by Ella Zeiss
‘They’ve rehabilitated me,’ Vater said without warning, sounding as though he couldn’t believe it himself. ‘Look!’ He took a brand-new passport from his bag.
Harri laughed out loud. ‘So now we can go straight back home!’
‘It’s not that simple, I’m afraid,’ his father said.
Harri’s smile froze. ‘What do you mean? You’re free – everything’s sorted out now!’
‘I was given this new passport because the authorities here could see no reason for any reprisals against me, no black marks against my name, but if I go back, there’s simply no guarantee that the same thing or worse won’t happen again. I’m afraid I haven’t only made friends at home.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
Vater grinned. ‘Sometimes fate is kind despite everything. I’ve got a new job. This Commissariat owns several state farms in the area and they’re looking for an accountant in one of them. As soon as I said that I was good at figures and had spent many years teaching maths, they straight away asked if I’d be interested. Look at this.’ He pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. ‘It’s a message for the company director with greetings from the People’s Commissariat. I’m to report there today.’
‘Is it far?’
‘Not very. An hour’s brisk walk at most.’
‘Can I come with you?’
‘I’m not sure.’ His father made a face. ‘Your mother’s waiting – she’ll be worried.’
‘It’ll be easier to put her mind at rest when I’ve seen that everything really is all right with my own eyes,’ Harri ventured.
His father laughed. ‘Fine, so far as I’m concerned. Maybe we’ll even manage to see the sea tomorrow.’
‘Really?’ Harri was thrilled. He had been just five years old when they left the Crimea and he’d seen the Black Sea for the last time. He had only the vaguest memory of its beautifully warm dark blue water that went all the way to the horizon. The Caspian Sea was bound to be similar.
‘Really,’ Vater said, ‘all assuming I don’t have to start work directly tomorrow.’
Fascinated, almost in awe even, Harri walked among the straight rows of grapevines. The grapes were little more than small green nuts, but he could already imagine how abundant the next harvest was going to be. He stopped and touched a leaf, picked one of the hard berries and bit into it cautiously. The sour taste made him grimace and he instantly spat it onto the ground, although he had to admit that cultivating wine interested him far more than cotton. Helping out here would be much more enjoyable as far as he was concerned than in the fields back home. Maybe Vater would be allowed to let them join him once he was settled down somewhere. Harri wouldn’t mind that at all. Even the air seemed better – not so stuffy and humid.
‘Ah, there you are!’ The voice of his father dragged him from his thoughts. Surprised, Harri spun around and saw him hurrying towards him through the rows of plants. ‘I was just out looking for you!’
‘I’m sorry,’ Harri said, shrugging apologetically. ‘I didn’t know how long you’d be.’
‘Oh, don’t worry,’ his father said, waving it off. Nothing could possibly dampen his high spirits on this of all days.
‘Did it work out? Did you get the job?’
‘Yes, I did,’ he said, thumping his son on his shoulder. ‘And not only that – they’ve even given me somewhere to live. Come on, let’s go and see.’
He marched through the rows of vines towards a wooden hut at the end of a field. The door creaked when Vater opened it slowly and the two of them stepped inside, full of curiosity.
It was dark at first and Harri could smell the sweet-sour scent of grapes in the air. ‘What is this place?’
‘It’s where they used to leave the grapes to dry before they were processed into raisins.’ Vater gazed around the shed. Sparse daylight filtered in through the door as well as a few cracks in the walls. ‘We can certainly make something out of this.’
Harri looked around the barn too, his mind working fast. His father was right. They could put in two windows on the right and the left sides and even build a dividing wall to make a second room. They’d need to repair the roof and the cracks in the walls before winter set in, but there was plenty of time until then. There’d be no problem over the summer months when it was warm and hardly ever rained.
‘Time to eat?’ Vater suggested, still in an excellent mood.
Harri nodded. He had forgotten about meals because of all the excitement, although his stomach now gave a loud grumble.
