Page 77 of The Last Safe Place
“Thank you.” Michaela turned and stepped back into the compartment to pack her things. The nervous churning in her stomach calmed a little now that she knew Dieter’s wedding ring, her last physical connection to him, was safe.
Minutes later, the train drew to a halt at the Badischer Bahnhof in Basel. Michaela’s nerves were as taut as a bowstring. She could almost smell freedom. However, there were two border checks to get past, of which the first struck the greater fear into her.
She closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself and control the trembling in her body. Now was the time to radiate confidence, after all, they didn’t want to attract attention. Everything must seem as normal as possible. After making sure that Herr Seifert could walk upright, with support from his wife, she took her suitcase in one hand and Ilse’s hand in the other. Ilse’s fingers were freezing cold and sweaty. Michaela squeezed it briefly and whispered, “Just a few more minutes, then we’ve made it.”
“What if they send us back?” Ilse’s voice cracked.
Hiding her own fear, Michaela leaned down and looked her daughter firmly in the eye. “They won’t. Leave the talking to me and don’t say anything, not even if they ask you a question.”
A hesitant nod was the response.
“Think of the chocolate.” Michaela had no idea how much chocolate cost in Switzerland – there hadn’t been any for sale in Germany for a long time. However, she was confident Carola’s ten-franc note would cover it.
Finally, a smile stole over Ilse’s face. “I can’t wait.”
“Right, let’s go.” With a glance at Eva, who was already briskly walking along the corridor toward the carriage door, Michaela set off. Once they were in Switzerland, she’d finally have time to take care of the daughters she had neglected so much during the years of Dieter’s illness.
Eva was waiting for her on the platform, a telltale tremor in her hands. For all her attempts to appear grown up, she was still a child at heart.
Michaela gave her an encouraging nod. “No need to worry. We can do it.” She silently sent a prayer to Heaven that she hadn’t promised too much.
The Abwehr had sent notification of their arrival, including the necessary paperwork, to the border police in advance, but only the presence of Lieutenant Hesse’s tall figure truly reassured Michaela. He wouldn’t allow anyone to stop them from leaving at the last second.
Frau Seifert was the first in line. Michaela gnawed at her lower lip, as she watched intently as the border guard scrutinized Frau Seifert’s passport, along with the innumerable permits, before inspecting the sealed suitcase and setting the precious exit stamp in her passport.
Michaela was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the border guard commanded Frau Seifert to hold out her hands and push up her jacket sleeves. Michaela held her breath as the elegant lady bared her scrawny, pale forearms almost to the elbow. But where she had habitually worn several ivory and coral bangles, there was yawning emptiness. The permittedwedding ring was her sole piece of jewelry. Michaela bit her tongue, waiting for something terrible to happen.
But the border guard motioned Frau Seifert to walk to the line on the floor indicating no man’s land and ordered her to wait there for the rest of the group.
Then it was Herr Seifert’s turn. Miraculously, he was standing upright and even carrying his own suitcase. For the hundredth time that day, Michaela silently thanked Lieutenant Hesse. While the amphetamine contravened every medical standard, and its administration would undoubtedly lead to undesirable aftereffects, it was a price worth paying if it enabled their flight to freedom. Michaela was under no illusions about the fate awaiting anyone who had to stay in Germany. Once they were in Switzerland, everything else would work out, she was confident of that.
Next up was Leonore, who’d sat astonishingly still in her seat since she’d returned from her walk through the train alongside a very disgruntled Lieutenant Hesse. Michaela was dying to know what Leonore had done to rattle this usually calm man.
Finally, the border guard beckoned Michaela over. Her fingers were clasping the bundle of three passports plus the rest of their documents so tightly that her knuckles were white. She deliberately relaxed her steely grip and motioned to her daughters to come along.
Under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Hesse, the procedure went like clockwork until the officer suddenly asked, “Do you have anything in your jacket pockets?”
Michaela’s heart stopped a beat, before she answered in a tone of deep conviction, “No.”
“Show me,” he ordered, watching attentively as Michaela and Eva turned their pockets inside out. Ilse however hesitated, and needed a second command from the guard, before she pulled a pencil stub and two meticulously folded sheets of drawings outof her left pocket. Then she reached into her right pocket and grabbed a lump of dough she had shaped into a dog.
“Very talented,” the border guard said, beckoning Michaela. For one horrifying moment, she feared he intended to search her, and would find the undeclared franc note.
Instead, he held out a pair of scissors. “Here, please remove that badge from your jacket.”
Michaela’s jaw dropped. Once the shock had subsided, she accepted the scissors and set about cutting off first her daughters’ stars, then her own, before throwing the hateful objects in the trash.
The moment she was finished, the sun seemed to shine brighter, she could breathe easily again, and all the troubles of recent years drifted away. It was only in that second that Michaela genuinely believed they had escaped the Nazi regime.
She struggled to resist the urge to hug the border guard as she returned the scissors. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what a relief that is.”
He nodded with sorrow in his eyes. “My daughter-in-law is Jewish. The moment my son died at the front, she was deported.”
“I’m so sorry,” Michaela whispered. “May God have mercy on us all.” And by that, she meant both the victims in this life and the perpetrators – who’d truly need mercy at the last judgment.
Then she stepped across the line on the floor into no man’s land, where she set down her suitcase and fell into Leonore’s arms. She could barely hold back the tears. Behind her, Herr and Frau Lange crossed the border with Lieutenant Hesse.
As soon as the border guard turned away, Lieutenant Hesse pulled a coral necklace from his briefcase. Frau Lange gasped audibly and her eyes grew as wide as saucers, until at last a joyful glow spread across her face.