"Hi, mister! Would you be so kind to donate money for the Winter Relief?"
"Of course I'd donate money, especially if such a cute girl like you asks to!"
"Thanks sir, you are very kind!"
"Oh, don't mind it. All for the good of our nation's people".
"Here, have this booklet as a token of gratitude, from the Young Girls League!"
"Huh, that's nice. Thanks to you too, little girl! What is your name, by the way?".
"My name is Lola Loewe!"
"Well, Ms. Loewe, I have to leave. Just as you, I have very important duties for our nation to attend".
"Good luck, sir. Heil Hitler!"
"Heil Hitler!"
Keeping her arm high and stiff, and a big smile showing her missing tooth, she saw the man in uniform walk away, to lose himself between the populace. She then turned back to see her instructor, as she nodded in approval for her good work. Soon, she'd be a true Jungmädel.
The day kept going in similar exchanges. Putting a couple of coins inside a box, handing out booklets or pictures of the Führer or war heroes, some little cards about the glory of the nation, many made with her own tiny hands. Many other girls were doing the same all around the nation, but it just happened a lot of people liked to help her out of the most, going by what the instructor could see. Must be her perfect azure eyes, both beautiful and penetrating. Maybe it was her porcelain skin, white and immaculate. Maybe it was her brilliant golden hair, which flowed from her pretty head down below the shoulders, like a waterfall. Maybe her face, so perfect nose, rosy cheeks, healthy appearance. Even her smile, missing a lone tooth due to natural changes of age, was radiant and charming. Anybody who saw her would think how she'd grow up to be the ideal woman for the Übermensch. A perfect Aryan beauty, no doubt.
There was one thing that stopped her in her tracks, however, precisely at the final minutes of that day's campaign. She saw a family in front of a house, talking with some policemen. A numerous lot, they were. Inside, three young maiden, looking with a concerned face to a mom and a dad discussing something with the uniformed men, and a brown-haired girl and an almost-white haired boy trying to contain the energetic dancing and playing of a pluckish girl with perfect azure eyes, porcelain skin, brilliant golden hair, perfect nose, rosy cheeks, healthy appearance, and a radiant and charming smile with a missing tooth. The only difference between Lola and that girl was her looking a little dirty and unfitting clothes.
A poor family.
Her instructor noticed her suddenly stopping, standing still in the middle of the way, barely reacting to a passerby throwing a coin. She went to catch her attention, touching her shoulder.
"Lola, dear, what happened?" She asked, in a very endearing tone.
"That family over there", she said, to ask then: "Who are they?".
The instructor squinted in the distance to notice what family was the little Aryan girl pointing at. She didn't notice them at first. They seemed like a normal, if poor, family. They did look familiar, specially that little blond girl the boy was trying to stop from running everywhere. However, she couldn't really recognize them.
"I don't know, girl. Do you know them?"
Lola didn't know what to say. With just a glance, she felt connected with them, but at the same time, they were complete strangers. And that other girl, so playful, and herself, so strict. That girl, so cheerful, and herself, so calm. A reversed reflection.
"No…" She answered, still engrossed by the curious visage.
"Anyways", the instructor said, "it's better for us to leave. We did well today, girl. Now we're heading to your dad's office".
"Right-I mean, yes, ma'am!" She responded, coming back to reality.
"Your father is probably waiting for you already. Grab my hand".
Without hesitation, Lola grabs the hand of her personal instructor. She never saw mom, but Ms. Pinger was almost the same to her already. She was very dedicated to Lola. She knew so many things, and was so beautiful. Lola wanted to be like her.
"Well, now that I see", Ms Pinger said, checking a pocket watch, "it's not as late as I thought. How about I give you a tour through the city before going with your father?"
Lola gasps, excited.
"You know the city?"
"Of course! I came here with your father after the Führer annexed it! It didn't look very good back then, but our workers have done a good job at bringing the German glory here" Ms. Pinger said this with a lot of pride.
Lola was felicitous, and she nodded energetically.
"Let's go then! Thank you ma'am!"
Ms. Pinger just giggled at that sudden burst of happiness Lola was having. It was OK, maybe. A lot of the time, Lola tried to be the perfect girl, the kind adults want. Quiet, responsible, blindly following a belief. Maybe Lola needed a space where she could just be a little child. The kid would learn to love the nation as much as she did, eventually. Now, she could be just another ten year old.