‘Thank goodness your mother packed so much food,’ Vater grinned. ‘There’s even enough for your journey home.’ He handed Harri a thick slice of bread with smoked ham, which he took gratefully.
They sat down on the mud floor, leaning against the wall of the shed and looking across the vineyard to where the sun was beginning to set.
Harri felt a deep inner sense of peace. This was one of those perfect, carefree moments he would probably end up telling his grandchildren about. He smiled. Things seemed to be looking up at last.
For a long time they just sat there in silence chewing away, shoulder to shoulder, and watched the sun go down and the sky gradually turn from fiery red to lilac.
In the end Vater stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers. ‘We should get some sleep,’ he said. ‘Tomorrow morning I have to report to the director’s office. If you like you can have a look around town before it’s time to catch your train home.’
Chapter 20
March 1941, Settlement Sor-El, Soviet Republic of Komi
‘Finished!’ Erich slammed the door shut behind him in triumph and threw the bag with his schoolbooks into the corner with a flourish.
Anna ran towards him with pride and joy. ‘How did it go?’ she asked excitedly. Today Erich had sat his final apprenticeship exams. His training was officially over.
‘I passed with distinction!’ He was grinning from ear to ear and hugged his mother so tightly that he actually lifted her off her feet.
Laughing, she wriggled out of his arms. He was a whole head taller than her now. ‘I am so proud of you.’
‘You know what makes this so brilliant? I’m free at last! That’s the best bit. I can go and see Rita at last! We can get married!’
Anna nodded thoughtfully. She had known this was coming. For months now, Erich had talked about nothing else. He was finally going to move and be with her. All the years of separation, which had been poorly bridged with letters and an occasional visit in the holidays, had done nothing to change how the two young people felt about each other. The distance had perhaps even helped their feelings grow, in fact. Nonetheless, this was the first time Erich had actually mentioned marriage.
‘Rita is only sixteen,’ Anna argued gently. ‘She’s far too young to get married.’
‘She doesn’t think so!’
‘You’ve already talked to her about it then?’
‘Of course I have!’ He shook his head. ‘You didn’t think I’d make a decision like that without consulting her? She would never forgive me!’
Anna smiled. Her son obviously knew his chosen bride very well indeed. ‘You need money to get married,’ she said. ‘You don’t want to carry on living at her aunt’s, do you? If you really want to start a family, you will need to provide for them.’
Erich paused. ‘A family,’ he said slowly. It seemed that he hadn’t put any thought into the consequences of getting married.
‘Rita could get pregnant – quite soon, in fact. Are you sure you’ve really thought this through?’
Erich made a face despite himself and Anna took that to mean ‘no’. Generally so sensible, her son seemed blind when it came to the prospect of an imminent reunion with Rita. Only now did he seem to grasp the complexity of the situation. He stopped smiling and looked pensive all of a sudden.
Anna was sorry to have to dampen his spirits. She didn’t want this day, which was supposed to be one of the best of his life, clouded with worry.
She pulled him over to the table and made him sit down, then took a seat beside him. ‘I have an idea,’ she said with a loving smile. ‘You can work at the mill for a few months. I’m sure they’d love to have you – after all, you did do your work experience there.’ Erich opened his mouth to protest and Anna hurried to finish what she was saying. ‘It wouldn’t have to be for long, just for the summer. You can save what you earn. That way you would have a nest egg, enough to tide you over if things get difficult.’ She paused. ‘And then there’s always my mother’s silver cutlery. I can give you half. The other half is for Yvo’s dowry.’
Erich shook his head, taken aback. ‘I . . . I could never take that, Mama. I know how much it means to you.’
