WHEN GOD LOOKED AWAY.

August 13th Sunday.

The ringing of the churches bell tower interrupt my task on this gray morning.The skys are gray and indicate the coming of a storm. The sun's radiant light is dulled by monotone color of the clouds. The Lieutenant has me going through boxes of new supplies and inventorying them. The Lieutenant sits at the outdoor table and listens intently to the radio. The Allies have increased their bombing runs deeper in to the homeland, and its leaving the Lieutenant on edge. But somehow I sense that is not whats bothering him. There is something he is not telling us, something tragic, I can tell by the look in his eyes. I'm almost afraid to find out what it is that disturbs him. Kurtz plays with Otto the cat in the field just outside the trench. The tall grass hides the black feline but a glimpse can be caught of him as he occasionally pounces at the running boys heels. Kurtz laughs in enjoyment, an innocent glee that only the innocent possess. He still doesn't understand the war or the fact that it is coming closer to home. Obrenski has been brooding more, hiding himself in the barracks. The SS shot one of his drinking buddies, he has known for a while, for breaking curfew. Obrenski has bordered between anger and sadness for the last couple of days. Normally I would ask him for help but the Lieutenant told me not to bother him. After all, Obrenski doesn't really have many friends.

And that brings the matter of the SS. Aside from establishing a curfew, they have enacted new laws, check points and rationing. Irina's letters tell me that people are being arrested for speaking out, some even beaten by the SS. But the brunt is taken by the Jews, with such prejudice towards them, there is little who stand in their defense. The partisan group Blue Rose has made an appearance again, there was an attack on the SS headquarters in the Heisenberg hotel. There was a short shootout outside the building before the partisans made their escape in a getaway car. This act has increased patrols causing the SS to tighten their grip on the city. I worry more now that there are battles in the town that I call home. Irina's worried, I'm worried, something bad is going to happen soon and I can feel it. LIke a gnawing at the stomach, I feel it.

Then comes the sprinkling of rain, not enough to be soaked but enough to be a pester. A lone rider emerges down the dirt road coming to us. I recognize it as Irina and my heart wells with warmth. But something is wrong, she petals as fast as she can. She cries out "Franz!" She comes skidding into the gun pit, by now the Lieutenant has come over and Obrenski has emerged. She pants out of breath stammering to speak, "Franz… there is… somethings wrong…" The Lieutenant tries to calm her, "What's wrong dear?" She continues trying to catch her breath, "Oh Lieutenant ... .its…its the Jews!" Obrenski steps in and asks concerned, "What's with the Jews?" She replies, "The SS are…are… well … I don't know." Kurtz approaches our group and exclaims,"Hi Irina!" "Not now Kurtz!" Obrenski snaps. The Lieutenant asks, "Ok start over. What happened?" She takes a deep breath and a tear rolls down her cheek as she says," They are taking them." "Taking them where?" Obrenski asks. "I don't know." She replies. "Right," the Lieutenant says, "Franz, Obrenski, go with her and find out what is happening. Take the Kubel."

Me, Obrenski, and Irina board the kubelwagon and load her bike in the backseat. The patter of rain pelts us as we drive into the city. Irina tries to explain to us what was happening but then we see it with our own eyes. We stop at an intersection where a crowd of people have gathered to spectate. The city's population has gathered on both sides of the street to observe an event we cannot see. We get out of Kubelwagen and make our way up to the group.

