A Band of Steel

by Rosie Goodwin

  Adina knew exactly what he meant. Hadn’t she herself just jumped at the chance of working part-time at Ariel’s school?

  ‘Perhaps you could find a job?’ she suggested tentatively.

  He smirked. ‘Oh yes – doing what? Had I stayed in Cologne I would be in university by now, but as it is I have no qualifications yet. Who would want to employ me and what would I do?’

  Adina chewed on her lip as they moved along. Dovi was bright and hoped to be a lawyer one day. The chances of that looked very remote now, at least for the foreseeable future.

  ‘Well, there must be something you could do; this war can’t go on for ever.’

  He laughed wryly but then caught her arm as they approached the shop-front. ‘You won’t say anything to Mama and Papa about what I have just told you, will you?’ he pleaded. ‘I know they are already concerned enough about the shop, without them having to worry about me as well.’

  ‘Of course I won’t,’ she assured him. ‘And try to stay optimistic. Something is bound to turn up.’ She would have loved to tell him about the little job that she had just been offered but felt that now wasn’t the right time. She didn’t want to make him feel any worse than he already did. He had so much to miss, far more than she did. Because he was slightly older than her, he had enjoyed a busy social life in Cologne. He was young and extraordinarily handsome, and he had been very popular amongst the Jewish girls in their community. Eventually their parents would have arranged a marriage for him, probably with a girl of his choice, but that was unlikely to happen now. Adina had noticed more than the odd English girl attracted by his dark good looks, but Dovi was wise enough to know that a marriage outside his faith would be frowned upon. No wonder he is feeling so glum, she thought to herself.

  They set off up the long entry that divided their shop from the neighbours, and as they entered the warm kitchen their mother looked up and smiled at them both.

  ‘So what did Ariel’s teacher want to see you about?’ she asked Adina.

  ‘Oh, I’ll tell you about it later,’ Adina said as she shrugged off her coat and went to fill the kettle at the sink.

  Dovi hovered by the door. ‘I think I’ll pop into town and get some books from the library.’

  His mother nodded approvingly. Dovi had always loved to read, everything and anything he could get his hands on, much like Adina. Back in Cologne their home had had a wonderful library, full of books from floor to ceiling, with everything from Aristotle and Plato to Shakespeare, Goethe and Chekhov. Now he had to rely on whatever the local library could provide.

  Once he had gone, Adina told her mother about the proposition that Ariel’s teacher had put to her.

  Freyde approved. ‘I can see that you could be a great help to the Jewish children who attend the school, and it will give you something to keep you occupied too,’ she said. ‘When will you start?’

  ‘On Monday.’ Glancing around the kitchen, Adina asked, ‘Where is Papa?’

  ‘Oh, he heard about these socks that are available without coupons and he has gone to try and purchase some for the shop. The nickname for them is “oily socks” – apparently they are very popular with the soldiers because the oil in the wool helps to prevent them from getting blisters. I’m not sure that they will attract any more customers though. We have everything in there from dustpans and brushes to sweets, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.’

  ‘Things will improve. I bet most people don’t even realise that the shop has re-opened yet,’ Adina said gently.

  ‘We shall see,’ her mother sighed, and as she bent her head back to the skirt she was sewing, Adina quietly slipped away.

  The following Monday morning, Adina set off to school with Ariel. She was wearing a plain white blouse that she had teamed with her best black skirt, and she was looking forward to her new job enormously.

  ‘I don’t know why I can’t be in your class. I am Jewish,’ Ariel whined.

  ‘It’s because you can already speak good English,’ her sister said patiently. ‘What good would it do you to be with me? You are far better off learning arithmetic and writing in another class.’

  Ariel looked glum but said nothing more on the subject, and soon they arrived at the school gates where Miss Millington was waiting for them.

  ‘Ah, Adina, I have the children ready for you in a separate classroom,’ she beamed. ‘I thought it would be easier for you if there were no interruptions from the other children. But come along to the staff room first and have a cup of tea before you start and meet the other teachers. Ariel, you run along to your class, there’s a good girl.’

