The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (16 page)

Despite the increased violence against Jews
, the Weissensteiner family had nothing to worry about in the year of 1940. Egon’s career in the army had advanced rapidly and when he was on leave he always came in his uniform so that the neighbours would be reassured in their belief that the Weissensteiners were loyal to the Slovak Nation. Nobody in their right mind would think of them as Jews now. Even for the ones who noticed his nose and non-Aryan looks the uniform was a clear sign that they had to be mistaken. The army took on no Jews.

Slovakia was still far removed from any war activity. Italy, Japan and Germany formed the Axis and consequently Italy went to war in Greece and in Africa with the backing of its fellow Axis nations. The war even seemed to move further away and the Slovak army was not
called upon to fight alongside the Axis powers.

Egon was safe and suddenly had a career and also had made some army friends, even though it gnawed at him that he had to compromise some
of his opinions and feelings for the new career and friends. He was Jewish in some ways and in others he was not. He felt Jewish and he didn't feel Jewish at the same time. Many of his army colleagues were not really interested in the Jewish question, whereas others were. The barracks, despite belief to the contrary, were not a centre of anti-Semitism. Obviously many soldiers were racists, but also many were just proud to be citizens of a free and self-governed Nation, glad for once to fight for their own territory and lead their own war, not to follow some Austro-Hungarian order into some conflict that was of no consequence to the Slovak People. Slovakia felt an equal partner in a group of right wing Nations that was winning the war and if this war was the price for autonomy, these soldiers were happy to pay it. For some, the Jews were just a minor side issue in the battle for freedom but it left a bitter taste in Egon’s mouth when he heard some of his new friends tell nasty jokes about the Jews.

There was an underlying assumption about him that had enabled him to become part of this circle of friends. Should it ever become known that he had Jewish roots he doubted these friendsh
ips would stand the test of time. It was hard because of all the Weissensteiners Egon felt the most Jewish, the only one who had even had contact with the Jewish faith after the death of his mother. Those days were a long way in his past now, but they were not forgotten.

Throughout the winter the country experienced severe food shortages, which everyone blamed on the aggressive demand from the Reich. While parts of the population appreciated the improvements their country had been able to achieve since its independence and the political leaning on Hitler, other parts were getting impatient with the dominant role which the Reich was displaying in its relationship with Slovakia.

Jonah and his family were grateful that Johanna still brought them the occasional supply of food. At first
, they were suspicious about this charitable action, so obviously out of character for that cold woman, but over time they got used to it and wondered if they had been wrong in their judgement of her after all. Johanna herself was surprised over this inexplicable urge inside her to do good. Consciously she was not aware of any guilt or need for atonement. There was nothing that she should or could have done differently and nothing in her limited power that she had not done for that Jewish woman and her family.

For some strange reason these people had gotten to her and at home she often panicked and wondered if anything could have happened to them. It was a minor miracle that the family had survived all those
anti-Jewish measures and seemed to be able to carry on as usual. It worried her deeply to think of them all in danger and it comforted her to think that at least they had enough food. Benedikt had no idea that she was still in contact with the Weissensteiner family. He did not really care about them anymore as he was too busy making profits from the confiscation of Jewish farms and, as Greta and her son were no longer living on the farm, he was not in the least worried about his previous connections to them.

Benedikt
’s confidence had always been based on outward success and the sole driving force for all his actions was his addiction to it. Ever since he had been a child he had enjoyed himself most when he could show off his newest achievements; excelling at running the family farm, marrying the prettiest girl and being able to harbour his relatives from Berlin had so far been the largest decorations on his chest. With the recent expansion of the farm he had surpassed his wildest dreams and even managed to outshine his own father. He felt invincible. Just like Germany and its Chancellor seemed to be, his farm was running like a machine. Seasonal workers were harder to come by these days because so many Czechs and Jews had left the country and many workers had been drafted to German factories, leaving Slovakia short staffed.

Of the Jews that had stayed behind many were interned i
n work camps like Terezin north of Prague or smaller ones in Slovakia. Peddlers, fixers and other 'unproductive' members of society were the main targets for selection. Benedikt’s Jews had decided to stay with him instead of leaving and when the first internments of Jews occurred he was allowed to keep them. They thought themselves lucky compared to others and worked very hard to keep his goodwill.