‘Don’t worry about that, darling. It’s only metal after all, and if it helps you find happiness, I can think of no better use for it.’ Anna was surprised to find that the thought of giving away her family heirlooms really didn’t upset her in the least. Her priorities had changed considerably over the past few years. Things that had been important in the past, like respectability or possessions, had ceased to matter any more. Money was only important in so far as it supported the needs of the family, and Erich needed it much more than she and Wilhelm did. She didn’t need any keepsakes to remember her mother by. She hadn’t taken the cutlery out of its hiding place for years. Her mother was safely locked in her heart no matter what she owned or where she was.
‘Are you sure, Mama?’
‘Yes, darling, I’m quite sure.’
‘Thank you!’ He hugged her in delight. ‘And we may not even need it – I might manage to save enough money all by myself.’
‘We’ll see,’ Anna said, stroking his arm. ‘Tomorrow you can go to the sawmill with Papa and then we’ll take things from there.’
‘The war in Finland is over,’ Wilhelm said as soon as he had closed the door behind him. He had just come back from one of the obligatory atheist meetings held at the club, the only place with a radio. ‘They signed a peace treaty. It was just announced.’
Anna nodded. Being so secluded, they hadn’t heard much about the war between the Soviet Union and Finland but it was always good to put an end to bloodshed. She wasn’t blind to the fact that it wasn’t nearly as peaceful in other places as it was here. ‘And what other news was there? What is Germany up to?’
Since Germany had attacked Poland about eighteen months before, they had tried to keep up with the news. Despite the Non-Aggression Pact signed between Germany and the Soviet Union before the war, there was still a latent worry that Hitler might end up doing something that put Soviet Germans in a bad light. Officially the German Reich was currently considered an ally, but that could change at any moment, especially considering the speed with which Hitler was conducting the invasion. And Anna could still remember how quickly the attitude had swung against the Germans in Russia during the last war. She very much hoped never to experience anything like that again.
Wilhelm shrugged. ‘Don’t worry so much. This time we’re on the right side. There’ll be no retribution against us.’
Anna nodded and hoped he would be right. ‘How is Erich getting on?’ she asked, changing the subject. There was nothing she could do about the current world situation anyway.
‘Very well, as far as I know, but I never doubted that! He really does know a thing or two about technology.’ She could hear a hint of longing in Wilhelm’s voice and knew how much he would have liked to become an engineer before life had presented him with other plans.
‘Where is Erich? I thought he’d be coming home with you.’
‘He stayed on at the club. All his friends were still there.’
‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’
Wilhelm laughed and pulled her into his arms. ‘He’s not a child any more, darling,’ he said, kissing her gently. ‘He’s an adult now.’
‘I know, but . . .’ she protested weakly as his kisses grew more daring.
‘No buts,’ he mumbled. ‘Where’s Yvo?’ he asked.
‘At Frieda’s. She wanted to stay overnight.’
‘Oh . . .’ Wilhelm ran his hands down Anna’s back. ‘That opens all sorts of new possibilities,’ he whispered intently.
Anna giggled when he suddenly picked her up and headed towards the bedroom.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she asked, smiling.
‘Just you wait and see,’ he promised quietly.
June 1941, Settlement Sor-El, Soviet Republic of Komi
As she walked past, Anna caught a view of herself in the large mirror at the entrance to the club building. She liked what she saw. The new dress she had made for herself really did look good on her. She had finished it yesterday evening, just in time for the Sunday afternoon dance. Wilhelm was wearing his suit and a light-coloured shirt, looking very handsome, while Yvo and Erich were as lovely as ever. Anna thought she had the most beautiful children in the world and was sure everyone else thought so too. She noticed more than one young woman give her son a yearning glance and she admired his single-mindedness. He had never had eyes for anyone except Rita. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a boy giving a secret wave to Yvo and saw her daughter go slightly red before she waved back to him. Anna sighed to herself. Even her little one was growing up fast.
From inside the hall they could hear the music starting up. They had arrived at exactly the right moment. The dance was about to begin.
