The von Reichter - Schweitzer wedding was held in June 1940, at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

Maria stood in front of a mirror in the small room as school friends, cousins and aunts fluttered over the final touches on her outfit. And it was nothing short of spectacular. The Schweitzers had spared no expense in financing such an anxiously awaited event. The white satin gown shone in the light, showing off how perfectly it fit its wearer. A diamond necklace dripped from Maria�s neck down to the low front of the gown. Diamond earrings dripped to match, and a tiara of white roses secured the veil cascading down over her hair. The effect was ethereal, and even Maria felt a little excited to see herself standing there, holding a white rose bouquet. A memory stirred...

She remembered playing �wedding� with her friends as a little girl. Her best friend was a boy named Josef, and he was always made to be the groom while the girls took turns as the bride. He had been a good friend, never a love interest, yet somehow Maria had always assumed they would marry one day.

But childhood and all its assumptions ended the year Maria turned thirteen. Hitler, the new chancellor, began to persecute his opponents and so-called �enemies of the Reich.� Josef�s father was an artist and found himself under fire for his abstract, �degenerate� work. Fearing for his family�s safety and for his life, he left Germany with them and emigrated to Canada. Josef and Maria promised to write to each other, but eventually the Nazis halted international mail and the letters stopped.

If you hadn�t left, wondered Maria, would I be marrying you today, Josef?

The knock at the door woke her from her memories and she tried to calm the tightness that had suddenly grown in her throat.

Her father stood there, tall and proud in his formal suit. Strains of organ music floated in as friends and relations filed out to find their seats.

�Ready?� He asked, after his wife had kissed them both and they were alone in the hall.

Maria looked up into the green eyes she had inherited and smiled nervously.

�Ready.�

For as long as he lived, Krumens, the best man, would never forget the expression on his mentor�s face as he watched his bride walk up the aisle. It was a look of such amazement, almost helplessness, as if his iron self-confidence was being challenged by the presence of some celestial being in a white dress. But it passed across his face for only a moment before vanishing, and Krumens did not see it again.

The ceremony proceeded rather well, despite some periodic sniffling from Maria�s mother. The reception was held that evening and went on late into the night with toasts, music, food and dancing. Everyone was having a good time, even those who earlier, out of jealousy of Max, had made several cruel speculations amongst themselves about whether the children would resemble their mother or their father. But by the end of the night they too were joining in and congratulating the newlyweds.

It was about midnight when the party came to an end. Maria and Max thanked everyone for coming and eventually made their way to the car and headed home.

�Home� was now Max�s upscale flat. A day earlier, Herr Schweitzer had come by to help him move in Maria�s belongings. It certainly would not have been acceptable, after all, for the two of them to live together in an unmarried state.

Once inside the door, Max and Maria stood silently holding each other for a moment.

�Are you happy?� Max asked quietly after a moment.

His wife smiled up at him. �Yes,� she replied and hugged him more tightly.

* * * *

At some time during the night, the solution came to him. He had been lying there going over the project for several hours, trying to determine where precisely the problem was coming from. Then an idea hit him. It had to be the answer. He was sure of it. Slowly and carefully, he eased himself out from under the head of soft red hair, which had been lying on his chest. Good. She was still asleep. He put on his glasses and a housecoat and crept out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

So it was that Maria von Reichter unknowingly spent her first night as a married woman alone, while her husband revised a series of chemical formulas at his desk until morning.

The first two years of the 1940�s were successful both in turning the world on its ear and in casting a sinister shadow over the entire decade which would remain well through the end of the century. Only a month prior to Maria�s wedding, German forces conquered France and marched audaciously through l�Arc du Triumphe in Paris. Country after country fell to the Nazi war machine. Even Britain, Britain who for so long had been the strongest and the most formidable of powers, was now facing the nightly terror of the Blitz from an equally strong and formidable opponent.

Then, just when it seemed that everything had changed, one more incident turned things around again. On December 7, 1941, the tiny island nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, bringing the United States out of its isolationism and into the battle. War now completely encircled the globe.

Maria�s life at this time was, she concluded, bittersweet. The war frightened and worried her, but she was able to push it to the back of her mind when she was at school, especially on the days her classes took her to nursery schools to work directly with children. Max was very busy as well, as his talents and intelligence were in high demand by the government. He promised things would be less hectic once the war was over, however, and Maria looked forward to it.

But there was another problem the couple shared that could not be as easily dealt with by waiting for the end of the war. And increasingly it was becoming present in the thoughts of both.

They had been trying to have a baby. At first they were a little disappointed when nothing happened, but remained optimistic. It was probably just bad timing, they told each other confidently. So they continued trying. Still there was no baby, and they began to worry. Eventually the topic was no longer brought up out of discomfort.

When Maria discovered that she was pregnant that fall, she and Max breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing wrong with them after all. But several weeks later Maria was rushed to hospital with sever abdominal pain, where it was determined that she had miscarried. The couple were heartbroken and nervous, for if a husband and wife could not perpetuate the Aryan race, they would certainly not find favour with the intrusive Nazi regime which controlled their lives. Max and Maria vowed, therefore, to tell no one about what had happened.

