Chapter Nine - The Valley of the Shadow of Death
He froze to see if the man would ignore him, saw he did not, and so rushed forward, recalling instructions in how to stall. These were normally given to the older children in their "family strategy sessions." Resembling one of Dickens' youths in his gray sweater, cap, and clothing that didn't quite fit, he looked ready to trick the agent out of some of his valuables. Albert glared at the boy from the tree trunk, which was open only a smidgen. What is he doing, thought the lad.
"Good afternoon, sir," came Heinrich, dashing obediently up to him - though in a manner so as to appear unhurried - and saluting, all the time thinking of the story of David and Goliath. Knowing he had to hurry, he pretended to trip, and sprawled onto the ground beside the agent. The boy got up behind him, forcing the agent to turn his back to the tree trunk and allowing Albert to quickly rise up, whisper "clear two," and assist the others.
"You, what were you doing back there," barked the Gestapo man. "Where are your papers?"
Heinrich pulled them out melodramatically and dropped them, seeing that the youngest Jewish children were just now emerging.
The agent looked down as Isaac and Moses were led away. Heinrich handed them to the official, wondering how often the Gestapo bashed down doors. "Quit clowning! Hmmm," the agent sneered, looking at the papers. At least he has everything in order, thought the fellow. "What are you doing here, Georg?"
Heinrich answered instantly, recognizing the fake name of Georg Gruber. If God is hiding my true identity from this man, why correct him, Heinrich considered. "I was getting Carl, we are going somewhere." Carl was now getting out, and Heinrich recalled Carl would assist Heidi. Heinrich received back his papers.
"Through the back yard," scoffed the man.
"Mrs. Mueller always said it was okay," the lad remarked, reminding himself not to look scared. As Heidi ascended with Carl's aid, and they freed themselves from some brush, Heinrich spoke to keep the agent distracted from any noise that may occur. "If you do not like us going through, Sir, you will have to talk to Mrs. Mueller, because my mother says always obey older people, and I am sure she is older than you." Ha, he thought, what a laugh, to always obey those who are so evil, who wish to kill my friends. Micah rose as Carl led Heidi, Isaac, and Moses to a spot behind someone's woodpile several houses away. "Why, I bet she could be your mother, maybe even Grandmother. Her husband died in World War One." Heinrich was really hamming it up as Albert assisted Micah up and prepared to take him to the same spot, while Carl led the others further away, to an assigned meeting point.
"Yes, well Mrs. Mueller has been dead for months," he informed the boy
Heinrich shook his head sadly and smacked his lips. Micah and Albert were clear, and Oskar began his ascent. "That is too bad. She was such a nice lady; no wonder we had not seen her lately." Oskar, having locked the back door and concealed their emergency tunnel as best he could under the circumstances, gawked at Heinrich as the boy distracted the agent further.
The Gestapo man showed no emotion. "Well, life goes on. Have you ever seen any Jews at you prowled around the neighborhood?"
"Nein. I have not seen any in a long time."
The agent was flustered, wishing to investigate this lad and his family further, but at the same time anxious to get into the Schultz's home. "Well, we are busy now, get out of here." Yes, thought Oskar, rolling his eyes. Come this way, for goodness sake!
The boy's playfulness got the better of him as Albert led the others to the opposite street on the block and toward the business they'd visited earlier. Heinrich tried to help them by pointing to places completely opposite their escape route. "Well, where shall I go? I can go past that woodpile, through that yard, and then climb a tree. Or I can go around that big house, toward the old castle..."
The agent fumed. "I do not care how you go, just go!"
At that point, Oskar snuck up behind the man, extremely miffed at his younger brother's impromptu acting. "Georg, are you bothering that man, he has work to do," scolded Oskar angrily. Showing the fellow his own phony papers, Oskar said "I am his brother. I hope he is not being a pest."
"As a matter of fact, he is," snarled the agent, slapping the papers back in Oskar's hands.
"Mother and Father are going to be waiting, did you find Carl?"
Heinrich shook his head. "This man will not let me."