Wilhelm pulled Anna out onto the dance floor with a flourish as it began to fill up, while Erich walked up to his sister and dutifully asked her if she wanted to dance. Anna hid a smile when she noticed the disappointed looks on the other girls’ faces. She didn’t blame them. Quite beside his looks, Erich was considered a good catch – he was educated, didn’t drink and had a good position. No wonder some people pinned their hopes on winning him. Erich behaved as if he didn’t notice a thing, and maybe it was true. He was laughing and joking with his sister as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The record playing on the old gramophone creaked and crackled, but no one minded. Everyone was in too good a mood. Anna enjoyed the sensation of Wilhelm’s strong arm in the middle of her back as they swung back and forth in time to the music. Maybe they should come to these gatherings more often. She often let herself be detained at home with schoolwork that needed correcting or chores in the house or garden, even though she loved dancing so much.
‘How about some refreshment?’ Wilhelm asked after the third song had come to an end.
‘Yes, please,’ Anna said, fanning cool air into her face with her hand. She followed him to the bar that had been set up at the other end of the room, and they watched the couples whirl wildly around the room while they slowly sipped from their glasses of water.
Suddenly there was a crackling sound from the loudspeakers hanging on the walls. Irritated, the people paused, turning in the direction of the noise. Anna gazed in suspense at the loudspeakers, which broadcast transmissions from the only public radio in the area. They crackled again.
‘Attention, please!’ a distorted, tinny voice sounded. ‘This is Moscow calling. We have an important Government announcement for all citizens of the Soviet Union. Today at four o’clock German armed forces attacked the borders of the Soviet Union without any declaration of war. The war against the German invaders has begun. Ours is a just cause. We will defeat the enemy. Victory will be ours!’
A deathly hush spread through the room, which had been full of happy laughter just moments before. Someone had the presence of mind to turn off the music.
‘I repeat . . .’ the voice coming out of the radio continued, but Anna was no longer listening. Her ears were filled with noise and she swayed. They were at war with Germany. She looked at her husband in horror while he put an arm round her shoulder to comfort her. He swallowed, seeming almost as dazed as she was.
Without thinking, Anna searched the crowd to find her children. The radio was saying something about attacks on
Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine, but Anna was unable to process the information. At last she saw Erich and Yvo and waved them over frantically.
The children obediently pushed their way through the crowd. The horror showed in their faces too, along with the unspoken question of what was going to happen now.
The radio fell silent. No one moved.
When a man strode energetically through the room and climbed onto a chair, all eyes turned to him. Anna knew him. He was the leader of the local Party.
‘You can all go home now,’ he announced. ‘The event is over. We will provide you with more information as soon as necessary.’
Slowly the crowd of people came back to life again. Many of them looked around as if lost before slowly starting to move. About a quarter of the people here were German.
Anna wasn’t sure if she was imagining things. Were the looks cast in her direction really noticeably more aggressive than they had been ten minutes ago?
The family stayed close together on the way home, intuitively not looking to the left or right. Anna was greatly relieved that Erich and Wilhelm didn’t say a word even though they were obviously finding it difficult to stay quiet.
They scarcely dared breathe until their own front door closed behind them.
‘Why is everyone so agitated?’ Yvo asked nervously. ‘The war is far away. We didn’t notice anything when we were fighting against Finland.’
‘Germany isn’t Finland,’ Wilhelm said calmly. ‘The German Wehrmacht has already conquered half of Europe, and now they’ve attacked us without a declaration of war or any warning. That’s not good, especially not for us.’
‘But we’re part of the Soviet Union. We’ve got nothing to do with the war.’
‘You’re right, my darling,’ Anna said, pulling her daughter close, ‘and I’m sure the Government knows that. We just have carry on living as normal and hope that the Red Army quickly wins the war.’
Erich barged past and dropped a full rucksack on the ground before starting to rummage in the kitchen cupboard. Only now did Anna realise that he had run into the bedroom he shared with his sister the minute they had got home.
