Hammelburg, Outside of Johann Mueller's Shoe Shop
October 20, 1943, 1900 hours
Ilse Wagner had just turned eighteen years old. She was a pretty young woman, and not dissatisfied with her lot in life. Her mother had died at the beginning of the war – the doctors had said it was a tumor of some kind in her brain. But Ilse lived with her father, Friedrich, and two brothers on the family farm just outside of Hammelburg. Life was hard and the family didn't have very much, but they did have each other. This made them a close-knit family. Ilse was the baby of the family, being twelve years younger than her brother Karl. Her other brother Hans was two years older than Karl, and was the more protective of his baby sister.
Ilse worked in the shoe shop of Johann Mueller in Hammelburg, keeping the books, greeting customers and cleaning up the shop. She knew that Johann didn't really need her help in the shop, but had given her the job out of friendship with her father. He had said that she added a bright spark to an otherwise drab shoe shop. She was grateful for the extra money and gladly gave it to her father to help support the family. Her father wanted her to keep the money and treat herself to some of the things a young woman wanted, such as nicer clothes, but Ilse refused, saying that her family was more important than clothes.
Every evening, after the shop closed, she would remain behind and clean up. Johann didn't like the idea of her remaining so late and having to walk home alone. But every night, her father or one of her brothers would come to accompany her back to the farm, so Johann agreed to let her stay late. Usually, Karl or Hans would walk home with her, as both of them worked as handymen and did odd jobs around the town. She enjoyed the nights when both of them would accompany her home.
Tonight when she locked up, she did not see anyone waiting for her. She thought about waiting for someone to show up, but the October evenings were starting to have that chill that signaled the onset of the winter months. She knew that she would feel warmer if she were walking, so she decided not to wait. This did not bother her, as she had done it before. Hans had not been happy the first time she walked home alone, but she just teased him about being too overprotective of her.
She snuggled in her coat as she began walking. Although it was cold, it was a nice night. There were few clouds, and the moon was shining its soft white light on the town. She was walking along the road that would lead her out of town and to her home. The streets were mostly deserted at this time of night, so the town was quiet. She could hear the dogs barking at Oskar Schnitzer's kennel at the edge of town and an occasional voice or two in conversation, but mostly all she could hear was the stillness.
As she was passing the Hofbrau at the edge of town, the door opened and two young men in Gestapo uniforms half stumbled out into the night. They emerged so suddenly, that one of them bumped into her and knocked her to the ground. The men looked down at her as she lay there, neither of them offered to help her to her feet.
"Well look at what we have here, Hans," said the man that bumped into her. "Ein schönes Fräulein that doesn't watch where she's going."
"I see, Franz," Hans replied. "Ein sehr schönes Fräulein."
Ilse struggled to her feet and began to walk away. She could tell that the men were drunk, and she wanted to get away from them as soon as she could.
Hans stepped in front of her, blocking her way. "Where are you going in such a hurry, schönes Fräulein?" he asked. "You should apologize to my friend for bumping into him."
"Ja, that was very rude of you," Franz added.
Ilse looked at the two men. She had a brief notion telling them what she really thought, but knew that would only cause more trouble. "I'm sorry," she said curtly. "Now please, I must get home," she said as she tried to walk around Hans.
Hans grabbed her arm and said, "Not so fast. Maybe we would like to talk to you."
"Nein," she replied. "I really must get home."
"It's the least you can do, after so rudely bumping into me," Franz said, moving closer to her, a menacing smile appearing on his face.
"I said I was sorry," Ilse replied meekly.
"Maybe you do not like us?" Hans asked.
"I do not know you," Ilse replied.
"Then maybe you should stay and get to know us," Hans said forcefully. He gripped her arm tighter as he said it. "You might like us."
Ilse looked around for someone to help her. She saw no one on the street. "Please, let me go home," she pleaded.
Franz stepped closer and began to caress her cheek. "Hans, schönes Fräulein doesn't want to talk to us," he said.
Ilse jerked her head away from his touch and pulled her arm free of Hans' grasp. Once free, she tried to run away from them. She thought that if she could get into the Hofbrau, someone in there could help her.
Hans reached for her and grabbed her coat. The buttons of her coat ripped off, and she struggled to let it fall free. As she struggled, Franz stepped in front of her and grabbed the front of her dress.
"Nein, nein, schönes Fräulein," he said softly. "I'm afraid we must insist that you stay and talk with us."
