The Voyage (34 page)

Chapter 125

As the
St. Louis
sailed out of the port at Antwerp, Viktor had heavy heart. He’d been forced to leave Elke alone in a strange city, knowing no one. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. And besides all of that, he missed her terribly.

The crew on the ship seemed relieved to have found suitable destinations for the Jewish travelers, but none more than Captain Schroder. As captain of his ship, he’d fulfilled his responsibility and the voyage had been a success.  Over the month that he’d spent with his Jewish charges, Captain Schroder had grown to care deeply for them, not just as a captain but also as a friend. It did his heart good to know they were safe. As the
St. Louis
sailed back toward Hamburg the captain and crew had found peace at last, all except for Viktor.

Viktor and Olof made plans to meet on the first Saturday following the ship’s landing. During the week Olof would go to see his friend and request that the papers be drawn up. Then once he had more information, Olof would meet Viktor at the neighborhood pub, a place they regularly frequented when they came into town. There Olof would tell Viktor exactly what must be done to go forward with the forgeries and how much it would cost.

When he got off the ship in Hamburg, Viktor noticed the Nazi flags and pictures of Adolf Hitler on all of the buildings. Oh, he had seen them before, but he’d never paid attention until now. As he walked through the familiar streets, Viktor realized that he’d boarded the
St. Louis
as a boy in search of adventure, and left it as a man in love with a woman in grave danger. Still, he would not trade even a second of the time he’d spent with Elke. The love he felt for her trumped any fear he had for The Third Reich. 

Viktor arrived at the small cottage in Dinkelsbuhl, where he’d grown up, only to find his father ill will a bad case of influenza and his brother Axel gone. While Viktor had been sailing with the
St. Louis
, Axel had enlisted in the Germany army, leaving his parents anxiously awaiting a letter, which they had not yet received.

Viktor had gone with Olof to Austria on his last leave, and so he had not been home for several months. As he watched his parents, he saw how much they had aged. His mother’s hip bothered her and she’d developed a slight limp when she walked. His father’s illness sent him into fits of coughing that left him gasping for breath. With Axel gone, Viktor became the one light in their lives, and they watched him with joy, their eyes hopeful that Viktor would stay with them for a long time before he went back out to sea.

“You should not be going back on the ship for at least a month, yes?” Viktor’s mother asked.

“I don’t know. I may have to leave sooner.” Viktor felt guilty. They needed him. The house had begun to fall apart.  Still young and strong, Viktor could take care of things for his parents that they could no longer do themselves. But Elke needed him too.

“Well, stay as long as you can, please, Viktor. Your Papa is sick and it’s hard for me to take care of him.”

His father, a barber by trade, had never earned enough money for the family to be able to save. Before Hitler, the country suffered a great depression and except for the very rich, most wives cut their husbands’ hair and mothers their sons.’  So the family lived hand to mouth. But once Viktor began working, he helped them by giving them cash each time he returned from a voyage with a pay envelope. This time he could not give them anything; he must hold on to every penny in order to pay for the forged papers. In fact, he hoped he would have enough.

Viktor went to his father’s bedside.

“Hello, Papa. I just got back.”

“It’s good to have you home.” He coughed. “Hand me my cigarettes; your mother has taken them away again.”

“You shouldn’t smoke when you’re so sick.”

“Yes, I know, but if I am going to die, I’d like to at least die happy. Now, hand them to me.”

Viktor did as his father asked. He watched his father light a cigarette with trembling fingers and then lean back against the pillows to inhale deeply.

“That’s good…”

“You are not going to die, Papa. Not for a while anyway,” Viktor said. “So you should at least make some effort to take care of yourself.”

“Yes, yes, I know.  Axel has made us very proud. He’s enlisted.”

“Mother told me.”

“You don’t approve?” his father asked.

“It’s not that. It’s just that I’m not sure Hitler is as good for Germany as all of you might think he is.”

