Chapter Eight - October, 1944 - Big Troubles

The night eerily silent, Heidi sensed trouble afoot as she followed her siblings past an immense stream of homes. Heidelberg was always dark at night, thanks to continued Allied air raids, but this time, it felt ominously lifeless.

Suddenly, she looked around, and her brothers had disappeared. Behind her, a bevy of monsters followed after her, their feet stomping harshly as they sped up, ready to overtake her. "Young lady, you are helping to hide Jews," they kept bellowing at her. Finally, she tripped and fell face down, screaming.

"Heidi, wake up," her youngest brother mumbled as Gretchen ran in. Heinrich tried to jostle her awake, while appearing himself to be practically sleepwalking. Gretchen picked up the wailing child as she arose from her slumber.

"It is all right, my dear," soothed her mother, "it was only a dream." Oskar ran in as well, as Albert and Carl snoozed downstairs with the Rubins. Gretchen rocked the little girl back and forth, wondering if all their nights would be like this since the Gestapo had commandeered the house next door. Heidi's sobs became more muffled, though she still cried.

Oskar directed Heinrich to "watch the wall," and sat next to his mother and Heidi. "That will make her feel a little safer, with someone watching the window." The monsters may be imaginary, the lad pondered, but they're her mind's view of the Gestapo.

"He is barely awake," came from Gretchen's weary lips before she could stop it. "I guess he will do, it is the Lord who will truly be watching."

"Make him watch all night, I am scared," sobbed the girl. Once again, thought her mother, even when we are not with them, we see what the Rubins must be going through. She began to lowly sing "Jesus loves me" and rock her to sleep.

"Mother, how about we take turns watching the window at night..."

"No, Oskar, you all have school, and you must keep learning and keep your grades up for after the war." Gretchen sighed. "If you've had no sleep a couple nights that is one thing, it is why I let you rotate on school nights even though they may keep you awake. But after a while..."

"Mother, we are in much more danger now. Heidi senses that, even though we try to hide it, we all sense it." He thought a second. "At the very least, most of us should be sleeping in the basement."

Gretchen grew amazed at her eldest's willingness to sacrifice. First he wants us to give up sleep, then to risk illness by sleeping in a drafty basement, the woman thought. She discerned that he and the others would flee right away - they did not feel the same loyalty to the Fatherland she did. To them, the leaders were the Fatherland, and all were corrupt. Or, did she feel something more, too? Perhaps, Gretchen considered, we have tried to hang on to this home, to this life, hoping that we could reclaim it after the war.

Yes, she deduced as she sung her little girl to sleep, part of why they stayed at first was so Hans would be unsuspected, but most of it was the faith that their leaders would be overthrown before they needed to flee. They simply felt God would protect them. He has so far, she reminded herself, but one day the devil could get in. That hand of protection could be lifted. She began to comprehend the pain and torment the Rubins must have gone through when leaving their children with her. The Gestapo had gotten to the Rubins first. Would they get to them?

As Heidi dozed off, Gretchen whispered to Oskar that "we should stay on Level Two from now on, but we did not even sleep down there before when you father was here and didn't know."

"We knew he was safe, though, we just didn't follow through on our faith." Oskar remarked that "at the very least, let Heinrich and Heidi sleep there."

"They are the ones I most worry about. You do a fine job, but they really need me to fully comfort them after nightmares." Gretchen recoiled at the thought that Oskar and Albert might sleep upstairs and she in the basement. No, she told herself, if anyone is to draw the Gestapo's attention it will be me. She had given almost every ounce of her strength to keep her children from worrying about capture, and to maintain their distance from any implication that they might be harboring Jews. She could not let them take that chance.

She informed him there would be no major changes, but added one little item. "If you wish, since there are often two of you sleeping down there now, Heinrich and Heidi can sleep in your room with you." Oskar finally relented, and walked out to inform Heinrich of the decision.

