The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (31 page)

By the end of October and before anyone
on the estate had made up their mind about their plans the Slovak uprising was crushed by the German troops and while partisan fighting continued on a much smaller scale in the mountains the Germans started to retaliate for the uprising by arresting, deporting and killing all Slovaks that they suspected of helping the rebels or of harbouring Jews.

In an official ceremony President Tiso decorated German soldiers who had killed the Slovak partisans and he finally lifted all resistance to the deportation of the Jews in his labour camps to the death camps in Poland. With the extensive presence of German troops in the country Slovakia had more or less the s
tatus of an occupied country, even though Tiso was still officially the reigning President.

Under the immediate and immense pressure by the German security forces not only all Jews from the camps were deported but also the so called pet Jews and other ones that had been exempted by powerful patrons. The Slovak administration was now 'assisted' by German officers and the name Weissensteiner found its way back on all the lists. The Countess received a warning from her contacts and for a further gesture of approval bought the silence of the messenger with regards to her interest in Jonah and his family. Travelling was far too dangerous and with the
advantage of the warning the family was considered safest on the estate as long as they went into one of the secret hiding places. The wine cellar in the basement of the manor house had been slightly altered a few years ago so that it concealed a spacious chamber where the Countess had planned to hide during a search or a surprise raid by German or Soviet troops.

Edith and Esther were furious because they felt that they had missed their chance of escaping. With the current level of Nazi presence in town it see
med too dangerous to leave the estate. The hunt for collaborators and Jews was in full swing despite the urgent need for men at the Russian front. The ladies now had to occupy separate guest rooms in the house and according to Edith's new papers she was the wife of a French collaborator in Lyons.

Jonah and his family were moved into the secret room in the wine cellar and were not allowed t
o leave the basement during daylight, which didn't do Wilma’s nerves any good. The month of November was the longest the family had ever experienced. The Countess had supplied them with plenty of candles and books and blankets and there was at least a little food but the days dragged on endlessly. All of them were so used to hard work and continuous activity that they found it hard to switch to the long days of reading and waiting for news. Wilma did not have the peace of mind to read for long anyway and after a few days she started to have nervous twitches. Worried that their location would attract attention Jonah decided to give her injections again. The fighting in the south was very close to Budapest now and they all hoped they would not have to last much longer in hiding.

Benedikt's farm staff including Sarah were all rounded up and
deported without prior notice and without any exceptions. The party officials protested to the German officers that Slovakia still needed some of its Jews but to no avail. The official party line was now that even the existence of those subversive and undesired elements of society was no longer tolerable to the future of a healthy Europe.

Benedikt was very disappointed by this foolish and blind dogmatism, especially right now when nobody could possibly believe in a full German victory any more. If there was even the slightest chance of a victory it
had to be by using all the manpower that was available. Sending perfectly healthy and workable slaves to their death was against any sound logic.

Johanna found it incredible that the uprising and the closeness of the Red Army did not cause a loosening of the strict Nazi morale. Quite to the contrary it had led to a much more forceful drive in deportations and clinging to the racial ideology. Losing her servant and friend was an odd experience. She had witnessed the soldiers arriving on their truck and loading up the entire family. Elias and a friend of his had been smart enough to get away before the truck arrived but they had been found and shot only hours later. Johanna was sad that she could not be there for her frie
nd Sarah and console her in her grief over her brother – if she even knew about his death that was. Many Jews were willing to cooperate and went with the Germans without trying to escape. These optimists thought they would not stay in the camps for long, so they might as well avoid being shot on the run. Their liberators were on the way now and the sad example of Elias and his failed attempt to flee proved to those who had heard about it that they had made the right choice.

“Won't Germany surrender soon, Benedikt?” she asked her husband. “Surely they must see sense, their actions are desperate now. There can't be any hope left for a victory!”

“Don't ever say that out loud, do you hear me?” he shouted. “Never! There is a lot we do not know. The Russians are slowing down, they might be running out of steam. The landing of the Allies in France cost the Americans dearly. The Japanese are still doing well in Asia. Romania might switch back to our side and everywhere the Red Army has been there are now partisans fighting against them. The Ukrainians want their freedom back. They helped Hitler when he arrived. This is far from over yet. Maybe, and I mean just maybe, there will be a treaty but it won't make any difference for your beloved Jews. You should be ashamed of yourself to doubt the Fuhrer and his decisions. Anybody who heard you just now could turn you in and see you deported yourself for treason. Be warned and don't do anything stupid. My position won't be able to save you. The Germans are not in the mood for negotiations any more. The uprising has disappointed them and their opinion of us Slovaks is much lower.”

Johanna saw that her husband would not tolerate any discussion on the matter and so she did not dare ask him what he thought might become of Sarah and her family. She was surprisingly calm about her
friend’s deportation, accepting the fate she had known was always a clear possibility for the Jewish maid. It was more a feeling of emptiness rather than grief and since she could not get any information out of Benedikt she put the matter to rest and devoted her energies to the upkeep of the farm.

Her daughters Roswitha and Maria could no longer get away with idleness and cosy days inside. Now it was all hands on preparing the farm for the winter. Both girls had been lacking enthusiasm ever since they h
eard the bad news about their brother Gunter being missing. Now was the time to get them back on track and to stop all their silly girlie sensitivity for which there was no place any more. Johanna realised the times now called for hardened souls and strict discipline and she was going to give this mission her all and make her daughters do the same.