"Please let me go," Ilse sobbed. Tears started falling down her face.
The two men did not listen to her. Instead, they walked her down the sidewalk towards a car parked by the curb.
"Please, no," she pleaded louder. She was scared now, as she realized that there was no way for her to get away from them. "Please let me go," she yelled.
Hans and Franz shoved her into the back of the car. Hans climbed into the back with Ilse while Franz got in the car, started it and drove away.
As the car drove away, Karl Wagner appeared from around the corner. He had been at Oskar Schnitzer's reinforcing his dog pens used for the dogs Oskar supplied to the local Luft Stalag. He was running late and was hoping to get to Johann's shop before his sister left for home.
As the Gestapo car drove past him, he was unaware that his sister was inside.
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They pushed her out of the car onto the side of the road, and drove away. Before the door closed, she could hear the laughter of the two men coming from the car. For several minutes, she lay sobbing on the roadside. Why? What did I do to deserve this? I didn't do anything to them. Why would they do this to me? She sobbed harder as she remembered the things Hans and Franz had done to her. She felt dirty and used. She shivered with the memory of their hands touching her body. She sobbed, Why?
After a while, she began to get cold. She knew she should get up and make her way home. Her fathers and brothers would be worried about her. Oh, what will my father think of me now? She found her coat, where they had thrown it beside her. Her dress was ripped down the front, exposing her skin to the cold. She shivered harder now, as she put her coat on. Looking around, she tried to determine where they had dropped her. She realized that they had not dropped her very far from her home, and she started walking in that direction.
As she approached her house, she began to cry again. She felt so ashamed that this had happened to her. She was afraid of what her father and brothers would think of her now, afraid that they would not think her respectable anymore. She reached the door and hesitated, afraid to go in.
She waited until she had stopped crying before opening the door. At the sound of the door opening, her father and brothers all leapt from the chairs they were sitting in.
"Ilse, where were you?" Karl asked. "I stopped by the shop and you had already gone."
Before she could reply, her father said, "You've been crying. And your clothes ... Ilse, what has happened?" He had a look of concern on his face.
She started to sob again as she told her family what had happened. They listened quietly until she had finished the story.
"Those animals!" Hans shouted. "I'll kill them!"
"Hans, no!" Ilse cried. "They are Gestapo, they will kill you."
"I don't care," Hans replied. "They can't get away with this." Hans got up to get his coat.
"Where are you going?" Friedrich asked his son.
"I'm going to find them and kill them," Hans replied angrily.
"Nein!" Friedrich replied.
Hans stopped and looked at his father. Before he could reply, Karl spoke up, "But Father, they cannot be allowed to get away with this."
Friedrich shook his head. "No, they shouldn't," he replied. "But I am the head of the family, and this is my responsibility."
Hans looked at his father in disbelief. "You are going to kill them?" he asked.
Friedrich shook his head. "Nein," he replied. "I am going to report this to the Gestapo. They will deal with it."
"Father, they were the Gestapo," Karl replied. "They will do nothing."
"And if we kill them, they will do something," Friedrich replied, "to us."
"But Father," Hans began.
"Nein!" Friedrich replied forcefully. "You must let me handle this. You two stay here with your sister. Please see that she is not hurt."
"Father, do not go alone," Ilse begged. "I don't want you to get hurt."
Friedrich walked over to his daughter and embraced her tightly. "Ilse dear," he said softly. "They cannot hurt me any more than they already have by what they did to you."
He put on his coat and left the house.
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Friedrich Wagner stood in front of Major Hochstetter's desk in Gestapo Headquarters. The police had refused to talk to him further, once he said that two Gestapo men were involved.
"So, Herr Wagner," Hochstetter said. "You say that two of my men, who called themselves Hans and Franz, attacked your daughter?"
Friedrich nodded. "Yes, Herr Major," he replied. "It happened tonight."
"And you have proof that it was two on my men?" Hochstetter asked.
"Proof?" Friedrich asked. "My daughter told me that they were wearing Gestapo uniforms and called each other Hans and Franz," he said. "And they drove her away in a Gestapo car."
"So she got in the car with them?" Hochstetter asked smoothly, a small humorless smile stretched the corners of his mouth.
"She was forced into the car," Friedrich replied forcefully.
"Herr Wagner, there is no need to raise your voice at me," Hochstetter purred.
"Major Hochstetter," Friedrich said angrily. "My daughter was attacked tonight by two of your men. I demand that you do something about it."