The eight-year-old gazed into the murky, depressing streets. So as not to startle the boy, Oskar said "it is me, Oskar" as he walked into the incredibly dark living room, faces barely visible. Pale moonlight meant the Allies likely would not bomb, but one never knew. "Hey, buddy," came the older brother's voice. The sleepy child lit up a little.

"Are they gonna come tonight," Heinrich wondered seriously, too tired to appear overly worried. Oskar knew he might ask that for the rest of the war.

"I just said that to make Heidi feel better." Oskar knew they could come, but he remained truthful about the main purpose of the order, so the boy wouldn't get scared. "You and Heidi are sleeping in our room. It will make escapes quicker."

Heinrich nodded slowly. He increasingly wished to know what the outcome would be. He wasn't as troubled as Heidi, but he knew things could get very nasty. "How are we going to use the emergency tunnel if that man is next door?"

"He cannot see the barrel one, and Albert will go up first to distract him if we must use the one in his yard and he is home." The fifteen-year-old felt shock at how casually he spoke of escapes. What must Mother think about all day, he asked himself, if I ponder daring breakouts as if I spoke the multiplication tables? What have they done to us?

Heinrich couldn't sleep, so they spent half an hour reading the Bible in Oskar's room before going to bed. At least God has given us refuge, he pondered as he nodded off, because it feels like we have no Earthly hideaway. Our very neighborhood is now infested with evil.

With Level Two status maintained for over a week, the children could sense that their mother poured even more of her heart into their efforts than usual. Indeed, she somehow sensed they should flee, but wanted to hold on to their lives, to have something to live for after the war. Seeking to hold on to their home, while awaiting a chance to take Hans with them - and, perhaps, the rest of their family, for if he were taken in, the Gestapo might also suspect his siblings and in-laws - the matriarch convinced them to remain.

Peeking out windows proved challenging but doable; games could always be played near them, for instance. Exercises increased as the group prepared for a possible evacuation. The children didn't mind it a great deal - to the youngest, it simply meant more competition to notice odd shapes, colors, etc.

To Gretchen, however, the task proved enormous. Her skin more wrinkled, her hair graying substantially, and her increased tiredness demonstrated that something provided a terrible strain for her. She quickly blamed it on the war and the approaching Allies, but family members detected something more, especially talking to her shortly after an incident early one morning.

As Gretchen read to Moses in the basement, and Micah and Isaac played with construction toys, a low "thump" was heard near the position of the first emergency exit. Gretchen sat up with a start, as the Jewish children scampered into the hideout. Micah considered venturing out to investigate, but Gretchen pushed him back. With the others at school, something rarely - which, for them, meant only a couple times a month - practiced could occur. "If I am not back in five minutes," she whispered to Micah, "hide until the others get home, I will leave something." She took a piece of chalk from their blackboard and inscribed a tiny numeral five on the wall above the box.

She inched over to the tunnel and peeked into it. Good, she thought, no people. She noticed a packet similar to their own false papers, but larger. It was the Hoovers' contacts, along with the names of several other Jews hiding in the area. The coded message indicated that Frederick was in Gestapo custody, and that Ada had dropped off these items. This mildly relieved the woman, as Frederick involved himself mostly in sabotage work. However, the situation was desperate enough for Ada to abandon her role.

The mother quickly slipped the items inside her blouse and informed the Jewish children of the situation. The desire to flee became all the more real, and she sensed that now, escape would be required very soon. She ran upstairs, checked the windows, and grabbed the Rubins' false papers. They would remain with them the whole time now.

"What is happening," Isaac whispered.

"Our friend, Esther, has had to close the business," Gretchen explained. Thinking a second, she pondered that someone could have seen the emergency tunnel; at least the first one. She instructed them to "stay near the barrel exit for now, till the others get home."

She telephoned the other contacts and told them to get the Jews out quickly if they wished to leave. Of course, with Frederick taken in for questioning, that didn't mean the Jews in hiding would be targeted, or even known of, but things would get much trickier. For instance, Gretchen now needed to go to a different grocery store. She would venture to a market which was slightly closer to them - only blocks away - but at which she hadn't shopped in several years.