Life continued its bittersweet path into 1942, until Max came home one day late in January with an announcement, the true implications of which Maria would not realise until much later:

�We�re moving to Poland.�

Maria sighed and gazed out the window at the countryside rushing by. It was fairly quiet inside her train cabin; Lilli was asleep inside her carrier and the only sound was the low rumble of wheels on tracks, accompanied by the occasional turn of a book page.

Maria was fuming. It was ridiculous: moving to a country she didn�t know where the people spoke a language she didn�t understand for a reason she was not allowed to learn. When Max told her they were moving, she had brought these points up, and he became absolutely furious at her. How dare she question the Fuhrer�s orders? She was putting her comfort above the good of her country! Inexcusable! Maria was furious right back, appalled at a side of him she had never seen before. The fighting had gone on for hours, ending only when Maria stormed into the bedroom with Lilli and locked the door. Eventually Max gave up trying to get her out and spent the rest of the night drinking.

Maria�s anger was refuelled by the memory. She glared across the cabin at Max, who was engaged in reading yet another evolution-biology-theory sort of book. Which was what he read when he wasn�t reading the newspaper. But at least he wasn�t making those little opinion noises for once, she considered. If he started doing that she would probably have to strangle him.

Maria was still glaring when she suddenly became aware of eyes watching her. Annoyed, she met the gaze of her observer, the blond young man sitting next to her husband. That Krumens. She didn�t know his first name. He had latched on to Max in university, regarding his classmate as some sort of mentor. Now that Max had established himself in the scientific community, he had taken Krumens on as an assistant, no doubt enjoying the praise and admiration which were lavished upon him.

Maria, on the other hand, couldn�t stand Krumens. He made no secret of his dislike for her either, often outdoing Maria in the field of venomous looks.

As she and Krumens stared each other down, Maria mused over how effeminate his grudge against her was. An image of Krumens dressed like a woman suddenly danced into her head and Maria had to look away from him to keep from laughing. She put her cheek in her hand and pretended to look out the window, but she couldn�t help herself and let out a muffled snicker.

The noise distracted Max from his book and he looked up from behind a forelock of black hair. Maria was trying to compose herself as if nothing had happened.

�What was that?�

�What was what?� Maria returned blank-faced.

She received an eyebrow raised in doubt as Max went back to his book, Irritated, she let out a sigh of frustration.

This time the book descended to his lap. Max was not impressed by his wife�s behaviour. Krumens looked pale.

�Try language,� he uttered icily after a moment. �It�s much more effective.�

�Sorry, the only language I know is German,� Maria snapped, making a far-from-subtle reference to the topic of their feud.

Max suddenly looked very tired. He appeared to have a headache as well, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

�Maria, we�ve gone over this a dozen times��

�No, you�ve gone over it a dozen times! I�ve never been given the chance to have any say in the matter!�

Max thrust his face in Maria�s and she could see a cold rage in his black eyes. �Damn it woman, don�t start with me,� he hissed. �This is neither the time nor the place.� Maria tried hard to stare him down, but finally wavered and gave in. For the first time, she was afraid of her husband.

****

It was a bright winter morning when Maria walked out to the mailbox. They had only moved into the little house a week earlier, but already enough letters and packages had arrived for a month. While most of the mail was from family and friends, quite a bit of it was coming from Nazi headquarters back in Berlin. Several of the latest packages had contained medical supplies, which Max always opened and inspected right away, muttering things to himself that Maria could not always recognise.

She pulled open the door of the mailbox and felt a dull pain in her upper arm. Max had given her a vaccination before he left for work. There was cholera in the town and he would not have her die on him. Maria rubbed the injection site grumpily and began taking out the mail.

Further along the road, Lonia was looking through her mail when she spotted someone else doing the same. It was the German�s wife. She had watched them move in the week before from her window. The country was crawling with them, the bastards. Decided they were the greatest things in creation and so were obliged to take the world for themselves. Still, Lonia reasoned, if the Allies couldn�t stop them, it was a good thing she had learned German. She could tell her slave drivers to go to hell in their own language.

But what about this one? Did she want to conquer the world? Was she in Poland to watch its demise, or was she here against her will? Lonia eyed the woman curiously. Whoever she might be, she looked harmless enough from this distance.

Maria stopped flipping through the mail and looked up. Was someone watching her? She turned her head and saw another woman further up the road. They both froze.

What do I do now? wondered Lonia. Should I be friendly and wave? She probably hates Poles.

What do I do now? wondered Maria. Should I be friendly and wave? She probably hates Germans.

Lonia took a breath, hoped for the best, and gave the German woman a short wave. Looking astounded, Maria waved back. The both felt silly for being so scared and started walking up to meet each other.

�Dziendobry,� said Maria. "Hello" was about the only Polish she knew.

