Getting Away [Otto/Joe]

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Ein kleines bisschen, Herr...." = A little bit, sir....

"Schlimmer Hund! Das war mein belegter Butterbrot!" = Bad dog! That was my sandwich!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Ein kleines bisschen, Herr..." answered Heidi when she was asked about food. She had had some breakfast at Doctor Strumfelder's, but that had been at eight or seven in the morning. Feeling a bit peckish, she went to say that she was a bit hungry, but there was no need.

There, on a plate produced from the nearby icebox, was a pile of the thickest, juiciest sandwiches Heidi had ever seen. After Herr Otto put it down on the table, Heidi practically squealed, "Danke!" Her hand shot over to the plate, and she gingerly picked up a sandwich, nibbling on it ravenously after it was retrieved. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Herr Otto give Herr Claude a sandwich, too. Heidi also gave Herr Claude a sandwich, putting it by his other one so he could have another.

While Herr Claude and Herr Otto began talking in...Not-Nazi...again, the child eyed the guard dog, who was apparently named Luger. His eyes looked very sweet, and he was whimpering, trying to get Heidi to notice him. She smiled nervously, and seriously considered letting the dog come sit by her as she ate. However, his wandering eyes seemed to suddenly fix upon her sandwich, and Heidi decided not to call him over. A vague memory of a mean dog came to mind, from when she was still wandering around. That dog had stolen something or other that Heidi had been eating, and try as she might, she had been unable to wrestle it back.

Choking sounds filled the air, and Heidi's head abruptly turned to Herr Claude. She gasped, worried that Herr Claude might be in trouble, but sighed in relief when he began speaking again. In Not-Nazi, he began to speak, but trailed off....

"...Herr Claude...?" Heidi asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. The girl blinked in surprise when Herr Claude suddenly began blabbering, saying something quickly in Not-Nazi to Herr Otto. Completely lost by what was going on, her hands fell to the table, one coming to swing down by her side.

Moments later, something wet and soft brushed against Heidi's hand. With a, "Nyah!" of surprise, she pulled her hand back up, the sandwich missing. Luger was running out of the room, her sandwich in his jaws. She glared at the animal's retreating form.

"Schlimmer Hund! Das war mein belegter Butterbrot!" Heidi yelled at Herr Otto's pet, pouting.

[Otto Wolff]

The food that Otto offered was accepted by both Claude and Heidi. Joe Claude seemed to hesitate at first, as if he suspected that the food might be poisoned or that offering it was maybe a cruel joke on Otto's part. Claude gingerly picked up the sandwich and stared at it for a while before tasting the food carefully. Heidi was sweet enough to thank Otto for the food and Otto appreciated the fact that the girl had been at least taught some good manners, no matter what her background was.

Otto challenged Heidi's story, not to the girl, but to Joe Claude. He seemed to get caught completely off his guard and almost choked on his food, which could only indicate that Otto had hit some kind of a mark with his words. He started stuttering and saying it wasn't any of Otto's business, nervously sputtering out his own questions to Otto. The Jew's speech trailed off and even Heidi seemed to grow worried. "...Herr Claude...?" inquired the small girl and for a moment Otto thought that the Jew would not say anything else.

”I escaped about a month ago, taken to a hospital in Allied France, met this girl there, the hospital was blown up and a friend and I were able to save her but then I never saw her again until today," Claude said suddenly and Otto regarded his words with slight surprise. The story seemed somewhat far-fetched, but maybe that was only an indication of it being true. Surely if Otto would look at some archives, he could check for any newspaper articles about a hospital being blown up-

His trail of thoughts was interrupted by a yelp of surprise from Heidi and Otto could just barely catch a glimpse of Luger running into the living room. "Schlimmer Hund! Das war mein belegter Butterbrot!" the girl exclaimed and for a moment both Brenner and Otto regarded the scene with silent puzzlement. Then Brenner broke out laughing. "Sie haben einen wohlerzogen Hund, Otto," he smirked and Otto just made a bored face at him. It was too late to save the sandwich anymore, the dog had most likely devoured it with one big gulp and Otto was not in the mood to go after him now that he felt he had revealed at least part of the truth from the Jew. His hands itched to solve this puzzle and get to his work; digging out information, asking more questions and seeing the answers unravel before him... But the time for that was not quite yet.