"We're not on duty now, Lola", Ms. Pinger says to her, taking off her hat and holding it under her free arm. "You can call me Carol while we're alone".
Lola smiled to her, with that radiant smile with a missing star.
"OK, Ms. Carol!"
"No Miss, sweetie. 'Carol' is fine", she explains to the Aryan girl, smiling. "But only when we're alone, OK?"
"Understood…!" She doubted a little, trying to not say the honorific. "Carol!"
"There you go. Come now, let's see what Danzig has to offer".
And so, they started to walk the streets, but not before Lola turned her head once more, to see that other girl. Her mom and dad weren't there anymore, it seems. She seemed confused, as the white-haired boy tried to explain something to her.
And suddenly, they were lost in the distance.
Ms. Pinger stayed for dinner at the office of Lola's father. The workers were celebrating something, but Lola didn't really pay attention to that. Her dad and Ms. Pinger would have dinner at a personal room, anyways.
She was distracted, playing with the Kartoffelsalat, and didn't even touch the Bratwurst. Her dad noticed that demeanor. He gesticulated a silent conversation with Ms. Pinger, but she shrugged, unaware of what was keeping Lola's mind busy.
"Is there something wrong, honey?", dad asked to the little girl, who pinched the potatoes and let them fall from the fork to the plate.
"Oh, it's nothing, dear father", she answered politely, her eyes stuck on the food she was playing with.
"Are you sure, dear? You seemed so happy when coming here with Ms. Pinger, but now you seem a bit down. Are you getting sick?"
"No, nothing like that, father!" She responded, letting the food be and looking at the uniformed man sitting at the head of the table.
"What is it, then?" He kept probing, a bit worried.
"Well… I saw some people at the city… A family. They were poor".
"Were they German?" He asked almost instantly, a little distrustful.
"I'm not sure, but they seemed like good people. Car-I mean, Ms. Pinger saw them too. Right, ma'am?"
She put her fingers on her chin, as her eyes wandered to the ceiling. The memory came to her a second or two after.
"Oh right, that family! They seemed alright, if impoverished, as your daughter says, Mr. Loewe".
He seemed a little calmer now. He was kinda pleased, even. Such compassion for the unfortunate people of her nation! She'd be a fine woman one day, he thought.
"I see. And you were getting money for the Winter Relief, right? The call of duty, I can see there".
Lola doubted a little. Although flattered her dad would think so highly of her, she couldn't lie to him.
"See, dear father, it wasn't exactly that what made me think of them…"
"Oh? What is it then, dear?"
"When I saw them, I saw a girl too, I'm assuming one of the children. And that girl, aside her attire and her hygiene... She looked a lot like me. More like, she was identical, save for maybe her haircut or the dirt on her cheeks".
Mr. Loewe turns to an almost dead silence and a dead serious face. Ms. Pinger looked at both the little girl and the uniformed man with a confused expression. She tried to remember a little better that one family they saw. That girl did looked familiar, but she didn't put much attention to draw any similarities to Lola, aside the blond hair and fair skin.
Mr. Loewe still didn't say anything. He was contemplating the distance, his view going further than the walls of the dining room. Ms. Pinger was getting a little bit worried. She didn't see what was so important about this revelation. A lot of kids look similar, right? Maybe that one family got as lucky as Mr. Loewe and had a perfect Aryan girl as offspring. If anything, that should be a good thing. But suddenly, Ms. Pinger would feel a tad dumb for not making a connection sooner.
A pole family.
Mr. Loewe finally reacted, standing up from the table.
"Sorry, dear, I…" He stops for a second, trying to find an excuse. "I have something to do. Ms. Pinger, could you help me, please?"
Ms. Pinger stood up as well, quickly, and followed Mr. Loewe's steps to his personal office, leaving Lola completely confused. The poor girl couldn't do more than start playing with her food again, as she waited for her father and instructor to come back.
Ms. Pinger was a little bit afraid. She didn't know the reasons, but she was aware of how Mr. Loewe got when he's upset. He went inside his office in a hurry, almost instantly grabbing a crystal bottle and a glass where he poured a strong liquor for himself. Ms. Pinger entered and closed the door behind her, as she leaned over it, hands on her back. He wasn't looking at her, his back turned on her.