�Welcome to Poland,� replied Lonia in passable German.

Maria couldn�t believe her luck! �You speak German?� she gasped

�A little,� grinned the other. �My name�s Lonia Kiedrowski.�

�I�m Maria von Reichter, hi.� She thought Lonia was pretty. She had such friendly blue eyes and lots of dark wavy hair. Lucky, Maria thought idly, she never got in trouble for fighting with boys who called her �Carrots� at school!

They ended up in Lonia�s kitchen having tea. Maria gazed longingly at the children�s drawings decorating the walls. Lonia had two, a boy and a girl.

�Do you have children?� she asked.

Maria shifted uncomfortably. �Um, no...not yet, I mean,� she said. Lonia touched her arm and smiled kindly.

�Don�t worry. Sometimes it just takes time. You�ll see.�

�Thanks, Lonia.� A though occurred to Maria and she felt a twinge of guilt. �Gee, I�m sorry we had to meet this way.�

�You mean the war?�

�Well, yes...my country is invading yours, doing God knows what...it�s not right.�

�But it�s not your fault. You weren�t the one who organised it.�

�I know. Still.�

�Yeah.�

There was silence for a moment.

�So you don�t agree with Hitler?�

Maria grinned mischievously. �Nope.� And they giggled like two naughty schoolgirls.

Maria and Lonia found themselves becoming fast friends. Lonia helped Maria with her Polish, and she in turn taught Lonia the things she had been learning in school. They had lunch together, went into town together, and shared secrets with each other. The war be damned, they were friends and nothing could take that away.

Lonia came in from the kitchen. �Well, they�re fighting again,� she said sadly.

Her husband looked up. �Who?�

�The neighbours. The Germans.� She sat down in an armchair and sighed. �He comes home, and more often than not I can hear them fighting from our kitchen.�

�Oh.�

�It�s always his fault,� she added after a moment. �He loses his temper at everything and his poor wife has to defend herself somehow.�

Her husband smiled at her thoughtfully. �You know, it�s funny, but I never would have expected you to pity a German. I just always assumed you hated them like everyone else around here.�

�I thought I did,� confessed Lonia. �But I guess I realised that some of them are victims too.�

The front door slammed shut and Maria awoke with a start. She relaxed when she heard the lock clank into place, and closed her eyes again. Max had finally come home.

She listened as his footsteps approached the bedroom. He had come home this late many times before, sometimes even later. Maria was becoming used to falling asleep by herself, and waking up in the morning to find the other side of the bed slept in and empty. At least on those nights they didn�t fight.

The bedroom door opened and the shadow of a figure, outlined by the harsh light of the hallway, draped itself across the bed. Maria turned over to look and shivered despite herself.

There was Max in his official uniform: his shirt and tie, an armband, riding pants and polished leather boots. The uniform Maria hated so much, on the man she had married for love. She wondered if she would ever become used to the sight.

Later, covers bunched around her for warmth, Maria lay quietly and listened to the faint snoring coming from Max. Please God, she prayed, Please let that have been the time it worked. I want that baby so badly, and I�m afraid of what he might do to me if I can�t get pregnant again. Please let me have Max�s baby.

The doctor was lost in thought as he drove down the long road to work. It was a warm, dry summer morning and the hood of the car was flecked with dust kicked up by the tires.

Things were not working out as smoothly as he would like. Last month, the Allied forces had invaded Europe through Normandy and had settled in firmly to make trouble for the Reich. It was this threat that preyed on the doctor�s concentration and was holding him back in his work. He was making impressive advances in reproductive and evolutionary studies, but he knew he would be capable of even more if he could only be completely confident that Germany would crush her opponents and leave him to continue his research. This was such a perfect place to do it, and he had all the resources he needed.

On the other side of the iron gates, the doctor acknowledged a number of salutes as he made his way to the medical offices. His co-workers seemed to respect him with an awe that occasionally bordered on fear, and he planned to keep it that way. He could not let them know, therefore, that he was secretly embarrassed about his personal life. Nearly three years ago Maria had lost the baby and she hadn�t been pregnant since. It was humiliating; a top biologist whose wife couldn�t accomplish something even the simplest of his laboratory animals were capable of. Surely people would start to talk soon, if they hadn�t already. And his rival scientists would have a field day with it. So much for his standing with the Fuhrer then.

If you cannot create life, Maria, then I will, he vowed, as he pulled on a white lab coat.

�Will you come with me?�

Lonia closed the front door for their privacy. �Where?�

�Doctor�s appointment,� answered Maria. She smiled anxiously.

Several worrisome circumstances ran through Lonia�s mind before she realised what Maria was up to.

�Oh my God...� she began excitedly. Maria threw her arms around Lonia and they hopped about in the front hall, hugging and laughing.

The two women tightly held hands as they waited for the doctor to return with the results. The tests had to be positive, they just had to be. Maria was never this late, not even when she was under stress, and Lonia assured her that this was exactly what had convinced her to get tested when she found out she was pregnant with her first child.