"Es tut mir furchtbar leid, Heidi. Nehmen Sie bitte einen anderen belegten Butterbrot. Luger muss gedacht haben, dass Sie etwas Essen für ihn anbieten," Otto said and as he spoke, Luger appeared back into the kitchen with an expression that could be only interpreted as a happy canine smirk. "Schlimmer Hund," Otto said absentmindedly as the dog settled sitting next to Heidi again, the Doberman beaming with renewed devotion to this new little friend who offered him such tasty food.

"Here is what I shall do for now. You will be taken elsewhere for the night.. I cannot keep a Jew here in this house. The girl, I guess, must stay here for the night, I cannot send her out on the street and I would not wish for any harm to come to her. Tomorrow I will have more time to find her a better place to stay. I'm sure we will be able to find out which orphanage she came from and find out her exact identity," Otto said, his eyes settling on Joe and his expression clearly indicating that if there was anything else Joe wanted to say about the girl, this was the time to say it.

"Heidi, Ihr Freund... Herr Claude muss Aufenthalt anderswohin für die Nacht gehen, und Sie können hier am Fremdenzimmer bleiben. Morgen können Sie Ihren Freund wieder sehen," Otto said. "Wie klingt das?" Otto mentally prepared for a panic attack from the little girl since it was clear that the girl hardly trusted anyone else apart from Claude and stayed calm only as long as the Jew was present.


Translations:

"Sie haben einen wohlerzogen Hund, Otto."
"You have a well-trained dog there, Otto."

"Es tut mir furchtbar leid, Heidi. Nehmen Sie bitte einen anderen belegten Butterbrot. Luger muss gedacht haben, dass Sie etwas Essen für ihn anbieten."
"I'm terribly sorry, Heidi. Do take another sandwich. Luger must have thought you were offering some food for him."

"Schlimmer Hund."
"Bad dog."

"Heidi, Ihr Freund... Herr Claude muss Aufenthalt anderswohin für die Nacht gehen, und Sie können hier am Fremdenzimmer bleiben. Morgen können Sie Ihren Freund wieder sehen. Wie klingt das?"
"Heidi, your friend... Herr Claude must go stay elsewhere for the night and you can stay here at the guest room. Tomorrow you can see your friend again. How does that sound?"

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Adelheid handed him her sandwich and he shook his head, picking up the sandwich and giving it back to her, ”Nein.” but he smiled softly at her to make sure she didn’t realize he was insulting her gesture of kindness.

It was a good thing to as next moment her other sandwich had been eaten by the dog Luger. Joe glanced over at Otto who had started talking again; he listened as the man spoke in German first to Adelheid who had kindly asked him if he had been alright in his coughing fit and he, Joe, nodded kindly.

Otto spoke now in English to the Jew who glanced over, his eyes becoming dull once more as he listened, knowing his fate. ”I guessed you might not want someone like me dirtying your house.” he muttered quietly, gripping his fists under the table to table to stop himself from getting angry, he felt so bloody insulted.

”Heidi could come with me, if she likes.” his voice was now calmer, he wouldn’t say anything else tonight, he would just sit quietly and wait to be instructed out, his mind was working even now to see how far he could get this man to trust him, which wasn’t far and would take some time…

OOC – Sorry its short, have no muse!

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Ich lasse nicht Sie Herr Claude irgendwo nehmen!" = I'm not letting you take Herr Claude anywhere!

"Können Sie nicht sehen, dass er verletzt wird?! Sehen Sie aus auf seine Füße! Und sein Ellbogen, es ist alles blutig! Was ist mit Ihnen falsch?!" = Can't you see he's hurt?! You look at his feet! And his elbow, it's all bloody! What's wrong with you?!

"Wenn Sie dabei sind, Herr Claude wegzunehmen, dann werde ich hier nicht bleiben. Er ist mein Freund, und er hat geschmerzt und traurig. Ich werde keinen von Ihnen ihn mehr verletzen, oder ihn trauriger machen lassen." = If you're going to take Herr Claude away, then I'm going too. He's my friend, and he's hurt and sad. I will not let you make him more hurt and sad.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Nein!"

