Page 73 of The German Mother

‘There’s nothing to say, is there?’ She looked up at him and tried to smile. ‘I feel so responsible, Julius. I’m sure they’re targeting him because of me.’

‘I really don’t think that’s likely, Leila. There could be so many reasons they want to put pressure on him.’

‘Some of Hitler’s henchmen visited him a few days ago. We should have got him out of Munich then…he could have gone to his sister’s in Freiburg – anywhere but here. Why were we so relaxed? How could we have been so stupid?’ She began to sob again.

Julius grasped her arms firmly, and looked deeply into her eyes. ‘We are dealing with monsters, Leila. None of us could have seen this coming. You need to stay calm…for the sake of your family and your own sanity. Adler will do everything he can. It will be all right, you’ll see.’

‘I wish I shared your optimism,’ replied Leila, wiping away tears. ‘Look, Julius, I need to think a few things through. Mainly, how I’m going to cope for the next few days without Viktor. The children, you know – I’m so used to him being there, collecting them and so on. I need time to think. Can I join you at the office in a little while?’

‘Of course, Leila. Take your time. I’ll see you later.’

Leila sat in a coffee shop for a couple of hours, mulling over the options, trying to stay calm, as Julius had advised. She paid her bill and began to walk towards theMunichPost’s offices. As she turned the corner into Altheimer Eck, two trucks roared past her and screeched to a halt outside the newspaper’s building. A dozen brown-shirted storm troopers clambered out of the first truck, and formed a human chain across the road, effectively corralling the pedestrians. Leila ducked into the shadowy doorway of a haberdasher’s shop on the opposite side of the road. A second truck threw open its rear doors, and another dozen Brownshirts ran into the newspaper’s offices. Leila watched as the windows on the upper level of the building were thrown open and typewriters, desks, chairs – even the bedding from the business manager’s apartment on the top floor – were thrown down into the yard below. Finally, to her horror, she saw Julius Zerfass being frogmarched out of the building and bundled into a waiting truck. Moments later, the junior staff ran out screaming and scattered down the road.

Leila’s legs turned to jelly. She thought she might collapse. Fumbling for the door handle of the shop, she almost fell inside.

‘What’s going on out there?’ asked the woman behind the counter. ‘There’s always some trouble these days…’ she muttered, not waiting for an answer. ‘Can I help you with anything?’

‘No…no,’ Leila stumbled. ‘I was just looking.’ She wandered around the shop, absent-mindedly examining reels of coloured ribbon, and fingering the bolts of cloth – pink gingham and red velvet. On a happier day she might have bought a metre or two to make a dress for Sofia. But her mind was elsewhere. Where were they taking Julius? If he had been arrested, would the other editors be next? Would she also be taken? At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to get back home, to see her children and know they were safe.

Leila ran all the way back to the apartment and collapsed on the hall floor, sobbing. The apartment was agonisingly silent. Crying, she wandered the rooms, touching Viktor’s desk, stroking his clothes in the wardrobe. But finally the panic subsided, and she began to think more clearly. If they were arresting the editorial team of thePost, she was certainly in danger. The apartment was the first place they would look. She decided to flee. After packing a few clothes for herself and the children, she locked the apartment behind her and hurried to her parents’ apartment a few blocks away.

The main door to the building was open, and she ran up the echoing stone staircase to her parents’ apartment and banged loudly on the door.

When her mother opened it, Leila fell into her arms.

‘Oh Mutti…thank God you’re here.’

‘Darling, of course I’m here. Whatever is the matter?’

Sobbing, Leila explained what had happened. When she had finished, Hannah took her by the hand and led her to the kitchen where she made tea.

‘The trouble is, Mutti, I could be next – and what would happen to the children then?’

‘You must stay here with us, out of sight,’ said her mother firmly. ‘I’ll collect the children from school today.’

‘They might look for me here, and the last thing I want is to bring you and father into danger.’

‘Why would we be in any danger? Your father and I have done nothing wrong. Besides, your place is with us.’

Somehow Leila got through the rest of the day. She rang Adler, but he had no news of Viktor. Frustratingly, the judge had deferred the hearing until the following Monday.

‘But that’s four days away,’ Leila protested.

‘I know…But there’s really nothing I can do.’

‘What about Julius, where is he?’

‘He’s being held at the same police station.’

‘And what of the others – Martin, Edmund and Erhard…were they arrested too?’

‘No, fortunately they got away – they’re in hiding somewhere.’

‘Well, that’s something, I suppose.’

‘I’d advise you to leave your apartment…’

‘I already have, I’m at my parents’ apartment at the moment.’