Page 45 of Library of Forbidden Books

Helene hesitated about bringing Alexander or leaving him there. She finally asked Alice to hold him for her. Helene walked quickly to the building where the camp offices were. She had never been inside. She knocked at the door, then entered. Unlike the rest of the camp, it was clean and orderly.

Helene hadn’t personally encountered the much-feared Ilse. She was the longest-tenured guard at the camp and, from what Helene had been told, the cruelest one of all.

“Helene von Sholtz, I’ve heard quite a bit about you. You’re well-liked in your barrack for teaching your fellow beasts to read and write, even though they’re not worth that. You’re wasting your time.”

Helene made no response, as she knew none was desired. The guards liked to hear themselves drone on.

“Well, congratulations are in order for your baby, but this is no place to raise a child.”

The silence grew uncomfortable.

Ilse proceeded, “Which is why we’ve decided to put him up for adoption. He’ll be raised better by a German family, and we can’t afford to lose a healthy child for the fatherland. Each drop of Aryan blood counts.”

All the air went out of Helene’s lungs. She could not make sense of the words that had just come out of Ilse’s mouth. In Moringen, prisoners had no possessions, and not even their own lives belonged to them. But for them to steal her son . . .

“Ma’am, Alexander is perfectly healthy. I’ll be out soon, and . . .”

“I don’t think you’ve understood me. Tomorrow morning, one of the guards will take the boy to his new family. Your consent is not required. It’s an order!” Ilse shouted. She stood and walked to the door. “Now you’d better get out of here before I lose my patience.”

Helene was crazed with desperation and wanted to plead for mercy, but the rational part of her knew that a sadist enjoyed the suffering of others. So she steeled her face, turned on her heels, and walked down the hallway and away from the office building like nothing was wrong. She did not weep until she was halfway back to the workshop.

Derek packed the car with the baby clothes his mother and mother-in-law had given him, along with plenty of Helene’s favorite foods. He had no idea what she would have been given to eat those many months. He also made sure to bring clean, lightweight clothes and makeup, in case it helped Helene feel more like herself. He smiled as he shut the trunk. In just a few hours, he would see his beloved.

It was a long car trip, over six hours, but Derek tried to enjoy the bright, warm day. Through the open windows wafted the scent of the countryside, the gentle rushing of the rivers, and the sight of the mountains he would cross to reach his destination. Derek treated the day like a holiday. The climate in Berlin was stifling in early autumn, and getting away even for a day sounded delightful.

He reached the town of Moringen around noon and parked outside the camp gate. With the release letter in his hand, he walked up on foot. The guard, unaccustomed to any foot traffic, kept his gun trained on him. Derek put on his military cap and removed his outer jacket to reveal his uniform. The guard’s posture changed immediately.

“Lieutenant.” He saluted. “How can we be of service? Have you lost your way? This is a dead-end road.”

“No, I’ve come to pick up a prisoner who’s being released,” Derek replied with his full authority. He held out the letter.

“Just a moment. Let me go speak with the officer in charge.”

A few minutes later, the guard returned and escorted Derek to the camp offices. Chills ran up his spine as he walked across the courtyard, but he kept his face passive. He could not believe his wife had been forced to live here or that his son had been born in a place like this. He held on to the fact that this nightmare was about to end.

Inside the office, Hans Wehmeyer himself received Derek. He seemed friendly enough and invited Derek to sit.

“They’ve gone to call your wife, and she should be here in a moment. Did you drive from Berlin today?” the Gestapo official asked.

“Yes. I left early this morning.”

“I can only hope the heat isn’t as bad there as it is here.”

“A little less, but it’s more humid in the city.”

The banal conversation was cut short by the arrival of a guard, with Helene behind her.

His wife was emaciated. Her hair was cut so short, she was nearly bald. Her skin was yellowed, and her eyes had deep, dark circles under them. Her skull and cheek bones protruded, but her eyes were every bit as beautiful as Derek remembered.

She threw herself on Derek and started to weep. “They’re going to take Alexander.”

Derek pulled back and looked at her full in the face to see if she was delirious.

“Who’s going to take him?”

“The guard, to give him up for adoption.”

Derek turned and his eyes bore a hole into Wehmeyer. “This is inadmissible. I’ve brought orders for the immediate release of this woman and her child. It’s signed by Heydrich himself!”