The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (28 page)

“I can imagine but I am not sure it is any better for us
‘normal’ women,” Greta said. “We were spared all this in 1939 because the Germans took over peacefully.”

“
Now imagine these Bolsheviks coming and seeing us living here in this enormous house. We will be a prime target on their list to kill and rape, all with the comfortable ideological excuse of bringing down the bourgeoisie in the name of Communism. As if the average soldier really cared about all that,” Edith said enraged.

“You certainly seem to have no optimism or fa
lse illusions on that account,” stated Greta, in reply to her friend’s grim outlook. “What do you think we should be doing? Flee to France with you? Will they even let us in?”

“I am not sure what the best option would be for you Jews,” Edith replied. “Even Pales
tine has closed its borders. I have no idea. You and your family could try and come with us, leave before the Red Army comes. You are a pretty girl and you won't be safe from those soldiers.”

“Fleeing into Germany seems rather dangerous in itself. There must be other options,” Greta said with despair.

“There are lots of options and possibilities,” agreed Edith. “In the end we are all gambling with our lives in this war: Killed by the Germans, raped by the Russians or shot by friendly fire. All of this could happen and none of it. There is a huge element of luck involved. I wish I could give you sound and reliable advice, but in fact I can only tell you why I chose to gamble with my own life in the way that I am, what my game plan is. You will need to make your own choices and hope for the best.”

“M
y father desperately wants to stay,” Greta told her friend. “We have not heard from my brother for a long time. If we move away he won't be able to find us.”

“Couldn't you leave word with your former in-laws?” Edith suggested. “They don't live far from the city and he is bound to contact them
if he can't find you.”

“You are right Edith
.” Greta admitted. “We could ask them, but we must never forget that they are Germans and we don't know what might happen to their farm if the Soviets arrive. Benedikt has become a party member and his future is less than certain after the war. Father would prefer to stay and wait for Egon himself. His other reason for staying is of course the weaving looms, his precious possession.”

“I will have to talk to him about that,” Edith said with resolve. “You all must know that those looms are already very outdated. It won't be long before they are worth nothing at all. He may have a sentimental notion of them but he only got them so cheap
ly because most factories are already using different ones. If he continues to produce fabrics he will need more modern equipment. The Countess will help him with that if he lets her. The manual weaving you do does not depend on those looms and that is where your artistic future and your future fortune is, mark my words!”

“Good lu
ck with that conversation. My father is very stubborn,” Greta warned her.

“I have
noticed that but so am I. More important than your craft is staying safe. Then you can think about contacting Egon. You won't be any use to your brother if you are dead,” said Edith with as much gravity in her voice as she could bear using.

“I told my father as much. He said that he has survived this long under Nazi rule, he will survive even longer under
communist rule,” Greta informed her friend.

“Do you know that the Countess is getting false passports for you all so
that you can flee with us?” Edith asked the young mother.

“I did not know that
but I am sure father will never leave without Egon. I am certain of that,” Greta promised.

“Not even if Alma begs him to?” Edith wondered.

“For nothing in the world. He may not hold much on Judaism but he knows about the importance of the tribe and that is seared into his very essence. He will get us all to flee and stay behind for Egon. That is his idea of being the head of the family.”

“That will split his tribe,
” Edith pointed out.

“He will risk his life for the possibility of a complete family reunion. No
one gets left behind,” explained Greta.

“What an admirable spirit. If only his presence here wo
uld make any difference to Egon but I seriously doubt that this is the case,” said Edith sarcastically.

“Well, he just wants to find Egon and then the two of them can set out to find us. He won't let us tak
e the same risk,” added Greta.

“Oh
, dear Lord! What if Egon never comes home? He could be dead or held in a prison in Siberia? Is Jonah ever going to give up?” asked Edith.

“I doubt he will ever give up,” admitted Greta. “There is hope for Egon if you think about it
. We have not heard from him so the news is neither good nor bad. Of all the casualties and missing soldiers, a lot of their families have been informed by now. We have not received anything. No news could be good news.”

“What if the letters are waiting at the workshop? Have you been there lately to find out?” asked Edith.

“I am sure Alma has been there a few times. Father could not bear not to know,” guessed Greta.

“The Slovak soldiers are only posted in Poland and in the Ukraine,”
stated Edith. “I was under the impression that they were not fighting at the front at all. Someone told me that the army is too young and inexperienced for that.”

“T
here have been some exceptions,” explained Greta. “Egon and his unit were assigned to assist the German army. The Slovak Infantry stayed behind to secure the occupied territories but some of the specialist teams are active at the front. One of my in-laws, Gunter, he turned out to be a talented shot and the Germans demanded his services as a sniper right away. I have also heard that all the pilots have been sent to Germany for training.”

“If Egon is fighting with the Germans then it should not be difficult for you to hear about him,” stated Edith. “Has the Countess not tried to enquire on your behalf?”

“She has but we have not been able to find out anything as yet,” Greta said. “Of course she has to be discreet and I doubt that Egon would be one of her priorities. She has to protect herself.”

“If the Russians have captured him he might not be coming home for years,” Edith warned. “Jonah must be aware that he might be waiting for some time, and it is extremely questionable that he would be safe here on his own. There won't be a Countess bribing on his behalf. He should really
consider coming along with her.”

