War Girl Lotte Read online

  Rachel looked at her hand. “Papers?”

  “Yes. Four brand new identification papers for the Müller children.” Lotte handed over the precious things, beaming with pride.

  “Thank you so much. Lotte, you don’t know how much this means to us.” Rachel’s eyes filled with tears, but she rubbed them away and then hugged Lotte. One after another Israel, Aron, and Mindel came forward and did the same. Mindel was only four and didn’t understand, but the faces of the seven- and ten-year-old boys showed that they knew way too much about the cruelties going on in this world.

  “You’re safe now.” Lotte beamed at them and prepared to leave, but the scared look in Rachel’s eyes held her back. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s just…where should we go now? We can’t return to my parents’ farm with the Keller family living there. And…around here, everyone knows us. Even with these fake papers, we won’t be safe.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that.” Lotte ran a hand through her long hair. Again. Her disappointment with herself grew. Maybe Mutter and Aunt Lydia were right, and she needed to think first instead of acting rashly. “I’ll ask Irmhild. We’ll think of something. Don’t worry, everything will work out just fine.”

  But Lotte was much less confident than she pretended. What if things didn’t work out? Would the possession of fake papers make everything worse for the Epstein children? Had she done them a disservice?

  As much as she ached to rush into Mindelheim to talk with Irmhild, she couldn’t leave the farm alone while Aunt Lydia was gone. And she couldn’t call Irmhild at work either. No, this would have to wait until tomorrow morning.

  When Aunt Lydia finally returned from town, it was already time for dinner. This late in the summer, the sun settled too early to pedal into town and back with daylight. Since Lotte knew that her aunt didn’t approve of Lotte riding her bicycle after nightfall, she decided not to ask and to visit Irmhild first thing in the morning.

  Everyone settled around the kitchen table to eat cooked potatoes with butter and generous portions of home-baked bread. Aunt Lydia poured a glass of milk for each one of them before sitting down, a frown causing deep wrinkles in her forehead.

  “The cows haven’t been producing as much milk lately. Lotte, did you notice anything out of order?”

  Lotte almost dropped the potato she’d just spiked with her fork. “Excuse me, Aunt Lydia?”

  The frown grew even deeper. “When I went into town this morning, the leader of the farmer’s association insinuated I was selling produce on the black market because I sold them considerably less milk and eggs last week than usual.”

  Lotte swallowed hard. All farmers were obligatory members of the Reichsnährstand, the ministry of agriculture. In towns like Mindelheim, the leader of the Kreisbauernschaft, the regional organization of the Reichsnährstand, was almost as powerful as the Party leader. “Now that you mention it, it has been so hot, and the grass on the meadows is getting brown and sparse. I’m sure once the temperature cools down they will be back to normal.”

  “One more reason to start the green fodder harvest. It has been unseasonably warm this year.” Aunt Lydia wiped Maria’s mouth and focused on her food.

  Lotte cast her eyes downward, intent on not attracting any undue attention to herself, and the issue of the cows and hens. She was relieved when Jörg started a conversation about the need to get diesel fuel for the tractor.

  Soon, dinner was over, and Lotte sighed with relief when her aunt gave the order to clear the dinner dishes. Except for two-year-old Maria, all the other children had their tasks, and within minutes, dinner was cleaned up, and the kitchen was set to rights.

  Aunt Lydia had just settled into the armchair, propping up her swollen feet on a stool and massaging her belly, when someone knocked on the door.

  “Who could that be?” Lydia wondered and attempted to get up from the armchair.

  “I’ll get it. You sit and rest,” Lotte called out and rushed to open the door. The next moment, she wanted to slam it into the faces of the unwelcome visitors.

  “Good evening. It’s Lotte, right?” Herr Keller asked, flanked by his wife and Hans.

  “Yes.” Lotte felt hot and cold shivers running up and down her spine.

  “Who is it?” Lydia called from the living room.

  “The mayor and his family,” Lotte called back.

  “Can we come in for a moment?” Herr Keller asked.