She wondered what had happened to Alma and Jonah but the best she could do for them was not to draw attention to them by investigating their luck or by making a
visit to their workshop on the estate. The way the tide had turned it was obvious that nobody would tell her the truth.

She had her marriage to party official Benedikt to thank for that. In her efforts to keep everything together and not to let weak emotions get the better of her
, she pushed those thoughts aside as well and decided to let other people worry about this kind of thing.

Unfortunately this new res
olve did not seem to work anymore. She was deeply grieved to see herself increasingly thinking and missing her friends and worrying about her son and the future. What irony, she thought, that she had been content with herself and her life without any closeness all these years and the stone wall around her heart had broken down just as all these tragedies were occurring. A few years ago she would never have been affected by this in the same way.

Benedikt, whose record of commitment to the party wa
s officially spotless was promoted to the post of minister. His predecessor had been volunteered for army service like most party loyal Slovaks of a suitable age were. Benedikt was exempt because he was the oldest in his circle of agricultural functionaries. In his new capacity he found it easier to ignore the obvious signs of the nearing end and like his wife sought escape in relentless dedication to his work, making illusory plans for the next planting season.

In December
, the fighting reached the Southern borders of Slovakia and the Romanian army under Soviet guidance pushed the German troops out of the southern provinces. As so often happened throughout the whole campaign, this advance was followed by a period of consolidation and a re-grouping of armies, fostering the idea in those who wanted to believe in it that this was where the fighting would come to a halt. After the initial shock that the enemy had entered Slovak soil receded, a sense of calm and acceptance settled in the minds of the population and politicians. It took another three weeks before a further push by the Red Army from the east drove onto eastern Slovakia.

The community at the
manor house in the meantime carried on as usual. The lack of daylight and the absence of a daily routine were hard for everyone who lived in hiding. The situation improved a little when Edith and Esther started to bring them some materials for embroidery work and clothes from their wardrobe that needed to be mended. The Countess had rejected such proposals in the past, demanding more respect for the family in hiding than to create the impression that they were made to pay for their keep by doing such minor work. However, when Esther mentioned her plans to Jonah she was surprised at how keen Jonah appeared to be permitted to do the work. In fact, all the Weissensteiners were very grateful for the chance to do something and threw themselves into their new projects. Jonah warned the women not to rush, it might be some time before they all could leave the basement and so it was probably best to make the little work they had to occupy themselves with last for as long as possible. The most important thing in their situation was to keep up a positive spirit and a sense of purpose. They had begged the Countess to let them bring in the looms or at least some of the equipment to the manor house but as much as she would have liked to oblige them they all knew that it was far too risky.

Should there be any enquiries related to the Weissensteiner family directed at the
manor house the official answer was going to be that no one had  seen them ever since the beginning of the uprising. In early December a Gestapo officer had come to the door with a woman from the Hlinka Youth and enquired if they knew of any Jews that were in hiding. The Countess meant to tell them about the 'missing' weavers but could not make herself say anything to this horrible man. By naming Jonah and his family as Jews or possible Rebels she would start a manhunt that could easily include a thorough search of her property and lead to the end for everybody involved. By her failure to mention the 'escapees' on the other hand she had just destroyed her alibi should a specific search for Jonah begin anyway and her link to them become exposed.

The Weissensteiners had become a big part of her life and she had to come to a decision whether to stay behind and hide and feed them or to save her own skin ahead of the next Russian advance. It was unbelievable that anybody able to fight was still wasting their time on Jews and rebels. In her master plan
, she had been certain it would be easy for all of them to travel to France but she did not feel it was safe yet and kept postponing her departure. Wilma was the only one who was not adjusting to their new life in hiding at all. The medication kept her calm but Edith had not been able to secure much more of it and they were running low. She spoke about this with Greta and the two women decided to lower the dose to make their stock last longer. The ladies and the Countess tried to get some more medication but the hospital had stricter controls and the nurse they had approached before was so scared of being exposed for her illegal activities that she refused to even meet with her Highness, insisting that there was a misunderstanding and the Countess must mean a different nurse. At the beginning of March the Red Army had taken over the north west of Slovakia and was coming very close to Bratislava. German civilians left the city with everything they could carry, yet even in this chaos there were searches for rebels, deserters and Jews. The Countess decided that they would leave ahead of a Soviet invasion and told the ladies Esther and Edith to pack their belongings. She told Jonah that this was now the last chance for him and Alma as well.

“Jonah
, I have thought about it and I think you are making a huge mistake if you are going to stay here. Your Egon will take a long time to come back from a prisoner of war camp. In the mean time you would be safer with us in France. You can always come back here once the war is over and things have settled down. What you are attempting is madness at best and suicide at worst.”

“What if Egon is coming back fighting against the Germans with the Red Army? I would never forgive myself if I missed him. If he came to see us and
thought we were dead ourselves? He needs to know we are alive so he will be looking for us. I need to stay and wait for him, I just have to.”

“But we will need your help to get away, Jonah. Wilma can't stay here with
you, we will need you to carry her when she is drugged. None of us is strong enough,” the Countess insisted.

“Didn't you say it
was too dangerous to leave the estate and be seen in public?” he replied.

“
It still is dangerous but our priorities have changed now,” she explained. “We risk more by staying here than by leaving. I have a shotgun, we can defend ourselves if necessary and anyway our papers should get us through. Wilma being ill might even help. If they see we have someone sick with us they won't want to examine us too closely for fear they might catch whatever it is she has.”