In an instant, Heidi was out of her seat and by Herr Claude's side, wrapping her arms protectively around him. She had plowed into him, her still-healing ribs protesting and causing her to wince, but she didn't care. If Herr Otto had been paying close attention to her movements, he probably would've noticed that she moved with slight stiffness, and known something was wrong. If not, then who cared? She had to protect Herr Claude!

"Ich lasse nicht Sie Herr Claude irgendwo nehmen!" the little girl cried. "Können Sie nicht sehen, dass er verletzt wird?! Sehen Sie aus auf seine Füße! Und sein Ellbogen, es ist alles blutig! Was ist mit Ihnen falsch?!"

Her grip on her friend tightened as much as her ribs would allow. At the corners of her eyes, tears formed, and her face portrayed an angry pair of puppy-dog eyes. How could they do this?! Why was Herr Claude being hurt so much, even by the nice people?! Wait - why was she calling them nice? They weren't nice at all! They only wanted to hurt Herr Claude more and more!

"Wenn Sie dabei sind, Herr Claude wegzunehmen," growled Heidi, "dann werde ich hier nicht bleiben. Er ist mein Freund, und er hat geschmerzt und traurig. Ich werde keinen von Ihnen ihn mehr verletzen, oder ihn trauriger machen lassen."

For all Heidi knew, everyone - including the dog - was in cahoots with Doctor Strumfelder. He said he would go to the police, and what if everyone already knew about her missing? Heidi didn't want to be a Nazi, like Doctor Strumfelder had tried to make her. Neither did she want to live under him as his daughter again. Her father was her Rhys-angel, who, despite not being around as of late, was kind and sweet! He watched over her, like a real father would!

[Otto Wolff]

"Können Sie nicht sehen, dass er verletzt wird?! Sehen Sie aus auf seine Füße! Und sein Ellbogen, es ist alles blutig! Was ist mit Ihnen falsch?!"

The reaction from the little girl was somewhat expected, but the force that it manifested itself with was more then enough to surprise Otto. He regarded the girl with a slightly stunned look, the words were pouring fast and angry from Heidi's mouth. She was angry at the men who had hurt Claude, angry at the way things were in Germany, angry at Otto and the way he treated the Jew with. She seemed to move carefully, as if in pain and Otto wondered if the SS had been rough on her when she had been in the line of prisoners. Still, whatever had happened to the girl, it did not stop her from hugging Joe Claude furiously. Somehow Otto could understand the girl and maybe he even wished that he would have been able to portray his emotions with such force.

The years he had lived through, the things he had seen, they had worn him down too much. Where as the little girl saw another human being hurt and trodden on, Otto had hard time seeing anything else but a Jew. He looked at the little girl embracing the thin man with furious devotion and for a moment Otto felt something stir inside him. It was pity and sadness for the way things were, as if his heart was telling him to act against his own reasonable mind. The doubt gnawed him from the inside and made him feel more uncomfortable with each passing second.

He was a loyal servant of Germany, he had been in the National Socialist party since 1925 and had thus received the coveted golden party badge. It was the mark of the most faithful National Socialists and Otto carried it with pride whenever he was wearing his uniform. Yet here he was now, doubting his own loyalties and feeling something dark and nasty gnawing away at his very insides.

He certainly knew what his wife would do if she had been here. Zelda would be on the verge of tears and plead for Otto to help these poor people, to do something. Just for a mere moment Otto's eyes portrayed his feelings. What was wrong with him, indeed?

But just as always, the moment was fast gone and Otto tilted his head back slightly, sighing. The Jew seemed to think that the decision was merely an issue of Otto's personal aesthetics.

"I might hold a certain amount of money and prestige, but to hide a Jew inside my home...? You know better than that, Claude, it just cannot be done. Let us assume I wanted to assist both you and this girl. I would be risking everything I have, my own life and that of my family for someone I do not know. How ready would you be to do such a thing? With the war going the way it is, many people are thinking that they will get away with things, as if the authorities might be too distracted to notice. But I assure you, they are not. I do not think there is anything at all you could offer to me anyway," Otto shrugged and then nodded towards the little girl.

