Shoot Me, I'm Already Dead
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He saw how she was moving. He knew that she had her finger on the trigger and was ready to fire. He decided to turn to face her so that he could die with dignity, if there is any dignity in the moment when one ceases to be.
He could see the fury in her infinitely dark eyes, but also the struggle that she was having with herself. He felt sorry for her; if she shot him, then she would lose herself, and if she did not then she would never forgive herself.
And those moments, when their gazes met, crossed, and held each other, seemed to both of them to last forever.
“Shoot me, I’m already dead,” he repeated in a faint voice.
Glossary
Arab Higher Committee: Headed by Haj Amin al-Husseini, this group united the most prominent Palestinian political parties. It was formed in April 1936, shortly after the declaration of a general strike of workers and tradesmen.
Arab Legion: The regular army in Transjordan (later Jordan), active between 1920 and 1956. It was founded by Frederick Peake as a unit of the British Army. At the order of King Abdullah, it participated in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948.
Balfour Declaration: A formal statement from the British government, published on November 2, 1917, in which the United Kingdom declared itself favorable to the creation of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. The statement was taken from a letter signed by the British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, the 2nd Baron Rothschild.
bishlik: A coin.
borscht: An Eastern European vegetable soup consisting primarily of beets, from which it derives its distinctive red color.
British Mandate for Palestine: The territorial administration in the Middle East handed over to the British by the League of Nations after the First World War, giving the land the status of “territory under mandate.” This initially included the area of what is now Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories; in 1921 the British formed the Emirate of Transjordan in its eastern part.
Bund: The General Union of Jewish Workers of Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. A socialist Jewish political movement created in the Russian Empire at the end of the nineteenth century.
Dreyfus Affair: In 1894 the French Army captain Alfred Dreyfus, of Jewish origin, was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment. The case caused a furor in French society. In the end his innocence was proved and he was rehabilitated.
effendis: Owners of the land cultivated by the fellahin.
fellahin: Arab peasants who do not own the land they work on.
General Strike of April 1936: The Arab leaders in Mandate Palestine, led by Haj Amin al-Husseini, declared a general strike and refused to pay taxes in protest against Jewish immigration. This eventually led to an armed conflict.
Hashemite: Arab lineage deriving from the sons of Hashim, one of the most important clans of the ancient tribe of Quraysh, to which the prophet Mohammed belonged.
Haganah: Jewish defense organization, active from1920to 1948.
Ikhwan: Literally “The Brothers,” the soldiers of Ibn Saud of Arabia.
jihad: A concept in Islamic thought, usually translated as “holy war.”
Jüdische Rundschau: German newspaper which on April 4, 1933, published an article by its editor, Robert Weltsch entitled “Tragt ihn mit Stolz, den gelben Fleck!” (“Wear the Yellow Badge with Pride!”). This article and others were collected in Weltsch’s book Ja-Sagen zum Judentum (Say Yes to Judaism), which became a slogan of the Jewish resistance in Germany.
kufiya(also keffiyeh): Palestinian scarf.
kibbutz: Jewish agricultural commune.
Mashriq: The land that occupies what is today Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
mufti: A Muslim judge with the capacity to interpret Islamic law and publish legal decrees.
Novoye Vremya: The New Times, Russian newspaper, 1868–1917.
Okhrana: Russian secret police in the time of the tsars.
Peel Commission: English investigative delegation sent to Palestine during the disturbances beginning in 1936, to investigate the causes of the Arab-Jewish conflict and to propose solutions. The commission, headed by Lord Robert Peel, heard testimonies from people living in Palestine and in 1937 published its recommendations (the Peel Report): to abolish Mandate Palestine and divide the land between the two peoples.
San Remo Conference: A meeting in 1920 in which territorial divisions between France and the United Kingdom were ratified: Syria and Lebanon were to remain under French mandate; Iraq and Palestine, under British.
sharif: A descendent of the Prophet Mohammed.
shtetl: Village (Yiddish; plural: shtetlach).
soviets: Russian Revolutionary councils.
Tehran Conference: Meeting of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt, November 28– December 1, 1943, whose main aim was to discuss the opening of a second Western Front during the Second World War.
Treaty of Sèvres: Peace treaty signed in 1920 between the Ottoman government and the principal Allied nations of the First World War, with the exception of Russia and the United States. This agreement abolished the Ottoman Empire and reduced it to Constantinople and parts of Asia Minor.
