Wilhelm Klink (age, 33):

(March 2, 1928)

Wilhelm Klink flipped through the daily mail in his study, passing over half of them and tossing them back onto his desk. A letter from his parents in Dusseldorf, very belated Christmas cards, most of them being bills or recruitment letters to join some new group in Berlin called the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). Those he automatically threw in the trash can. He could care less about some political movement in Berlin. He had left the military in 1923 once reaching the rank of full colonel to move to Hammelburg and become a bookkeeper in protest of the Weimar Republic. Ever since losing his beloved Kaiser and slowly growing accustomed to a new political system, he had grown to hate politics and wanted nothing to do with them. If he could not have his German Empire back, then he would follow God's laws and not those of his country. He still loved Germany with all his heart and was proud to be a German, but its new political system was more than infuriating to him.

He began to tear open a bill for his electricity, when the sound of crying reached his ears. Klink set down the bill on his desk, felt a wide smile come to his face, then hurried into the living room and over to the bassinet that sat in front of the record player. He carefully picked up his little pride and joy, his week old baby daughter: Kalina Mary Klink. She was swaddled in a cream colored, knitted wool blanket and wearing a long sleeved white dress with little baby pink flowers on it for a pattern.

Klink held his daughter close and rocked her from side to side, gently hushing her every so often. The crying eventually quieted down, and Baby Kalina opened her eyes to see her father smiling down at her, his blue eyes twinkling like they had never done so before in his entire life. She simply looked up at him, quiet as could be, then made an attempt to smile and made tiny sounds as she stuck out her tongue.

Klink gently kissed his baby's head and continued to sway her from side to side, forgetting all about the outside world as he gazed down at this little angel in his arms. He had wanted to be a father for as long as he could remember and thought his dream would never become a reality after the Great War and many failed relationships. Then his life was changed forever when he and his wife, Janine, found out they were expecting. Little Kalina was born on a snowy night in February, and Klink fell in love with his daughter at first sight. He loved her like he had never loved anyone else before in his life. She was his entire world. His sunshine in the sky. The very reason he woke up every morning. He didn't need anything else as long as he had his baby girl.

He kissed Kalina's head again and began singing to her, when a knock came to his door. Not expecting anyone to stop by, Klink raised an eyebrow in suspicion and made his way to the door. He opened it and was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find his old commanding officer, Colonel Albert Burkhalter, standing there in full military uniform.

"Colonel Burkhalter, what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to drop by." Klink gasped, a small smile on his face.

"I heard congratulations were in order. You have a new daughter from what Captain Schneider told me," Burkhalter answered, grinning at the little baby in Klink's arms.

Klink lit up again and looked back down at his daughter, who squirmed a bit before getting comfortable again. "I do," he said lovingly. "Kalina Mary Klink."

"She is very lucky. I know she will be very loved…unfortunately, she isn't the main reason for my visit." Burkhalter replied, his grin becoming a serious, somber frown.

Klink's eyebrows furrowed in befuddlement. "What are you doing here then, Herr Oberst? Certainly you are busy with work back in Berlin."

Burkhalter stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I am here to warn you about the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei," he told his previous subordinate.

It was Klink's turn to frown. His eyes turned dark, but kept his anger in control. He would not lose his temper in front of Burkhalter and especially his sweet daughter. "What do they want?" He asked, with a snarl. "They want money, they won't get a single pfennig out of me."

Burkhalter gave Klink a sympathetic look, understanding his deep anger. Losing their Kaiser and empire had been almost as painful as losing a dear loved one, and he knew that Klink had been one of the few who had been hit the hardest by the tragic loss. "I understand your anger, Klink," he said. "I was devastated myself when we lost the war. But we cannot be angry now. Not with the leader of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei on the rise of popularity. His name is Adolf Hitler, and I do not have a good feeling about him."

Klink's expression softened and became curious again. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

Burkhalter let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know…but I have a good feeling he's hiding some hidden agenda. I am not a fan of President von Hindenburg any more than you are, but I have a bad feeling about this man. Have you read 'Mein Kampf'?"

Klink shook his head.

"Avoid it. It is enough to poison one's mind. I fear we might have a dictator among us. And by how popular he is becoming among the German people, I sense real trouble is about to come our way." Burkhalter continued.

Klink's face drained of color, and he swallowed a large knot forming in his throat. Dictator? Were there actually people more angry than he was that they were willing to follow in the steps of a man who was possibly dangerous? And what was this real trouble Burkhalter spoke of? A coup? Discrimination?...Another war? Just the idea of another world war was enough to make him shiver with fear. And the idea of his daughter, who was peacefully sleeping, being exposed to such violence only intensified that fear in him.

The retired colonel held onto Kalina as tight as he could, wanting to protect her as if the real trouble Burkhalter spoke of had just walked right on into his house. "Colonel Burkhalter, you don't think my daughter's life is at harm, do you?"

"Not at the moment. But if this Hitler escalates his popularity any further, I would strongly advise you to censor your daughter's exposure to radio broadcasts and books revolved around the matter. A full grown adult being brainwashed is one thing…it's a much more dangerous matter when a mere child is poisoned. My suspicions could very well be wrong, but I would remain on alert if I were you. We saw what one world war did, I do not wish to see what a second one will bring."

Klink straightened his position, and his face hardened with determination. "You have no worries when it comes to my daughter, Herr Oberst. She will learn nothing other than love and kindness is what keeps this earth functioning." He promised.

"Good. The less people who are swept into this storm among the horizon, the less chance of another war happening." Burkhalter turned to look down at his watch and sighed. "If you excuse me, I must get back to Berlin. I've got more legal documents to go through than there are men in our military currently." He exchanged salutes with Klink, made his way to the front door, then left without another word.

Leaving himself alone again, Klink stood there silently and thought back on what his past commander had told him. What he had warned him about. He rarely, if ever, saw Burkhalter tense about something, but this Hitler fellow really seemed to have the burly colonel's feathers ruffled all over. And if Burkhalter was tense about something, then it had to be something major. And the more Klink thought about it, the more apprehensive he became about it. Germany becoming under a dictatorship? Another world war possibly on the horizon? Wasn't the Great War enough? He had seen people murdered, slaughtered, mentally traumatized for the rest of their lives. He had colleagues from the German Army that still suffered from shell shock.

Would he really have to see another world war? Would his sweet baby daughter have to witness the horrors he had spent years trying to forget? Just the thought of it was enough to give him nightmares. He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a soft little noise. Klink looked down to find Kalina awake and looking up at him with her little blue eyes. Those little blue eyes that made him remember there was good and purity still in this crazy world. He beamed down at his daughter, his eyes flooding with unshed tears as his heart yet again felt the overwhelming feeling of warmth and pure joy of finally being a father.

"Don't you worry, my little sußes," Klink told her softly. "You'll always be safe with me…I'll love you forever and ever. No matter what."

Kalina made some more noises and another attempt at smiling. Klink leaned forward in response, gently kissed his daughter's tiny forehead, then began rocking her from side to side and sang to her 'April Showers' in German. There may have been anger and evil lurking in the world currently, but not Klink's. His world was right there in his arms.