After what felt like hours, the doctor finally came back into the office. He gave a polite nod to Lonia, understanding why she had appeared in the office by her friend�s side while he had been gone. She and Maria stared at him expectantly and he cleared his throat.

�Congratulations, Mrs. von Reichter, you�re going to be a mother!�

Maria sat nearly motionless as she took in the news, feeling complete and utter happiness fill her heart. Then she was laughing and crying in Lonia�s arms, tears of joy tickling her face. A baby was finally coming.

�So, are you going to tell Max the news when he comes home tonight?� asked Lonia as they walked home.

�I don�t know,� replied Maria. She was deciding upon a plan of action. �I think I�ll say nothing and see how long it takes for him to figure it out himself.�

�Ooh, you play tough, young lady!� quipped Lonia, and Maria laughed. Maybe it was sneaky of her, but she figured she was entitled to a little experimenting.

The novelty quickly wore off however when, after two weeks, Max still hadn�t noticed anything different It was still too early for Maria to be showing, but she was noticing other changes in herself that she couldn�t believe Max failed to see. She was eating different foods (some things made her feel sick now), she felt tired more often, and she was convinced than her face looked different, rounder somehow. Maria didn�t believe that he had noticed but not cared. She knew he wanted a baby every bit as much as she did. No, she concluded, he was just too involved in his theories and measurements and equations to notice that the heir he wanted was now more than just a wish.

One night, whether it was her temper or another bout of nausea, Maria�s patience finally wore out. She stalked into the drawing room, where Max was working industriously at his desk, and glowered at the back of his head with anger. Enough was enough.

She kept walking until she was standing right behind his chair. He hadn�t heard her approach.

�Is that all you ever do?� she asked, voice dripping with contempt.

Max was startled. He hated being startled. Turning to respond to the insolent remark, he stood up and gave Maria a look of disgust.

�What I am doing,� he replied through clenched teeth, �is of the utmost importance to the future of the Reich. And when I am busy� -and here his voice began to increase in volume- �I cannot be interrupted simply to entertain you!�

�You�re always busy! You love Germany more than you love me!� accused Maria.

She made a noise of surprise as Max grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him.

�Don�t you ever say that to me again,� he growled at her, �Don�t you ever say that!�

Finding her voice, Maria shot back, �I�ll say it whenever I want because it�s true, von Reichter!�

He smacked her in the face, hard. She cried out and stumbled away from him, holding her cheek to make it stop hurting. Looking back at Max through a blur of hot tears, she saw that his expression was the same as before. He stood his ground, shaking with rage.

�Oh Max,� she whimpered, �I�m going to have a baby and you�re too busy to even notice.� She collapsed onto the couch, sobbing.

Maria would have been satisfied, had she looked up, to see the look of horror on her husband�s face as the news sunk in. She had done it. After three years of trying she had finally done it. But were there still risks? What if he had just caused her to miscarry again?

Max approached her and tried to calm his emotions. Maria had curled herself into a ball at the far end of the couch, facing away from him and was crying softly.

�Are you sure?� he asked after a moment.

�Yes!� Her reply was teary and frustrated. She didn�t look up.

He put his hands on his hips and tried to think of something to say.

Silence.

�You should go to bed and get some sleep then,� he ventured quietly. It was all he could come up with.

�All right.� Maria complied and started to get up. She was too tired and sore to argue.

Lying underneath her cool linen sheets, Maria stared at the ceiling and listened to the noise coming from the yard. It sounded like cursing, but she could only catch a few random pieces of words. There was a sudden smash of broken glass and she realised that Max was drunk.

I hope he doesn�t wake up Lonia�s children with that racket, she thought ruefully. Good luck explaining to them about �the drunk, wife-beating scientist next door.� God.

Some time later, the noise died down to Max stumbling back into the house. Maria pretended to be asleep and listened as his footsteps crossed the threshold of the bedroom door, and went about half a meter before he lost his balance and fell over himself.

�Damn floor moved,� he slurred as he got up and crawled onto the bed. Maria felt a hand groping for her, and angrily flipped over. She lay stiffly and waited for him to give up. Mercifully, he soon did as he passed out in a drunken stupor.

�Jerk,� muttered Maria, and finally let herself drift off to sleep.

If Fall 1944 had a theme, for Maria it was worry. More specifically, it was worry about parents. Germany was losing the war and was being bombed by the British and the Americans. Frequently she would call her parents, or Max�s, on the telephone to make sure they were still safe and healthy. Lonia, whose parents were rather elderly, moved her family to stay with them for a year, worried just like Maria about what the war might deal them. Before she left, Lonia had given Maria her old maternity clothes, saying it was the least she could to since she probably couldn�t make it for the birth in March. Maria promised to send her weekly updates, and they shared a tearful goodbye.

Now that she was on her own all day and getting bored, Maria decided to explore the countryside around her, and embarked on a series of daily walks, Lilli excitedly running alongside her.