Sykes-Picot Agreement: 1916 agreement signed between the United Kingdom, represented by Mark Sykes, and France, represented by Charles François Georges-Picot, to divide the Ottoman holdings in the Middle East should the Allies be victorious in World War I.
White Paper of 1939: A text published by the British government on May 17, 1939, regarding the future of Mandate Palestine. This document rejected the idea of dividing the territory into two states in favor of a unified, independent Palestine governed by Jews and Arabs.
Yishuv: Hebrew term used to refer to the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel, during the Ottoman Empire and the British mandate.
Historical Figures
Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini (1907–1948): Nationalist leader of the Palestinian Arabs and an active militant in the disturbances in Mandate Palestine during the 1930s. He led the irregular Palestinian forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Abdülhamid II (1842–1918): Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1876–1909, deposed during the rebellion of the “Young Turks.” He was replaced by his brother Mehmed V.
Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951): Son of Husayn ibn Ali, sharif of Mecca and head of the Hashemite dynasty. He was the first ruler of Jordan.
Alexander II of Russia (1818–1881): Son of Nicholas I of Russia and tsar of the Russian Empire, 1855–1881.
Alexander III of Russia (1845–1894): Son of Alexander III of Russia and tsar of the Russian Empire, 1881–1894.
Balfour, Arthur James, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848–1930): Prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1902– 1905, during the reign of Edward VII; foreign secretary, 1916–1919. On November 2, 1917, he pronounced the Balfour Declaration in a letter to Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, declaring that the United Kingdom was in favor of the creation of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine.
Bayezid II (c. 1447–1512): Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1481–1512. He rearranged its interior politics and established a new and less punitive method of taxation. He allowed Jews who had been expelled from Spain and elsewhere in Europe to settle in his lands.
Ben-Gurion, David (1886–1973): Head of provisional government of Israel, 1948–1949; prime minister, 1948–1954, 1955–1963. He was one of the main figures in the foundation of the State of Israel, making the country’s official declaration of independence on May 14, 1948.
Brunner, Alois (1912– [later whereabouts and death uncertain]): Officer in the SS (Schutzstaffel). The commandant of the internment camp at Drancy, France, he had a very active role in the extermination of the Jews in the Second World War.
Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great)
(1729–1796): Wife of Tsar Peter III of Russia, whom she helped depose; Empress of Russia, 1762–1796.
Cemal, Ahmed (Cemal Pasha) (1872–1922): One of the three pashas who took charge of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The others were Ismail Enver and Mehmed Talât.
Chamberlain, Neville (1869–1940): Prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1937– 1940, during the reign of George VI.
Churchill, Winston (1874–1965): Prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1940–1945, 1951–1955, during the reigns of George VI and Elizabeth II.
Cunningham, Alan (1887–1983): British general. He was the last British High Commissioner in Jerusalem.
Dannecker, Theodor (1913–1945): SS officer who was very active in the extermination of the Jews during the Second World War.
Dreyfus, Alfred (1859–1935): French soldier of Jewish origin, accused in 1894 of espionage on trumped-up charges and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. In 1899, after a public outcry caused the case to be reopened, he was pardoned by French president Émile Loubet. In 1906 a military commission exonerated him and he was reinstated with full honors into the army.
Enver, Ismail (Enver Pasha) (1881–1922): Ottoman officer and leader of the Revolt of the Young Turks. One of the three pashas in power in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Faisal ibn Husayn (1883–1933): Brother of Abdullah I of Jordan. A prominent member of the Hashemite family, he was leader of the Arab rebellion between 1916 and 1920; king of Syria, 1920; king of Iraq 1921–1933.
Georges-Picot, Charles François (1870–1951): French diplomat who in 1916 signed, with Mark Sykes, the Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France outlining a proposed partition of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War.
Herzl, Theodor (1860–1904): Hungarian journalist and writer, the founder of the Zionist movement.
Husayn ibn Ali (1854–1931): Emir and last sharif of Mecca, 1908–1917. He was king of the short-lived Kingdom of Hejaz until 1924. After being dethroned he declared himself caliph and lived in exile until his death.
Hussein of Jordan (1935–1998): Member of the Hashemite dynasty, he ruled Jordan from 1952, when he succeeded his father, King Talal, until his death in 1998.