Me, Obrenski and Irina push our way through the crowded sidewalk in an attempt to discover the cause for the commotion. When we finally break through the gathering, we find that both sides of the street are lined with spectators. I discover the cause, being herded through the streets by soldiers of the SS, are hundreds of men, women, and children, all of them marked by the yellow star. The SS soldiers are marked by black uniforms with red swastika arm bands they wear upon the left sleeve. The lighting runes of the SS are distinctive on their right collar. They hurl insults and vulgarities at the flock of jews as they corral them through the street toward the train station. The people of the city line the road and watch as the event takes place. SS soldiers wield rifles and strike those who step out of line. Suddenly a young jewish boy, of at least twelve, breaks from the pack and cries out desperately for his father. An SS soldier rushes to him and utters snarling," You dirty jew filth." He cracks the boy abruptly across the face with the butt of his rifle. Most of the crowd gasps in shock, I am horrified to hear a few cheers from the spectators though.The boy falls to the ground and red blood pours from his bleeding face. The SS soldier positions himself to strike the boy again. The young boy cries and pleads as tears and blood stream from his face, he sticks up his hands in an attempt to shield himself from the next blow. Irina holds her hand to her mouth in a perpetual gasp. Obrenski's fist tightened into a firm, angered clinch. I cannot simply believe what I am witnessing. Suddenly a woman in a blue dress breaks from the spectators who line the sidewalks and rushes to the boy. She attempts to raise the boy, but is suddenly struck by a slap to the face from the SS soldier causing her to stumble backward. The crowd watches horrified. A heckler from the crowd shouts,"Beat that jew loving whore!" I am horrified that anyone can support this display of violence. The SS soldier pushes her back into the crowd with the rifle and she stumbles and falls onto the sidewalk. With the SS soldier distracted, the jewish boy scurries to hide among the group of yellow starred individuals. I feel helpless and horrified at these atrocities. Obrenski mumbles under his breath,"Fucking Nazis." Irina looks on with tears that roll down her cheeks. I feel a mixture of despair and anger.

Those jews who fall behind the pack are knocked to the ground by dozens of SS soldiers. I watch one older man be knocked to the ground. A small group of four SS soldiers surround him and kick and beat him with their rifles savagely. The beating ensues for a few minutes and the old man lays there helplessly. I pray the violence will stop. A man in an SS officer uniform approaches the scene of barbaric violence. Thank God! He will put a stop to it. The soldiers halt their battery and stand at attention. Thank God he stopped them. The officer suddenly pulls from his holster a pistol and, with a sharp crack, shoots the defenseless, beaten old man in the head. The crowd screams and gasps though a few cheers can be heard. Irina whimpers in a whisper."Oh my God." I feel shock and anger. Obrenski huffs angrily. They just killed an innocent old man! Those monsters! Bright red blood pours from the dead man and slowly rolls down the cobblestone road. The officer kicks the body of the newly deceased man with his hobnail boots to ensure his death before holstering his pistol nonchalantly and stepping over the body. The four SS soldiers follow suit and laugh over their actions as though it were some form of amusement.

Irina eyes grow wide and she exclaims,"Uncle Nuham!" She turns to me and pleads,"Franz, we have to find him." I pray he is alright. "Do you think he will still be at the toy shop?" I ask. Obrenski speaks up," You two go find him, I'll stay here and try to find out what is going on." Irina grabs my hand and we are on a mission to find the toymaker as we push our way through the crowded sidewalk. Irina races, dragging me along with her as we part the populus.

