A Glistening Hope (Zelda)

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Country: Berlin, Germany
Area/Setting: A street just outside a small café.

Current Time: 14:32
Weather Conditions: Sunny

We’ll meet again…don’t know where…don’t know when… the old song echoed around his head. Joe remembered it from when he had boarded the ship to sail across to England, the songs of the families seeing their sons off to war…And then it had been sung again, this time with British accents as they travelled across the channel to France, and then…then he had never heard it sung again.

The Jew’s feet hurt as he walked along the street, in a straight line like always. He watched his own feet as they plodded, one foot in front of the other…one at a time. He heard shouting up a head. Someone had fallen over, one of the Jews had tripped and fallen on to the hard ground, a few of the guards had pulled the man to his feet and had begun punching him in the stomach, shouting abuse while the passers-by looked on.

Did they not realize that…that they were hurting a harmless citizen…no, Joe had seen enough pointless and horrible slaughter that the Germens did to the Jews that he would just have to watch and wait for the line to move on, they did not realize…how could they? They were brain-washed puppies, waiting to be given a pat by their master.

The line began to move slowly on as the one who had fallen was dragged away to a back alley, Joe did not glance at the helpless, pleading, battered face of the man that he didn’t even know the name of, bad luck for him. Joe himself had to concentrate on staying alive, that was all that mattered.

The Jews were looked upon as filth by the Germen people; they were spat at and talked unkindly of. A few of the men that Joe had actually talked to, had said that their old friends had turned against them when the war had broken out and the genocide of the Jews was becoming ever more present. Joe had listened with anger building up inside him, he was German, the German people had been his friends once but not any more, never again would any German who had supported this awful genocide of the Jewish population would ever be a friend of Joe Claude, he would hunt every single person who had helped with the killings if he still lived after the war, he would kill them and he would make sure that they died painfully and slowly, just like they had done to their prisoners.

The line once again stopped and the officers up at the front began to order the Jews to pick up bricks that were lying neatly, side-by-side on the pavement, glistening in the sun.

[Zelda Wolff]

Zelda had already stepped into a cafe when a mob of fans stumbled upon her holding her photographs and ink pens. She sighed. Not them again. She hated fans, especially when they wanted autographs. They would simply go crazy. Wild. Phenomenal. They were animals around her. One man actually tried to touch her thigh but she had kicked him in the shin and told him to look elsewhere because this place didn't have what he desired. The demand in Berlin was growing at a fast pace. The leader race was taking control of Germany at each second that stormed past, and not only that, the war was coming.

She began signing their autographs as more fans had appeared. She rolled her eyes and bit the bottom of her lip. This was going horridly. This was one the major down part about being a star. Signing autographs. One man had actually asked her to kiss him but she had quickly refused. She had a husband for goodness sakes. She had told him to run along. She hoped she would never see that dreadful, melancholy man again. More and more people with pens appeared and she began signing their photographs again. It was then when she pushed her way through the crowd and out the front door. She noted to never go out without protection again. It was hard being a famous star.

It was then when her eyes clicked upon a set of Jews. Actually a long line of them. She felt a lump form in her throat. She didn't dislike them, she didn't mind them at all actually, she actually wanted to help them but she couldn't. She decided to walk away and forget about all the horrible images and that was exactly what she had done. She began making her way down the streets, her white heels clicking and clacking along the way. She hated seeing the soldiers torture the Juden for doing nothing wrong at all! It was hard to look at. They had done nothing wrong and yet they still got these horrid punishments.

In all of a deep sudden, she had bumped into something. Actually, it was someone. It was a Jewish man. She couldn't help but glance up at the man. He had scars on his face. A new lump had formed down her throat. She felt like bursting into tears due to his sight. She felt her throat, she wanted her feelings to wash away. He looked helpless. At the corner of her ocean blue eyes, she could see the soldiers looking her way. She quickly hid behind a tree. They turned away and she had approached the man again. Goodness gracious me, she thought. Germany was turning into a land of monsters.