"I might be able to help the girl, but I cannot help you both. Next you will be taken to the prison cell of the Gestapo and I ask you... do you really wish that for the innocent girl here, also? I can keep her safe, I have children of my own, I have no desire to see a little girl hurt. You must tell her to stay here and you must be convincing about it. Or would you be so selfish as to have this child suffer only because of yourself, Joe Claude?"

Otto now regarded Heidi and smiled slightly at the girl. "Sie werden sehr beunruhigt, dass wir Ihren Freund verletzen werden, aber ich verspreche Ihnen, dass wir das nicht tun werden. Er wird gerade anderswohin für die Nacht bleiben, und es ist besser, dass Sie die Nacht hier, Heidi bleiben. Claude ist hier wegen... der Nazis nicht sicher. Aber Sie werden sein, weil Sie ein Deutscher sind. Herr Claude stimmt mit mir überein, er nicht?" Otto's eyes settled on Joe Claude again as the man awaited for Claude to say something to Heidi.


Translations:

"Sie werden sehr beunruhigt, dass wir Ihren Freund verletzen werden, aber ich verspreche Ihnen, dass wir das nicht tun werden. Er wird gerade anderswohin für die Nacht bleiben, und es ist besser, dass Sie die Nacht hier, Heidi bleiben. Claude ist hier wegen... der Nazis nicht sicher. Aber Sie werden sein, weil Sie ein Deutscher sind. Herr Claude stimmt mit mir überein, er nicht?"
"You are very worried that we will hurt your friend, but I promise you that we will not do no such thing. He will just stay elsewhere for the night and it's better that you stay the night here, Heidi. Herr Claude is not safe here, because of... the Nazis. But you will be, because you are a German. Herr Claude agrees with me, does he not?"

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Suddenly, Adelhied’s arms were around his wrist, the girl was screeching in German to Otto who sat opposite them. Joe’s eyes filled with tears as he heard what she said and he looked down at her, stroking her hair softly with one finger, he glanced down at his own body also and saw that he was indeed skinny and his feet did look awful.

There was silence in the room, a pin could be dropped and be heard it was so quiet. Joe didn’t say anything, just kept on stroking her hair softly, fighting back the tears that were edging over.

Otto spoke, breaking the silence; he spoke directly to Joe, in English.


"I might hold a certain amount of money and prestige, but to hide a Jew inside my home...? You know better than that, Claude, it just cannot be done. Let us assume I wanted to assist both you and this girl. I would be risking everything I have, my own life and that of my family for someone I do not know. How ready would you be to do such a thing? With the war going the way it is, many people are thinking that they will get away with things, as if the authorities might be too distracted to notice. But I assure you, they are not. I do not think there is anything at all you could offer to me anyway,"

Joe sat in silence, shrugging his shoulders. ”Offer to you? What do you mean?” he asked but the man was now nodding at the girl.

"I might be able to help the girl, but I cannot help you both. Next you will be taken to the prison cell of the Gestapo and I ask you... do you really wish that for the innocent girl here, also? I can keep her safe, I have children of my own, I have no desire to see a little girl hurt. You must tell her to stay here and you must be convincing about it. Or would you be so selfish as to have this child suffer only because of yourself, Joe Claude?"

”I thought you wanted me to help you with your house? To move stones or something…” he trailed off and listened more. ”No, no you Nazis don’t like German girls being hurt, but have you seen the girls in the camp? They are younger than her…YOUNGER!” he was shouting now, staring in disbelief at Otto, ”No, I don’t want this girl to suffer, of course I don’t but…ah…you…” he trailed off as Otto spoke in German to Adelheid.

He rolled his eyes as Otto spoke to the girl. Silence filled the room as Joe thought of what to say, ”Just to say, I am German also.” he muttered but didn’t pause, so spoke to Adelheid in German, lifting her head up to look at him.

”Ich bin gut, tue nicht Sie Sorge. Ich komme morgen zurück.” he smiled a weak smile and lent down, kissing the top of her head. He looked up at Otto, ”I take it I will be back tomorrow.”

