War Criminal
Prolouge
Germany, 1940
Joseph Stoppable grabbed whatever he could in his small apartment and threw
it into his bag. The Nazis have been in power for seven years, each year
being hell for Jews. The Nazis' anti-Semitic policies became increasingly
more visible since their coming to power. The boycott of Jewish shops, the
firing of Jewish officials from government posts, and the wearing of the
Star of David on their clothes. Joseph knew that he had to leave Germany
soon. He cursed himself for not leaving sooner. With Germany waging war
with Britain and invading several countries in several weeks he wondered
why didn't he always left. It wasn't until he saw several of his friends
and family members dragged off by the Nazis when Joseph decided to leave.
Thankfully a friend of his planned to secretly leave Germany by boat with
several other people and it was leaving tonight. Joseph finished packing
the last of his possessions. As he headed for the door he stopped to rip
off the yellow card on his coat. He walked out to the street trying to act
nonchalantly. As he turned a corner he saw two SS soldiers coming towards
him. Joseph tried to act calm and not attract the soldiers' attention, but
they him any way.
"Halt! Who are you? Where are your identification papers?" asked one of the
soldiers.
"My name is Joseph Stoppable. Here are my papers," replied Joseph giving
the soldier a set of fake identification papers given to him by his friend.
"What are doing out at night after curfew? What's in the bag?" asked the
other guard.
"I am going to a friend's house for the evening," said Joseph trying to act
cool.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers grabbed his bag, reached inside and grabbed a
shirt with a yellow star sewn on it. Joseph couldn't believe his stupidity.
Now the SS soldiers know he was Jewish. He ran, but the soldiers grabbed
him. The next thing that was he was on a train to some unknown destination
with other Jews and other people deemed "sub-human" or "undesirable" by the
Nazis. He later found out that his friend was caught and arrested by the
Nazis that night.
Eventually, the train stopped. When the soldiers opened the doors of their
car there were already a dozen people dead from suffocation in the crowded
car. The next four years were filled with pain and suffering for Joseph and
the other prisoners at the Menowitz concentration camp. People were beaten,
gassed and shot on a daily basis. By some miracle of God Joseph survived
when American soldiers liberated the camp. He weighed only 98 pounds and
could hardly stand but he survived. After a year recovering, Joseph got on
the first ship to America. He later settled in a town called Middleton, got
married and raised several children. One of his sons later got married and
had a son named Ronald.
Prolouge
Germany, 1940
Joseph Stoppable grabbed whatever he could in his small apartment and threw
it into his bag. The Nazis have been in power for seven years, each year
being hell for Jews. The Nazis' anti-Semitic policies became increasingly
more visible since their coming to power. The boycott of Jewish shops, the
firing of Jewish officials from government posts, and the wearing of the
Star of David on their clothes. Joseph knew that he had to leave Germany
soon. He cursed himself for not leaving sooner. With Germany waging war
with Britain and invading several countries in several weeks he wondered
why didn't he always left. It wasn't until he saw several of his friends
and family members dragged off by the Nazis when Joseph decided to leave.
Thankfully a friend of his planned to secretly leave Germany by boat with
several other people and it was leaving tonight. Joseph finished packing
the last of his possessions. As he headed for the door he stopped to rip
off the yellow card on his coat. He walked out to the street trying to act
nonchalantly. As he turned a corner he saw two SS soldiers coming towards
him. Joseph tried to act calm and not attract the soldiers' attention, but
they him any way.
"Halt! Who are you? Where are your identification papers?" asked one of the
soldiers.
"My name is Joseph Stoppable. Here are my papers," replied Joseph giving
the soldier a set of fake identification papers given to him by his friend.
"What are doing out at night after curfew? What's in the bag?" asked the
other guard.
"I am going to a friend's house for the evening," said Joseph trying to act
cool.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers grabbed his bag, reached inside and grabbed a
shirt with a yellow star sewn on it. Joseph couldn't believe his stupidity.
Now the SS soldiers know he was Jewish. He ran, but the soldiers grabbed
him. The next thing that was he was on a train to some unknown destination
with other Jews and other people deemed "sub-human" or "undesirable" by the
Nazis. He later found out that his friend was caught and arrested by the
Nazis that night.
Eventually, the train stopped. When the soldiers opened the doors of their
car there were already a dozen people dead from suffocation in the crowded
car. The next four years were filled with pain and suffering for Joseph and
the other prisoners at the Menowitz concentration camp. People were beaten,
gassed and shot on a daily basis. By some miracle of God Joseph survived
when American soldiers liberated the camp. He weighed only 98 pounds and
could hardly stand but he survived. After a year recovering, Joseph got on
the first ship to America. He later settled in a town called Middleton, got
married and raised several children. One of his sons later got married and
had a son named Ronald.