She had quickly pulled out a white handkerchief and quickly began dabbing a cut on his face that looked as if it were bleeding. She softly dabbed at it trying not to hurt the man. "Mein Gott, sind diese Soldaten entsetzlich oder was?" She hoped the man understood German. She stopped dabbing as her eyes clicked onto a scar that sat on his face. "Wie geschah das?" She asked with a calm tone of voice. She continued dabbing until the bleeding came to a halt. She carefully put the handkerchief back into her purse. [Translations: My god, are these soldiers horrid or what? [2] How did that happen?]

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

A small commotion had been occurring inside the little café that moment ago, Joe had just passed. The doors flung open and a woman rushed out, looking rather flustered and annoyed.

He turned away from her as he felt her eyes on the line of Jews. He would not make eye contact with her, she was a woman to be respected and she probably despised them anyway. Joe put a hand up to his face as he felt blood dripping slowly down, he hadn’t noticed that one of his scars had started to bleed; it had been a long time since they had been sown up by the Allied medic a few months ago. They needed re-stitching to be quiet honest but Joe now knew that that wouldn’t happen for a long time indeed.

He had begun to put one foot in front of the other and walk on, when he felt something or someone bump into him from behind. Turning around quickly, he saw that the someone was the woman he had seen just seconds before. Her eyes looked like they would spill tears any second. Joe didn’t know quiet what to say, she suddenly disappeared behind a tree and he waited, the line had stopped anyway and no one was looking. She appeared again from behind the tree and stepped towards him.

Joe, being now used to not trusting anyone because of his paratrooper training and because of the sudden danger he had now landed in, watched her closely, standing his ground. She quickly pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at his cuts and his scars that had begun to bleed. She spoke in German to him; well you most likely couldn’t speak any other language…However, he understood her pecfectly.

Did she realize what she was doing? No, obviously not, but the dabbing was so gentle, the only gentle thing he had had in a long while. He gave a small smile at her first comment but then his face went back to the normal sad expression. Should he trust her?

”Danke.” he said, his German accent not perfect but it had a hint of an American accent to it. How could he explain to her how his scars had appeared? He couldn’t just say “Oh, well, sad to say, I was tortured a few months back for being an American….” no…he had to think it through.

”Ich wurde, ich bin ein amerikanischer Soldat gequält. Oder war.” he said it bluntly, his eyes now heading to the floor.


Translations:

Danke. – ”Thank you.”
Ich wurde, ich bin ein amerikanischer Soldat gequält. Oder war – I was tortured, I am an American soldier. Or was.

[Zelda Wolff]

”Danke.”

He replied. She gestured a smile in return. She had never heard those words being spoken in a while. Her life was at a point where everything was cold and rotten. Nobody ever said thank you in such a manner, they were more likely sarcastic than happy and nice. Especially because she was a big star walking down the streets of Berlin. What was she doing walking down the streets of Berlin anyways? Did she not know the troubles that may have occured if she was trampled down by a mob of fans. Again, being a famous star was never easy and never will be easy.

”Ich wurde, ich bin ein amerikanischer Soldat gequält. Oder war.”

That was when her pupils had dilated a little bit. He was an American soldier? She glanced around. She wasn't quite surprised by the accent. She had noticed that accent before, it wasn't hard to click onto. She glanced around for a while. She noticed a few shadows passing by, she didn't want her husband finding her here. She slightly gulped, her red lips trembling. It was pathetic how she got scared of the man. Very pathetic. She rubbed her arms a little bit and then glanced back at the man. The poor man was suffering a lot. She couldn't help him, but maybe, just maybe she could. She went into a slightly thoughtful position for a few seconds and then shot her look on the man.

She desperatly wanted to help him. It was then when she replied with a - "Erm, ich kann nicht normalerweise das tun, aber möchten Sie kommen und Arbeit mit mir? Ich denke, dass das lieber als hier ist, und Sie werden Ihr eigenes Schlafzimmer und bessere Existenzbedingungen haben. Was denken Sie?" She asked him kindly. She hoped he would accept her offer. Not many people did this for people and she was nice enough to suggest this sort of thing. She just hoped Otto would agree with her. She couldn't stand the way the man was being treated. [Translations: Erm, I normally can't do this but, would you like to come and work with me? I think it's better than here, and you'll have your own bedroom and better living conditions. What do you think?]