  Ariel glared at her before trudging off to do as she was told while Adina followed the teacher into the school.

  ‘This is Adina Schwartz who will working with the German children to improve their English,’ she told the other members of staff as Adina blushed hotly, and they all smiled at her.

  Miss Millington poured her out a cup of tea and showed her where to hang her coat as the other teachers began to drift off to their classrooms. Very aware that the children were already waiting for her, Adina swallowed her drink as quickly as she could and followed the teacher to a small classroom overlooking the playground at the far end of the school.

  Eleven children ranging from five to nine years of age stared solemnly at her as she entered the room.

  ‘Guten Morgen, Kinder,’ she addressed them once Miss Millington had left, and crossing to the blackboard she then wrote the greeting in English: Good morning, children.

  They looked back at her blankly for a moment but then as they grasped what she was doing, they began to roll the words around their tongues.

  ‘Wie geht es euch heute?’ Adina asked them next, and then she again wrote the question in English, How are you today?

  The children began to smile as they realised that she could understand them, and very soon their first lesson was well under way and Adina was thoroughly enjoying herself.

  Chapter Four

  On 10 May 1940, Winston Churchill was summoned to Buckingham Palace and appointed the new Prime Minister, becoming the head of a coalition government. He assured King George VI that he would build an all-party team to achieve victory against Hitler. Chamberlain, his predecessor, had sought peace but Churchill informed the King that he had no intentions of seeking peace now, only victory.

  The week before, the Allied attempt to force the German invaders out of Norway had gone badly. The Allied Forces had been ill-equipped to fight in Arctic conditions and had found themselves up against highly trained mountain troops. as well as under constant attack from enemy dive bombers operating out of Norwegian airfields. But now that the pugnacious Winston Churchill had taken over from Chamberlain, the country was heartened.

  Rationing was now firmly in place. In Nuneaton, a few more people were now venturing into the shop in Edmund Street to obtain their measly rations of bacon, butter and sugar, but Ezra knew that trade would have to improve substantially if he was to keep the wolf from the door.

  Adina had been working at the school for one month now and was loving every minute she spent with her young pupils. Even Ariel seemed to be finally adapting to her new way of life. But sadly, the same could not be said for Dovi, who seemed to have lost some of his old sparkle.

  This morning as she looked across to where he was hunched in the chair at the side of the fire, Freyde asked, ‘And what do you plan to do with yourself today, son?’

  ‘The same as I do every day,’ he replied sulkily. ‘Get the coal in, run errands for you. What else is there for me to do?’

  ‘But you help out in the shop too,’ Freyde said, as she lifted some of the washing down from the drying rack that was suspended from the ceiling, ready to iron it.

  ‘Huh! Papa hardly needs me to do that. There are barely enough customers to keep one person busy, let alone two.’

  ‘But they will come in time. We just have to be patient,’ Freyde told him gently, keeping an eye on the door that led into the
shop. Ezra was out and as yet she had not had a single customer since opening the shop that morning.

  Rising from the chair, Dovi suddenly snatched his coat from the hook on the back of the door. ‘I am going for a walk,’ he snapped, and with that he marched from the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that it danced on its hinges.

  Freyde frowned as she listened to his footsteps in the entry. It wasn’t like Dovi to be churlish. He had always been the joker of the family. But then they had all had a lot of adjusting to do, and she knew he was bored.

  Spitting on the bottom of the iron to check that it was hot enough, she then attacked the pile of ironing as she sought in her mind for a way to make him feel worthwhile again.

  Ezra arrived home at eleven thirty, delighted with the purchases he had managed to acquire for the shop at a very fair price.

  After placing three enormous glass jars full of sweets on the edge of the table he glanced about and asked, ‘Where is Dovi?’

