The end of the school day should have been a time of joy. A time for happy children to come running out of the gates and be joyfully reunited with their parents. A time to look forward to a happy family evening. But today, Isaac and Rebecca were in tears as they ran into their parents' arms: they were running not out of joy or excitement, but out of a desperation to escape. Isaac ran headfirst into Herman, who placed a consoling head on his shoulder, while Rebecca flung her arms around Lena's waist: Lena gently caressed her daughter's hair.
"Has something happened?", asked Herman.
"The other children have been so horrible", sobbed Isaac, "calling us names like 'dirty Jew' and stuff like that."
"How awful", exclaimed Herman. His expression was stunned: Lena's was grim.
"And they kept telling us to do that stick-your-arm-in-the-air thing, saying it was 'for the Reich Chancellor' or something", said Rebecca, "and then they laughed so horribly when we asked them why."
"And in History", Isaac continued, "the teacher said that we Jews betrayed this country in the war, and we're to blame for everything that goes wrong. He looked over at me as he said it. And Wilhelm has joined the Hitler Youth. He used to be my best friend . . ."
Isaac clearly could not go on. Herman patted him on the back.
"My Biology teacher made me stand up in front of the class", added Rebecca, "and he said my head wasn't shaped like the other heads, he said it was ugly, he said that means that I'm not as good as them, and they all laughed."
Lena let out a furious roar.
"A curse on Hitler!", she shouted (this exclamation drew a number of frowns and glares from neighbouring parents, but she neither noticed nor cared). "A curse on these so-called National Socialists! A curse on Hindenburg!"
"Please, Lena", urged Herman, "be careful, people might tell the Gestapo."
"We must leave", said Lena, "we need to get out of this country, before something terrible happens."
"It won't last forever", Herman assured her. "As Babylon fell, as Antiochus IV was defeated, as the ban on us entering Jerusalem was lifted, as the Spanish Inquisition came to an end . . ."
"We can't wait hundreds of years", said Lena scornfully. "We need to leave now."
"I cannot leave", said Herman. "This is our country. My country."
"But if we don't leave we're in danger", Lena asserted.
"The regime might not last long", said Herman.
Lena stared at him, bewildered. Then she said bitterly:
"I suppose Theobald is happy now. All these things his Nazi mates are doing."
"Well, maybe . . ." said Herman tentatively.
"Maybe what?", said Lena abruptly.
"Maybe he'll realise what a terrible mistake he made", suggested Herman. "Maybe he'll now see what the Nazis are really like."
"But, Daddy", said Isaac, "if Wilhelm is in the Hitler Youth . . ."
Lena gave an exasperated sigh.
"Oh, Herman", she said, "you still think that man can change. He's been in the party nearly 10 years, he knows full well the things they believe, and he's still a member. You need to put him out of your mind."
"But maybe", said Herman, "now he sees what they actually do, he might change his mind. Maybe we can meet with him to discuss it."
Lena's jaw dropped.
"I'll write to him", said Herman. "See if he would like to meet up."
"You'll be wasting your time", said Lena. "You'd be better off trying to protect your own family."
"Are you saying . . .", said Herman, his voice rising ever so slightly.
"I'm saying", said Lena, "that you need to think of what's best for your wife and children, rather than trying to chase a lost cause with that man. But let's go home."
She strode purposefully up the street. Holding his children's hands, Herman trotted after her, not wanting to prolong the argument, but still determined to write to Theobald.
It was evening, and Rosa was excited about another night in the cabaret club. She was wearing a striking green dress, her hair was in ringlets and she had powdered her face all over. Richard had been open-mouthed when he saw her, saying she looked absolutely stunning: she had happily repaid his compliment with a full-on kiss. Now they were walking hand in hand to the club. They rounded the final corner: as Rosa was happily chatting to Richard about the night ahead, he suddenly stopped walking.
"What is it?", asked Rosa.
Richard pointed ahead: Rosa looked where he pointed and gasped when she saw a gang of brown-shirted men standing in front of the entrance.
The SA men all burst out laughing.
"Why are you here?", said the infuriated Rosa.
The men laughed again.
"Are you that stupid?", said one of them.
"To be fair, she's a Jewess", said another one.
More laughter.
"I'm not a Jew", insisted Rosa. "I don't follow all that religious nonsense."
"You belong to the Jewish race", said a third SA man.
"How do you know that?", asked Richard.
"We have ways of finding these things out", said the first man: he obviously enjoyed the power of these words.
"And that means", said the second man, looking at Richard, "that you're a race defiler."
"I don't know what you mean by that", said Richard.
"It means you're an Aryan who fucks a Jew", said the third man. "You're a traitor to your race."
"A traitor because I fell in love?", exclaimed Richard.
"You are supposed to love your race", said the first man, in an ominous tone. He and his comrades edged themselves closer to Rosa and Richard.
"But I couldn't choose . . ." began Richard, but before he could finish, the stormtroopers charged. Rosa and Richard turned and ran: they could hear boots thundering right behind them. Richard pointed Rosa down a dark alley, but the stormtroopers followed them down it. They attempted to shake off their pursuers by zig-zagging between one alley and another, but the sound of the boots could still be heard.
"Let's try the direct route", whispered Richard at last, and he and Rosa summoned one last burst of energy to dash straight in the direction of their house. Outside the door, Richard fumbled the keys with the stormtroopers just 10 feet away from them.
"Please, please", urged Rosa, panicking.
Richard finally managed to get the keys out of his pocket: he opened the door, and Rosa burst in, with Richard following her and slamming the door shut just as the stormtroopers arrived at the threshold. The stormtroopers began pounding on the door, but Rosa and Richard held themselves against it with all their strength, and eventually the pounding stopped, and they could hear the sound of the men walking away.
A week later, Theobald was leaving the house to go to work when he saw a letter lying on his doormat. He picked it up and saw that the address was in Herman's handwriting. He looked at it momentarily before dropped it, unopened, on the ground.
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