Translations –

I’ll be alright, don’t you worry. I shall come back tomorrow.

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Sie besser nicht liegen, oder Sie werden das Ende davon, Herr Otto nie hören." = You better not be lying, or you'll never hear the end of it, Herr Otto.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Herr Otto's face fell for an instant, as if he was wrestling with something inside of him. Heidi's heart leapt at the sight - had she struck a cord? Would Herr Otto keep Herr Claude there, where Herr Claude could be safe and rest up? The Nazis had hurt Heidi's friend so much, and he needed to get better, or he never would.

Heidi's grip on Herr Claude tightened as Herr Otto spoke in Not-Nazi, trying to comfort the Jew. She could feel the tension in his finger as it stroked her hair, and when she looked up, she saw that he was going to cry. The skinny, injured man then yelled at Herr Otto, sounding enraged, and Heidi's grip suddenly loosened as she shrank down. Everyone was so upset and angry, all because nobody liked Herr Claude but her, and nobody was treating him well. No one cared about how he felt, and Heidi remembered how, in the orphanage, she often had similar feelings. There were many bullies who had made her feel stupid and small.

"Sie werden sehr beunruhigt, dass wir Ihren Freund verletzen werden, aber ich verspreche Ihnen, dass wir das nicht tun werden. Er wird gerade anderswohin für die Nacht bleiben, und es ist besser, dass Sie die Nacht hier, Heidi bleiben. Claude ist hier wegen... der Nazis nicht sicher. Aber Sie werden sein, weil Sie ein Deutscher sind. Herr Claude stimmt mit mir überein, er nicht?"

She threw Herr Otto a heated glare, about to snap at him for trying to speak for Herr Claude. However, before a single sound could come from her open mouth. Herr Claude said that he would be all right, and that he would be back, and that Heidi didn't have to worry. He leaned down and kissed her on the head, like Sister Kiel used to. Tears rimmed the child's eyes - memories of seeing the Nazis drag the nuns and children out of the orphanage stirred in her head, from when she was hiding in the back field. Some of the other orphans had escaped with her, but they weren't her friends or anything, and she hadn't seen them since.

They were taking Herr Claude away, just like they had taken away the nuns and the orphanage. That had been the only home she had, and she had been alone for months on end, wandering around with nowhere else to go. Now they were taking away Herr Claude - the only Not-Nazi left that was nice to her - and they didn't care if it hurt either of them. It seemed everyone just thought they were better than everyone else, and nobody cared about anybody's feelings.

"Sie besser nicht liegen," Heidi growled, "oder Sie werden das Ende davon, Herr Otto nie hören."

[Otto Wolff]

Otto felt trapped between his own authority and the way he had tried being all too nice to people who did not even deserve such a treatment. Well, maybe the girl did, she was only a child anyway, but Otto had been far too lenient towards the Jew and the thought made Otto frown. He should have not let the Jew think that Otto's hospitality would last forever, Claude had started acting as if Otto actually owed him something.

Otto had managed to retain his calm appearance as masterfully as ever, but the force of Claude's next words caught him by surprise. ”No, no you Nazis don’t like German girls being hurt, but have you seen the girls in the camp? They are younger than her…YOUNGER!” the Jew yelled, directing his anger at Otto. The yelling caused Luger to take a step back from the people and growl insecurely.

Otto opened and closed his mouth slightly with pure disbelief. What did this Jew think? That he would burst into a camp and save every Jew child he saw, just for the sake of them being children? They were Jews, for crying out loud! If this Jew knew the kinds of things Otto had seen, he would not talk such things. He had been through many camps filled with the overwhelming stench of death and endless piles of naked bodies, just waiting for someone to get rid of them. They had seemed like slabs of meat, not human at all. He had stared death in the eyes and only noticed how perfect and finely tuned the system of eradication was. It had not filled him with fear or disgust, it had only made him feel numb. He had been past feeling pity and sorrow a long time ago and like a faithful old hound of the Reich, he had done what he had to do. Because he didn't have any choice, now did he?

