The Heart Of A Gypsy (29 page)

“Father, I will do whatever you ask. Just please, this one time, I am begging you…help me. My wife was taken by the SS. I don’t know where they took her. She is a gypsy girl; her name is Nadya. She would be listed as Nadya Stearn. Please, I beg you… find her for me and I will be forever in your debt.”

A spark flickered in the old man’s memory; he remembered the pretty little gypsy that he had sterilized. Something about her had disturbed him greatly, so of course he’d been unable to forget her. The girl’s name had been Nadya, he was sure of it. He hadn’t paid much attention to her surname. It just hadn’t seemed important at the time. To him, she had been nothing more than another Romany girl, and he’d assumed she had one of those long unpronounceable Romany surnames. Then he remembered…she was pregnant when he performed the procedure.  The doctor clutched his chest as a sharp pain radiated through his heart and then down his arm. In a flash of despair it all became clear to him… Dr. Eberhart realized that he had aborted his own grandchild.

“I have seen this girl. I know where she is. I will tell you if you agree to leave the Resistance. It is for your own good, son. It is for your own safety. Join the party, Christian; it will make your life so much easier,” Dr. Eberhart pleaded. Why had his son chosen a gypsy girl to marry and bear his seed? It didn’t matter. Actually, at this point nothing mattered to the doctor. The baby the gypsy girl carried was of Eberhart blood, his son’s child, the doctor’s legacy, his own bloodline.  Dr. Eberhart was consumed with the horrific knowledge that he’d killed it. Reinhart Eberhart now remembered, exactly, the look of the tiny fetus. In fact, he thought he might have kept it in one of his jars. Suddenly the doctor had an overwhelming need to vomit. His head ached and the blood pounded behind his eyes. He began seeing black dots floating around the room, but he could not let on to Christian, because the doctor knew for certain that if Christian discovered what his father had done, he would never forgive him. “There is no way to get her out of the soldier house safely. If you try you will put yourself in mortal danger. But, you can still see her. In fact, you can see her whenever you like. I will make the arrangements. I will call immediately, and I will tell them you are an SS officer. As an officer, you automatically have privileges in the soldier house. There is even the possibility that I can get it approved by the authorities that you will be her only male visitor.”

“A soldier house? Isn’t that a brothel? My wife is in a brothel? Oh, God… My poor little Nadya!” Christian stood up and paced the room. He felt the sweat bead on his brow as his heart sped up. “What brothel? Where is it? Tell me!” He pounded on his father’s desk with his fist. “Tell me father,
now
!”

“Don’t worry… You can continue to see her.” Christian was his only son. If this went wrong he would surely lose him forever. And that was only the half of what could happen. If Christian tried to take matters in his own hands, he would surely be killed. There would be no way the doctor could prevent them from killing Christian if he got out of hand and began shooting guards at the soldier house. It was because of his father’s influence that he had survived many of his escapades, but Christian remained unaware of his father’s interventions. Behind the scenes Christian’s father acted in whatever manner necessary to keep his son alive, including very expensive bribes, putting himself and Christian’s mother at risk of severe punishment if he were caught. But this time Dr. Eberhart would not be able to intervene. 

“Please father, tell me where she is! Tell me what I must do… I will do whatever you ask of me.” Christian fell to his knees at his father’s feet. He held fast to his father’s pants leg and shook him.

“Get up from the floor. She is in a soldier house in Berlin. I’ll give you directions, and then I will make the telephone call. But Christian, you must follow the rules. You will be allowed to see her, but do not, under any circumstance, try to get her out of that place. When you go there, you must act as if you are a true Nazi. Do you understand me?” Dr. Eberhart said.

“Yes.”

“And you will do as I say?”

“Yes.”