"Then let us hurry along, we do not want to keep the general waiting." He pulled Heinrich by the ear, the word "general" preventing the agent from asking about the party, lest he be blamed for holding up a general's affairs. They noticed him enter the home in a huff, then ran rapidly. Oskar saw their mother running toward the house, and flashed five fingers at her. However, Gretchen noticed the neighbor, and insistently waved the boys onward, not wishing the woman to recognize them.
They responded. Oskar just noticed as he glanced back a Gestapo agent stepping outside and looking around, seemingly prepared to try and find the boys for further questioning. The children were now out of view, but just in case, Gretchen walked up to the agent.
The boys sprinted, with Oskar remaining at Heinrich's pace, so they could catch up with the others. The need to get his younger brother to safety overwhelmed the desire to go back and ensure that his mother was okay; he marveled at the parental instinct he'd developed. As they caught up, half a dozen blocks later, a quick perusal of the area showed no Gestapo cars followed them. Hopefully, Mother will come later, they thought, she has her papers.
Carl wiped his brow as he pointed them out and exhaled. "Phew, I guess I can tell my heart it can start beating again," commented the lad.
"I did good at drawing their attention," spoke Heinrich excitedly.
Oskar sighed as they walked briskly with the rest of the group. "I do not know whether to praise you or pound you after you took so long."
"I was just slaying the giant, just like David did to Goliath." Heinrich grinned. "You sound just like David's brothers."
Oskar rebutted by reminding him that "David may have picked up five stones, but he only needed one to kill Goliath. You were firing all five!" This is the chance we took relying on them, I suppose, the eldest considered. He probably figured as long as he wasn't caught with Jews, or didn't say they were hiding Jews, he would be safe. Oh, well, he'd done well before, and Oskar recognized he could still perform a valuable service. Oskar hugged the child as they walked and stated "I love you, and you did a good job at first, but next time once we are all out you leave, do not keep talking to the Gestapo."
"Ja, they are not worth talking to," whispered Albert.
As the sun set, the early evening grew eerie. A low siren penetrated the cold, crisp air, and Heidi began to tremble as she grasped Albert's hand. She murmured "God is good, God is good" like a mantra, the repeated thought coming through her voice as if intense concentration required her to shut off the part of her brain dedicated to keeping thoughts internal. Moses recited the same thing because he heard Heidi doing it. Soon, the sirens fled into the distance.
The group had only walked a mile, and already it seemed like a hundred. Several began reciting their memory verses again, but in the back of his mind Oskar wondered whether that might not arouse more suspicion. Still, as the sky dimmed, and they pondered whether they would make it there before nightfall, the group knew they needed something to keep them occupied. And, right then, nothing but the Lord would do; indeed when did anything else ever do? Never.
Oskar congratulated them all - seconds had made a difference. Even Heidi's call to evacuate and where to go had saved precious time. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," the eldest reiterated confidently, echoing the feelings of the others, "I fear no evil. The Lord is with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
"The Lord is with us," Albert stated lowly as they walked through backyards and toward another dimly lit street, "who can be against us?" Inside, he was anxious, but also very glad that they were not so robotic that they had no chance to think. He was grateful for the advice given to him. He recognized that he probably would have felt nervous anyway; especially when Oskar and Heinrich took so look to get there.
However, he'd been assured that it was okay to feel that way. Though he didn't have his mother there to help, over the last two years, since tht conversation, he'd grown more in his fith, and could at least feel the presence of Someone; and, probably, the end result of lots of prayers adding up in their successful escape so far.
Carl reminded them that "God will never leave us, nor forsake us. We are in His hands, now." Numerous other verses were spoken as they reminded themselves and each other that while small, with the Lord they could be great.
Oskar pointed out where to go, while leading them, but still felt uneasy. As the sky grew completely dark, he feared a mixup in facts, especially if his father were also questioned, could arouse suspicion. At least none of our other contacts are known, he comforted himself. He felt increasingly disturbed, lest anything happen to their dad. Now, if the Gestapo suspected that his dad overlooked something on purpose, he, too, might be in grave danger. He forced himself not to think about that, reminding himself that things were hidden well enough, his mother could still get away, and come later. He only wondered what had prevented her from driving back.