Everything Otto had read, everything he had learned told him that the Jews were not people at all, they were inferior, like animals... No, they said that Jews were even lower than animals and that they were on a mission to destroy everything pure and good! This was why they all had to be put down and after that the world would be a better and safer place for everyone else. How could someone come up with lies such as that and why? These things just had to be true, otherwise everything Otto had done since joining the Nazi Party and the Gestapo had been based on lies. There couldn't been a real human inside there, otherwise... What had they done?

Within all the childish idealism and fury of emotions that Claude had just manifested, Otto could see another human being, no matter how hard he tried to overlook the fact. His hesitation and doubt of all the ideals he had stood up for made him almost retch with self-hatred. How could he doubt these things! He could feel the angry words bubbling inside her, he wanted to yell back, he wanted to smack the Jew and make him suffer, to have his hatred burn away these feelings of doubt.

It was unlike Otto to show his emotions in a way such as this and although he had not yelled, shed a tear or looked away in shame, the mere inner battle that Otto was going through right now was filled with more emotions than he remembered feeling since the First World War.

For a moment Otto contemplated if giving into his emotions would eventually make him feel better. Maybe if just for once he let his rage control him, it would soothe his inner turmoil and the doubt and guilt would leave him. But he did not give into his anger and the fire in his eyes died slowly as the girl spoke. Not it was Heidi who sounded angry and serious. "Sie besser nicht liegen, oder Sie werden das Ende davon, Herr Otto nie hören."

Otto's hand had clenched into a fist for a moment, but then he relaxed again and with a sigh Otto let the last traves of rage finally leave him. "Und ich bin überzeugt, dass Sie Ihre Versprechung behalten werden, Heidi. Ich würde vom Verraten nicht träumen jemand widmete ebenso wie Sie, junge Dame." His voice was again that of a calm gentleman and his expression was serious, obviously he wasn't belittling Heidi's words at all.

Once he would get the Jew out of his house, once there was a moment of peace, then Otto's thoughts would be clear and calm again. Yes, that would make everything all better again. Out of sight, out of mind, like they said. The Jew had told Heidi that things would be fine and the girl had grudgingly accepted his words. Otto only now seemed to realize that Claude had asked if he would be back tomorrow and Otto nodded, although it was as if Otto's thoughts were now elsewhere. "Yes, of course. Brenner will escort you out and tomorrow morning you will return here for the work I have waiting for you. I will stay here to look after the girl and you will see again tomorrow," Otto's words were almost automatic, without a thought or emotion.

Brenner had just been watching the scene play itself out, although he was mostly staring at Otto who, to him at least, was acting strangely. For a moment Brenner thought that it might be high time for Otto to retire, but then Otto seemed to snap back into attention and return back to the person he usually was. "The girl will be quite safe here. And I will see to it that you will be kept.. in working condition," was the only concession Otto was ready to give Claude.

Brenner moved in nearer to Claude so he could escort the man away with him but when Otto glanced at him, he stopped. Otto still gave the girl and Joe Claude the chance to say their goodbyes, he didn't want the girl to fear too much for herself or anyone else for that matter. Otto wouldn't know how to calm her down, anyway.

Translations:

"Und ich bin überzeugt, dass Sie Ihre Versprechung behalten werden, Heidi. Ich würde vom Verraten nicht träumen jemand widmete ebenso wie Sie, junge Dame."
"And I am sure that you will keep your promise, Heidi. I would not dream of crossing someone as dedicated as you, young lady."

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Emotions played out in front of Joe from all sides. First it was Adelhied, going from sadness to then anger and strength as she told Otto exactly what she thought and that he should not be lying. She would be a very strong woman when she grew up, if she ever lived to see that.

Her grip had loosened slightly as he had kissed the top of her head and he saw tears well up in her eyes, the poor child. She was only a girl after all, girls her age should be playing games with their friends outside in gardens or fields or playgrounds not going through the emotions that this girl was feeling or being taught ridiculous lies about the Homosexuals, the Jews and Gypsies, they should not be made into the Aryan Race that Joe had been hearing about. Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin. Adelheid didn’t fit that criteria but she was at least German…so was Joe but his type of German origin was hated by everyone here it seemed, it didn’t help that he was an American soldier even if he had been born and grew up in Germany, and yes, he was Jewish which definitely set him apart from other Germans so everything wasn’t going too well for Joe. That was an understatement surely.

