War Girl Anna (War Girls Book 3)

by Marion Kummerow

  “Tell me about your life before the war. Before you worked for the professor,” Anna asked.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “Please,” she begged, snuggling up against him, feeling the warmth of his body enveloping her like a plush blanket.

  “Well. I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I’m the oldest of four and after finishing school all I wanted was to escape. Life in the capital seemed so much more exciting.” He chuckled again, snuggling her close. “For a while my life was perfect, but then the war happened. And now I’m here working for Professor Scherer.”

  Anna leaned her head back against him. His words had left her with more questions than answers, but as his fingers lightly traced the skin on her neck, her brain refused any rational thought. Tucked into his arms, her body seemed to burn up with need.

  Peter shifted her around on his lap, so she faced him, and tipped her chin up to place a kiss on her lips. Shudders of delight raced through her veins, tingling sensations spreading all the way into her toes.

  Anna opened her lips and his tongue slid inside, exploring her mouth, sending more sweet tingles across her body. His hands slid down her ribcage, pulling at her blouse, and then she felt his rough palms on her soft skin. Delicious prickles made her shiver and moan with delight – until the images of T the devil taking what she didn’t want to give attacked her and she frantically pushed against Peter’s chest.

  “Anna, what’s wrong?” Peter groaned, breathless.

  “Nothing. I thought I heard an explosion.” She hopped from his lap and walked towards the door. He followed her and put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped.

  “My sweet Anna. What’s going on? Are you afraid of me?” he said with a controlled voice, trying his best to stay calm.

  “No.” Anna shook her head, but one glance at Peter’s face told her he didn’t believe one word. “Not of you.”

  “What scares you so much that you run away every time I kiss you?”

  She couldn’t possibly answer. He would despise her if he knew the truth, he might even break up with her. The prospect of never seeing him again made her mouth go dry as cotton balls.

  “Just hold me, please,” Anna finally said.

  Peter didn’t respond, but pulled her against his chest and wrapped both arms around her, resting his chin upon the top of her head. Impact after impact shook the building above them and the ground vibrated with each new explosion.

  “Close your eyes and try to relax. We’ll most likely be down here the rest of the night,” Peter said and carried her over to one of the cots, where he laid her down, and then squeezed in behind her, holding her tight. He covered them both with a blanket and while the apocalyptic inferno raged outside, shaking the earth with the wrath of a giant, Anna jittered, trembled, and prayed to survive this night.

  Despite the never-ending shelling, she must have dozed off in the security of Peter’s arms, because she woke with a start in the middle of the night, disorientated. Another forceful hit nearby moved the ground like Jell-O, and fear sank deeper into her bones. The emergency lights had stopped working and in the complete darkness, she sensed Peter’s chest going up and down with his breath. He seemed fast asleep, but at the sound of the next explosion he jumped and muttered, Cholera, wszyscy tu zginiemy.

  Cold hands grabbed at her heart as she remembered where she’d heard this expression before. Some of the Polish prisoners at Ravensbrück had used it and it roughly translated to Damn, they’re going to kill all of us.

  She squinted her eyes at him, more divining his features than seeing them. With his dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes he didn’t look like a Pole. Not like the ones she knew anyways. He couldn’t be a Pole. They belonged to the defamed Slavic race, and relationships between Aryans and Slavs were strictly forbidden. There must be a perfectly valid reason for him to mutter in Polish in his sleep. She’d confront him in the morning.

  Chapter 18

  The next morning, Anna and Peter awoke and surveyed the shelter to make sure it had survived the bombings intact. Peter opened the steel door and a cloud of dust entered.

  Anna coughed and held on to Peter’s hips when she peeked out at the picture of destruction. Despite being in the basement, she could see into the blue sky. Part of the building had crumbled and the stairs were covered with debris.