As we near the jewish quarters, the steady flow of jews continues out of the main checkpoint. Two people, a teenage boy and girl, break from the crowd, hand in hand, and make a dash for the nearby street. Two SS soldiers shout at them before raising their rifles. Two loud cracks sound and both boy and girl fall onto the street as blood streams for their wounds. The girl is still alive though and crawls over to her companion. She tries to shake him awake with no avail and she looks back at the two SS soldiers steadily advancing toward her. Irina looks on with tears, the crowd simply looks away. I grab Irina's hand and pull her through the flock. Only problem now is that we have to break free of the group on the other side of the checkpoint. Guards stand menacingly eyeing for any one who steps out of line. We have to breakthrough but there is a strong chance we could be shot. But we have to find Uncle Nuham. Irina cries out, "Uncle Nuham!" There is no response. The group of people simply ignore us as they part around us like a rock in a stream. "Uncle Nuham!" she shouts again. We are ignored. She looks terrified but I try to comfort her by saying," He could still be at the toy shop." She nods her head in agreement and we renew our resolve to find him. Now we just have to get past the guards, which could be a deadly affair, for we have already seen what the SS will do to stragglers. As we make it to the otherside of the gate. I look at Irina, who has a terrified look on her face, and I say," We are going to have to make a run for it." She looks at me and nods. This is either going to go well or be the end of us. But I am with her. My heart feels like it will beat out of my chest, sweat beads off of my skin. Like a runner waiting for the signal to start, I tense myself up and tighten every muscle in my body. My nerves feel like they will get the best of me, I almost wish we didn't have to go, Like we could turn back now. We are at the threshold of what could be a successful escape or a futile death. I take a deep breath, which feels like my final, grab Irina and shout, "Now!" We take off in a mad dash down the street breaking free from the crowd. An SS soldier takes notice and shouts, "Hey! Stop!" followed by the cries of whistles. I sprint faster than I ever have in my entire life, Irina follows close behind me. We just need to cross the open ground to a few nearby buildings and then we should be safe. The whistles turn to gun fire as the sharp cracks of rifle sound. I can feel the whizzing of bullets as they fly past us. We are almost there, to the safety of the buildings. Another volley of cracks sound and I can hear the impacts of bullets at our feet. I am too afraid to look back.We dash and make a sharp turn around the corner and find shelter behind the shop. We have evaded them for now but we cannot stop. We continue to sprint until we find the safety of a nearby alley way. Whistles sound as me and Irina place our backs to the brick wall of the alley. Soon the heavy clacking of hobnail boots follow as several SS try to pursue us. I hold my breath with my heart furiously pounding, I feel as though I cannot breathe. The footsteps come quickly closer and closer. I brace myself to be caught and killed. I close my eyes and prepare for the worst. But soon the rapid footsteps continue past us and away. We evaded them. I take a deep breath and pant heavily. I feel like I haven't breathed in a lifetime. My heart feels like it will beat out of my chest. I can't believe we just did that. Irina pants heavily but looks at me. It is time to continue.

As we scurry across the streets we find much of this part of town abandoned. Its eerily quiet aside from distant whistles and shouts. The buildings look ransacked, luggage and hastily discarded personal items litter the streets. The sky is a dark gray and a hint of rain begins to fall. We make our way to Nuham's toyshop where it is found abandoned and smashed. The great window has been shattered and the front door hangs from hinges from being forcefully kicked in. As we step into the toy store, we find the shelves knocked to the ground and the works of the great artist littered about. For fear of being found out, Irina calls in a shouting whisper,"Uncle Nuham? Are you here?" There is no answer. We round his work table and I notice his craftsmanship in the form of a little pink doll house, but something strikes me odd about it. The gray sky almost drowns out all of the color of the many toys that litters the ground of the strewn shop. But this little doll house seems to be the only survivor of a rampage and radiates brilliantly pink in comparison. It seems so out of place. Me and Irina round the table and into the back room and find that it fared no better back here. Paints spilled in dull colors streaked across the floor, and worksmith benches were destroyed. Irina finds the staircase to the second floor and calls up, "Ishmel are you there?" before proceeding up to investigate. I stand alone and look about the destroyed shop wondering if they were taken in with the others. Again my gaze is drawn to the little doll house, so out of place. Why? Why was it spared? Irina returns and quivers with a tear rolling down her cheek, "Franz they are not here. What are we going to do?" I try to comfort her by saying, "We will find them." though I truly don't believe it myself. She says in denial, "Maybe they hid." I reply to comfort her, " Then we will start looking."

