In the Shadow of the Storm

by Ella Zeiss

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, confused, as she watched him wrap a large hunk of bread and an apple in some newspaper.

  ‘I have to get going,’ he explained breathlessly, packing the food into a bag and bending down to pick up the rucksack.

  ‘Where to?’ Anna said, grabbing hold of his arm.

  ‘To Rita!’ he explained, as if it were obvious, his face marked with determination and desperation.

  Anna stared at her son, unable to comprehend what he was saying.

  ‘Weren’t you even listening, Mama?’ he asked in a shrill voice. ‘The Wehrmacht has attacked the Ukraine! That’s where Rita is, all alone with no one to defend her. I have to go there right now!’ He tried to free his arm from her grip.

  ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Wilhelm stated firmly.

  ‘You can’t make me stay!’

  ‘Think about it, Erich, please,’ Anna said, trying to calm her son down.

  Next to him Yvo drew in a sharp breath. ‘Is Rita really in danger?’

  ‘No, she isn’t,’ Anna said decisively. ‘The front line isn’t anywhere near her, and even if it were, soldiers don’t attack women and children.’ She sincerely hoped that what she was saying was true.

  ‘That’s not enough! I’m going to fetch her and bring her back here to safety,’ Erich hissed.

  ‘Nothing is going to happen to her,’ Anna repeated firmly, ‘but you would be risking your own life.’

  He shook his head. ‘Either it’s dangerous there or it isn’t, and that goes for everyone. I don’t see any difference between Rita and me.’

  ‘How do you think it’s going to look if a young German is caught heading to the Front from behind the lines?’ Wilhelm asked quietly. ‘They won’t let you anywhere near her, believe me. You’d be arrested as a spy or a deserter before you could even say hello and start explaining.’

  Erich looked at his father uncertainly. This statement certainly seemed to have taken the wind out of his sails. ‘I can’t just leave her there on her own.’

  ‘But you can’t help her if you’re stuck in jail either.’

  Anna shot her husband an annoyed look. She would have preferred him to be a bit kinder, but couldn’t deny the truth of what he was saying or the effect his words had on Erich. The boy dropped his rucksack and slumped onto a chair, looking devastated. ‘But what am I supposed to do?’

  ‘You have to keep quiet and wait for a letter to arrive. She’s bound to know that we’re worried and she’ll send us a few lines as soon as she can. You can’t do anything rash.’

  ‘I don’t know if I can stand it!’ Erich gasped, burying his head in his hands. ‘You have no idea how I’m feeling right now.’

  ‘Yes, we do,’ Anna contradicted him quietly. ‘That’s just how I felt when Papa was dragged into the woods to fell trees and I didn’t hear a thing for months, or when he was put in prison and we didn’t know if we would ever see him again, but everything turned out for the best. Have a little faith.’

  The following morning the mood was still bleak when the men set off for work, while Anna and Yvo stayed at home to work in the house and garden.

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find a small boy standing there who looked familiar.

  ‘Anna Friedrichovna, Director Romanov wants to speak to you!’ he said, reeling off his message in great excitement. She remembered now how she knew him – she’d often seen him around the school.

  ‘Now?’ she asked in surprise. An ominous feeling started to grow in the pit of her stomach.

  ‘Yes, I’m to take you to him.’

  Anna took her apron off. ‘Yvo?’ she called into the house.

  ‘Yes, Mama?’

  ‘I need to go out.’

  ‘All right, Mama. I was going to go and see Frieda anyway.’

  ‘Have a good time, sweetheart.’

  ‘See you later.’ Yvo hadn’t noticed how worried Anna was, thank goodness.

  Anna shut the door behind her and followed the boy to the headmaster’s house, racking her brains on the way but unable to think of a single innocent reason why he might want to speak to her in the middle of the summer holidays.

  ‘Here we are,’ the boy said proudly, pointing to a pretty, painted, single-storey house.