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Joe’s eyes kept to the ground as he waited what the woman would say to his blunt and truthful answer. It was rather blunt and harshly true and it may scare the woman, she was only a mere woman, one who couldn’t do much because of her husband…for she looked marriageable age…would rule over her. There was something elegant and free however about her that Joe didn’t see in many Germen or American or even British women these days.

The Jew was now beginning to panic slightly as he felt eyes upon him from passers-by. The line was still standing still, not moving. The faces of the other Jews horribly masked with hatred and sadness, their eyes dull. Life would never come back into those eyes it seemed.

What she said next, was not expected at all.

”Erm, ich kann nicht normalerweise das tun, aber möchten Sie kommen und Arbeit mit mir? Ich denke, dass das lieber als hier ist, und Sie werden Ihr eigenes Schlafzimmer und bessere Existenzbedingungen haben. Was denken Sie?"

Joe stared at her.
Half his mind was in shock, the other was working fast to see what the advantages would be of accepting the offer…had she said that right thing though? What would her husband say to this?

He stared at her, his tired eyes now alight with sudden excitement, his own bed…he hadn’t had his own bed since he had left for France, the soldiers got their own beds in training and on leave but normally they didn’t when they were deployed.
He was getting extremely thin come to think of it, he glanced quickly down at his uniform, he could feel his bones sticking out as he stood there, he felt so ashamed, even more so in front of a woman, be her German or not.

He gave a quick nod as he looked back up at her, a small smile on his face, ”Ja, ja, bitte, bitte.”

[Otto Wolff]

A black Mercedes made it's way through the streets of Berlin and Otto stared absentmindedly at the buildings as they passed by. Berlin was nothing compared to München, Otto thought. To him Berlin seemed like a crude and cold place, it wasn't like his home city had been. He had immensely enjoyed living in München and only because of a tempting job offer and the fact that his wife's job centered around Berlin had Otto moved here. Germany's capital city did of course hold some charming qualities to it and the numerous swastika-decorated flags that flew valiantly in the wind made Otto feel proud of his work and the Fatherland. It seemed that these days Berlin was the center of all the most important happenings like München had been just some time ago, but if things had been different, he would have still preferred to stay in München.

The car slowed down as it came to a smaller and much narrower street, before finally coming to an unexpected halt. The strange stop made Otto wake up from his thoughts and he glanced at the driver, then at the street ahead of them. The grey-suited man next to Otto threw his hands up in irritation. "Juden! Können Sie es glauben? Und viele von ihnen! Und wie ist alle diese Leute, die hier tun? Sie überfüllen die Straße!"

Otto frowned and let out a quiet sigh, he wasn't really in a hurry right now as it was his lunch hour, but to lose time over a bunch of prisoners was just unforgivable. "Warum lassen sie nicht sie sich bewegen?", the driver continued and punched the horn of the Mercedes, startling a few civilians on the street. Otto had worked with Brenner for years now and knew how easily the man could sometimes lose his nerves. It looked like as if the people on the street were confusedly moving from here to there, not sure of where to go with the prisoners blocking their path on the other end of the street. Whatever had just happened here must have been something quite interesting. Maybe the guards had gunned down some of the prisoners and everyone was here to gloat over the bloodshed.

"Was soll's, Ich werde gehen sehen worüber es ist", Otto said and was already getting out of the car before Brenner had started to protest. Otto dodged a few people to get near to the line of prisoners and his eyes scanned the line for the nearest guard. He would have this street cleared himself if these incompetent fools could not arrange it. And if they gave him any trouble, he would make sure they would get a proper scare just for daring to oppose a member of the Gestapo.

Otto was a very tall man who had obviously seen his younger days some years ago now. The slightly thinned out dark hair and the telltale lines on his face made him look to be at his fifties, it was hard to say. He was wearing a dark suit and a long coat that made him look like any other civilian on the street, but he looked to be in a pretty good shape for just a mere businessman. Also the way in which Otto regarded other people with and the manner in which he carried himself made it seem like as if he was used to commanding respect from the people around him. He scowled at a man who was blocking his way and the pudgy small man stepped out of his way, looking confused.