Joe stopped staring at the girl to look upon the face of his new employer. His emotions were festinating to watch as Joe read the man’s face. Even though his appearance may had looked calm, Joe could see that the man was fighting an inner battle with himself, sure Joe had put him in a hard situation what with shouting the truth to him and making him feel a little bit of guilt…or the man should feel guilt about what his sort of people were doing to the “dirty and flea-beaten” animals. According to others in the camp when they talked, they had said that the Germans didn’t see the Jews as people but as less than animals even. Apparently it was the entire Jews fault for the unrest in the country after the Great War and then apparently it was the Jews fault for all the German people loosing their jobs and that the Jews should be gone from the face of this earth.

It made Joe think about the hundreds of Jewish people he had seen at Synagogue when he was very young, they would all be dead by now. His thoughts then turned to the people he had seen growing up in America, yes his family had pretended to be Catholic for a while but that had ebbed away, they had gone to Synagogues then and they had been friends with Jewish and non-Jewish people. Did the Nazis really think that they could storm the whole of America and exterminate the entire Jewish race there? What about England as well? But that was an easier target for them, England was much smaller than America but the Germans would have a fight on their hands to get that place let alone trying to deal with America…they were all mad, completely and utterly mad or was it them being brainwashed by Hitler?

Otto’s German voice interrupted his thoughts, and the Jew turned to listen. So he’d see Adelheid tomorrow, which was good. Otto’s language went to English and Joe glanced at him, his eyes staring into those dark slits.

”You better keep her safe.” Joe muttered, he glanced over at Brenner who had been standing there all along. Joe showed no emotions in his face as he stared at the man until Otto spoke after some thought.

"The girl will be quite safe here. And I will see to it that you will be kept.. in working condition,"

Did this man have no sense of guilt or love for anything in the world. ”Oh thank you, I feel honoured that you will keep me in working condition. Can I ask something?” he lent forwards and stared at Otto, ”Just a small question. Do you Nazis really think that you can wipe out the whole Jewish population in the world?” he sat back, leaving the question hanging and then turned to Adelhied who was by him still.

”Ich sehe Sie morgen Heidi, Sie bin fein hier mit Herr Otto. Unterhaltsafe.”

He stood up and opened his arms to hug the little girl tightly before straitening up and glaring at Otto for a second before turning away to face Brenner.

Translations:

I shall see you tomorrow Heidi, you will be fine here with Herr Otto. Keep safe.

[Heidi]

Translations:

"Ich, werde ich zu versprechen. Halten Sie bitte sicher, auch, Herr Claude." = I will, I promise. Please keep safe, too, Herr Claude.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Even though his face was neutral, Heidi could see the conflict within Herr Otto through his eyes. It was a sight that was very familiar to her; Herr Jonas had looked the same way the morning after he had saved Heidi. He had taken her to a park, and told her that she had to leave. According to him, it hadn't been safe in the town she had been in. His words rang true when Doctor Strumfelder had come that day only a few months ago.

At her angry promise to protest any hurting of Herr Claude, Herr Otto's fist clenched. For a moment, Heidi wondered if he would be like Doctor Strumfelder, and take out his rage on her and Herr Claude. But that fist of his relaxed, and the sigh he gave was the release of all his inner anger. Calmly, he said that he was sure Heidi would keep true to her word, and that he wouldn't try and cross her. The girl wasn't sure if he really was serious or not, but nonetheless, she smiled victoriously. It had been the first time in a while she had received a compliment from...well, anybody. Not counting, of course, the fake ones Doctor Strumfelder gave her, or the ones brought on by the act she had been forced to put on public.

Herr Otto then addressed Herr Claude in Not-Nazi, and after some brief words between the two, Herr Claude looked down at Heidi. "Ich sehe Sie morgen Heidi, Sie bin fein hier mit Herr Otto. Unterhaltsafe," he said, his voice warm. Heidi gladly accepted the tight hug that came next, which she returned with full force. She was happy to feel that, despite looking so frail and weak, Herr Claude still seemed to have strength left in him. It made Heidi hopeful that everything would be fine.