In this moment of glory
, he forgot all things unrelated to the farm and Greta and her problems had slipped from his mind completely. The running of the family was a trivial matter compared to his material progress and even his own children were of no interest to him right now. 

Johanna in the
meantime had a hard time keeping the younger generation on the farm under control. She had got used to the support of other women to help her in these matters and missed the emotional wisdom of Elizabeth and the efficiency of Greta. Ever since the discovery of Maria's shame with the married Jew, she was paranoid that something like this would happen again right under her nose. She could not rely on either of her daughters to inform on the other, at least not to her. There was no bond of trust with their mother and no obligation to share problems.

Roswitha had become a great help in the house and seemed a reliable worker but she was young and there was no guarantee that she would not make a similar stupid mistake as her sister. Johanna realised that she had no idea
what was important in Roswitha’s life and how she could manipulate her. She had only learned the ‘cracking of the whip’ to achieve results, but in Maria’s case that had not led to success. How they were ever going to marry off either of the girls now was a big worry on her mind.

It was simp
ly impossible to do all the work and at the same time check up on the girls. Yet rigorous control and detailed observation were the only things she could think of to prevent another scandal or wrong doing. She explained her dilemma to Benedikt who thought these matters far too trivial to take them seriously. Why did women always have to make such fuss about everything? For years they had been able to run the farm and keep everything together.

They had disciplined the girl sufficiently, he was s
ure she had learned her lesson and besides, the size of the farm was an ever growing dowry that would attract attention for both girls despite an admittedly questionable reputation. There was no reason to get worked up about the future prospects, it was much more important to focus on the present and the continued success and expansion of the farm. If any extra time should be taken from the farm and house work it should be in aid of his contacts in the village, the farmers and party officials. He was a rising star and needed this kind of support, not foolish worry about the honour of a pretty but dumb daughter. Her looks would get her the attention of the boys but his farm would get the attention of the boy’s parents.

Johanna disagreed with his optimism about the girl's opportunities for marriages but she knew when Benedikt talked as
self-assured as he was now there was no getting through to him and all she could do was to side track the topic to get what she wanted. So she congratulated him for his far sightedness and agreed enthusiastically but she suggested that they should get the Jews to help her in the house as well so that she could try to see more of the villagers and neighbours. Surely it would be easy to persuade their Jewish servants to help her in the house, surely there would be no need to remind them what kept them safe from the work camps, they would not mind helping Johanna and the girls? They had to be thankful to their saviours and show their appreciation. Benedikt agreed with her view, excited that his wife for once had grasped the importance of his own plans and was willing to cooperate. The Jews working for Benedikt immediately sent one of their daughters to assist Johanna in whatever capacity she was required.

The girl
’s name was Sarah and she seemed very mature for her 14 years. She got busy scrubbing the floors and washing the large amounts of clothing and sheets for the family; all the while she kept her head down, was quiet and when she was spoken to she was polite and submissive to the point that it was almost embarrassing. She never seemed to tire and did every task that she was assigned with determination. 

Johanna was pleased
at how eager and keen the young girl was.  Maria tried to befriend her, hoping to find out about her Marius and what might have happened to him but Sarah would not answer any of her questions, knowing full well that the relatively comfortable life of her family was hanging by a thin thread. Maria also tried to find out more about Judaism and the religion of her former lover but again she found herself up against the same stoned wall of silence from Sarah.

The two young women had however an amicable relationship, which was expressed in looks and gestures more than actual words and acts. Sarah knew that Maria meant her no harm and Maria felt that
at long last there was a friendly face on the farm and that knowledge alone helped her to cope with the isolated position she had found herself within the family ever since the scandal broke.

Roswitha however did not take kindly to the Jewish 'slave girl' who pleased everyone
else with her great work attitude. Sarah was a big threat to her only recently established role as the reliable female on the farm. It had not been easy to impress her parents after the industrious Greta had left and it had taken dedication to get recognised for her own hard labour. Outshining her mother and the simple minded Maria had been fairly easy, but it had taken time before she managed to reach the levels of Greta’s efficiency. What if it turned out now that Sarah was not only a better worker than her but also better at cooking? Would the daughters have to take over the hard work instead? It was not the most likely scenario but she was worried all the same and so Roswitha decided to make Sarah's life as difficult as possible.