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"Gretchen Schultz," came the Gestapo man's voice as she pondered which identity to use. Right now, she could use either. However, her husband's lack of a fake ID might cause problems, and that this neighbor could make a positive identification, she needed to tell the truth. Besides, even if she claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, the Gestapo would, in this instance, still take her in for questioning solely based on the fact she had no reason to be here and had in fact been running like a maniac. Not only that, but she'd left her groceries and car at the store. "I am Captain Josef Strunk, Heidelberg Gestapo."
"What can we do for you," Gretchen inquired somewhat adamantly, hoping to protect the children. She'd only seen the two. She'd always prepared herself and them for "Level Five" being without her. However, not seeing the others still bothered her, and she felt they needed time to escape. She would stall them and let the children get free, then go later. The mother continued by asking "why is our house broken in like this?!"
The simple peasant woman, given this grand assignment by the Lord several years before, walked inside, and recognized that none of her children had been discovered after several minutes of moping around, pretending to be in a funk over the fact her house looked like a tornado had hit it. Good, she told herself, now whatever else happens, they are safe.
His assistants were rummaging through the house, one going downstairs in a hurry after they had broken down that door. "It is imperative that we examine each and every piece of this house. We have reports that there are Jews hiding here."
Gretchen allowed herself to guffaw. "Jews, here?! That is ridiculous!"
"Do you deny sheltering the Rubins and a few others on a November night in 1938," snapped the man, upset at himself for allowed a child to distract him earlier.
Gretchen shrugged and stated that "the Rubins have been gone for well over three years. Besides, it was not a crime in 1938." The agent harumphed.
One of the corporals spoke "there are no children here," as the lead agent rolled his eyes. Obviously, she thought, he wanted to pretend they found them.
"They are at a friends'," Gretchen remarked, referring to the couple who had promised, without knowing why, to allow this story to exist.
The Gestapo captain hummed, showing a lack of concern. "That may be true. I do not need them right now; carry on, Corporal, I will have two of you search the area around the house when you are done." The fellow went back to sifting through things. "However, I should like to have you come in for questioning to make sure these...rumors are unfounded." While as his superior had nixed the possibility when he investigated, Strunk had wondered about the Rubin children. When the fellow left to work in Berlin, Strunk decided to question Mrs. Schultz further if he got the chance. "We will talk to them when they return."
Gretchen wished she could refuse to go, but knew any refusal would be followed by an order to come downtown; and increased suspicion. This was the way the Gestapo operated. Besides, the children had been explained away, so she had no reason to stay. She only prayed she could forget everything. Once she was released, she would instantly flee.
Bewilderment and fear gripped Hans Schultz as someone banged on his door at Stalag 13 after supper. He'd just gotten off guard duty when they informed him he was wanted at the headquarters in Heidelberg. If they were after one of the prisoners, and he was being questioned if he'd seen anything, that would be one thing. However, that would almost certainly send the Hammelburg Gestapo after him. What if his family had been caught? Would he "disappear" as he'd heard of others doing? Where were his wife and children? He closed his eyes and feigned sleep, as he'd seen his children do, to avoid appearing too nervous, lest they suspect something.
Late that evening, he was shown into a very small cell, where his wife had waited and worried while being worn down for a few hours. "Gretchen, what are you doing here, where are the children," Hans stammered, wishing he hadn't sounded so frightened.
Once the guard left the two alone, the woman smiled. "It is all right, if they think you are clueless they might let you go." Gretchen instantly told her husband that the children were okay.
"It figures. They disappeared so quickly the last time, surely they could have gotten free." As they sat together, the woman decided to, somehow, try to get their stories straight. She asked herself if she would have left earlier without Hans in the picture. No, she determined, through their drills, they'd become very good at hiding every little detail indicating the presence of Jews. After the initial decision to stay, she would have remained for as long as feasible. They could have left at any time before, after all.
However, being politely ordered to Gestapo headquarters changed that. Now, her children would flee. That had always been the plan - if they look and find nothing, it's safe; if they take you downtown, the others start toward freedom. She would simply go later, giving her husband the chance to go with her. However, right now, consistent stories were essential. And yet, part of her longed to get it over with, to admit she did it all, and absolve any of her children - or her husband - from blame. She'd been mentally ravaged the last few weeks, she sensed what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy that he was being "poured out."
