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Although the National Socialist Party leaders had tried to keep the plans secret, they had been leaked to the newspaper. The details made chilling reading:
Jews living in Germany will have no right to citizenship…No Jew can have a government job. A Jew cannot give testimony in a German court…All Jews will be subject to special laws. They are to pay a special tax. Jews are forbidden to give medical treatment to Christians. Marriages between Jews and Christians will be declared invalid. Jewish children are not allowed to attend German schools or universities…The German state reserves the right to intern or deport undesirable Jewish denizens who violate the interests of the German people.
As part of thefinal solution, the document continued:
…it is proposed to use Jews in Germany for labour and reclaiming German moorlands…under the control of the SS.
Minki stood up and ran to the bathroom. Clutching at the edges of the basin, she retched violently, but her empty stomach yielded nothing but water. She sank down on the edge of the bath, her head in her hands. It seemed incredible that the Party could be capable of such vindictiveness and cruelty. How could Joseph be any part of it? After all, he had once been in love with a Jewish woman – Else– who he had loved almost as passionately as he now loved Magda. How could those feelings of love have been replaced with such hatred? Was his lust for power so all-consuming that he was prepared to abandon his humanity?
Minki thought of all the impressive Jewish people she knew – in particular, of Leila and Viktor. She tried to put herself in Leila’s position – writing an article about evil policies that would impact her own life so severely. What courage, she thought– and what a contrast to herself. Minki had always taken such pride in standing aloof from politics, convincing herself that her objective stance was in some way noble. But in reality, it was just cowardice. Instead of challenging the philosophy of the National Socialist Party, she had stayed silent, and wasted the last few years of her life writing trivial articles about housekeeping. Now she felt ashamed.
Moments later, Max came into the bathroom and found his wife with her head in her hands. ‘Darling, are you all right?’
‘What?’ She looked up at him blankly. ‘Yes…I suppose so.’
‘Well, come on, hurry up. We have to leave in half an hour. We can’t be late for Joe’s wedding.’
‘No, of course not.’ She got to her feet, her legs trembling beneath the purple dress. ‘After all, we don’t want to upset the great man, do we?’
19
MUNICH
January 1932
Just after Christmas, Leila was made deputy political editor of the newspaper. It was a huge honour, and to her delight the new job came with its own office – a tiny space off the main newsroom. She also had a secretary, named Katja, who looked after both her and Edmund Goldschagg.
The article she had written with Edmund revealing the ‘Jewish plan’ had caused a huge stir. Martin Gruber, the paper’s editor, was determined to keep up the pressure and insisted that his political journalists use all their contacts to find similar stories.
One day, Edmund was sent secret details of an order issued by Heinrich Himmler about eugenics – one of the National Socialists’ new policies on racial superiority. Himmler was head of the SS – an elite corps of men who swore personal allegiance to Hitler. The directive contained details of how the Party intended to put the policy into action.
‘Listen to this,’ Edmund called out to the newsroom. His colleagues gathered round. ‘I’ll read you a few extracts…
‘“No SS member may marry a racially inferior woman. He must check first with an SS specialist in genetics, to ensure he marries only someone who is free of hereditary disease, and possesses Nordic and German characteristics…”’
‘Good God,’ muttered Julius.
‘Oh, and there’s more,’ said Edmund: “The future of the German people depends on the selection and preservation of healthy blood.”’
Martin was keen to run the story the following day. ‘I’ve already got the headline: “Nazi Breeding Facility – Foretaste of the Third Reich”.’
Reading the final text before it went to press, Leila felt a deep chill running through her body. She looked over at Julius Zerfass, that day’s news editor. ‘This story Edmund’s written, it’s almost unbelievable. Do you think people will understand what it means?’
Julius shook his head and shrugged. ‘I fear most people are simply unwilling to open their minds to this sort of evil. They would rather bury their heads in the sand, and carry on with their daily lives, than challenge the authorities.’
‘If the National Socialists get into power this will become law…’
Julius nodded sadly. ‘It’s up to us – and papers like ours – to try and stop that happening.’
Leila had just returned home that evening when the phone rang in the hall. She ran to answer it. ‘Hello…yes.’
‘Leila?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s Max…I wanted you to know that Minki had her baby last night – a girl.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful news. Are they both OK?’