  ‘I think he’s gone off to the library again.’ Freyde added two starched sheets to the pile of ironing. ‘I am very concerned about him. I think he’s feeling at a loose end.’

  Ezra nodded. ‘It isn’t so bad for the girls; they have things to keep them occupied. Ariel is at school and now Adina is helping out there, she seems to be blossoming. But Dovi . . . well, there is so little for him to do. I was hoping that he would become more involved in the shop. But first, of course, we need trade to pick up before that can happen.’

  ‘All in God’s good time,’ his wife told him, and sighing, Ezra went through to the shop, leaving her to put the neat pile of ironing away.

  When Dovi arrived home later that afternoon he was still somewhat subdued and remained that way throughout the evening meal. When it was over, Freyde and Adina cleared the table and washed up, then they all settled down whilst Ezra read them passages from the Torah, as was usual.

  It wasn’t until everyone else had retired to bed and they were finally alone that Adina asked her brother, ‘Is everything all right, Dovi? You seemed very preoccupied tonight.’

  Glancing towards the stairs door to make sure that they were truly alone, Dovi edged closer to her before whispering, ‘I have something to tell you, but first you must swear that you will not tell Mama or Papa.’

  Adina frowned, filled with a sense of foreboding, Even so, she nodded. Dovi was her big brother and she had always looked up to him.

  He took her hand and smiled at her tenderly. ‘The thing is,’ he said, ‘I have signed up.’

  Adina’s eyes almost popped out of her head. ‘B . . . but why? And how?’ she stuttered. ‘You are not quite eighteen yet. Surely you need Mama and Papa’s permission?’

  ‘I lied about my age,’ he admitted sheepishly, and then seeing the tears welling in her eyes he hurried on, ‘You must see it my way, Dina. So many of the young men from the town have already gone and I couldn’t bear to be looked upon as a coward. The chances are I would have been called up in a few months anyway. I need to feel that I am doing something towards this war, and this was the only way I could think of. You know as well as I do that Mama and Papa would have refused to give their permission had I asked them.’

  Dina blinked as she tried to take in what he had just told her. ‘So when will you be going?’ she asked, still shocked.

  ‘First light tomorrow morning. I shall already be gone by the time you get up, and I shall leave a letter for our parents explaining everything. Please try to understand. You are doing your bit helping at the school, but I feel so useless. You must be strong for me, to comfort Mama and Papa when I am gone.’

  ‘I will,’ she promised, although she felt as if her heart was breaking. It was hard to imagine life without Dovi around – and what about the dangers he might face? ‘Where will you go?’

  He shrugged. ‘All I know is I am to report to the Town Hall and from there I shall be transported to a training camp on Lake Windermere before being shipped abroad.’

  ‘But you could be killed,’ she objected.

  ‘And so could the thousands of other young men who are already out there fighting.’

  They fell silent for a while until she asked, ‘Would you like me to help you pack?’

  He grinned ruefully. ‘There will be no need to take more than one change of clothes. Once I arrive at the training camp I shall be issued with a uniform, and who knows how long it will be before I get to wear civilian clothes again. Please, tell me you will stay strong and not think badly of me. I could not bear that.’

  ‘I could never think badly of you and I believe you are very brave,’ his sister told him solemnly. ‘Just promise me that you will take no unnecessary risks. I don’t know how I would cope if anything happened to you.’

  ‘I promise.’ He put his arm about her shoulders and they sat content in each other’s company, Dina knowing that this might well be the very last time she ever saw him. There was nothing to be heard but the roar of the flames up the chimney and the room was cosy and warm, and as they sat there she locked every second of the time away in her memory.

  When they finally rose to go to bed, she asked, ‘Will you write?’

  ‘Whenever I can,’ he said, planting a gentle kiss on her nose. She then went upstairs, leaving him to write the letter that their parents would find when they rose the next morning.

