A young woman stands facing the front window in the foyer. From the back of her, there is nothing that gives much away. She wears a long skirt, with a wide-sleeve blouse tucked into her tiny waist, and a scarf around her head covering her hair.
She turns as he approaches, and there is blond hair at the edges of the scarf above her forehead. She is young, pretty, with eyes the color of pale topaz.
He puts out his hand, and she looks at it briefly first before she carefully takes the greeting.
“I would like to volunteer here,” she says, hands formally back at her side.
“It is hard work. Doesn’t your family need you at home?”
“There is no family,” she says directly. “I am all that’s left.”
There is an instant understanding of why she is here. He has seen it in others. Others who want to make amends for things they weren’t directly involved with.
“I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.
“I have my life. I’m grateful for that.”
“Can I see your papers?”
“I have none. My name is Rosa, and I was a casualty nurse in Berlin. I have had several years of experience. Everything, my records, too, was destroyed in Berlin. My home is gone.”
These are words he is used to hearing, but there is no self-pity in her voice, something that, to Owen, makes her strangely endearing and fearless. From the moment he stepped on German ground, he told himself that he was not here to judge the common people, but to heal the injured. He has met with many like Rosa, but none that have brought about the intrigue he is suddenly feeling now.
“As you are already aware, there is no money in it for you, I’m afraid, but I can give you a bed and food, and see what your skills are like at least. Until I agree to any permanency.”
She nods.
“Are you any good at making beds?”
She bites the top of her lip and looks down.
“Yes,” she says seriously.
When she looks up again, she sees that he is smiling. Her cheeks redden, and Owen feels a quickening in his chest. Though he can’t help noticing there is history and sadness there, too, behind the modesty.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to my poor attempts at humor. Your other skills will be used as well, I daresay. We need all the help we can get.
“When can you start?”
“Whenever you wish,” she says. “From now.”
“Good,” he says, reaching to shake her hand again, and eager to feel it once more in his own. “From now, it is.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to go to Jodi Warshaw at Lake Union Publishing for her intuition, advice, and expertise. To have such a professional and supportive team makes the book journey far more enjoyable, so a huge thank-you for the production work by Nicole Pomeroy, the art direction by Rosanna Brockley, and the marketing by Kelsey Snyder, and PEPE nymi and Riccardo Gola’s fabulous cover design work. Thank you also to Tegan Tigani and the editing team for their extraordinary work on this multilayered, complex text, polished to completion.
These are fictionalized events and characters for the most part, and certain geographical license has been applied to suit a particular point in the story. However, the backdrop is based on historical accuracies and set during the turbulent times of Europe directly after the war. Much of the World War II nonfiction I’ve read over several decades has highlighted the many tragedies and challenges for people who endured during this period and those that didn’t. Several books rich in detail have helped create the setting and atmosphere for this particular fiction. The Berlin Diaries 1940–1945 by Marie Vassiltchikov allowed me to see the scale of fear by Berliners and their declining circumstances under Nazi rule. Keith Lowe’s Savage Continent gave me insight to the postwar chaos in Europe that followed World War II. For some, the war didn’t end after the surrender by the Axis, but a new era of hunger, retribution, and reclamation added to the horrors of this period. To understand the chaos of displacement and untested loyalties, and in some instances the hands of fate for the Italian resistance, Sergio Luzzatto gives a chilling account of their activities in Italy to fight Nazi occupation in Primo Levi’s Resistance.
I extend my thanks and appreciation to the administrators of the German Federal Archives, and the State Library of Queensland for the ease of access to research material; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for their extensive archive of information to educate writers like me; to the Holocaust Research Project also for its contribution and the records it makes available to read; to the aerial reconnaissance collected by the RAF during World War II and now held by the Imperial War Museum; and to the staff and guides at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland for their dedication to education, and their preservation of history.
My thanks and love to those who have supported me throughout: to Oscar Liviero and Stella Lindsay (a former newspaper reporter, WREN, and evacuee during the Blitz), who have dedicated countless hours to critique, advise, and encourage; to Brian Curran, an RAAF pilot in World War II; and to others whose sufferings and sacrifices make me forever grateful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gemma Liviero is the author of the historical novels Broken Angels and Pastel Orphans, which was a finalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In addition to novel writing, her professional career includes copywriting, corporate writing, writing feature articles and editorials, and editing. She holds an advanced diploma of arts (writing) and has continued her studies in history and other humanities. Gemma lives with her family in Queensland, Australia. Visit www.gemmaliviero.com.
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