C
hapter
66

When Christian left his father’s office, Dr. Eberhart telephoned the soldier house to inform them that Christian Eberhart, his son and an officer in the SS, would be arriving, with permission from himself, to use the facilities. The doctor explained that Christian would most likely choose to have one of the women reserved exclusively for his pleasure, and if money was required to keep a girl solely for Christian’s purposes, the doctor would be happy to pay the fee.

Then, once the arrangements were in order, Dr. Eberhart hung up the telephone, poured himself a shot of whiskey, which he drank in a single swig, and then went home. He was not feeling well. Sharp pains jabbed at his heart and his head ached. The dark spots had begun to fade, but his vision was blurry and unclear. When he arrived earlier than usual at the lavish house he shared with his wife, she studied him and said he looked terribly pale. Frau Eberhart drew her husband a warm bath and insisted that he relax while she prepared a light lunch for him.

The doctor lay in a porcelain tub surrounded by the warm water, but he could not enjoy the sensation. Instead he was preoccupied with the abortion he’d performed on Nadya. Over and over it came; it stabbed at his mind that it was Christian’s child he’d killed and his son’s wife that he’d sterilized. For the first time in his life, Dr. Eberhart realized fully that he’d become a monster. When he rose from the tub, he looked at his reflection in the steamy bathroom mirror.  His eyes were sunken and ghostly, and his face was lined. When he could not bear to look at his reflection anymore he turned away. Then quietly, so that he would not to disturb his lovely blonde wife, who was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for his lunch, the doctor went to his bedroom. In the drawer of the night table beside his bed he kept a pistol. Dr. Eberhart took the weapon in his hand and felt the cool steel of the revolver against his hot, sweaty palm. Then he checked to make sure the gun was loaded.

It was.

A single tear fell from his eye as he looked at the picture on the wall. It was a photograph of his wife, himself and Christian as a young boy. They had just been to the zoo. Christian held a red lollipop. Looking at the picture now, Dr. Eberhart wondered why he had never noticed it before, but the sucker matched his wife’s lipstick perfectly. The whole family was smiling. Those were such good times. So long ago…before Hitler…before…

Dr. Eberhart squeezed his eyes shut, then with trembling hands he put the gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

C
hapter
67

On the train ride back to town, Christian’s mind raced, and by the time he’d walked the five miles from the train station back to the Gypsy camp he had a plan.

He went to Ion’s wagon.  Ion was alone sitting outside his
vurdun
cleaning one of the firearms. When he saw Christian he stood up. Relief flooded Ion’s face.

“Christian, where have you been?” Ion asked.

“Never mind. I had somewhere I had to go. Now I am back, and I know where Nadya is. We must engage the help of the Polish Underground. Her rescue will be a big operation.”

“Where is she?”

“Ion…she is in a solider house in Berlin.”

“A soldier house? What is that?”

“It’s a Nazi brothel.”

Ion frowned. “How do you know this?” Ion asked.

“Don’t ask me now. After Nadya is safe I will tell you everything. You must trust me,” Christian said.

Ion nodded. “I have always trusted you, my brother. Then let’s waste no time…we’ll go to the camp of the Underground right now,” Ion said. 

Mounting their horses, they rode with faster than was safe, galloping through the small pathways in the forest.

They were greeted warmly at the camp of the Poles. Several of the men, including the leader of the Underground, hugged Christian. A small fire smoldered in the center of the campsite, with a steaming cauldron of soup simmering over it.

“Welcome, my brothers.” The leader patted Christian and Ion on the back. “Would you like something to eat?”

“No, thank you,” Ion answered.

“You have been asking for my help?” Christian said to the leader. He was too impatient for small talk. “Well, right now, I need yours…all of the men that you know, from every group of Resisters… I need them all. My wife is in a soldier house in Berlin. We must raid it and break her out.”

“How do you know this? And have you a plan for how you are going to break her out? And what would you like us to do to help you?”

“I will tell you. First of all, it doesn’t matter how I know where she is. I know.” Christian looked directly into the man’s eyes.