For the first little while, they walked along quiet roads stretching past acres of farmland, found pleasant country lanes and cottages, and greeted people they met along the way. Lilli investigated every gatepost and tree of interest, and happily chased the dry leaves twirling down from their branches. It was on these walks that Maria first felt her baby kicking inside her, and heard her intuition saying that it was a boy. She felt calmer and safer out here, away from the noisy town and the German soldiers occupying it. She felt calm away from Max.

There was a puzzle in the countryside, however, that Maria wanted to solve. There was a funny, sweetish smell in the air, she found, which got stronger the further Southwest she went. It had always been present, but smells seemed more pronounced now that she was pregnant, and more disagreeable. She had asked a few people about it, but they appeared to know nothing more than she did. Maria became more and more curious, and by October she was determined to find the source.

Lilli, for some reason, liked the smell even less. She would whine as they got to a particular forested area, standing in one place and looking back towards home. Maria wasn�t about to ignore her pet�s odd behaviour, and began to leave Lilli in the house whenever she went out to investigate. The dog had obviously discovered something she hadn�t. Something about the smell was frightening her.

On a cool, overcast afternoon, Maria put on a winter coat and set out on what she hoped would be her final quest to get to the smell�s source. She had narrowed the field down to the deeper part of the thicket Lilli disliked, within view of the nearby Sola River. Reaching it, she found herself becoming nervous, and paused at the edge of the wood to calm herself before starting into the shadows.

The smell, as Maria continued, became stronger and stronger, and she tried to breathe through her mouth to block it out. It was sweet but rancid, like burning sugar or fat. Is it a factory? Maria wondered. Or some kind of depository?

She saw ahead of her that the trees thinned out into a small clearing. Reaching it, she heard a humming sound and looked across to where the forest thickened again. Through the branches she could see a brick building and an imposing fence with what looked like a white sign on it. This had to be where the smell was coming from!

Carefully trying to stay hidden, Maria finally reached the fence, but quickly backed away. As the sign boldly declared, it was humming with thousands of volts of electricity. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out at how close she had just come to death. There was a sudden yell from somewhere on the other side of the fence, and finding the edge of the brick building, Maria peered in at a sight she wished dearly was a nightmare she could wake up from.

There were people everywhere. Starving, beaten, cadaverous people, more dead than alive, in striped uniforms like prisoners wore. There were SS officers with guns and dogs, ordering the people into rows. Maria saw that the prisoners wore something like a badge on their chests. Yellow badges which, she realised in horror, were Stars of David. Blood pounding in her ears, Maria felt her heart plunge into her guts as she uneasily followed the bricks of the building beside her with her eyes, up until they formed rows of chimneys.

And with that terrible sight, it all came together. Where the Jews had gone. What Hitler had meant by a solution to the �Jewish Problem.�

Why Max was called to Poland.

There was the sound of a gunshot and Maria turned and ran. She ran through the forest. She ran across the fields. She ran, half-crazed with fear and she didn�t stop running until she was back inside her house, locking the deadbolt on the front door.

Lilli ran to her owner, barking and whimpering as if to ask what was wrong. Maria was leaning against the door, crying hysterically. Presently, she felt the little dog pawing worriedly at her leg and kneeled down to pick her up.

�They�re dying, they�re dying,� she sobbed, and pressed her face to Lilli�s warm, velvety brown fur, letting the dachshund gently lick the tears from her face.

Dizzy from running and crying, Maria felt a wave of nausea hit her. Putting down Lilli, who followed behind, she ran into the washroom and was violently sick.

When Max arrived home, he found his wife sitting on the floor beside the toilet, staring at the floor and looking pale and upset. Assuming she was nauseous from the pregnancy again, he put a hand on her shoulder and looked for her eyes hidden by her hair.

Don�t touch me, she wanted to scream, you�re a monster. But she was too exhausted, and simply sat unmoving until he kissed her head and left the room.

�And how are you two doing?�

�Oh, we�re fine,� answered Maria lightly. She just couldn�t bear to tell Max�s mother about the things that really went on. It would break her heart.

�So do you still feel like it�s going to be a boy?� asked her mother-in-law excitedly.

�I think so.� Maria shifted the phone onto her shoulder and sat down on a kitchen chair. Standing up was a lot of work with an active baby competing in the Olympics on her bladder.

�Have you picked out any special names yet?�

�I know exactly what I�m going to call him,� Maria replied happily. She looked down at her stomach and smiled as she thought of her baby�s namesake. �I�m going to call him Josef.�

It was only a few hours past dawn when Maria woke up. She had been dreaming about the beach where her family used to vacation when she was a girl. In the dream she was very young and was picking up shells with a boy about the same age as her. Looking at him, she realised that he was her unborn child, and was about to speak to him when she suddenly woke up. It was a bit disappointing. She wondered what she would have said.

Knowing she should probably get up now that she was awake, Maria sat up, stretched and, with some difficulty, got to her feet. She was well into her third trimester and hoped to come to the end of it soon. She felt like one of the hippos people hunted on safari, and was pretty sure she could pass for one.