"Carol", he started saying. He called her by her name when they weren't with Lola. "Where did you see that family?"
"I… I don't remember the directions, Mr. Loewe", she answered, stuttering. She never talked to him by his first name. "I know it was in the inner city, where many German families were getting relocated…"
"What was happening in that house? Did you see anything?"
"I saw two policemen questioning a man and a woman, some kids playing in the yard… I didn't pay much attention to them".
The man chugged down the glass, as he poured more alcohol into it. His tone was severe and somewhat angry, his movements almost mechanic. As much as he tried to show himself collected, Ms. Pinger knew him too well to not notice his mood.
"Mr. Loewe, can I know what about this situation upsets you?".
"Shut up".
His sudden burst scared her. He never laid a hand on her, and he was always respectful, but she knew he wasn't a man with patience.
He sighed, turning back to her this time, just after drinking again and leaving the empty glass on the desk.
"I'm sorry, Carol", he apologized, getting closer to her. Ms. Pinger was quite tall, but Mr. Loewe still towered over her. "I don't know if I should tell you, but you've been helping Lola and I for so long,.."
He stops, clearing his throat, more as a gesture to show what he's going to say it's not to be taken lightly.
"This conversation never happened. Do you understand, Carol?"
She just nods, avoiding eye contact. She's not sure to want to know what secrets Mr. Loewe had to say, but in a way, she felt very responsible. He was right, she has been a part of that family ever since he brought Lola to the Young Girls' League.
He walks away from her again, wandering around his office, hands behind his back, as he starts talking about old wounds.
"Before I lost my dear wife", he confesses, not stopping his incessant perambulation, "We were trying to have a child. I wanted to adopt a girl in her memory".
Ms. Pinger still had her guard up. She was tense. She didn't know what he was going to with all of this, but she wasn't sure of wanting to know.
"Even though I was a widower, I could adopt a child thanks to a few contacts. Being in my position in the Gestapo also helped. However…"
He turned back to Ms. Pinger, making eye contact. She could see his intense blue eyes. She didn't notice before how different they were from his daughter's.
"Lola came to me thanks to those friends. I was ecstatic, so much I never questioned from where she came from. That is, until I came to Danzig…"
She has heard about some cases, but she didn't know it was as real as Mr. Loewe was implying. Certainly, there were some harsh truths to tolerate under the Reich.
"Usually, the kids they get to relocate to German families were German as well. but in this case…"
"Please, stop".
"I have to tell you this, Carol", he insists, looking at her again, as he reaches for her hand. "You've been such a great woman. To me, to Lola, to us as a family. You have to know. I can't carry this burden anymore".
He got very close to her, as he held her soft hand firmly.
"She can't know. I know she has learned to be German. She's as pure as any of us, anybody can see that, but if she knows, or the other family knows about her…"
"Mr. Loewe… Please…"
He was clenching his hand, almost hurting her. He lets her go, as she caresses her hand. He was a strong man. She could feel the pressure on her bones. He grabbed her shoulders instead, getting his face so close to her. She could feel his warmth over her, almost… But he backs out, putting his hands behind his back.
"Carol, I need your cooperation from now on in this matter. Do you understand?".
"I do, Mr. Loewe, but… What do you want to do about this, exactly? Don't you plan to make the family…?"
"No, no, nothing like that!" He exclaimed, getting ahead to her words. "We'll be leaving Danzig sooner than expected. The family doesn't have to know we were here, and Lola doesn't have to know anything about them anymore. But I require you to make sure that, until we leave, Lola does NOT get any close to them".
Ms. Pinger felt very nervous He knew how Mr. Loewe was when a problem needed a final solution.
"If I may, what would you do if Lola knows anything about this, or somehow gets too close to them?"
Mr. Loewe didn't answer with anything more than a stare that could kill a man with its piercing concentration. Ms. Pinger gulped, and decided to not ask further.
"I'd do anything for my little girl" he said, walking to the door, "And I'd ask you to have the same disposition".
Ms. Pinger didn't say more. A powerful sense of dread loomed over her. She walked out of the office as soon as Mr. Loewe opened the door, walked through the hallways, and left the building, completely ignoring the warm goodbye of little Lola Loewe, the purest Aryan girl to come from the Lebensborn program.