Major Hochstetter smiled a cold, humorless smile. "Herr Wagner, who are you to make demands on the Gestapo?" he asked slowly.
"Major Hochstetter, excuse me please," replied Friedrich. "My daughter was violated and that upsets me." Friedrich paused, looking at the wall above Hochstetter's head. "But surely you cannot allow your men to treat an eighteen year old girl that way," he continued.
Hochstetter chuckled without humor. "Eighteen years old is no longer a girl, Herr Wagner," he said.
"It shouldn't matter whether she is eighteen or eighty," Friedrich said tightly.
"Ah, but it does, Herr Wagner," Hochstetter replied. "You said that she got in the car with these men."
"She was forced into the car," Friedrich corrected.
"So she says," Hochstetter countered. "You have given me no proof of that. She is only eighteen. She may have been hoping that my men would pay her some attention, and when they didn't, she could have made up the story."
"But her clothes were torn," Friedrich said.
Hochstetter shrugged. "She could have done that herself," he replied.
Friedrich couldn't believe his ears. "Why would she do that?" he asked.
Hochstetter shrugged again. "A woman scorned," he said casually.
"Nein!" Friedrich said loudly. "My daughter would not do that."
"If you say so, Herr Wagner," Hochstetter replied. "So let us assume that she didn't."
Friedrich nodded. He hoped that now the Major would do something about it. As soon as Hochstetter spoke again, he knew that hope was in vain.
"I do know that many young women have some interesting ways of making extra money," Hochstetter said. "Perhaps your daughter went willingly with these men, and they refused to pay her price for the services. And to get back at them, she claims that they forced her against her will."
Friedrich exploded. "How dare you suggest that my daughter is that kind of girl!"" he screamed.
"Herr Wagner," Hochstetter yelled back, rising from his seat. "I have sat here long enough listening to this. You come here and accuse my men of a minor indiscretion and show me no proof."
"A minor indiscretion?" Friedrich asked incredulously. "And what would you consider a major indiscretion?"
"Herr Wagner," Hochstetter said through clenched teeth, "you are on the verge of committing a major indiscretion. I have listened to you long enough, and you have failed to convince me. I suggest that you return home now, and I will forget that you have made unwarranted accusations against the Gestapo."
Friedrich stared at the Major. He couldn't believe that this was happening. "What kind of world do we live in, if we let this kind of thing go unpunished," he said softly.
Hochstetter laughed out loud. "It is a new world and you had better get used to it, Herr Wagner," he said. "Because there is nothing you can do about it." Hochstetter motioned towards the door. "Now, if you please," he said with a smile on his face.
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A stunned Friedrich Wagner had walked home. He couldn't believe that this could happen. His daughter was attacked, and the police would do nothing about it. Not only would they not do anything, they mocked him and all but called his daughter a prostitute.
When he got home, he told his family what happened in town. Ilse listened stoically, no hint of expression on her face. It was as if she had buried herself behind a wall for protection. The only hint of emotion she showed was that her eyes were glassy and wet. But she refused to let the tears escape.
Karl Wagner simply sat, listening to his father speak. The whole time he was looking at his dear sister. Why would someone do this to you? You're a sweet wonderful girl, and this has to happen to you. Ilse, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you left for home. Why didn't you wait for me? If I had been there, none of this would have happened. Please forgive me, Ilse. I promise that I will not let this go unpunished. Somehow, someway, those men will pay for what they did to you.
Hans Wagner reacted quite differently. As he listened to his father tell what happened, his eyes slowly filled with hate. When Friedrich finished, Hans had yelled and screamed and threatened. Friedrich tried hard to pacify him, to tell him that there was nothing that could be done, but Hans would hear none of it. His whole mind was filled with rage at the monsters that would do that to his sister, and then call her names. He tried to leave the house to hunt the men down, but both Karl and Friedrich blocked the door.
In the end, it was Ilse that managed to get through to Hans. She got up from her chair and walked over to her brother as he paced the room like a caged animal. She looked at him and said, "Hans, please, calm down. There's nothing you can do right now."
He looked at her, still angry. "But what they did to you," he sputtered.
"Hans, I don't want to see you get hurt," she said softly. "Please calm down. Do it for me, please?"
Hans looked at his sister. His heart was breaking with the sorrow he felt for her. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and smiled at her. "I'll calm down, Ilse," he said. "For you." For tonight - But I swear that the men that did this to you will pay with their lives, if it is the last thing I ever do.