Otto spotted a guard near the line of the prisoners and was just about to inquire the soldier about the annoying delay, when his eyes locked on a familiar figure. A slender blonde woman was something that easily caught Otto's attention as Otto had something of a weak spot for blondes. It wasn't his eye for pretty ladies that had alerted him now. This certain woman just looked far too familiar to him. Otto peered his eyes and was now very sure of what he had seen. The woman was indeed Zelda and she was standing next to a rather pathetic-looking prisoner. What was she doing here? And next to a bunch of filthy, flea-ridden prisoners, no less? Otto frowned and glanced at the mass of people, it had started untangling very slowly. Of course, Zelda had been here, hence all the people. Otto sighed and scratched his chin. He would get to the bottom of this.

The man started walking towards Zelda and the Jew in great strides, pushing a few people from his way and keeping his gaze locked on the woman as he advanced. He finally stopped next to his wife and raised his brows at the woman. "Zelda. Was machst du denn hier?", he queried, glancing sharply at the Jew who was standing near his wife. The prisoner seemed to be in a rather pitiful condition and his face was riddled with strange scars. Those wounds certainly did not look like something that would have been the result of an accident, they seemed deliberately made. "Belästigte dieser Jude Sie?", he asked in a low voice, his tone dangerously smooth.


Translations:

"Juden! Können Sie es glauben? Und viele von ihnen! Und wie ist alle diese Leute, die hier tun? Sie überfüllen die Straße!"
"Jews! Can you believe it? Whole lot of them! And what are all these people doing here? They are crowding the street!"

"Warum lassen sie nicht sie sich bewegen?"
"Why are they not making them move?"

"Was soll's, Ich werde gehen sehen worüber es ist."
"Never mind, I will go see what it is about."

"Zelda. Was machst du denn hier?"
"Zelda. What are you doing here?"

"Belästigte dieser Jude Sie?"
"Was this Jew bothering you?"

[Zelda Wolff]

”Ja, ja, bitte, bitte.”

Before the man had spoken these very little words, she had noticed his facial expressions. He seemed uneasy and looked as if he could not trust her very well. She couldn't exactly blame the man. She wasn't what you would call 'normal'. Of course she wasn't normal! She was a star for goodness sakes. She couldn't help but smile back when he smiled. That smile of his, it was so broken. He was so helpless and she desperatly wanted to help the man, even if it took persuading her husband into bringing a Jewish man into the house.

Speaking of her husband, there he was, storming towards her. It wasn't very surprising, but yet it was. He looked evil. Well, not evil, demanding, scary, frightening, wanting. He looked like a monster in her point of view. He pushed people around to get through to her. She noticed how his eyes were stuck onto her as he pushed through the long crowd of Jews and soldiers. Oh god, this wasn't going to end well, Zelda thought. Alas, he had finally approached her and the jew with a very confusing expressions, like mixed feelings or something on those lines.

"Zelda. Was machst du denn hier?"

Her eyes kept flickering upon his facial expression. She couldn't work it out. Oh god, he was angry. Very angry, and she hated it when Otto Wolff was angry. She didn't want him to hurt anybody at the moment, she just wanted to calm him down a little bit. Calming him down always worked, and yet sometimes it made him worse. She didn't know what to speak of and no words were coming out. Her soft red lips trembled a little while she studied his facial expression and then simply answered with a calm tone of voice - "Ah, groß, Sie Otto, Liebling zu sehen. Ich war dabei zu gehen suchen nach Ihnen. Ich habe einige persönliche Ideen, die ich lieben würde, mit Ihnen zu besprechen, wenn Sie nicht achthaben." [Translations: Ah, great to see you Otto, darling. I was going to go look for you. I have some personal ideas I'd love to discuss with you if you don't mind.]

"Belästigte dieser Jude Sie?"

