Page 52 of The Last Safe Place

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As soon as Herr Lange informed her that her daughters had been accepted on Operation Seven, Michaela applied for a travel permit and embarked on the one-hour train journey to her sister-in-law.

If she was honest with herself, she felt uneasy about seeing her two girls again, as it had been over a year since she’d last seen them.

Stepping off the train at Luckenwalde, a fresh gust of wind almost swept the hat from her head. Quickly holding it down with one hand, she buttoned up her jacket with the other when she saw Carola hurrying toward her with a wave.

“How lovely to see you, Michaela.” Carola immediately grabbed her in a hug, which was unusual for her.

“I’m glad everything worked out, too.”

Michaela was about to extricate herself from the embrace, as Carola whispered in her ear, “Quickly, take off your jacket and put it over your arm.”

“Why?” Michaela craned her neck to look out for her daughters. “Where are Ilse and Eva?”

“At home. I rarely let them go out, now they have to wear the yellow star.”

All of a sudden, the skin on Michaela’s chest was burning exactly where the star disfigured her jacket. As a doctor, she naturally knew that the sensation was psychosomatic, yet she barely resisted scratching the spot for some relief. Finally, the penny dropped and she took off her jacket, folded it cleanly with the star to the inside and put it over her arm.

“Has it gotten very bad?”

Carola gave a regretful shake of the head. “You have no idea. Neighbors and friends who were playing with them only last week are now treating your daughters like lepers – and me along with them. The butcher won’t serve me anymore, and even the baker will only sell me day-old bread, because he wants nothing to do with Jew-lovers.”

“I’m so sorry.” For a second, Michaela had a vision of her daughters being beaten up in the street and paused mid-stride. She blinked and the vision disappeared. Nevertheless, her heart pounded against her ribs. If she’d ever doubted her decision to tear her daughters from their familiar surroundings and flee with them to a foreign country, she understood now that it had been the right decision.

Carola sighed. “Since they’ve been required to wear the star, everything has changed. The situation has become unbearable. You know how much I love them, and that I will miss them terribly. But when you told me on the phone that you were going to take them with you, a weight fell from my shoulders.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” Michaela struggled against the tears welling up inside her. When she had first married Dieter, she and Carola hadn’t particularly liked each other. Carola had been a typical housewife and never understood why Michaela loved her profession so much. She’d also resented the fact that Michaela continued to work even after Eva, and later Ilse, were born. Michaela swallowed the bitterness rising in her throat.

They reached the terraced house where Carola had lived alone since her husband’s death, until she had taken in Ilse and Eva.

“They’re not particularly keen on going with you,” Carola warned as she opened the garden gate.

The words stung Michaela. She supposed it was to be expected, since the girls had been living with Carola for over two years and had seen their mother just a handful of times during that period.

“Your mother’s here,” Carola called, stepping into the parlor. Ilse and Eva were sitting on the floor playing a board game. Sullenly, they stood up to greet Michaela. “Good day, Mother.”

Michaela would have loved to throw her arms around her daughters, although for this to happen they needed time to get to know one another again. Eva, the older one, had developed into a pretty adolescent, while Ilse was still very much a child.

“It’s so good to see you.”

“We want to stay with Aunt Carola,” Eva pouted, jutting her chin.

Michaela looked uncertainly at her sister-in-law, who took the reins in her usual resolute way. “We’ve already talked about this. It’s not possible. You’re no longer safe here.”

“But we will be if we go on the run?” Eva wasn’t going to give up easily.She’s going to be trouble, thought Michaela. Her older daughter had inherited Michaela’s strong will and assertiveness, while the gentle Ilse took after Dieter.

Michaela knew from previous arguments with her daughter that it wouldn’t solve anything to dismiss her objections. “I agree, fleeing the country has its own dangers, but we’ll be accompanied by people who are sympathetic. Things will only get worse in Germany. Most of my Jewish friends in Berlin have already been taken away and sent to ghettos in the East.”

Ilse opened her eyes in horror and hid behind her sister, who also turned pale.

“You can’t stay with Carola. Either you come with me to Switzerland, or Hitler will send you all alone to a ghetto in Poland. Which do you think will be more pleasant?” Michaela could all but see her daughters’ thoughts on their faces as they processed her harsh words. After living safely under Carola’s protection for years, the realization of what was going on in the wider world must have come as a shock.

“That’s a lie.” Eva pressed her lips into a tight line. “Evacuated Jews are being allocated fertile lands in the East. A better future awaits them there.”

“That’s what she’s been taught at school,” explained Carola.

Michaela had to suppress a wry smile. The girl standing in front of her in her best Sunday dress, fine limbed, with neatly filed fingernails and braided brown hair, found dirt and insects disgusting, and was afraid of large animals. Even if what she’d been told was true, and deportees weren’t taken to labor camps, Eva was totally unsuited to the farming life.