She turned to go to the dresser and stopped short. �What in the world -�

The top of the dresser was completely cleared of her jewelry box, perfume and pill bottles. Her luggage was lined up in front of it, and on inspection Maria discovered each piece was full of her clothes and other belongings, all folded and organised tidily. On the tallest suitcase there lay a manilla envelope. She opened it with growing curiousity.

Inside the envelope were a passport, several identification papers, a significant fistful of cash, and a folded piece of notepaper. Maria unfolded the note and saw that it was a letter:

Liebschen,

It is too dangerous for us to stay here any longer. Britain and America are approaching from the west and Russia from the east. As I am a well-known scientist, my work is of great interest and use to each of them. However, also being a German and therefore an enemy, they would most likely imprison or execute me before proceeding to take my work for themselves. I have no doubt that this puts you, as my wife and the mother of my child, at a great risk as well.

I have put together a plan to ensure our safety. As you read this, in fact, Krumens and I are already carrying it out. Using the passport and papers in this envelope, you will travel by train at night through the Bavarian mountains and the Alps. We will meet at the Swiss border where we can travel together in safety. It is likely at this time that you will begin to have contractions, and I will take you to a Swiss hospital to have the baby. I realize that this may be inconvenient and stressful for you, but there really is no other choice. After �Josef� is born, I will explain to you the rest of my plan and with luck we will quickly continue on our way.

I have gone ahead of you and have taken measures to ensure that your journey will be as easy and efficient as possible. I have made all the reservations and the train stations are expecting you. The money should cover any other expenses. This afternoon, two soldiers will arrive at the house in an army vehicle to take you to the first station. Remember to go by the name on your papers and you should have no problems.

By the time Maria finished reading, she was frustrated to tears. Night-time train rides? False I.D.'s? Switzerland? Why the hell did he think she would do all that, after the way he had treated her? She just wouldn�t do it. She could stay here and...

No, I can�t stay, she realised. If I don�t end up getting killed, I�ll have to find somewhere to live. I can�t burden Lonia and her family. I can�t stay with my parents or Max�s - they�ll be furious that I left him. If they�re still alive. If Berlin is still standing, oh my God...and I can�t pay rent and take care of Josef on my own; where could a woman get a job now that the war�s ending? It�ll be like the 1920�s all over again.

She had to go with Max, and he knew she did. He might be a bastard to her, but he could afford to take care of her baby, and that was all that mattered now.

Then there�s one last thing I have to do, Maria concluded, and began to look through the luggage for her stationary.

Things were slow at the train station and the man in the box office was having a conversation with the conductor. They both looked up as an army jeep rumbled into the parking lot.

�Those are our guys, right?� asked the man in the office, leaning closer to the glass window and squinting. �It�s getting to dark out to see much from in here.�

�Yup. German soldiers, German truck. Haven�t seen too many of them lately.�

�Where�ve they gone?�

His friend shrugged. �Whenever the Yanks aren�t, I guess. So what�s the story on this guy again?�

�Oh yeah. He�s a doctor who came through here on his way to Switzerland this morning with his assistant or something. He wanted to make another reservation for later today for his wife. Now, normally I can do a job like that without even thinking, but the way this guy was talking down to me, I almost couldn�t do it at all! Right from the start, he was treating me as if I was wasting his time with my stupidity. You wouldn�t believe how intense this guy was!�

�Shit, sounds like a real people person.�

�You�re telling me! Anyway, that wasn�t the end of the show. After that he was in the waiting room with this assistant of his who was following him around like a dog, and I could hear him going on about �not being respected enough� and how he was so insulted by people who don�t understand his �incredible advances,� whatever the hell that means. And his lackey was eating it up! I couldn�t help but listen in, it was insane!�

�Friggin� mental case! So this is his wife getting out of the truck, then?� The conductor indicated her with a nod.

�Bride of Frankenstein, I�d call her,� smirked the other. He craned his neck to get a closer look through the dying light and was surprised by what he saw. �Well, I�ll be damned...�

The sight of a very pretty and very pregnant woman, followed by two hulking soldiers with three suitcases and a dog carrier, was quite a spectacle. The two men and the handful of other people waiting on the platform watched curiously as the precession approached.

�Um, Frau Planck?� asked the man in the box office.

�Yes?�

He met her gaze, went pink, and tried to avoid it. �Uh, your seat has been reserved... um, may I see yours papers, please?� He went pinker as he wondered if that had sounded at all suggestive. The conductor was leaning against the opposite wall for support, shaking with silent laughter at his friend.

The papers were stamped with the bold image of an eagle, clutching a swastika in its talons. The woman thanked him and made her way to the waiting room, soldiers following behind.

After the train arrived, and all the passengers and luggage were aboard, the soldiers returned to their truck and disappeared down the road. The box office man and the conductor watched the train chug away thoughtfully.