That was when her pupils had dilated. Oh god, she did not need any violence at the moment. She actually wanted all the violence in Berlin to stop. She silently pulled Otto out of their little group and decided to have a little discussion with him. She was holding his hand and that was when her blue eyes softly pierced into his. "Nein, nein, er belästigte mich überhaupt, mein liebes nicht." She began by saying these words, and decided to continue. "Erinnern Sie sich, als Sie sagten, dass das Haus einige Anpassungen verwenden konnte? Gut denke ich, dass ich gefunden habe, dass die vollkommene Person das tut." She gestured towards the man. "Was denken Sie?" She asked in a curious tone of voice. She desperatly hoped he agreed. [Translations: [1] No, no, he wasn't bothering me at all, my dear. [2] Do you remember when you said the house could use a few adjustments? Well I think I've found the perfect person to do that. [3] What do you think?]

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

His day was going from bad to worse. A black car had pulled up a few yards away, Joe jolted slightly, scared that it would be Strumfelder…but it wasn’t. Instead, it was a man, a rather old looking man with black hair and piercing dark eyes. He walked over to the woman who was now standing beside the Jew, smiling at him.

The man walked over to the woman and began to speak to her, his voice dangerous smooth. Joe took a breath as the man’s eyes moved on to him and spoke harshly, his voice dangerously calm. Joe opened his mouth and then shut it again, knowing that he wouldn’t get anywhere if he was to talk, he’d get a slap on the face if that happened…how he wished he could just go back…back to the Allies where he was respected as a soldier. Here he was looked upon as filth, just because he was a Jew.

The Nazis really where evil, more evil than Joe had thought possible.

Where had the two people gone?

There they were, standing away from him and speaking in low tones, the woman was gesturing to Joe, who looked away and around as the mass of people began to disappear. He saw sad eyes of pity stare at him from the other Jews…he would not be able to look at them, he felt rather guilty if this woman was to let him go to her house that he would have to leave his newly-acquainted friends behind…but war had to have some sacrifices.

He glanced up at the sky as he felt its ray’s burn down on to his head as he stood in the street. He wondered if Nicholas or Daniel where looking up at the same sun, wondering what tomorrow would bring…how he wished tomorrow came and that he could escape from this hell-hole. He would find a way to get away, he was not going to die here, oh no he was not going to die here…

[Otto Wolff]

There was surprise and fear in Zelda's eyes when she noticed Otto and the thought of his wife being so frightened of him in front of other people made Otto uneasy. The woman just stared at him for a moment, her beautiful lips trembling as she tried to find something to say. But like always, she had a talent for quickly gathering herself and she was able to become a whole different person in the matter of mere seconds. Otto often wondered how much of Zelda was the Zelda he knew and how many times she was using her skills as an actress against him. The though made him uneasy and he tried to seem a little less imposing to his wife, although such a thing didn't really come easy for him.

"Ah, groß, Sie Otto, Liebling zu sehen. Ich war dabei zu gehen suchen nach Ihnen. Ich habe einige persönliche Ideen, die ich lieben würde, mit Ihnen zu besprechen, wenn Sie nicht achthaben", Zelda greeted him and Otto stared at his wife with a mixture of irritation and puzzlement. When Otto asked Zelda if the Jew had been bothering her, Zelda seemed horrified for a while. What did she think, that Otto was going to attack the prisoner? Otto frowned at the thought, he wasn't one of those Nazis who would go attacking other people in blind rage. Of course Jews were not really considered even as being people, but Otto didn't randomly kick street dogs either. He liked to keep himself composed and if needed, he would have someone else do the kicking for him, whether it was dogs or Jews that were in need of such a thing.

Zelda was quick to place her hand on his arm and lead him a small distance away from other people. She seemed to have something in her mind and Otto sighed, with Zelda you never knew what kind of grand ideas she might get. The woman took hold of his hand and looked him straight in the eyes. The hold of the brilliant blue eyes captivated Otto's attention quite effectively and the earlier irritation quickly subsided as he looked at his wife. He chose to just stay quiet and tilted his head slightly as he listened to Zelda's plan. "Erinnern Sie sich, als Sie sagten, dass das Haus einige Anpassungen verwenden konnte? Gut denke ich, dass ich gefunden habe, dass die vollkommene Person das tut," Zelda pointed at the Jew with the scars. "Was denken Sie?"