  “That looks bad. You stay behind me,” he said, and began moving bricks, wood, and pieces of concrete from the entrance until he and Anna could emerge from the small shelter. Sunshine filtered through the hole in the roof as he took her hand. “Quick, we don’t know how long this is going to hold up.”

  Anna wrapped her scarf over mouth and nose to avoid breathing in dust and smoke. But the thin veil couldn’t hinder the distinctive smell of burnt human flesh that filled her nostrils. She choked. In contrast to the cremated bodies of Ravensbrück these unfortunate people had probably burnt alive.

  A typical air raid consisted of explosive bombs first, mines second. The destructive force of their detonation waves blew through stone walls as if they were nothing more than paper. Phosphor bombs came last. The ensuing fire found more than enough nutrition in wooden furniture exposed by shattered walls to rage through the city long after the bombers had gone.

  It was a sequence designed for maximum destruction. In this war everything was permitted. Neither side held back anymore, and civilians were as much targets as soldiers or military bases, unlike in the Great War just twenty years prior.

  As they ascended to the open ground, the full extent of the damage caused Anna to gasp. Several building had sustained massive damage; the formerly beautiful red brick houses were merely ruins. Hospital beds and medical equipment littered the ground like toy blocks in a nursery. Wounded patients filled the air with their whining and whimpers.

  Several nurses and other staff frantically tried to dig up entombed patients with their bare hands. Anna and Peter jumped in to help, moving brick after brick until yet another howling person could be freed, and carried on a stretcher to a safe area where volunteers had set up a makeshift hospital tent.

  Anna’s soul wept with each new victim they unearthed. They found two children embracing each other, their angelical faces directed upwards. After Anna closed their eyes and crossed them off the list of missing persons, she staggered and sat on a pile of debris.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she murmured.

  “Yes you can,” Peter encouraged her, touching her shoulder.

  She gave a bitter laugh. In reality, what choice did she have but to carry on? Everyone in Berlin lived in constant fear, praying to survive another day. If they had known how bad things would become, would they still have willingly followed Hitler into this cataclysmic war?

  Much later in the day, Professor Scherer organized an all-hands meeting in the mostly unscathed lecture hall. There had been casualties mostly amongst the nurses on night shift, but also three members of Anna’s research team, including the team leader, had been confirmed dead. The professor tried to instill the power of endurance and motivation into his staff, but everyone left the meeting with long, somber faces.

  “Fräulein Klausen, a word,” he called after her as she left with the crowd.

  “Yes, Professor Scherer.” Anna turned to watch the man whom she’d admired since her childhood. She still thought his scientific work was outstanding, but she’d also seen the dark side of him. She pushed the thoughts away. Since that day at the quarantine ward, she’d done her best not to think of the suffering children – and her role in it. She’d convinced herself that she couldn’t change a thing. It didn’t matter who was growing the bacterial cultures. If it weren’t her, someone else would take her place.

  And perhaps the greater good did justify such a sacrifice?

  “How are you holding up?” the professor asked.

  “Like everyone else, I’m shaken. But I’ll be fine. There’s no other choice than to carry on.”

  He raised his brows at her. �
��I’m glad you’re taking this torment with such dignity. In dire times we come to value the strength of leaders.”

  Anna had no idea where he was going with this, but his next sentences had her hiss in a puff of air.

  “As you know, your team leader perished last night and we are in need of a replacement. It is not the promotion I had in mind for you, but the position is yours nonetheless.”

  “Me? You want me to head up the research team?” Anna asked, incredulous. She’d be in charge of a team of scientific assistants, all taking their direction and orders from her. It was the culmination of her career aspirations. “I’m honored.”

  “You’ll make a fine leader. Your duties will be expanding, but I know you’ll handle your extra responsibility just like you handle everything else. With poise and a sharp mind,” the professor assured her.

  “Thank you. Can you give me some guidance about my additional duties?” Anna asked.