  ‘Thank you.’ Too caught up in her own worries, Anna found it difficult to manage a smile for the boy, but he didn’t seem to mind. He skipped away, whistling happily.

  Anna opened the garden gate and walked through to knock on the door.

  It didn’t take long before Director Romanov appeared at the door. ‘Anna Friedrichovna, I’m glad Sergey managed to find you so quickly.’ He seemed anxious. ‘Please do come in.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She did her best not to reveal her own nervousness although her heart was beating wildly. ‘What can I do for you?’ she asked as soon as they had entered the house.

  ‘I’d prefer to discuss things in my office.’ The director seemed to be feeling as uneasy as she was and remained tense as she followed him into the adjoining room. ‘Please take a seat,’ he said politely. ‘Would you like some tea?’

  Anna began to suspect that he was playing for time, trying to put off an unpleasant conversation for as long as possible. She liked and respected him. He was a quiet and polite man, and she knew that the respect was mutual. ‘Just tell me what’s going on,’ she asked quietly.

  He looked as though he had been caught red-handed, and shrugged apologetically. ‘I have just received orders to suspend you from teaching for the coming year. I’m sorry. Apparently certain people believe you could be a bad influence on the children. It is also not thought appropriate, considering the current situation, for someone such as yourself’ – he cleared his throat and continued hastily – ‘to hold a position of such privilege within our community.’

  Someone such as her – a German, that is. Anna read between the lines of his words well enough, but she was almost relieved. It could have been worse. ‘Is that all?’ she asked as calmly as possible.

  The director leafed through his papers as if searching for information somewhere first. He didn’t look at her as he continued to speak. ‘Since you are no longer employed as a teacher, you will be expected to take on other work with immediate effect. You have been regraded as an unqualified agricultural labourer. Here.’ He held out a note to her. ‘Please take this and report to administration. You will receive further information there.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Anna said evenly, and took the note. So she was now an unskilled worker destined to carry out the lowliest and most gruelling of tasks.

  Well, it could have been worse, she told herself again, more forcefully before she had time to feel bitter. She was not being arrested or driven out or dispossessed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Director Romanov said again.

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ she murmured despondently.

  ‘As soon as there’s a change in the situation you will be very welcome back.’

  ‘Thank you. What will happen to my class?’

  ‘I hope I’ll be able to find a qualified replacement for you before the beginning of the new school year.’

  Anna nodded. ‘May I say goodbye to my pupils?’

  He shook his head sadly. ‘I’m afraid that isn’t a good idea. I will personally be informing your class of the changes at the beginning of next term.’

  Anna clenched her fists to keep herself under control. It wasn’t important, but it was hurtful to know that her pupils would soon be given a negative, politically correct picture of her. She knew she was admired and respected by most of them. She would have liked to have given them an honourable farewell in person.

  Romanov stretched out his arm. ‘I wish you the very best, Anna Friedrichovna.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She took his hand and pressed it quickly. ‘So do I.’

  Then she turned away and left the house, holding her head high. She had done nothing wrong and there was nothing she need be ashamed of.
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  Anna took her time walking home and changing her clothes. She put on a plain skirt and an old blouse and tied her hair back with a scarf, then set off to her new place of work.

  Her job turned out to be simple but exhausting. She was sent off to the vegetable fields, where she was to help out with the cabbage harvest to start off with. One woman would walk ahead with a special hoe to slice off the cabbage heads at the base of each plant. Anna’s job was to load the cabbages into the waiting truck. Her back and knees were hurting after just an hour of continual bending, squatting and lifting. She was used to working in the garden at home, but it was a very different matter harvesting a whole field. The other women had turned up their noses when they saw her clean soft hands but soon realised she was willing to work hard and left her alone.

  As the fields lay beyond the settlement, it took Anna almost an hour to walk home at the end of the day. She was so tired she could barely feel her legs by the time she finally got back to the apartment.

  Yvo was already waiting for her, looking worried. ‘There you are at last!’ she called, rushing over to her. ‘How are you? Where are the others?’

