Disclaimer: Neither Hetalia nor its characters belong to me. Both belong to their respective author.

Warnings: war issues, rapes, etc.

The story will be told in the first person by my OC. This story is inspired by the German film Ein Frau in Berlin (A Woman in Berlin); if you have not seen the film I recommend it.

PRELUDE

The dust in the streets, like fog in a cold morning, prevented anyone from seeing beyond anything, and even if you did, everything was diffuse and unrecognizable. Noises and shots were common to hear, and the anguish was a feeling that many had embedded in their chest, as I did.

Since January, the Russian army has not stopped advancing and it was said that the fall would be imminent. And even so, we would resist. Surrender? Lose? Until a few years ago this seemed impossible, laughable. Even though everything seemed to be lost, deep down I could not believe it. For me, Germany was still standing and fighting and we would not lose until not a single German fell. I still was not really aware of the seriousness of our situation.

Still, for many, the Greater Germany would not lose even if all of Russia came towards us.

With Mrs. Schneider we lived in an old and huge apartment not far from the Reichstag, but not close to it either. If the Russians arrived-what everyone with illusion wanted to not happen-at least I would not be the first to fall. I liked the idea of standing, being the last to fall. Now I know I was confused, desperate, because in the end everyone knew, the Russians would arrive, and when they did, everything would be over.

The Russians stalked us for the east, the English, American and the French in the west. And I always wondered who I hated the most? Well, hatred towards an enemy is proportional to how close you are to them, and now, the Russians were the closest.

Because I still did not fall into the idea that everything would end soon, I was not so worried about my family, who lived in Düsseldorf and others in Bavaria. What really anguished and worried me was Germany.

But I was in Berlin, in Berlin and in the last days of all that. I had left for Berlin with him in 1940, and I had never been able to leave. And I would not do it now.

In those days, I had seen death in person many times, and many times I had ripped the soul of the impression, but something always made me feel slightly optimistic. It was as if, Germany, my beloved Germany took me the face and forced me to look up still, to raise my face and keep fighting.

I would dare to say that I remember how it all started, and that I remember everything before all this but it would be a lie. I was only 12 years old when the Führer * had arrived and Nazism enveloped Germany. Anything before that was irrelevant to everyone because what does it matter? The world was gray for Germany before that, and everything got better when they arrived, that's all that matters, everything they told us that mattered. And for me, who grew up with them, it was really strange that from one day to the next, all that, my entire world and all the images that "glorified" Germany, were going to fall. Nobody really expects it. And if that ended, then the world would die for all. And soon everything would end, evidently.

Reality would not wait to hit us, and reality came dressed in red.

When the Russians arrived in our area, it was April 26, 1945, and it was a day that ... well ...

Many times I wanted to catalog that day. The worst day of my life? Maybe. The day of truth? A Before and an after? Whatever it was, for better or for worse, it was horrible.

At first, at dusk, I heard shots and shouts, the soldiers were stirring like bees in the hive. Among the debris and dust, and death, all prepared to resist. When I heard what was happening, I heard the tanks, the shots and the war cries, my heart almost stopped. I ran to our apartment with Mrs. Schneider, and we locked ourselves in there, like everyone else did. And through the window, between the curtains, as night fell, we saw how the soldiers and officers, and the children resisted. Mrs. Schneider did not like the children to participate, but we were a hive, one that tried to take care of our home, Germany.

That night, I embraced old Mrs. Schneider and begged, whoever it was, I begged, even though I knew it was useless.

It was not until three in the morning when everything arrived at its destination. Soon, by simple deduction the Soviets advanced over the German forces, so the German forces had to retreat, leaving us all alone, with the Soviets in our streets. The noises, the shots and the screams alerted us.

I quickly got dressed and together with Mrs. Schneider we heard the old wood of the building creak, and the noise coming from the streets. Even with the Russians in the streets I still did not fall for the idea of what was happening. But I would. Oh yes I would.

Suddenly, from the stairs and corridors we heard screams and people talking, so Mrs. Schneider, fearing that something would happen between the neighbors, like a mutiny or uprising against the Soviets-which would end in a shooting where we would all die-went to see what happened, leaving me alone in the wait.

The wait was long and after spending about 20 minutes I became impatient and scared. The noises, the voices and the open doors abruptly became more intense, so I could not calm down easily and soon, I wanted to go out and look for Mrs. Schneider, and see with my own eyes what was going on outside. But that could not be, something prevented me.

When I was about to leave the room, five Russian soldiers suddenly appeared in the room, blocking my way. It was there, perhaps, when I knew everything was over much earlier than I had thought.

One of them, tall, imposing, with silver hair and penetrating eyes,-he looked like an officer-, was blocking my way, standing in front of the door of the room. I do not know what my face was, my expression, but I felt like a mouse before him, who had a grim smile. They were in front of me. The Russians had arrived.

*Führer: form in which Hitler was called, which means in German "Leader"

Here the first chapter! It will not be a long story, notice. I hope you found the reading enjoyable.

It seemed to me that there was not much about these issues so I wanted to do it about this, although always with respect to all those people who suffered in those times and those who suffer today.

In addition, I have relatives whose parents were children in Berlin during the occupation, so I have juicy information for the matter.

Until the next chapter!