  Finally, Lotte’s brain had recovered from the shock and was able to think again. “Of course, Herr Keller, my aunt is resting.”

  She led the visitors into the living room, where her aunt rose from the armchair with much difficulty to greet them.

  “Good evening, Herr and Frau Keller, what brings you here at this hour?” Lydia beamed at them, and Lotte couldn’t tell if the expression was genuine or fake.

  “A social call, Frau Schubert. We are your new neighbors and thought we would stop in to say hello.” Herr Keller removed his hat and looked around the room.

  “Please forgive me for not having visited with you earlier, but with preparing for the harvest next week and this baby due in less than a month…” Lydia pointed to her belly, “I’ve been too tied up here.”

  “No need to worry.” Herr Keller smiled and took long, determined steps from one end of the living room to the other.

  As if he’s measuring the length, Lotte thought.

  “We do understand the important role our farmers have in nourishing our people. People like you are the pillars of the Reich. In fact, my family and I have big plans for the farm we now own. Those dirty Jews left the land impoverished. It’s a good thing they decided to leave.”

  Decided to leave? Lotte wanted to vomit on the mayor’s shiny shoes.

  Aunt Lydia must have sensed Lotte’s inner turmoil because she sent her a warning stare and said, “Lotte, dear, can you please get our visitors some refreshments?”

  “Of course, Aunt Lydia.” Lotte bit her lip at all the other things she wanted to say. Her aunt was not a person to be trifled with.

  Herr Keller sat down on the sofa, legs spread apart as if he owned the place, while his wife crouched beside him. Lotte overheard him and Lydia exchanging courtesies. Frau Keller was the proverbial Nazi wife, quiet and speaking only when spoken to.

  When Lotte entered the living room again, a tray with three glasses of cold lemon balm tea in her hands, Herr Keller had changed the topic to Hitler’s recent successes and the imminent victorious end to the war.

  “The capitulation of Italy was a shock, but considering how unreliable as allies they were in the first place, it’s actually a blessing in disguise. The glorious Wehrmacht will forge forward until our blessed Führer’s Reich is bigger than that of Alexander the Great.”

  Aunt Lydia smiled and nodded, but didn’t add anything to the rant.

  Herr Keller continued, “From North Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, it will be one Grand German Reich. Heil Hitler!” Herr Keller jumped to his feet, his hand stretching forward in the obligatory Hitlergruß.

  Everyone else in the room followed suit, and only Lotte skipped it because she had both hands full with the tray. The picture was ridiculous. Herr Keller, his wife, and son stood facing Lotte with their immaculate posture. In comparison, her aunt and cousins looked like peasants scattered on a chessboard, half-heartedly raising their right arms into the air.

  Lotte focused on handing out the refreshments, or she would have laughed out loud. She couldn’t stay here and listen to this another second. “Aunt Lydia, may I be excused? I forgot I still need to water the garden.”

  “Of course, Lotte.” Lydia turned back to the mayor and his wife. “It’s been such a blessing to have my niece with me. She helps with the chores and the little ones.”

  I wouldn’t have to help if people like you hadn’t sent all the grown men to war. I wouldn’t even have to be here. I would be back home with my family.

  Lo
tte stuck out her tongue while she slipped out the door and headed for the garden and the well. The sound of the door opening and shutting again made her turn around, and her heart sank.

  “Go back inside, Hans,” she said and hurried to the small shed, retrieving the watering can. But when she turned to leave, she found the doorway blocked by his large frame. She sighed. “I need to get the garden watered, and you’re in my way.”

  Hans grinned. “Give me a kiss, and I’ll let you pass.”

  Lotte hid her revulsion at the suggestion and picked up a shovel. “Let me pass, or I’ll hit you with this.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He laughed, pulling the shovel from her hands. “Now, what are you going to do?”

  Anger mixed with fear, and Lotte’s eyes darted between Hans’ strong body and the door. There was no way she could slip through. Goosebumps rose on her arms when she realized she was trapped.

  Hans was still smiling when he moved forward, but nevertheless, he scared the hell out of her. With only a few feet between her back and the wall, she didn’t have many options either. “Hans, move out of the way.”