  “Don’t worry. Doctor Schmid will guide you every step of the way. He’ll be happy to have you as one of the team leaders.” With these words the professor dismissed her. Doctor Schmid was the chief of bacteriology research and also held a position as doctor in the Pediatric Clinic. Anna thought he was a good scientist, driven by ambition, but a much worse superior, because he lacked understanding of interpersonal relationships.

  The next day Doctor Schmid explained to her that she would have to continue her work in the laboratory, due to lack of a replacement for her, but in addition she had to work on a more strategic level, proposing new lines of experiments.

  Anna beamed at him, barely able to believe her own ears. She was tasked with thinking up, creating, directing, and analyzing an experiment from beginning to end. It was everything she’d hoped for and more.

  She would prove worthy of Professor Scherer’s trust and help develop cures for the most devastating diseases of mankind. She already imagined herself in the company of Marie Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie, who’d been the only two women ever to receive a Nobel Prize outside of the categories Literature or Peace.

  Chapter 19

  It seemed like Anna worked around the clock since Professor Scherer had promoted her. Driven by the need to succeed, she didn’t mind that her social life had been reduced to zero. It wasn’t like there were many fun things to do anyways. Since Stalingrad a year ago there had been more or less a permanent ban on dancing. Approved motion pictures were usually disguised propaganda, and one never knew if the favorite restaurant would still be standing the next day.

  Due to her workload, she hadn’t visited Mutter and Ursula for an entire week, and even going out with Peter had taken a backseat to her work. On the one hand she longed to spend more time with him, but on the other hand she knew she’d have to confront her inner demons first, should she spend more time with him. He wouldn’t stay content with a kiss here and there forever.

  The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the otherwise silent laboratory. After having dinner with Peter, she’d returned to her work station to finish just one more analysis. Suddenly the shrill noise of a ringing phone disturbed her train of thought.

  She eyed the black apparatus, wondering who could be calling at this time of night. All the other employees had already gone home. Sighing, she picked up the receiver, expecting to hear the voice of one of the doctors in charge.

  “Anna Klausen,” she answered the telephone.

  “This is Alexandra.“

  Alexandra? I don’t know anyone called Alexandra. Then her tired brain clicked and put a face to the voice. Her sister Lotte. Oh yes, she lived now under the false name of Alexandra Wagner.

  “Is everything alright?“ Anna asked, wondering how Lotte had gotten her number.

  “Your sister Ursula gave me your number. I hope it’s okay,” Lotte said.

  “Yes. Usually we are advised not to use this line for private calls, but I guess since it’s way past ten o’clock, it’s fine. How are you? Are you getting enough to eat?”

  Lotte sighed, saying, “Enough is relative. But I’m gaining weight if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “Now, tell me why you’re calling.” Anna knew her sister didn’t make social calls.

  “I need a favor,” Lotte said.

  “Tell me.” Anna’s heart froze over. Knowing her sister, she knew she wouldn’t like what would come next.

  “Please promise to listen first, will you?”

  “Fine.” Anna was now sure she wouldn’t like the favor her sister was asking for.

  “I applied to become a Wehrmachtshelferin and be trained as a radio operator. But since I don’t have family to vouch for me, I need a recommendation. Preferably from a well-respected person who has a high standing with the Party. Someone like Professor Scherer.”

  “But…you can’t become an assistant to the Wehrmacht unless you’re eighteen.”

  “You forgot my birthday!” Lotte said with mock indignation. “I turned eighteen last month.”

  “What?” Last time Anna checked, Lotte’s birthday was in September. “Sorry, I forgot. Belated congratulations.” Anna held up the charade just in case the line was tapped. But she cursed Ursula for making Lotte seven months older in her false papers. She should have made her not one, but five years younger to keep her out of trouble.

  “You still there, Anna?”

  “Yes…Alexandra. Are you sure you want this? Radio operators follow the front line, helping the war effort by gathering information and sending it to headquarters…oh dear…don’t tell me this is your plan! It’s too dangerous!” Anna gasped. Knowing Lotte’s hatred for the Nazis, this could only mean one thing. She wanted to work as a spy for the Allies and send them secret information.