  Anna dropped onto a chair, exhausted. ‘I’m all right,’ she said. She fumbled around taking off her boots and then wiggled her toes. ‘Papa and Erich are bound to be home soon,’ she muttered. She had no energy left to care about anything.

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘I’ve been suspended from teaching and relegated to work in the vegetable fields. Something similar will have happened to Erich and Papa too, I imagine.’

  ‘I see,’ Yvo nodded, looking slightly reassured. ‘You need to rest and eat something.’

  Anna was touched as she watched her daughter set a steaming bowl of soup down in front of her and cut her a thick slice of bread.

  ‘I’ve already milked the cow and fed her,’ Yvo said.

  ‘Thank you, darling,’ Anna said before taking a spoonful of soup and closing her eyes with pleasure. It was nice to be looked after like this. She smiled at her daughter. ‘I’m afraid you’ll probably have to take on more chores at home from now on. I won’t be able to manage them all.’ During term she usually came home at the same time as Yvo or shortly after and although she still had schoolwork to correct, she had always had enough time to see to the house or garden. That was no longer going to be possible.

  ‘I don’t mind, Mama. You know I love cooking, and I’ll manage the garden somehow too.’

  The door opened and Wilhelm and Erich walked in, both in a bad mood, filthy and covered in sweat.

  ‘How did you two fare?’

  Wilhelm washed his hands and drank a glass of water thirstily before answering. ‘They were waiting for us at the entrance to the mill and took us straight into the forest.’

  Anna groaned. It seemed as if time had been turned back. ‘Felling trees?’ she asked gloomily.

  ‘What else?’ he grunted tiredly.

  Chapter 21

  June 1941, Baku, Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan

  ‘It’s getting serious,’ Vater said grimly. He’d got into the habit of visiting the club after work to listen to the latest broadcasts on the radio ever since the outbreak of war with Germany.

  The start of the war had caught Harri and his family completely by surprise. Filled with worry, they waited to see what would happen next, but for now their lives continued as usual. The Front was far away and here by the Caspian Sea it largely went unnoticed. The only difference was that they were regularly provided with information on the outcome of battles.

  ‘Because their attack came so unexpectedly, the Wehrmacht seems to have advanced much farther than anyone thought possible. The betrayal has caused the Soviet Union considerable damage and the Government has called for a Great Patriotic War to hold the lines of defence.’

  ‘And what does that mean for us?’ Mutter asked quietly.

  ‘There’s talk of general mobilisation. On the radio they were calling for anyone with a weapon who has previously served to sign up voluntarily.’

  ‘Will you do that?’ Harri asked. He knew his father had gone through basic training even though he had not been called up in the last war because he was German.

  ‘No.’ Vater shook his head. ‘I think I’m getting too old for that. There are plenty of young men who will be able to prove themselves, and anyway, I don’t want to leave you on your own.’

  ‘Do you really think Germany might win?’ Harri asked curiously.

  ‘No, I don’t. The Soviet Union is far too big for that. They may manage to conquer some of the regions in the north-west, but I can’t imagine them ever getting this far. We really have no need to worry.’

  The day after that, Vater came home from work much later than usual, his face strained when he finally stood in the doorway.

  ‘What happened?’ Mutter asked nervously.

  He handed her a folded sheet of paper instead of an answer.

  ‘What is it?’ she said, her voice shaking as she took it. She seemed to know already what it would say, although Harri had no idea and Emma looked as mystified as he felt.

  Quickly Mutter unfolded the sheet of paper and read the message.

  ‘It looks as though I won’t be able to stay with you after all,’ Vater said with a sad smile.

  ‘You have to go away again?’ Emma cried out in frustration. ‘Why can’t they just leave you alone for once?’

  ‘It’s not about me, it’s for Mother Russia.’