“He is good for Germany. Since he’s come in to power things are much better for us, much better. When I am not sick, and I can work, I actually have some customers. People have a little bit of money to spend now.”

“Perhaps, but still he is a cruel madman.  Do you realize what he is doing to the Jews? To the Gypsies, to the Jehovah’s Witnesses? To anyone he doesn’t approve of?”

“What do I care about this? I have enough trouble taking care of my family. Now I should worry about Jews and Gypsies? Don’t be an idealist, Viktor. Join the navy and make a career for yourself. Help to rebuild the Fatherland. God knows, Germany needs this.”

His father began coughing again. Viktor patted his back. He knew that his mother would be in agreement with his father, so Viktor decided that it would be best if neither of his parents ever knew that Elke was Jewish.

That Saturday as planned Viktor walked the three blocks to the pub to meet Olof. They usually met around noon, had lunch followed by a few beers.  Viktor waited all day. Olof never came.

Over the next several weeks, Viktor did what he could to help his parents while he waited to hear from Olof.  He needed those papers, but he’d also begun to worry about Olof. He’d put Olof in danger asking him to see a forger. Had Olof been arrested? Viktor agonized over all the what-ifs, but he dared not mention anything about it to anyone, not even to his mother…

Remarkably, at his age, and despite the haphazard way he took care of himself, his father’s health began to improve. He regained his color and his strength, and within a couple of weeks he was able to return to work. 

Viktor called Olof, leaving several messages with his family, but received no reply. He had no idea where to begin to look for other avenues to purchase forged papers, and he dared not trust anyone. Time was passing and Viktor had to take some kind of action, so he finally decided that he would return to Belgium without the papers, marry Elke and stay in Belgium where she would be safe. It would be hard to leave his parents, especially with his brother gone, but he could not find another solution. When he could he would visit, but he knew that if Elke did not have papers, he would be forced to come alone. His family would probably never know his wife.

Viktor packed everything he thought he might need. He spent hours sitting on the floor of his room and going through his old box of memories. His diploma when he graduated from gymnasium. A photo of his brother and him in front of a Christmas tree in the town square when his brother was only ten and he was only eight. The edges of the paper had turned yellow, but Viktor could still see his brother’s eyes, and if he thought hard enough he could still feel Axel’s arm around his shoulder. Oh, Axel, don’t die in the army. Please come back safe…

There were ribbons he’d won in competitions when he’d been in the Hitler Youth. How little he really knew about the Nazi Party then. He’d spouted the propaganda like all of the other boys, but he’d not realized what it meant. Now he did. And now he knew that he could never truly be a Nazi. He squeezed one of the red ribbons in his hand, and then opened his palm to look at it. In the center of the award was a swastika. Viktor wanted to burn the ribbon, to see it go up in flames before his eyes. But his mother would surely smell the smoke and come into his room to investigate, and he didn’t’ feel like explaining.  Once he was fully packed and ready he decided to give Olof one more week before he departed from Germany, leaving behind everyone and everything he had known all of his life.

Almost a month had passed and Viktor had still received no word from Olof. He began to worry about Elke. He’d left her alone, and they had not had any communication since he’d left Belgium. He prayed that she was safe and hoped that she still wanted him. But things could happen; another man could have come into her life. He wanted to call and tell her that he planned to return without the papers and live with her permanently in Belgium. If he reassured her, then perhaps she would continue to wait, that is if he were not already too late.

He dialed the number of the hotel where he had left her. He expected the girl Lara to answer, but instead a man answered and claimed he did not know anyone by the name of Elke Berman. Now Viktor was even more distressed. Either she was using an alias, or she had gone off with another man, or God forbid, she could be in trouble. Perhaps, she’d been forced to leave the hotel. Where would she go and how would he find her? He went to the telegraph station and sent a wire, being careful not to reveal anything illegal. When she did not answer the wire, he knew he must make his way back to Belgium immediately. He would not wait another minute. 