  Once upstairs, Dina crept into the bedroom she shared with Ariel, undressed silently then slid into bed, listening to her little sister’s snores echoing around the room. Sleep refused to come as she imagined how her parents would react when they found Dovi’s message in the morning. She had no doubt in her mind that they would be as devastated as she felt right now. And yet she could understand why her brother had chosen to do this. Dovi was a proud young man and he needed to feel useful. Adina began to send up prayers that God would keep him safe and end the war quickly, and finally as the first colours of dawn streaked the sky she fell into a restless doze.

  A sound akin to a wounded animal brought her wide awake, early the next morning.

  ‘NO . . . nooo . . . nooo!’

  Recognising her mother’s voice, Dina sprang from the bed, shuddering as her feet came into contact with the cold wooden floorboards. Shoving her arms into her dressing-gown, she sprinted towards the door and raced downstairs to the kitchen, where she found Freyde clutching the letter that Dovi had left, tears spurting from her eyes.

  ‘He’s gone,’ she gasped as she waved the letter in Adina’s face. ‘Dovi has signed up.’

  Above, Dina could hear her father running along the landing and seconds later he burst into the room.

  ‘Whatever is wrong?’ he asked his wife, staring at her aghast.

  She thrust the letter into his hand and as his eyes scanned the page, she watched him expectantly as if he could somehow stop what Dovi was doing.

  Dina saw the colour drain from her father’s face.

  ‘We must stop him!’ Freyde cried, but he merely shook his head.

  ‘It is too late.’ His voice was, heavy with pain. ‘He will already have left for Lake Windermere. I am afraid we shall have to stand by his decision.’

  ‘No!’ Freyde thumped the table so hard that the sugar bowl standing in the centre of it danced at least six inches across the chenille tablecloth. ‘He is only a child. He should never have done such a thing without our permission.’

  ‘Ah, but that is exactly why he has done it as he has. He knew that we would never have allowed him to go.’

  Freyde began to sob now, and Dina bowed her head in shame. Perhaps she should have told them of his intentions, after all? But then she would have been betraying her brother. She had been caught between them, although her father seemed to be taking it far better than she had anticipated. He was upset, admittedly, but she thought she also detected a look of pride in his eyes.

  ‘God will keep him safe,’ he said stoically. ‘And in the meantime we shall hold our heads high and be proud of the brave thing he has done. Come. Let us
pray for his safe return.’ And bowing their heads, that is exactly what they did.

  Three weeks later, they received their first letter from Dovid. In it, he wrote that he was well and now in France, although they had no idea which part. He apologised for leaving the way he had, and said he hoped they had forgiven him.

  Freyde sobbed with relief to discover that he was well, and even Ezra’s eyes filled with tears as his wife read the letter aloud to them.

  Since Dovid’s departure the shop had started to do much better, as news spread of the Schwartzes’ underaged son enlisting. Many of the townspeople’s husbands, sons and brothers were also away at war, and now they slowly began to accept the family. Each day the little bell above the shop-door would tinkle within minutes of Ezra turning the sign to Open, and now it barely stopped until late at night, when he finally turned off the lights and locked the door.

  ‘Well, we really have something, in common now,’ Mrs Haynes declared when she heard what Dovid had done. ‘Let’s just ’ope as ’im an’ our Anthony stay safe.’

  Her own son, who was a year older than Dovid, had enlisted shortly before him – and although she fretted constantly about him, the woman was very proud that he had gone off to fight for his country.

  Adina continued to teach each morning at the school Ariel attended and loved every minute of it. The children she taught had now got a rudimentary grasp of the English language and Miss Millington was full of praise for her.

  ‘She has all the makings of a wonderful teacher,’ she would tell Freyde each time she saw her, and Freyde’s chest would puff with pride. Even Ariel seemed a little more settled now, although she still tended to keep herself to herself at school. So, all in all, Freyde felt that things were looking up, until one morning in June, she noted her husband’s expression as he sat reading the paper after breakfast.

  The moment the girls had set off for school and the first rush in the shop was over, she asked him, ‘What is it? I can see by your face that something is wrong.’