�Poor kid,� said the conductor, resuming their conversation. �Having to go all the way to Switzerland alone with a baby coming. Just to follow her nutcase husband.�

His friend breathed a noise of agreement. �How does a nice girl like that end up with a guy like him?� he mused.

Lonia�s hands trembled as she finished reading the letter. Concerned, her husband and parents approached.

�Honey, what�s wrong?� asked her husband, putting his hand on her shoulder. Lonia stared down at the piece of paper, trying to stop the tears she felt welling in her eyes from falling.

�Oh Stan, it�s terrible. I just can�t believe it,� she replied softly.

�What�s terrible? What happened?� he held her more closely, feeling a sense of dread.

Lonia slowly began to read aloud:

Dearest Lonia,

Your friendship and kindness these past years have been such priceless gifts to me. I can�t thank you enough for being so wonderful and so generous. No one could ask for a better friend.

I am so sorry to tell you the news, but you must know. By the time you receive this letter, I will be far away from Poland. Max is wanted by the allies, and is taking me with him to safety. I don�t know where we are going, or for how long. All I know is that with him, my baby will always have food and clothing. I can�t raise him on my own, and I could never impose on you and your husband. I have to go with Max.

I wish you and your family all the best.

�We�ll meet again...�

I�m sorry, Lonia, thought Maria, sadness filling her heart at the memory of the letter she had written. She ran her hand across the maternity dress draped over her round stomach. I still have your clothes, too, she added ruefully.

Josef suddenly kicked and turned over, reminding his mother of happier things, of having a family. She would raise her son to be open-minded and tolerant, Maria promised herself. She would encourage him to learn and to explore all the opportunities around him. Even though the world he was about to be born into was confusing and often harsh, Maria would try her hardest to give Josef the best life she could.

In the barren train station at the border, Max impatiently smoked one cigarette after another. He knew Maria would come, but he was anxious to get started. That damned dog had better not be slowing her up. It was so annoying lately, growling whenever he came near. If it didn�t have to follow Maria everywhere he�d like to kick it.

Never mind, Max decided, flicking the ashes off his coat. The baby was much more important than her spoiled dachshund. Max was excited, and hoped that it really was a boy. He would raise his son to be a model Aryan man, strong, smart and proud of his German roots. With the intelligence of the von Reichters and the beauty of the Schweitzers, little Josef couldn�t help but be remarkable.

And someday, Max thought, he will join me in my work.

The doctor could not have known about the two men hiding in the snowy thicket several yards back down the railroad line. They could not have known about him, either. They were here on a mission, knowing that these nocturnal trains were sure to be carrying fugitive war criminals. Justice had to be carried out.

The men had seen their country destroyed by the Reich, and their loved ones murdered. It had only been a week since they had broken away from a deathmarch and they still could not be sure that no one would catch them. But since hearing about the escaping Nazi leaders, both decided to take a risk and seek a little revenge for those who hadn�t been as lucky as themselves.

The equipment was crude, but all the effort spent collecting and putting it together would be worth it, the men told each other. Everything was set to go.

The sound of a distant train whistle made the two of them perk up like rabbits. Their hearts began to pound as they burrowed back further into the bushes. The man with the bandage on his forehead fished in his pocket and produced a matchbook while the other watched him anxiously.

�This is it,� the bandaged man said in a low voice. The train was coming into view. He followed the fuse with his eyes up to the tracks, making sure for the hundredth time that it had a clear path. It was the big moment. He struck the match and held it to the end of the fuse with a shaking hand. It took.

His friend began to count down. Ten, nine, eight...the flame hissed along the fuse. Seven, six...at five, emotion overcoming him, the man stopped counting and addressed the fast-approaching train in a growl, tears forming in his tired eyes.

�This is for the children, you bastards!� The flame reached the explosives just as the first car rolled over top.

Max and Krumens instinctively hit the floor as a huge explosion suddenly rocked the train station. After the horrendous noises had died down, they turned to see thick smoke billowing from the fiery shell of the train just down the track. Ordering Krumens to get help, Max raced towards the wreckage in a panic.

The two men had already fled the scene as he came to the first car. He peered through the smoke and made a path into the charred wood and twisted metal. If he could only find her...he saw a rigid, shredded hand rising out of the debris and froze. Oh God, don�t let that be her, please don�t let that -

There was a small noise from the left and something moved. Max threw himself towards it and started digging frantically. He saw part of a familiar dress! He dug further and suddenly felt a limb. It moved!

He finally was able to lift the body out of the rubble and cried out with relief as he saw that it was Maria. He carried her away from the wreck and onto a patch of soggy grass, exposed from the heat of the explosion. She was dirty, burned and bleeding, but still alive. Max held her to him and called her name softly.

Maria slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him, trying to focus. Her lips moved a little, but nothing came out but laboured breaths and a few pink bubbles.

�It�s all right now Maria, it�s all right. I�ve got you,� Max assured her. His eyes were wet, but he was smiling. �You�re going to be fine, you and the baby, my sweet darling Maria, it's going to be all right!� He held her closer and stroked her hair. �My angel...�

She gave a weak laugh. �Such insanity...�

Max looked at her face in confusion. She smiled sadly.