Chapter 126

.

Walking back to the hotel, Elke caressed her belly. If she had to rely on her savings it would diminish fast, but she couldn’t help the situation. If she wanted this child, she must quit her job. When she’d told Dr. Moens what she did for a living he’d said that the work was far too heavy for a woman in her condition.

Elke arrived back at her room, out of breath and still bleeding badly. She lay down upon her bed and stared at the ceiling. Where was Viktor? Would he ever return?

In the morning, her face pale as an Easter lily, she went downstairs and quit her job, and then she paid for the room for the next month. As she peeled the bills off, her small pile of money looked much smaller.

The entire day she stayed in bed. The cramps increased and grew more painful.

Chapter 127

The morning Viktor planned to leave, Olof knocked on the door of his parents home.

“Olof, where have you been? I’ve been waiting and trying to reach you.”

“I was trying to get the papers for you, but my friend was arrested. The
Gestapo
caught him working with some underground agency. I don’t know where they’ve sent him.”

“So you should have come by and told me.”

“I should have. But I was afraid, considering I’d just met with my friend the night before he was caught. I thought they might be watching me and since you are trying to get papers, I decided it would be best you have as little association with me as possible until all of it settled down.“

“So I am assuming that you cannot help me find anyone else to draw up papers?”

“The strange thing is I can. One of the men who work with the organization that my friend was affiliated with has contacted me. He said my friend had asked him forge these papers for you before he was arrested. He is willing to it, but he wants a great deal of money. Viktor, are you sure this is what you want? You are home now. You will find another girl, and you will fall in love again. This one is too much trouble. You could end up in a work camp. And certainly you will end up broke buying these papers. He wants 200 Reich
smarks
. That’s a lot of money, and we didn’t earn anywhere close to that amount working on the last two voyages.”

“I’m sure. I want the papers. I will get the money one way or another.”

“Viktor?” Olof looked at him. Their eyes connected and then Olof shook his head, grabbing Viktor’s shoulder. “If this is what you want… You’re 100 percent sure?”

“It is. I am sure of it. How soon can it be done?”

Viktor borrowed money from his parents, from every friend he had, including Olof, and even from the priest he’d known all of his life, to whom he confessed the entire operation. The priest was kind and understanding, willing to help, but very concerned about Viktor’s safety. They prayed together. Then Viktor took all the money he’d put together and went to see Olof.

“I have the money.”

Olof took the envelope. “I’ll bring this to him tonight. Then I’ll come by your house tomorrow.”

The following day Olof arrived early in the morning. Viktor’s parents were still asleep when the knock on the door awakened Viktor.

Olof came in.

“Her name will be Edda Beckenbauer. She will be a Catholic.”

Viktor nodded.

“I will have the papers tonight. It might be late, but as soon as I get them, I will bring them to your home. I’ll come to your window and knock, so that I don’t wake your parents. The way we used to do it when we wanted to escape and go fishing when we were kids.”

“I remember, and I will be waiting.”

True to his word, Olof arrived at a little past eleven the following evening, papers in hand. “God be with you, my friend. Please be careful,” Olof said. Viktor reached through the window and took the papers; then he tucked them inside of his socks, burying them deep within his suitcase.

“I will, and Olof, I don’t know how I can ever thank you. But as soon as I find work, I will pay back every penny you gave me.”

“I’m not worried about the money. I don’t care about it. Just be careful, and for God sake don’t get caught.”

“Olof, the first train ticket I was able to get was for the day after tomorrow, would you come with me to the pub tomorrow night?  I’d like to buy you a few beers.”

“How could I turn down a drink?” Olof smiled. “Although I’m surprised you still have any money left at all.”

“I hardly have any. But I still want to say goodbye and thank you.”

“Well, maybe you’ll let me buy the beer,”Olof said.

“We’ll see.  I will miss you, my friend. I will miss our days at sea together,”Viktor said.

“As will I.”