With an incredible attention to detail
, she observed her 'rival' and found ways to sabotage her work, mainly by dirtying surfaces and clothes that just had been cleaned but also by calling her names and intimidating her when no one was around to notice. She discovered a nasty side to herself that she had not known was there; now that she had found an easy target, years of suppressed anger and frustration turned her into a sadistic bully.

Sarah let all of this happen, seemingly immune to the insults and stoically enduring the abuse. It was obvious who had messed up her work but instead of complaining about it to Johanna, she just apologised and did the work again. Johanna ha
d her suspicions about Roswitha's behaviour but did not feel like doing anything about it. If this was how her daughter was wasting her thoughts and energy there was nothing for Johanna to worry about. It might well be helpful to keep Sarah aware of her fragile position and she had far more important things on her mind than the Jewish kitchen help.

Benedikt had told her she had to make friends with the neighbouring farms to ensure there was no resentment against
them and her husband was right; they had to demonstrate that their recent rise would be no threat to the community. Talking to the women of the farms might give her an idea how the Winkelmeiers could best ingratiate themselves with the community. However Johanna neither possessed the appropriate people skills to make new friends easily nor the endurance to wear down resistance. She quickly gave up and turned her focus back to her family.

The most recent worry
was concerning her son Gunter, who was being drafted into the army. During the previous year, in response to what had happened to their relatives in Brno, the Winkelmeiers had decided to take Slovak Nationality. Cousin Klaus and his sons had taken German Nationality after the country had turned into the Protectorate, assuming that it would make their life easier but as German citizens they had been immediately called for army duty and were now stationed in France, leaving the women of the family to fight for themselves.

To avoid the same fate for Benedikt and Gunter they had made their decisi
on believing that Slovakia's further involvement in war
activities was unlikely and that their patriotic duties would be perfectly fulfilled by running food production on the farm.

Gunter spent most of his time at a boarding school and had done tremendously well in his exams. Initially his teachers had recommended that he should study Mathematics or Physics in Bratislava or even Vienna but he had broken a leg playing football against a local team and as a result he had to miss the admissi
on tests at both Universities. He was still recovering in the sick unit of the boarding school when he was approached by one of the army recruitment officers. The army was looking for young intelligent men just like him and Gunter had been told that volunteering for the army would not only guarantee a future place at either University for him but would also positively influence his further career prospects later on. His protests that he was not physically strong enough for a career in the army were dismissed as silly imagination. Once his leg was healed what would he do with his time?

Having missed the boat to study this year
, did he really want to waste a precious year doing nothing? He might as well do his duty for the country and egged on further by peer pressure at the school he was starting to seriously consider this option.

Johanna was
both proud and worried at the same time. It was a relief that her son was not a coward after all and felt not threatened by the idea of physical fighting and a rough barrack life. She had secretly feared Gunter would turn out to be the weakling Benedikt had always made him out to be. She felt an unexpected surge of motherly pride swell up in her when he first mentioned the possibility in a letter to her but at the same time she was painfully aware that he was not the strongest of men and might not be suitable for warfare. They had not wanted him on the farm, what could the army use him for? She hoped her son knew what he was doing and was not trying to prove himself unnecessarily in the battlefield. Should she encourage or deter him?

Benedikt was of no help in answ
ering her questions on that matter, he frankly did not care one way or the other. Should Gunter join up it would redeem him a little and it would save the family money. The army would hardly take him if they thought he was of no use to them. He might be weak but with his clever brain he could always do a desk job. Should he decide to study instead he would certainly excel and become an accomplishment of a different type for Benedikt’s branch of the Winkelmeier family.

On Johanna
’s next visit to the Weissensteiners she decided to ask about Egon’s career at the army. That boy was physically very weak, very inferior and if he had managed to secure a good position merely on intellect then maybe his father could give her and Gunter some insight into the situation. Johanna gathered some vegetables, eggs and a piece of ham, and put it all discreetly in a satchel, unaware that Roswitha had seen her through the kitchen window. While her mother was leaving in the direction of Bratislava, Roswitha wondered why all that food was being taken into town. Johanna had stopped taking food to the neighbours as a way of trying to improve friendships and she rarely went into town on her own. There was no denying that something out of the ordinary was occurring and since she had heard nothing about it there had to be a way to take advantage of it.