  ‘You have to go to war?’ Emma turned as white as a sheet and Harri felt sick all of a sudden. He’d only ever heard stories about the war. One time a friend’s father had told them the most awful tales full of death, fear and suffering.

  ‘Yes,’ Vater nodded. ‘I just received my call-up papers.’

  ‘When . . .’ Mutter cleared her throat. ‘When do you leave?’

  ‘My train goes tomorrow afternoon.’

  Mutter swallowed and slumped against him. ‘I don’t want you to go,’ she whispered.

  He put an arm round her shoulder. ‘It’s not as if I have a choice. There’s no point in looking sad,’ he added in a louder voice when he saw the children’s faces. ‘I’m not the only one being called up to the Front. The whole country’s being mobilised. I can’t imagine they’ve got enough work for all of us. They’ll probably send half of us home again straight away.’

  Harri knew Vater was just trying to cheer them up, but unfortunately he was long past the age when he believed in fairy tales, and Emma was too.

  ‘Try and look on the bright side,’ Vater said, being serious again. ‘Germany has declared war on us, and this time all Germans including me are being called to the front line together with everyone else. Do you see what that means? We’re not being despised or shunned – this time there will be no reprisals. I can go to the Front with some peace of mind because I know nothing will happen to you here.’

  The next few weeks were very tense. Harri felt an icy lump of fear in the pit of his stomach whenever the postman approached their house, or if he opened the letter box, sighing with relief every time there was no official communication reporting the death of his father.

  Apart from that, life went on as usual. Harri and his sister both helped out in the vineyards to earn a few extra roubles. Now that Vater was no longer bringing home a regular wage and they had no idea if or when they would be receiving any of his army pay, they were trying to be as frugal as possible. They didn’t want to touch their savings, but the money Mutter earned was only just enough to make ends meet.

  Harri enjoyed the work in the vineyard. He loved the scent of the fruit, and was already able to tell how ripe and sweet the grapes were simply by looking at them. Nonetheless, he was still hoping to attend the Technical University once he finished school in a year’s time. All he had to do was pass the tenth grade.

  Sometimes, when the sun was burning down in the sky, he would try and imagine himself coming home from work in some office somewhere and putting his f
eet up in his own garden in the shade of rambling grapevines. It was a peaceful and positive picture that helped him forget the news coming from the Front for a while of bitter fighting and bloody defeats, as well as the constant nagging worry over his father.

  August 1941, Settlement Sor-El, Soviet Republic of Komi

  ‘Did a letter from Rita come today?’

  As usual it was the first question Erich asked when he came home from work in the evening.

  ‘No,’ Anna said wearily, knowing there wasn’t going to be one for a while. It had taken the Wehrmacht a mere matter of weeks to take over half the Ukraine. The area around Vinnytsia, where Rita lived with her aunt, had been under German occupation since the middle of July, but Erich simply refused to give up hope that there would be some sign of life from her soon. ‘You know very well that they don’t let letters from the occupied territories through the lines.’

  Erich stared at her, utterly miserable. ‘I can’t bear it! You should have let me travel to Rita immediately. Anything would be better than this!’ He threw his arms up in despair.

  ‘I am sure she’s all right,’ Anna said, trying to console her son. ‘People are saying that the soldiers are behaving decently towards the German settlers. Don’t worry about her.’

  Erich grumbled something she couldn’t hear and went to hide himself away in the other room. Anna understood how he was feeling. It wasn’t easy being separated from the person you loved but she simply lacked the energy to give him any more moral support.

  Three weeks earlier the first group of young men had been called up to the army. Anna had been shaken when she realised that Erich or Wilhelm might be recruited. It took a couple of days before she found out that Soviet Germans weren’t being drafted after all. Although she was sorry to learn that the country where she’d been born and bred and had worked hard and honestly all her life still regarded them as enemies, for once she didn’t mind being discriminated against. She knew all too well that a large proportion of the young men she saw puffed up with pride and waving to their mothers and sisters from the departing trains would never return. She had witnessed war before and knew what to expect.