"Ich, werde ich zu versprechen. Halten Sie bitte sicher, auch, Herr Claude," said the child, releasing her friend. Herr Claude stood up, throwing a look Herr Otto's way, turning to Herr Brenner afterwards. Heidi stepped away, now frowning a little, but kept quiet.

Everything was fine now. Doctor Strumfelder wouldn't get her, and he wouldn't get Herr Claude, either. Herr Claude would, hopefully, be treated nicer, now that she could protect him, and that he wasn't near the SS men. He didn't deserve the blistered feet he had, or the scars, or being pushed and kicked around by the Nazis. Why couldn't they see how kind he was? Why did they hate so many people? What had the Jews, the Gypsies, the homosexuals (whoever those last people were) done to Germany?

Such questions weighed heavily on the girl's mind. She was unable to believe such ideas as true, what with her upbringing and what had happened to Heiliges Peter's-Hafen.

[Otto Wolff]

The kitchen seemed eerily silent for a moment before Joe Claude finally muttered something. ”You better keep her safe,” said the Jew quietly, but loud enough so that the words were heard by Otto.

Otto raised his eyebrows at the Jew's words and sighed. All the these threats from these two over such a short span of time. You go to great lengths to help someone for a change and this is what you get as a reward? What did they say about it in English...? Ah yes. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This certainly seemed to ring true for Otto, nothing he did seemed to go quite the way he had intended to.

The Jew quipped a sarcastic thank you at Otto's promise of keeping him in working condition. After he had done so, he leaned over the table slightly and stared at Otto intently. ”Just a small question. Do you Nazis really think that you can wipe out the whole Jewish population in the world?”

He didn't wait around for Otto's answer, but instead hugged the girl goodbye and the angry remark Otto was going to offer the Jew at first, was soon lost.

What did this Jew think? That Otto was the mastermind behind everything that the National Socialists did? Otto tilted his head and raised his chin up slightly in an overly self-conscious fashion. This certainly was an expression that Brenner connected with the normal Otto.
"Why don't you go ask Herr Himmler? I am sure he will accommodate you with an satisfactory answer and a one-way trip to the ovens soon after," Otto flashed a small, sarcastic smile at Claude after answering. "Go on Brenner, you can take this smart aleck to the station."

"A what?" Brenner frowned. He did speak quite satisfactory English but his vocabulary was a lot more limited than Otto's, who had spent two years in England and who often spoke and read English.
"Macht nichts. Sie können ihn nehmen, ich werde hier bleiben und auf Heidi aufpassen," Otto sighed and glanced at the girl. Heidi had even managed to flash a smile at Otto's words earlier and it seemed as if he had not perceived Otto's compliment as being too patronizing. For some reason this pleased Otto and for a moment he thought that maybe he wasn't that bad with children after all.

"Wir sprechen uns später," Otto said to Brenner who was just waiting for Otto's word to take Claude to the station. Brenner just nodded, he wasn't happy with being left to the task of escorting the Jew, but he wasn't in the position to argue with Otto's decisions. Brenner didn't bother to grab Claude's arm this time and he escorted the Jew with him into the hallway.

Otto stared after them for a moment, but then glanced at the little girl he was now stuck with. "Ach ja... Lassen Sie mich Ihnen das Haus dann herumführen, Heidi," Otto said in his low, calm voice and gestured towards the living room. Well, this should occupy the girl's time for good five minutes, at least. It certainly looked to be an awkward evening.


Translations:

"Macht nichts. Sie können ihn nehmen, ich werde hier bleiben und auf Heidi aufpassen."
"Never mind. You can take him, I will stay here and take care of Heidi."

"Wir sprechen uns später."
"I will talk to you later."

"Ach ja... Lassen Sie mich Ihnen das Haus dann herumführen, Heidi."
"Oh well... Let me show you around the house then, Heidi."

[Daniel Brennan]

Mod Post

This is one of the few threads I've seen that the posts seemed to get longer as the thread went on.

CP:
Otto Wolff: 16CP

Adelheid Heidi: 15CP

Corporal Claude: 15CP


~Dan