Otto glanced towards the Jew and then at Zelda, he could hardly believe it. A Jew to work for them? And a scrawny one like this one, no less? Otto's shoulders dropped and he let out a sigh, what did Zelda know about hiring decent workforce, anyway.. "Dieser? Aber können Sie nicht sehen, den seine Knochen durch seine Kleidung zeigen, was gut konnte er vielleicht tun? Er ist bereits halbtot," Otto remarked and then scanned the line of prisoners. All of them were in a horrible condition, some of them looking as if they could just drop dead on the street any minute now. He had to admit, the chance of finding a better option were slim if he had to find a decent worker in this line of prisoners.

Otto let out a small growl in his throat and slid his hand across his face very slowly as he kept thinking. He knew that Zelda had a weak spot for anyone who suffered, she was just too kind even to the lowliest manner of creatures. To have sympathy for a Jew was something that could get you killed these times and days, but for some reason Otto found Zelda's sympathy somehow comforting. It was as if Zelda had the things Otto often failed to find in himself. And what would he not do to make his precious wife happy, anyway? Finally the man shrugged and nodded very slowly.

"Aber ich glaube, dass es keine besseren Optionen hier gibt. Gerade vor einer Woche Hauptsturmführer Schuster ließ einen Juden sein Haus malen und einige kleine Dinge um den Hof befestigen, er sagte, dass der Jude einen ziemlich guten Job tat. Und es war auch ziemlich preiswert, gerade etwas heikel, um sich zu einigen, Sie brauchen Wächter und solchen.. Der innere Hof braucht wirklich ein neues Pflastern, ich will ihn völlig nochmals getan. Und der Brunnen würde viel besser aussehen, wenn er wirklich arbeiten würde", Otto said, maybe more to himself than Zelda. "Wollen wir diesen Juden dann sehen."

Otto made sure that Zelda followed him back to the Jew in question and Otto stopped a few steps away from the prisoner. He looked at the man from head to toe, he was very scrawny indeed. "Meine Frau scheint zu denken, dass Du ziemlich nützlich sein konnten, aber ich bin nicht so überzeugt. Werden Du verletzt? Sind Du noch richtig arbeitsfähig?", the man gestured towards the scars on the prisoner's face. If this Jew would collapse from the first hours of work, he would be of no use to Otto. "Wie ist Ihr Name, Jude?", the man continued with his rapid questions, his eyes already scanning over the number on the prisoner's shirt.


Translations:

"Dieser? Aber können Sie nicht sehen, den seine Knochen durch seine Kleidung zeigen, was gut konnte er vielleicht tun? Er ist bereits halbtot."
"That one? But can't you see the that his bones are showing through his clothes, what good could he possibly do? He is half-dead already."

"Aber ich glaube, dass es keine besseren Optionen hier gibt. Gerade vor einer Woche Hauptsturmführer Schuster ließ einen Juden sein Haus malen und einige kleine Dinge um den Hof befestigen, er sagte, dass der Jude einen ziemlich guten Job tat. Und es war auch ziemlich preiswert, gerade etwas heikel, um sich zu einigen, Sie brauchen Wächter und solchen.. Der innere Hof braucht wirklich ein neues Pflastern, ich will ihn völlig nochmals getan. Und der Brunnen würde viel besser aussehen, wenn er wirklich arbeiten würde."
"But I guess there are no better options here. Just a week ago Hauptsturmführer Schuster had a Jew paint his house and fix some small things around the yard, he said the Jew did a pretty good job. And it was quite cheap too, just somewhat tricky to arrange, you need guards and such.. The inner courtyard does need a new paving, I want it completely redone. And the fountain would look much better if it actually worked."

"Wollen wir diesen Juden dann sehen."
"Let's see this Jew, then."

"Meine Frau scheint zu denken, dass Du ziemlich nützlich sein konnten, aber ich bin nicht so überzeugt. Werden Du verletzt? Sind Du noch richtig arbeitsfähig?"
"My wife seems to think that you could be of some use, but I'm not so sure. Are you injured? Are you still able to work properly?"