  “I don’t think I will.” He put his hands on her shoulders, and she stiffened, helpless to prevent being pulled against him.

  “Don’t play difficult to get.” He breathed into her ear. “You’ve been teasing me the entire school year.”

  Lotte shook her head in confusion. Despite attending the same class, she hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with him in two years.

  “That’s better.” Hans lowered his head and kissed her.

  Lotte was too surprised to turn her face away in time, and his hands captured her head like a vise. She pressed her lips together and pushed against his chest, but several long moments passed before he moved back.

  “Now, that was nice. Wasn’t it?” he said, licking his lips.

  Lotte’s vision filled with red, and she slapped him across the face as hard as she could. He looked shocked and rubbed his cheek before spitting on the ground. “You’re going to regret that.”

  “Oh yes? What are you going to do? I promise I’ll slap you even harder if you lay hands on me ever again.”

  Hans dropped his hands, and lowered his voice. “I won’t have to do anything. My father is the mayor and the chief of police. He could take your aunt’s farm away from her if he wanted to. One word from me is all it would take.”

  Even as he finished his threat, he took another step towards her and Lotte’s entire being filled with horror. But Hans didn’t try to touch her again.

  “Think about your aunt next time you plan to deny me what I want.” The threat in his voice lingered long after he had left the shed and returned to the house.

  As soon as Hans was out of sight, Lotte crumpled to the ground, wrapping her arms around her middle.

  Chapter 8

  Lotte spent a restless night in her room. Hans had given her quite a fright when he stole a kiss from her, but that was nothing compared to the terror seeping into her bones when she thought of his father and what he was capable of.

  Would Herr Keller really take Aunt Lydia’s farm away? The same way he’d done with the Epstein farm? An even more terrifying thought entered her mind. What if he sends Aunt Lydia away because of me? What will happen to my cousins?

  Rage boiled in her blood at the injustice. Hans was the one in the wrong. He had taken liberties he had no right to take.

  After a long night of little sleep, she grabbed her bicycle and pedaled to Mindelheim to visit with Irmhild. Lotte caught her getting ready to leave the house.

  “What are you doing here this early?” Irmhild asked and braided her long hair skillfully into a crown around her head.

  “Hans. He trapped me in the shed and stole a kiss.”

  “Hans is vile.” Irmhild wrinkled her nose as she tucked a few daisies into her braids. “Handsome, but he doesn’t know how to treat girls.”

  “He threatened to have his dad take my aunt’s farm,” Lotte cried, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  Irmhild hugged her for a moment. “I’m afraid that isn’t an idle threat. Hans is bad enough. There are rumors about how he treats girls. He’s not a nice boy.”

  “Tell me about it.” Lotte used her fingers to dry her tears.

  “But his father…” Irmhild paused, giving her a serious look. “His father is even worse. He’s my boss, and I’ve witnessed the many times he hasn’t shown an ounce of compassion at all. He might as well climb over dead bodies.”

  “So, what? Hans can kiss me whenever he wishes? Is that the glorious Nazi life?” Rage rose in Lotte’s veins again.

  “Of course he doesn’t have the right to kiss you against your will, but…well, hear me out for a minute, will you?”

  Lotte nodded, her face still an enraged mask.

  “I mean…if all Hans wants are a couple of kisses, and it will keep your aunt from getting into trouble…” She lifted a shoulder. “Well, maybe letting him kiss you is the lesser of the two evils.”

  “I can’t believe you just said that!” Lotte paced Irmhild’s small room. “Besides, I can’t have Nazis like Hans wandering around the farm, they’d find Ra–” Lotte froze in place as the original reason she’d needed to see her friend popped into her mind. “Enough about me, we have a bigger problem.”

  “We do?”

  “Yes. I gave Rachel the papers, and she was overjoyed, but now where does she go?”

  “What do you mean? She goes someplace safe.” Irmhild had barely finished her sentence when her face fell. “Oh goodness, we haven’t thought about that.”

  “I know. I feel stupid, but they can’t just walk out of the barn. Everyone around here knows them.”