“Please, you go ahead and try and tell him that.  You have my blessing, in fact you have the blessing of the entire family but it is doubtful that it will amount to anything,” Greta said disillusioned.

“I will at least try to make him see sense,” said Edith with resolve. “There have been enough unnecessary deaths already.”

Johanna
had spent her New Year’s Eve at home with Sarah. Benedikt was out with his party friends at some gala ball or other. Naturally he had told her about it some time ago and had asked her to come along but when she declined he had been relieved about her decision to stay at home. She was not very presentable in his new circles where even he himself had trouble fitting in. Johanna was still breathtakingly beautiful in his eyes but her social skills with the party members were poor. He wished she had more elegance and could be more feminine in the style of film stars. Her beauty was raw and her manners unsophisticated. He had never looked for such qualities in a wife but since he himself was a farmer, and was obvious as such to everyone in the government, he could have done with a wife that could compensate for his short comings in this area. Many of his colleagues had presentable women at their side and he envied them for it.

Johanna was too worried about their son Gunter at the
front to sound patriotic about the war and its course. Most party members were concerned about the recent turn of events in the war but it was impossible to talk about it publicly with honesty. Benedikt did not mind pretending that everything was going well and to toast the Fuhrer regardless but his wife would have certainly given away her true feelings about the war without having to say anything at all. It was much easier to attend a party without having to worry about her.

Their daughters Roswitha and Maria were celebrating the New Year at a barn dance organised b
y the Hlinka Youth. The parents hated for their daughters to be out at night with local adolescent boys and no effective supervision but the pressure from the Hlinka party was too great for the Winkelmeiers to forbid their daughters to go out and celebrate the New Year that would bring victory to the Axis Powers.

The
Hlinka Youth Organisation had links with the Catholic Church and all the chastity ideals that came with the territory. Benedikt however did not think for one second that it would make any difference to the control of male hormones.

Sara
h had been kind enough to keep Johanna company and used the opportunity to inform her mistress of the tensions that were rising between the opposing camps of workers on the farm. The Gypsies had secretly started to make lists of everything that their Jewish co-workers did and quite often there were inconsistencies between their reports and those of the Jewish workers. Her brother Elias said that this was part of an organised campaign by the Gypsies to discredit him and his colleagues. He claimed to have been very generous to the Gypsy community and that he had turned a blind eye to some minor discrepancies that had occurred at their end of the production line in order to save them punishment. The Gypsies had started reporting alleged thefts and claimed false book keeping by Elias. The previous cover-ups - which Elias had committed in good faith for them to keep the peace - now appeared to expose even further fraud by the Jews.

Benedikt had been informed but had not given his verdict yet, adding fuel to the tension between the warring communities. Sarah hated the guts of her cold and arrogant brother Elias but he did not deserve to be cheated like that. She was worried that her family might lose their privileged position and she hoped that Johanna might be able to help her.

“Benedikt does not listen much to me anymore,” was Johanna's disappointing   answer. “He will say that your brother told you to influence me in his favour. If anything, it might damage Elias’s chances for a ruling to his advantage.”

“All of this
is a matter of trust and belief,” Sarah insisted. “It is one word against the other. It depends entirely upon whom Benedikt chooses to believe. There is no evidence, just accusations on either side. The Gypsies have been very clever. All they are doing is undermining your confidence in my family. Elias says it is part of their plan. If Benedikt believes them we will be sent away to a camp and our successors will always be worried that they will suffer the same fate. Whoever takes over from us will be scared, leaving Hanzi and his friends to have free reign for their own fraud. We don't steal anything, we never have. They steal. Everyone knows that about the Gypsies. Just imagine them in charge. You'd be stripped of your last shirt.”

“I have to say that all sounds very
far-fetched,” said Johanna in disbelief. She did love her friend but did not want to be drawn into the running of the farm. Benedikt had never welcomed her involvement and rarely valued her opinion. On a night like this she wasn't in the mood for heavy talk.

“Such a scheme by the Gypsie
s would be extremely risky,” she insisted.

“That is exactly what they are doing and why it works,” Sarah claimed.

“In that case I would tell Benedikt to get rid of both parties. If everyone loses, then no one will try to pull such a stunt again,” Johanna replied. “That is how we have always dealt with such matters.”

“If he does that we will all end up in the camps,” cried Sarah.

“You wouldn't be sent to a camp my darling. Elias might, but then he should have been more careful. He was trusted with a lot of responsibility. He has to answer for such mistakes. We are at war. We don't have the resources to let control of our farm slip. ”

“How can you say that?”
exclaimed Sarah. “He has been so proud of his responsibilities, he would never have taken anything. If he let the Gypsies have anything it was for the greater good. It is too hard to find any workers at all now, you would suffer yourselves from losing them to the camps. Our entire family are all so very grateful to be able to work on the farm and live like this. It is almost like it used to be. Please don't take it away from us. You must believe us. We really are innocent.”

“Sarah I am completely sure that you are innocent and I am inclined to believe you more than I do those Gypsies but it all comes down to what Benedikt believes and what he thinks he needs to do. Since he has become a politician it is not possible to rely on his common sense any more either,” warned Johanna.

“That is why you have to help us! Please!” begged Sarah.

“I promise I will try but my influence on him is not very powerful, I warn you. He has his head high in the clouds and he will do as he pleases or as the party doctrine tells him,” Johanna said.

“Please try. The labour camps are a very hard punishment for something we did not do.”