Hans and Gretchen felt as if the whole room were a corner; they sat against one wall, and they were almost on top of one another. "Hans," she began, asking the Lord to guide her so she could explain quickly and precisely, "thank you for not telling anyone else."
The patriarch could scarcely imagine the chances his family must have taken, as thoughts of what evils might have been perpetrated by his government swirled in his mind.
"Hans, if you are released before me, follow the children, do not wait for me. They come first." Her statement troubled him even more profoundly.
"But, but..." he began, stammering.
"Look, they have nobody outside of us, their world has been terrible otherwise. You must be the one to love them. I will try and come later, I will not let them get to me without great effort, I hope they can get nothing from me. However, we must do as we did with all our practices, and have backup plans."
The guard sighed heavily. "Do they suspect what you did," inquired the man.
No," she spoke lowly, "at least, that is not the major item. A neighbor suspected something and turned me in." Actually, she pondered, we were lucky, I remember a few years ago, hers was one of the neighbors whose trash we put the dirty diapers in. She just had nothing else on me until she saw how much food I bought. "You still have not made your promise," came the sudden rebuke. The well-being of their young ones occupied her mind almost completely. Hans could tell she would not depart from such queries until her promised.
The large man considered all the times when he'd been, while not unfaithful, certainly unthankful. Perhaps this was the best way he could make it up to her. Besides, she was right, she might go free, anyway. Quite begrudgingly, he said "jawohl."
"Good, now not another word, Oskar has taken care of everything; all we must do is get out of here. You know nothing, you only know, if pressed, that the children had many friends over, and that some liked to dig as a diversion, playing like they were prisoners of war breaking out of England." She gave several fake friends' names.
The thought slowly sank in as the fat ex-guard gazed toward the door of the cell. Yes, he pondered, getting out of here will be hard. The only ones who truly knew of their predicament were Oskar and his siblings, and if his wife's orders were anything like his – and Oskar would obey, he knew - by the time the Gestapo finished with them his children would be far, far away.
Hans grumbled a little. He couldn't stand the thought of losing his wife, but if he tried in desperation to free her, that might arouse even more suspicion. Not only that, but his children needed some sort of family. He whimpered a little, then embraced her. "I love you," came the weeping man. Gretchen returned the "I love you," then suggested that they discuss other things.
The couple waited for hours, with someone coming in to awaken them the minute one appeared to be dozing off. Around three in the morning, they ordered them to different cells, with each once again worn down and kept awake. The Gestapo hoped the knowledge each other was there and could be tortured would make them talk more easily. Gretchen recognized the technique, and committed false addresses and names to memory, intentionally remembering contacts wrongly.
She didn't think she would be forced to give out information, but she knew it was possible. She could instinctively go to one contact if she were interrogated and then released, and the others could be recalled through looking at papers at the other Underground stations. Oskar was using those same contacts, she hoped, to free the Jewish children. However, the promise from Hans soothed her considerably more than anything else could.
In fact, Oskar and Albert spent quite a while debating the very issue while the six youngest ate and, if they could, slept. They'd arrived with no more major problems. After Oskar ascertained that no Gestapo were in the shop, they ventured into a large storage area.
Oskar pondered waiting for one of their parents and let Albert go ahead, but his younger brother steadfastly refused. "If you wait for them," Albert insisted logically, "then I will want to wait for you at another checkpoint, then Carl will want to do the same for me, leaving Heinrich and then Heidi. You are now our leader, and like it or not, Mother and our Lord have given you the keys to saving our friends."
He put a hand on Oskar's shoulder, recognizing the disturbing thought of losing their mother. He knew that his brother often had qualms about departing without her; that was one reason leaving the house witnessed such practice, to the point where they sprinted to Ada's if it was just those five, pretending they were racing and playing. They would also race up the tunnel, coming down and pretending that they walked to Ada's and had to leave her behind.
Lovingly, he commented that, "We can each try to get an hour or so of sleep, Oskar, but that is all. Mother could have come had the Gestapo not shown up so fast, but we all knew what could happen. She may call, like the one time. However, we all know the opening was three hours, and if she did not call or come, we would go to level five. We are there now, even though only Heidi called it. I hate the thought, too, but logically I realize that we should flee."