  “They could go to Munich,” Irmhild suggested. Munich was the biggest city in Bavaria and only a two-hour train ride away.

  “And do what?”

  “I don’t know. Surely Rachel can think of something.” Irmhild put on her shoes and picked up her handbag. “I have to run some errands for my mom. Come with me?”

  “Munich is being bombed by the enemy. People are leaving the city, not going there.” Lotte linked arms with Irmhild and they left the house.

  “You’re right. What if we find them an abandoned house to stay in?” Irmhild suggested. “There are quite a few around.”

  “And how are they supposed to eat?” Lotte questioned.

  “Well, they could apply for ration cards, just like everyone else.”

  “Again, they would have to go someplace where they weren’t recognized, but where? And how do they get there?”

  Irmhild shook her head. “Well, they can’t take the train. They’d need to have travel permits, and that means coming into my office, and my supervisor will recognize them for sure. He’ll also know that their papers are fake and then we’ll all be in trouble.”

  The two girls grew quiet, the enormity of Rachel’s situation weighing heavily on them.

  “I’ve got it! You remember that convent near Kaufbeuren? It’s just twenty miles away. They could go there.”

  Lotte raised a brow. “The convent? Do you know someone there?”

  “Not me, but Uwe does. His aunt is a nun there.”

  Lotte gave her a hesitant look. “He’s a friend of Hans. Can we trust him?”

  “He’s nothing like Hans, and we won’t tell him the truth anyway. Besides, he fancies you. Ask him nicely, and I’m sure he’ll help us to contact his aunt.”

  Lotte thought for a moment and then nodded. “Uwe sounds like our best option.”

  Chapter 9

  “Don’t you have to go to work today?” Lotte asked while Irmhild delivered several letters for her mother.

  “Yes, but only half the day. I’m not due at the town hall until afternoon. I wouldn’t want to draw undue attention to myself.”

  “Good. Where do you think Uwe could be?” They had returned to Irmhild’s house and fetched their bicycles.

  “Let’s start at his place,” Irmhild suggested.
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br />   “You know where he lives?”

  “Sure I do. Follow me.” Irmhild laughed. “Growing up here I know everyone and everything. It’s not that big of a place.”

  Uwe wasn’t at home, but his mother directed them to the patch of forest he was currently working in.

  Lotte pedaled away, over rough and smooth until they reached the heavy copse of trees. She paused at the edge and waited for a breathless Irmhild to catch up.

  “I guess we have to walk from here.”

  The girls parked their bikes by the side of the trail, not bothering to lock them, and followed the trail into the dense forest. It wasn’t long before they heard the sound of an axe chopping wood and Irmhild pointed to their left. “That has to be him. No one else is allowed in here to cut down trees. Remember, be extra nice to him.”

  Lotte made a face but nodded and followed in the direction of the noise. A loud crash sounded, startling them both, and then silence settled over the forest once more.

  “What was that?” Lotte asked.

  “A falling tree. Uwe first fells the tree and then chops up the branches for firewood. Later, the trunks are pulled out and taken to the lumber mill.”

  “I had no idea. Does he do all of this by himself?” Lotte’s admiration for Uwe grew.

  “No, silly, of course not. He has an ox to pull the trunks to the edge of the forest where a tractor is waiting for them.”

  “Oh.”

  A few minutes later, the two girls stepped into a small clearing and stopped. Uwe was stripped to the waist, swinging his axe at the newly fallen tree, but when he saw them approaching, he stopped, a silly grin spreading across his face.

  Irmhild gave Lotte a push, and she walked over toward him.

  “Hi, Uwe,” she greeted him, trying to figure out how to best broach the reason for her visit.

  Uwe put down the axe and his eyes played over her face. “What brings you deep into the forest?”

  “Looking for you,” she answered honestly.

  “Me?” The silly grin on his face intensified and he stood a little taller.

  That was when Lotte noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His stomach and chest were nothing but muscles and showed a healthy tan. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his bulging biceps and followed his arms down to the strong hands that held the axe in place.