“I’m listening. Go ahead.” The Polish leader leaned against a tree.

“Here is my plan,” Christian continued. “I will dress as a SS officer. I have already acquired special permission to use the soldier house. I think the best time to invade is when the customers leave for the night and the women are alone with guards. So here is my plan. While you and your men organize outside at every entrance, I will infiltrate from within. I will make sure to open all of the doors, giving you easy access to enter. I am sure that they are normally locked, but I will see to it that they are all unbolted. You will have a man watching each entrance. When he receives the signal from me that the door is open, he will ready his group. I will do this until all of the doors are open. When I have unlocked the last door I will signal to the man outside that the entire building is now accessible. At this point one of the men outside must do a bird call letting the others know that the building is ready for invasion. Next, our family of freedom fighters will attack from all sides; they will enter the soldier house shooting. Chaos will ensue due to the surprise attack. Believe me; the Nazis will be caught off guard. While the Nazis are trying to defend themselves, I will seize my wife and bring her out to safety. Before anyone can assess what has happened, Nadya and I will be on our way back to the gypsy camp. After a couple of days have passed, Ion and I will meet you and your men back here at your campsite.  Then I will fulfill the mission to go to Switzerland that you have been asking me to carry out. Can you get the other groups of Resisters to work with us? And will you agree to this?”

“Of course I agree, and I am pretty sure that all of the other groups will join us. Hhow long do I have to organize this?”

“One day… I cannot bear to think of Nadya in that place.”

“That’s not much time.” The leader of the Underground scratched his scraggly facial hair and studied Christian. “Very well… One day, then.”

When they arrived back at Christian’s
vurdun
, Ion insisted that Christian get some sleep.

“You will need the rest…you must be strong when we begin this mission. Once again, my brother, a great deal of the task is on your shoulders.” Ion longed to know how Christian had got his information. How had he found Nadya? But Ion would not ask Christian; he’d promised to wait until they’d rescued Nadya to ask him, and he would keep his word.

“I will be strong when the time comes. I will fight with every ounce of strength in my body…I cannot sleep. Every minute that passes, my wife is in danger, and with every breath I take I can think of nothing else. Ion, I must save the only woman I will ever love.”

C
hapter
68

Rolph, the German soldier, was young and inexperienced with women. When he took Nadya up to the private room reserved for sexual pleasures, he did not know how to begin. Shy, quiet and slightly embarrassed, he began a conversation with her. Instead of making love, he told her about his home and his family.

“I am from a small town outside of Hamburg.”

“I’ve been through Hamburg. It is quite lovely.” Nadya smiled, and as she looked more closely at Rolph, she realized he was only a boy. It dispelled her fear.

“Yes it is. I miss my home very much. Where are you from?’

“Me? I am Romany… I am from everywhere. My people are travelers.”

“So you have seen a great deal of the world,” Rolph asked.

“Yes, I have.” She smiled at him. “And you?”

“Until I left with the army, I had never been out of my home town.”

“And your family, are they still there?” Nadya asked

“Yes, and I miss them.”

Nadya had read enough tarot cards and worked with enough people to have a fairly good understanding of human nature. Even though she was young, she’d seen and helped many people.  As she studied this boy, she made a decision. It was essential that he see her as human; if he did he would be far less likely to force her into something against her will.

“Do you have a sister, Rolph?” Nadya looked into his eyes as she asked him.

“Yes, but she is just a child, only eleven.”

“I bet you love her very much.”

“Yes, I do. She admires me so.”

“I have an older brother. His name is Ion.”

“Are you close to him?”

“Yes, very close. After our parents were taken away we clung to each other.” Nadya could see by the look on his face that the young soldier was touched. She took a deep breath and decided to take a dangerous risk. If he were to get angry, he could call for the guards and she would pay dearly. But somehow she didn’t believe he would do that. “If your sister were a prisoner in a soldier house, how would you feel, Rolph?”