As we are about to leave, my attention is yet again brought to the attention of the little pink doll house. And sudden possessive urge to destroy it, as though it calls to me. I go over, pick it up and smash it on the ground. Irina snaps surprised, "Franz! What are you do…" Then we both notice it, a rolled up strip of paper that had been hidden in the recesses of the toy. Me and Irina look at each other before I pick up the parchment and gently unfurl it. It reads:

My little Irina,

If you have found this then you must know that I have been taken by the Nazis by now. Do not weep child for I go fulfilled. I have a confession I must make. It was I who built the bomb that destroyed the factory. And with Ishmel's help working at the factory, it made it all too easy to succeed. This my child was a plan long in the making, the end of the war is near and I felt I must do my part to help bring about its swift end. I was no fool, I knew the Nazis would come for us eventually and thus why I had carefully concealed this letter, I knew you would find it. My little Irina, make the most of your time and marry that boy, he is a good one. He will take care of you. And you young man, yes I know you are near, take care of her, swear to me you will defend her and never strike her in anger. This is my wish for you two, see it fulfilled. It brought warmth to my heart to see you two so happy and in love. I felt that way once as a young man. Irina it is up to you to take care of your mother now, my absence will affect her the most. Now go you two, fall in love, marry and make plenty of beautiful children. This is my decree. I love you dearly my little Irina,

Love your Uncle Josef Nuham.

Irina and I look at each other, she has tears rolling down her cheeks, I noticed that I am tearing up as well. She asks,"What do we do now?" "I don't know." I reply. She suggests, "Maybe we can still find them. They couldn't have gotten far." She still remains in a state of denial. I feel I must confess to her that they are probably long gone, but it would shatter her spirit. I hesitate before saying," irina… They..They are gone." She looks and says to me frustrated, "How can you say that!" "Irina.. I'm just trying to be realistic." "They are out there Franz and I am going to find them with or without you." She dashes angrily out of the building into the gray light of the street. I call for her, " Irina, wait!" by then she has already rounded the building. I chase after worried she will get herself killed by roving bands of SS.

Irina stops dead in her tracks at the corner of a building. I see her gasping, tears trickling from her eyes. She screams, "Franz!" while pointing in the air and sinking to her knees. She sobs loudly in distress that is on the borderline of agony. I turn the corner and look and see two bodies of older men hanging from the lamp post. They dangle from crude hangman's rope and gently swing in the breeze. I am shocked but the realization hits me for why Irina is so distraught. I didn't recognize it but it is Josef and Ishmel Nahum. Her close family friends of so many years hang there executed by the SS. Their faces are pale in distraught, their distinctive beards have been crudely cut, a sign of insult. Josef's old and wrinkled face is almost unrecognizable from several cuts and bruises including black eyes. Ishmel looks as though he is missing teeth and his jaw looks misaligned, no doubt broken by the Nazis. Both men's clothes are torn and spattered with blood from a violent struggle. Their garments still bare the yellow star. At their feet, hangs a sign that reads the inscription," Insolent Jews." Those poor men! I try to comfort Irina who cries to the point of screaming. Her face buried in her hands, she sobs as though she is crying for her life. I race to quiet her fearing that we will be found out by the SS. I grab her arm and yank her limp self to her feet.She still sobs loudly. I drag her and say,"Come on, we need to get out of here."

As I lead the now silently emotionally numb Irina through the streets. I worry about her, this was a devastating loss to her. A loss I can not even possibly fathom. She remains silent with eyes in a glaze. I need to get us out of here, the SS will think we are Jews and shoot us if we are not careful. We can't leave via the main gate, which we came in, too many SS. I don't know enough about this part of town to find us a safe exit. And what makes matters worse is that the only person who does know these streets is too traumatized to speak much less guide us out of here. I don't know what we are going to do.