Gretchen visited that story a few weeks later, once all the children were home from school. The thought of leaving Oskar to watch everything would never get any easier to handle. After pondering successful trips to other places, however, she felt all would go well.

Though she saw nobody snooping around in her new choice of markets, Gretchen couldn't help but sense that someone might be watching her. She quickly dismissed the fear, as she'd felt this way many other times.

Suddenly, one of her neighbors walked up to her, pointed at the immense amount of food she purchased, and exclaimed "you are shopping for Jews!" Gretchen quickly noticed grease of some kind on her accuser's hands, and wondered how it got there.

Remaining calm by puzzling over that oddity, she forced herself to turn her nervousness into laughter, the mother snickered. "What are you talking about? You have never seen my five children eat," she added.

"You helped the Rubins in 1938, they hid in your house," came the denouncing tone, speaking daggers at her. "You like Jews!"

"I have no clue what you are talking about," remarked Gretchen, suddenly deciding to take her items up front and pay for them without completing the rest of her shopping. She could always drive to another business the following day. "And even if I did, that doesn't mean any have received my help. What you are saying is insane."

"I have been watching how much food you buy, and you'd better be ready to thank me for not turning you in!" The woman recalled that Hans and Gretchen hid the Rubins in their home during the "Night of the Broken Glass six years ago, and had sought to catch the woman violating the Nazi's policy. However, she'd never seen any evidence with which she could call the Gestapo. She'd told Gretchen's newest neighbor her suspicions, but he'd gone back to her after talking with Gretchen and replied that there appeared to him no cause to investigate.

Gretchen couldn't tell if the woman was making up her promise not to report. However, she couldn't afford to sound like she was admitting anything. On the other hand, if she dared the neighbor to call the Gestapo, they could easily be there before she got home. And, she couldn't bear the thought of Oskar having to face those monsters alone, leading the escape. She sincerely hoped it would be her, just in case she had to sacrifice herself.

So, she simply stared at the lady and remarked candidly that "You know very well that the Rubins were deported in January of 1941."

"They were not the only Jews in Germany," hissed the woman, and suddenly Gretchen realized that she was suspected for hiding someone other than the Rubin children.

She hoped she could make it home in time to pick up the children. Dear Lord, she prayed silently, I know it was You telling me we should flee. Let the children all make it safely, no matter what I must suffer, prayed the woman as she shoved the packages beside her in the front seat and tried to drive toward home. However, the car's engine wouldn't start. It was just then she realized why the woman's hands had been dirty.

Ignoring the items and the car, Gretchen took off running toward her house, praying that she would make it in time.

The dull, dreary day did not lend itself to nature watching. Indeed, it proved to be the perfect day to work indoors. As Heidi read a book and Heinrich played with the Rubins downstairs, Carl scanned the area outside the window. Oskar and Albert calmly discussed the situation. "Know what I look forward to the most after the war," Oskar wondered.

"What is that?"

"The reaction of a Sunday School teacher who asks who Ahab was." Both giggled as the eldest remarked that "instead of a wicked king, I bet you at least one of the youngest children would say 'the Gestapo.'"

Heidi glanced up from her book. "But, Ahab was with the Gestapo, wasn't he?"

"Ja," teased Albert, "Ahab begat Atilla and Atilla begat Adolf and his cronies..."

Carl perked up his ears as he noticed a car which looked to be moving slower than usual. Though it stood well over a block away, he stated "Maybe Ahab," as he had a couple other times. Heidi scurried to the window, flinging down the book. Oskar called out "Level Three" as Albert ran and grabbed the false papers - except for Gretchen's, which she carried, and the Rubins', which were on them at all times now - just in case as the auto moved toward them. So few people had cars this late in the war, the likelihood that a car was from the Gestapo rose dramatically. Albert also opened the trap door and called down the order to Heinrich. Without "drill" in front of it, the younger children knew a general evacuation could occur. Micah, as the oldest, ensured all had their papers as they went toward an emergency exit.