�He - created Man,� she murmured and closed her eyes, too weak to keep them open any more. �And Man - destroys himself.� She cringed as a spasm of pain gripped her, then let out a ragged breath and was still.

Eyes wide, Max felt her neck for a pulse. Nothing. Terrified, he put his trembling hand on her stomach and slid it all around, searching for movement. The baby which normally was so busy kicking and turning was motionless. He looked down at the blood-soaked hem of Maria�s skirt and felt his heart finally break.

�NOOOO!�

Krumens looked up at the sound of the doctor�s yell. He and the group of police took off towards the railroad.

They found Max on the wet grass, holding the ruined body of his wife close and crying hysterically. He was too overcome even to push Krumens away when the man knelt down and put a hand on his master�s back. A sad silence descended over the group as the policemen removed their hats in respect for the latest victims of the war.

The end of the war in Europe had just been declared as Maria�s funeral was organised in Berlin. Mercifully, it was held at a different church than the one in which she had been married. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial was, in any case, almost completely destroyed from bombing.

A thin and weary-looking figure slipped into the church, among the last few people to arrive. She unassumingly took a seat in the back and looked around her at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Janina didn�t really know how she had survived the death camp. Luck, she supposed. As soon as she had been liberated and had seen the ruined city she was freed into, the former housekeeper decided that she wanted no more of the place and had gotten a ticket on the next boat to New York City. She had a cousin there and he would help her.

She would have already left had it not been for an article in the newspaper about Maria�s death and her husband�s disappearance. With little information about the witnesses, it said that her body had been identified and taken to a morgue in Switzerland until her family had been informed. They, of course, had it immediately brought back home for burial. Janina felt a sense of duty after reading the news. She couldn�t leave without first paying her respects to a good friend.

When the service ended and guests were allowed to approach the casket before burial, Janina bravely began to walk up the aisle. She prepared herself for the possibility of being recognised by the family.

The smooth oak coffin was surrounded by a sea of flowers and candles. Nestled in the red velvet lining, dressed in a long white night-gown as if she were asleep in bed, was Maria. She had been cleaned up, her wounds were stitched, and she nearly looked alive.

Please don�t blame yourself for what happened to me, Maria, Janina said in her mind. I know you never bought into the hatred.

She turned from the coffin to see the Schweitzer family staring at her with unreadable expressions on their faces. No one knew just what to say.

Janina spoke first. �I...I wanted to say goodbye...�

Frau Schweitzer caught her completely off guard as she suddenly embraced the willowy woman fiercely.

�Oh God, forgive us, Janina,� she sobbed, �please forgive us; we were wrong...�

Janina began to cry herself and returned the embrace gratefully. �Oh, Luise...� Herr Schweitzer stared at the floor, embarrassed and ashamed at how anti-Semitic hatred had manifested itself. The von Reichters had already been devastated enough by their son�s criminal charges and disappearance. But still they got up to stand by their in-law�s side in sympathy.

Rudi turned away from the scene in disgust. If it weren�t for Janina�s kind, his sister and nephew would still be alive. His brother-in-law would be safe. Yet here was his family apologising to her! Where was their loyalty to the Reich?

And whose side will they be on at my military trial? He wondered in horror, throwing a glance at the American GI who was assigned to him.

Maria was buried in a quiet, shady cemetery plot close to the graves of her ancestors. Her tombstone was made of pale marble, with twin cherubs in prayer sculpted at the top to guard her. There was a double inscription on the face. It was often partially obscured by bouquets from the family, and also from an increasing number of Berlin camp survivors who had heard sad rumours that Maria was the girl who had brought them food years before. They were always saddened further by the words on the stone:

****

The group of crew members talked and laughed among themselves as they made their way to the mess hall. The sun had just begun to set and the starboard deck was glowing in the golden light.

Squinting in the brightness, one of the workers caught sight of the two passengers the captain had taken on at Genoa, and pointed them out. His friends, in high spirits as it was dinnertime and the end of their shifts, loudly greeted the men as they passed by. The younger, blond one was amiable enough and waved, but the older one with black hair eyed them with silent contempt.

�Honestly, Krumens,� von Reichter remarked without eye contact when the workers had gone, �there�s no use in being familiar with them if you don�t even speak the same language.�

�But Herr Doktor, maybe they could teach us -�

�The Spanish lessons can wait. We have a great deal of time.� He turned and stood at the railing, light catching the monocle he had taken to wearing in place of glasses. Krumens understood that the conversation was over, and presently returned to his cabin.

Von Reichter tried to stop himself as he felt tears forming in his eyes again. It happened at all times of the day lately. A memory of her smile, or her voice, or the way her hair smelled - Maria would suddenly fill his mind and he was helpless against the pain. The world was such a cruel place.

One day I will change all that, he vowed. One day the world will answer to me.