The earth suddenly rumbles and the unmistakable sound of tank treads squeaking sound around the corner. Me and Irina turn the corner and see the boxy shape of a panzer IV rumbling down the street. What is it doing here? What more can they want here? We try to cross the street behind the tank as it slowly travels. Then Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of rifle fire breaks up the eerie silence of the street. Bullets ping off the tank's gray hull. Bullets impact the ground around us throwing up debris. Then I realize they are shooting at us, I grab Irina by the hand and race to the nearest building. I kick open the door of an abandoned corner shop and we take cover inside. The rifle fire intensifies outside as some rebellious jews, more than likely the partisan group Blue Rose, attempt an act of defiance to keep themselves from the fate of their companions. Suddenly the ripple of the tanks machine gun spew bullets down the street as the tank begins to retaliate. The rifle fire stops for a moment, and eerie long silence ensues to where I can hear my own breathing. Then just as abruptly the clamor of violence crescendos aggressively where it is louder than before. Multitude of bullets ping and ricochet off of the tank. Bullets rip into the shop we are in and me and Irina take cover behind some of the furniture. Suddenly the whine of the tank's turret begins as it slowly swivels the barrel of cannon to the source that disturbs the metal beast. The turret suddenly stops and after a moment of intense silence, the cannon sounds a deafening boom that not only echoes throughout the street but also shakes the shop we are in and shatters the windows. I watch a tank shell zip at high speed and in an instant slam into the targeted building. A loud explosion sounds and soon after the sound of crashing rubble and glass echo. Then the uncanny deafening deadly silence returns.

I look at Irina and her blank traumatized eyes. I rise and go to retrieve Irina from her hiding spot behind a turned over table. Then the low whine of the tank turret is heard again. I look up and see the cannon of the tank is turning toward us! It is almost upon us now! In a moment of panic, I grab Irina's arm and dash toward the door. The low whirring stops and with a thunderous boom, the tank fires. The blast blows me and Irina out of the shop and slam us onto the road. I just realized as we lay there I had wrapped my body around Irina in order to shield her. The crashing of glass and rubble echo throughout the street from the completely destroyed shop. Small and sharp debris showers us and my ears ring horribly. Then sharp pains in my leg catch my attention. I look and see small holes in my trousers and blood trickling down my pant leg from where I caught shrapnel from the explosion. My hands and arms also ache and I had scraped a layer of my skin off when we landed on the road. My arms are bleeding slightly. I shake Irina to see if she is alright but she doesn't move. I'm terrified now and I shake her more aggressively. She doesn't budge. I shout in a whisper, "Irina!" as to not alert the metal monster. She wakes up, praise God! She dreary sits up and looks at me, blood runs down the side of her face from a gash in her forehead. She is about to speak but I silence her, I look over to the tank as it slowly swivels its turret again but this time away from us. Soon the engines of the beast give a throaty roar and it begins to rumble down the street again.

Me and Irina try and hobble to the building on the far side of the street. I find all I can do is limp from the pain that shoots in my right leg. Irina and I hold on to each other tightly. She is so disoriented that she keeps stumbling, her eyes have a dazed look to them. The front part of her dress has tears in it, revealing the skin that has road rash underneath. My army uniform held together for the most part and saved my skin from further injury. I limp so bad that I almost have to use her as a crutch. "We have to get out of here." I say. She shakes her head in a dazed sort of motion. She utters a monotone," Yeah." We need to leave, I am worried about her, she hit her head really hard. We keep hobbeling though slowly. Just as we are about to enter the building's shadow. A small figure dashes and runs into me. The object knocks me off balance, and I stumble back but manage to regain my balance. I then find that the object that hit me was not an object at all but a small girl. A small girl that sits on the ground, stunned. The girl must be at least six and wears a dark red coat over her white dress. The child has long brown hair and brown eyes, she sits there dazed and frightened. Then a voice cries out,"Please don't hurt her!!" A woman dashes out of the shadows and places herself between us and the girl. She pleads," Here take all of our money!! Take me!! Just don't hurt her, I beg you!!" Tears stream down the woman's face as she barters her life for the childs. She closes her eyes and braces herself for a perceived demise. Me and Irina are taken back but then I realize why, she sees my uniform and assumes I am one of the SS. The woman opens her eyes and looks at us confused, she utters,"You…you're not one of them." "No I'm not." I say. She replies," Oh thank God." as she grabs the girl by the hand and raises the girl to her feet. The woman has blue eyes and brown hair tied in a bun. She had a dark blue dress with a yellow star and is in her late twenties and must be the girl's mother. She carries an overstuffed suitcase in her right hand. She says to the child, "Come on Greta we need to leave." I ask, "Where will you go? The whole city is blocked off." The woman chokes up, "I…I don't know." The look on her face is of strong despair as she tries to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She says,"I…I don't know where to go." Irina's daze has worn off a little because she says," Franz we need to help them." I agree if the SS find them it could be bad. She asks," How do we get out? They are everywhere." Irina utters," The catacombs." That's right! The catacombs run under the city and are connected to the sewers."Come with us." I say," We will get you out." I can't leave them to the fate of the SS.