Heidi signaled them she knew what to look for, thus relieving them of that concern. Carl checked that the door was locked, then stood at the top of the basement steps, as a backup for Heidi and in case he had to run downstairs with her. She knew the stakes stood much higher, but still felt nervous around smaller concerns, such as that dark stairwell. She and Heinrich likely don't understand the full ramifications, mused Oskar, but perhaps that is best.

Heinrich heard the call, and ran with the Jewish hideaways to the start of their emergency tunnel. He could easily shimmy up the tree trunk and out; the barrel was another story. It being heavier, he needed one of his older brothers to tip it.

"Is the Gestapo here," whispered Micah anxiously as the others said a quick prayer. Moses whimpered a little, and Heinrich gave him a hug.

"I do not know what is happening upstairs," came the voice laced with nervous laughter. All I know is we need to be ready to run, and run fast, he told himself, going over the route they'd traveled earlier and recalling his own fake name. And, that I am ready to let the Lord use me to slay a Goliath if one should come.

Heidi gazed thoughtfully, noticing every detail but paying special attention to the approaching vehicle and any other cars. She felt only a vague fear, for long-term consequences still weren't part of the seven-year-old's general thinking. Her nightmares about the Gestapo consisted more of worries over monsters, such as those creatures in fairy tales.

This was simply a favorite game. Either she or Heinrich would look for many things in preparation for this moment. Now that code words had been spoken, she knew exactly what to look for - the car slowing, perhaps pulling toward the curb - and would be not be distracted. The strain apparent on the others' faces didn't show nearly as much on hers. In a way, Oskar pondered, her faith is the purest of all.

As they pondered how efficiently everything worked for an instant, Heidi scrutinized the car like a hawk, her nose pressing further against the pane as Oskar intently looked that way, just one of many fail-safes in their many plans. She recalled how proud she'd been made to feel when she noticed the yellow butterflies, or the people wearing some odd color - even if it was only one speck on a hat, sometimes before Oskar or her mother saw them. Her muscles tensed, she looked like a soccer goalie ready to block a shot.

The girl bolted from the window as the car edged slightly toward the curb and slowed coming through the intersection. She hollered "Ahab's car," which sent the children scampering further. The girl ran to the basement door yelling "Level five, move to emergency one" down the basement steps as Carl led her down the flight. Heidi grinned broadly as Albert scooted down the rope ladder. She recalled the basement call as normally Gretchen's, Oskar's, or Albert's, out of fear the child could not remember little details. However, they'd done well in limiting her's and Heinrich's roles to this. Because of the narrow realm in which she'd worked, she'd performed her task quite well, with no difficulties in remembering those several little codes.

As Albert slid down the ladder, and Heidi ducked and ran down with Carl, Heinrich yelled "toss me mine" to Albert, who checked as he ran and distributed the necessary identity papers. With each of the Rubin children having their own papers, Heinrich rushed up the emergency tunnel before Albert could order him to halt. The boy stopped abruptly, just before opening the hatch. He could go back down if needed, but felt at "Level Five," this was the best route.

Oskar hollered down the Gestapo's positions and number, peeked at the door to ensure it was locked, and waited at the top of the steps. He would need to go down quickly enough to get away, but slowly enough that he could tell if any of them goose-stepped over to Mrs. Mueller's. Praying, he dashed down the steps, locking the door behind him. Those two locked doors would save them precious seconds.

Albert insisted upon going second, as he could help the younger ones up the escape hatch. He'd wanted to go first, however, because of the danger that an agent might see him; Carl could handle the younger ones for a while as Albert stalled. Indeed, with false papers, Micah could have done so, though this would have been an extreme last resort.

Heinrich opened the hatch and whispered down "clear one." He looked around and hopped out of the brush, then realized that one agent had seen him just as the Gestapo were breaking down their front door.