"Wie ist Ihr Name, Jude?"
"What is your name, Jew?"

[Cpl. Joe Claude]

Joe stood completely still, his head hanging low and just listening to the conversation that he could just about here a few yards away. He could feel the man’s eyes on him but he did not look up. He wondered if this man would want him to work for him…what sort of work would he have to do? Would it be any worse than it was now?

Joe glanced down at himself quickly as he heard what the man said about how skinny he was….it wasn’t his fault! He hadn’t been this skinny before! It was because of people like the man talking that had made him like this! It was their fault and they would pay…oh yes they would pay, if the Allies won the war then Joe would make it certain that he would kill every single Nazi that crossed his path.

He couldn’t quite hear what was being said between the two people because they were a little further away now. He could hear the man’s SS boots clicking on the ground as he walked back over; Joe now glanced up quickly and saw that his kind wife was following him.

Joe straightened his back as straight as possible without hurting himself and looked up at the SS man, not meeting his eye as he was too afraid. He felt the man’s eyes scanning him, looking him up and down as he stood there. He felt so ashamed, his dignity was slowly being sucked from him, and he would never be the same man ever again…never.

The man then spoke, his voice harsh and Joe made an effort to now look up into the eyes of his to-be employer.

Joe listened and then began to think through his words carefully; finally after a few seconds he opened his mouth and spoke –
”Diese Narben würden nicht meinen Arbeitsgeehrten herrn, sie waren von einem Folterungsir von einigen Monaten zurück, nichts, mit meiner körperlichen Fähigkeit zu tun beeinflussen.” His voice almost like a mono-tone, he was not able however to cover up his American accent to the German words.

The man was asking questions and they came thick and fast, what is your name? How would he put it? ”Mein Name ist geehrter Herr Joes Claude, Josef Claude” he would not of course put that he was a Corporal for if he did, it might have weaken his chances of getting out of the camp and if he was out of the camp then he could maybe persuade the woman to let him leave, to make her see pity in him, to tell her his story of why he was here and that his life was in a considerable amount of danger compared to some of the other prisoners.

Translations:

These scars would not affect my work sir, they were from a torture sir from a few months back, nothing to do with my physical ability.

My name is Joe Claude sir, Josef Claude

[Otto Wolff]

The Jew cowered in front of Otto weakly and the sight made him feel disgusted. It reminded him of the times he had been required to visit Dachau while still working in Münich. The camp had been built in 1933, the first of it's kind, and it was filled with Jews, homosexuals, communists and anyone who dared to oppose the National Socialists. Otto had not really worked at the concentration camp itself, but had merely paid a few visits to the office of the Gestapo in the camp. It had been an unpleasant place to even visit and Otto was happy that eventually he had been able to concentrate on other kinds of work. The sight of these prisoners returned the memories of Dachau to him and Otto suddenly wished he could be somewhere else.

The Jew carefully lifted his eyes to look at him and Otto returned his gaze, his dark eyes piercing through the Jew as if he was watching straight through him. ”Diese Narben würden nicht meinen Arbeitsgeehrten herrn, sie waren von einem Folterungsir von einigen Monaten zurück, nichts, mit meiner körperlichen Fähigkeit zu tun beeinflussen", the Jew said and Otto nodded slightly, noting his accent. An American Jew? Otto had interrogated many different nationalities during his years of work at the Geheime Staatspolizei and he had learned to identify different accents quite well.
”Mein Name ist geehrter Herr Joe Claude, Josef Claude", the prisoner answered his other question and Otto scoffed when he heard the prisoner's name. It was amusing that Zelda had happened upon the possibly only American prisoner that was part of this sorry flea-bitten lot.