  “That is exactly my plan! Anything to shorten this war. We all have to chip in and do our share. Isn’t that what our Führer says?” Lotte spat out the words, and Anna could clearly hear their true meaning.

  “It’s suicide. Wouldn’t your mother rather see you safe at home?” Anna argued, trying to convince her sister.

  “I don’t have family left. They all perished in the air raid over Cologne two years ago.” Lotte was recounting her cover story. Again, Anna cursed Ursula. She should have made Lotte a stupid farm girl with ten siblings she couldn’t leave alone. Not an orphaned girl fending for herself.

  “What if the enemy captures you and sends you to a prisoner-of-war camp?” Maybe the memory of her time in Ravensbrück would change Lotte’s mind.

  “Can’t scare me. I want to help rescue what is left of my beloved Germany. Now will you help me, please?” Lotte begged.

  “Stubborn as a mule, why does that remind me of my dead sister?” Anna murmured and then sighed. “Since I’m sure you won’t give up on this idea, I’ll see what I can do. But I won’t make any promises.”

  “Thank you. You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Anna…” Lotte paused and Anna could hear the unmistakable effort to hold back tears. “That doctor…did he? After that day…” Lotte couldn’t complete her sentence.

  Anna clenched her hand around the phone receiver. Clearly, Lotte was blaming herself for the abuse Anna had had to suffer at Doctor Tretter’s hands. Anna closed her eyes and then forced her voice to remain even as she lied. “Just that one time.”

  “Oh, Anna! I was so afraid…”

  “That’s all in the past,” Anna said, unwilling to delve into that painful memory.

  “We need to move on, every one of us,” Lotte whispered into the phone.

  Anna finished the conversation, thinking that each of the sisters had her own burden to carry. Lotte had suffered immeasurable evil, and yet she had jumped right back on her feet, willing to do whatever it took to rid her country of its nefarious government.

  Anna tidied up her workplace, guilt spreading through her. Both of her sisters were so much more valiant and upright than she was. Ursula risked her life every day to smuggle Jews out of the country and Lotte wanted to become a spy. Either one would be hanged as
traitor should she ever be exposed.

  And what am I doing?

  She grabbed her coat and switched off the lights in the laboratory. A tepid breeze greeted her as she stepped out of the building. After this long and hard winter, everyone in Berlin embraced the coming spring. It was a promise of new beginnings, of another chance at life.

  Not for everyone, though. Not for the poor children used as guinea pigs.

  I’m just following orders. There’s nothing I can do to help these children. It wouldn’t make a difference for them if I stopped.

  Anna’s stomach churned and she walked faster. Within two minutes she stood in front of the entrance to the employee housing. She turned around and walked past the lecture hall and the Pediatric Clinic, to the far end of the campus where the makeshift tent-hospital stood.

  Moaning, whining, and screams of pain cut through the air like knifes. On top of being sick and wounded, the patients were in danger of contracting an infectious disease like typhus, cholera … or tuberculosis.

  You’re doing the right thing. This vaccine can save so many people.

  Millions were dying in this war; what difference did a few handicapped children make? Deep down she knew it was wrong, but she brushed it away, preferring to listen to the voice of reason. The voice that said the end justified the means. In war, everyone had to do things they wouldn’t do under normal circumstances. Soldiers had to kill.

  And she had to accept unintended side effects of her research.

  Chapter 20

  Anna put on the black two-piece outfit she’d bought with Doctor Tretter’s ration cards. Despite her hatred for the man, she couldn’t afford not to use the single elegant dress suit she possessed.

  Professor Scherer had been invited to a social event at the home of the Minister of Science, and had asked Anna to accompany him. As usual, Peter would drive them; Anna waited for the Mercedes to round the corner.