern Slovakia – home to more than 45,000 Jews – were annexed to Hungary. A new Slovak government was installed which possessed more autonomy from Prague. It was predominantly formed by right leaning Nationalists who immediately banned the Communist Party. As political scapegoats, the Jews got the blame for the loss of land to Hungary because of their alleged support for it. Thousands of Jewish families who held foreign citizenships were transported to the Hungarian and Polish borders in preparation for an expulsion from Slovakia. Very few of these deportees were permitted to return to their homes.

Jonah and his family were not a
mongst the selected ones even though they could have easily been included. According to the census information, they were not Jews and they had exchanged their Ukrainian passports for Czechoslovakian ones soon after the Czechoslovakian Republic had been formed. Yet many other families with similar official records and documents found their names appearing on the lists of the Hlinka Guards and ended up deported from the country. Wilma thought their safety had to do with one of their regular customers, the wife of a Slovak politician who had a soft spot for Jonah but he naively dismissed this idea as farfetched. He was confident that his far sighted decision to keep a low profile and to distance himself from the Jews in town had made a difference.