Otto found himself wondering why this Jew had been chosen for such a special treatment. He knew that the SS-guards could be quite ruthless to the prisoners, but they rarely had time to single out anyone for cutting up their face. The Gestapo also had many different and painful ways of extracting needed information, but this was something that would have hardly been used. It seemed like a far too messy and arduous way to interrogate anyone. He made a mental note to perhaps ask more about this later and his hand slipped into his jacket pocket, producing a small black notebook and a pen. "Also gut..", he said as he wrote the name and number of the prisoner on a small slip of paper. "Ich habe etwas Arbeit, die getan werden muss, größtenteils die Felsen unterbringend, die verwendet worden sind, um den Hof zu pflastern und neue zu legen. Wenn Sie diesen Job ganz gut nicht tun können, bin ich überzeugt, dass ich jemanden anderen finden kann, der kann", Otto noted sternly, but he trusted that any prisoner who would get some reprieve from this work, the harsh guards and possibly the whole work camp, would find it in himself to at least learn new things very quickly.

Otto ripped the paper loose from the notebook, placed the book and the pen back in his pocket and seemed to fold something, perhaps money, inside the slip of paper. Just mentioning the Gestapo would be enough to do the job, but the message would be delivered with much more enthusiasm if a small incentive was introduced. "So, ich hoffe, dass das dich glücklich macht, Liebchen", Otto glanced at Zelda and even managed a small, short smile. "Ich denke das Ordnen nicht, dass das viel Schwierigkeiten verursachen wird. Ich war gerade auf meinem Weg, ein Mittagessen zu haben. Vielleicht schlössen Sie sich uns gern an, oder wir konnten Ihnen eine Fahrt irgendwo anbieten? Haus, oder wo auch immer es Sie waren ging.. Das Auto ist dort drüben", Otto nodded towards the Mercedes, Brenner was standing next to the vehicle and smoking a cigarette while waiting for Otto. "Ich werde gerade einen kleinen Klatsch mit dem für diese Gefangenen verantwortlichen Offizier haben, und dann können wir Sie mitnehmen, wenn Sie denjenigen brauchen. Also gut, Liebchen?", Otto asked, but didn't really stand around to wait for her to answer. Clearly Otto was assuming that his wife would naturally accept his offer and would wish to leave the presence of these mangy prisoners as soon as possible.

Otto made his way to one of the soldiers and soon after that continued towards the officer in charge of the prisoners. He flashed a small metallic disc to the officer who seemed much more attentive very suddenly and accepted the folded-up piece of paper. Both of the men glanced at the direction where Joe Claude was as Otto pointed towards the man. Talking for just for a few moments the men seemed to reach some kind of decision and both of them exchanged quick "Heil Hitler's" before Otto started back towards his car. Glancing at Zelda and expecting the woman to follow him, Otto made his way back to the car, seemingly satisfied at himself as the soldiers now hurried to clear the street with renewed vigor.


Translations:

"Also gut.."
"Very well.."

"Ich habe etwas Arbeit, die getan werden muss, größtenteils die Felsen unterbringend, die verwendet worden sind, um den Hof zu pflastern und neue zu legen. Wenn Sie diesen Job ganz gut nicht tun können, bin ich überzeugt, dass ich jemanden anderen finden kann, der kann."
"I have some work that needs to be done, mostly lodging out the rocks that have been used to pave the yard and to place new ones. If you cannot perform this job well enough, I'm sure I can find someone else who can."

"So, ich hoffe, dass das dich glücklich macht, Liebchen."
"Well, I hope this makes you happy, dear."

"Ich denke das Ordnen nicht, dass das viel Schwierigkeiten verursachen wird. Ich war gerade auf meinem Weg, ein Mittagessen zu haben. Vielleicht schlössen Sie sich uns gern an, oder wir konnten Ihnen eine Fahrt irgendwo anbieten? Haus, oder wo auch immer es Sie waren ging.. Das Auto ist dort drüben."
"I don't think arranging this will cause much trouble. I was just on my way to have some lunch. Maybe you would like to join us or we could offer you a ride somewhere? Home or wherever it was you were going.. The car is over there."

"Ich werde gerade einen kleinen Klatsch mit dem für diese Gefangenen verantwortlichen Offizier haben, und dann können wir Sie mitnehmen, wenn Sie denjenigen brauchen. Also gut, Liebchen?"
"I will just have a small chat with the officer responsible for these prisoners and then we can give you a lift if you need one. All right, dear?"

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

BOO_YA!

Claude - 12CP

Z. Wolff - 7CP

O.Wolff - 7CP

-JT