Oskar lowered his head. He longed to rescue his mother, terrified of the Gestapo's methods. Even if they suspected nothing, they could really hurt her. Still, she'd prepared him for this for almost four years. In a couple hours, there could be no turning back. He had to keep telling himself that she could come later.
Thoughts of fabulous Christmas, birthday, and other family celebrations, with incredible joy and love surrounding them, swam swiftly through his mind as he tried unsuccessfully to sleep, and his lip trembled slightly. He forced himself to hide the tears, though, remaining resolute as always as he prepared to lead the group. "It is so hard now, leaving all of this," Oskar remarked as he awakened his brother. They noticed the storekeeper keeping a vigil at the window, just in case. "But, you are right. It can never be the same."
The Gestapo, meanwhile, finished with Hans after several hours of intense questioning. The guard is tired enough, Strunk surmised, he would give out anything if he saw it. Not wishing to entice him to remain, they didn't' tell him of their further interrogation of Gretchen. "Go, have one of my men take you back to your camp and report directly to your kommandant," the captain ordered. After he left, Mrs. Schultz, now further worn down, was ushered into the room.
Hans waited outside, determined how foolish rescue would be, and left. He decided that would be too risky right now. He slept for a couple hours, feeling refreshed by the time he was dropped off inside the camp.
Roll call had been made, and Hogan and his men were milling around the compound. "Schultz, what happened?" Hogan asked as he motioned Schultz and his men into Barracks 2. "We heard you got taken down to Heidelberg." He didn't say that they had their own tunnels wired just in case, though they hadn't expected it to be about the prisoners.
Once Schultz told them, he began begging. "Please, Colonel Hogan, you have got to do something. I do not even know which way they went."
"Well, probably Switzerland," LeBeau said.
Kinch rubbed his chin. "I don't know. All those mountains, it might be easy to get lost. I hear Denmark was really friendly, and it's occupied, so they might go there and then Sweden."
"Sweden, that's twice as far," Newkirk exclaimed. LeBeau thought it was possible, though.
Carter piped in that,. "The closest way would be the front." Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. "Well, think about it. Wouldn't you rather go where nobody would ever look for you?"
"Kinch, while they're fighting, get on the radio to the Underground and see if you can find out which direction they headed. Sorry, Schultz, but Heidelberg's hours away, I'm not sure what we can do for your wife."
As Schultz begged them more, Kinch said, "Want me to tell the men they can remove the dynamite from the tunnels, too?"
"Yeah, yeah. Hold it." Schultz had covered his eyes, allowing Kinch to open the tunnel underheath his bunk. "There might be a way."
"A way to what?" Schultz asked, looking goofy with his eyes covered as he spoke.
"Well, we had the tunnels rigged just in case you gave away anything about us that you've ignored." He decided it was safe to say that. "I don't think any of us has the bluster or the notoriety to just demand her to be brought to us; besides, we've tried that a few times, and don't want to do it every time." Especially if they would send her where I'm afraid they would, Hogan pondered. He knew nothing of death camps, but had heard horror stories about concentration camps. "But, what if…" He told Kinch his plan, and then asked Carter and Kinch to get started on it, too, in a few minutes. Kinch left, and Hogan told Schultz he could uncover his eyes.
"Oh, thank you, Colonel Hogan. Do you think it could work?"
"Well, it's the only chance we have. Now about your kids."
"Colonel Hogan, I was asked to go to be with them. I do not know any contacts, I do not know the first thing about what you do. I only know that I wish to leave. Kommandant Klink knows I am back, but I can always tell him that I was asked to carry out a very dangerous assignment, make something up, and leave." The others shook their heads. "Well, it was just an idea. Gretchen did compare me to Colonel Crittenden once.'
"Well, it depends on where you go. We might be able to have someone escape, have you go looking for them." They'd done it before, after all, Hogan surmised. After discussing it for a few moments, he said they would escape and have Schultz supposedly tracking them down.
"Ja, and where are we going?" Everyone in the barracks argued for Sweden or Switzerland, except for Carter, until Kinch came up and told them where they'd gone. The looks on the others' faces were comical as they gaped at Carter. However, Schultz said, "If they are anything like you, they will pull it off. Now, about my wife."
"We're gonna get on it right now, Schultz," Hogan said, trying hard to mask his concern.