Husseini, Haj Amin al- (1897–1974): Grand mufti of Jerusalem, 1921–1937. He was the chief Islamic ally of the Third Reich during the Second World War.
Jabotinsky, Vladimir (1880–1940): Zionist leader, writer, journalist, soldier, and founder of the Jewish Legion during the First World War. He was the principal ideologue of Revisionist Zionism.
Lawrence, T. E. (1888–1935): British soldier, archaeologist, and writer, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. He had a significant role in the Arab revolt against the Ottomans during the First World War.
McMahon, Henry (1862–1949): British diplomat and officer in the Indian Army who served as British High Commissioner in Cairo from 1915 to 1917. He is known for corresponding with Sharif Husayn ibn Ali. The correspondence, consisting of ten letters, had as its aim the preparation of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in exchange for Allied acknowledgement of an Arab state in the area.
Mehmed Talât (Talât Pasha) (1872–1921): One of the “Young Turks,” the principal rulers of the Ottoman Empire after a coup in 1913, along with Ismail Enver and Ahmed Cemal.
Mehmed V Rashid (1844–1918): Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He ascended to the throne in 1909, although he lacked real political power during his reign and was instead dominated by political figures such as Enver Pasha, Talât Pasha, and Cemal Pasha. He proclaimed a jihad against the British Empire in 1914, when the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War.
Mengele, Josef (1911–1979). Doctor, anthropologist, and Nazi war criminal, nicknamed “The Angel of Death.” Known for his experiments on prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.
Nashashibi, Raghib al- (1881–1951): An important public figure during the Ottoman Empire, the British mandate, and the Jordanian administration. He was the mayor of Jerusalem from 1920 to 1934.
Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918): Son of Tsar Alexander III, and Tsar of Russia, 1894 –1917.
Peel, William Robert, 2nd Viscount and 1st Earl Peel (1867–1937): British politician. In 1936–1937 he was the head of the Peel Commission, which proposed a solution for the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine.
Pobedonostsev, Konstantin (1827–1907): Russian politician and thinker. He directed imperial policy during the reign of his disciple Tsar Alexander III and had a significant influence on Alexander’s son, Nicholas II.
Röthke, Heinz (1812–1966) German SS officer. He had an active role in the extermination of Jews during the Second World War.
Sykes, Mark, 6th Baronet Sykes (1879–1919): English co-signatory of the Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France outlining a proposed division of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War.
Weizmann, Chaim (1874–1952): Russian-born Zionist leader and chemist; provisional president of Israel, 1948–1949, and president, 1949–1951.
Wilson, Woodrow (1856–1924): President of the United States, 1913–1921.
Julia Navarro is a journalist and a writer. After writing some books on current events and politics, she published her first novel La Hermandad de la Sábana Santa which was an unprecedented success in Spain and quickly escalated to the top-sellers lists, both national and international. La Biblia de barro and La sangre de los inocentes established her as a renowned author, reaching millions of readers all around the world through translations sold in over 30 countries. Her following novel, Dime quién soy is a masterful portrayal of the history of the 20th century enveloped in pages brimming with intrigue, espionage, love and betrayal, which made readers fall in love with Navarro’s work all over again.
Original title: Dispara, yo ya estoy muerto
eBook edition: September 2014
© 2013, Julia Navarro
© 2014, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, S. A. U.
Travessera de Gràcia, 47-49. 08021 Barcelona
Translation by Lawrence Schimel
Design and cover illustration: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial / Manuel Esclapez - © Colección Roger Violet / Cordon Press
All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Contact CEDRO (Spanish Reproduction Rights Center, http://www.cedro.org) if you would like to reproduce a fragment of this work.
ISBN: 978-84-01-34348-3
Conversion to eBook: M. I. Maqueta, S.C.P.
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Index
Shoot Me, I am Already Dead
Acknowledgement
1. Jerusalem, The Present
2. Saint Petersburg - Paris
3. The Promised Land
4. And Time Goes By
5. Paris, Paris, Paris
6. Palestine, 1912–1914
7. The World Collapses
8. First Tears
9. The Twenties
10. Children
11. The Tragedy
12. Palestine, the Thirties
13. The Years of Disgrace
14. The First Catastrophe
15. The Second Catastrophe
Glossary
Historical Figures
Biography
Credits