I tug at the sewer grate with all my might but it is far heavier than it appears. After the woman and girl joined us, we scoured the street for any manhole covers and we finally found one. Now with it being late after noon, sporadic rifle cracks can be heard throughout the district. I finally get some traction on the metal grate and it finally budges. Irina's spirit has returned a little as she talks with the two and tries to console them the best she can. It has been a traumatic day for everyone. As I remove the metal grate, I see a ladder that descends into the dark abyss. The woman approaches me with a flash light, saying, "Here, I had packed it just in case." I shine the light of the flash light in to the abyss and find it is not as deep as I had originally perceived. I start down the ladder that is covered in rusted metal. I find the bottom and a most foul stench overwhelms me. From ground to ceiling, the sewer must be at least seven feet in height. My light pierces the cobblestone darkness. A stream of sewage steadily flows throughout the tunnels. The mother comes down next followed by the daughter. Finally Irina descends the ladder and now that are party has gathered we are unsure of where to go. Irina states," The sewers and catacombs connect somewhere we just have to find it then get in the church and we will get you out of here." With the plan made we begin our trek into darkness.

As we continue through the dark passage ways of the sewers, the woman states sincerely, "Thank you… For helping us." Irina replies, "It is ok, what are your names?" The woman replies, "My name is Onica and this is my daughter Greta." I ask, "And your husband?" Onica replies,"The Nazis took him years ago to go work in the mines, we haven't seen him since." Irina replies,"I'm so sorry to hear that." Onica responds,"Its alright, though time hasn't made it easy." She asks," What is happening?" Irina replies,"We don't know, It all happened all of the sudden." Onica ask,"What do they want from us?" She continues,"Haven't they taken enough? First they ban us from stores, make us wear these stupid stars. Then they removed Greta from the schools and took my husband away. Now they are removing us from our homes. What did we ever do to them?" I reply,"I…I don't know." Onica says," I heard shooting, are they doing what they think they are doing?" Irina nods her head shame fully. Onica replies soberly," Its just like the night of broken glass again." Little Greta asks,"Mommy why is there shooting?" Her mother swallows hard and lies," They are just shooting the bad people." Greta seems satisfied with the answers but asks,"Where are we going?" Onica lies again," To a new home and these nice people are taking us there, say thank you." Greta says like the innocent child she is,"Thank you." She reminds me too much of Kurtz.

After a while of navigating the tunnels, something feels off, like we are being watched. I shine the light around but find nothing but the occasional scurrying rat. Something is odd, Irina senses my tension and searches the darkness. Then I hear it, the sharp click of rifles safety coming off. We are not alone. Suddenly we are bombarded with multiple bright lights and shouts. I am blinded and disoriented, men bark orders back and forth to each other. This is it we have been captured I sure, I brace for my demise. But surprisingly the lights turn down, and a silhouette of a man approaches. He says,"You, you are not SS." I reply,"I am not." "What are you doing then?" the living shadow asks sharply. I reply," We are trying to get these people out of the city." The lights die down further and the shadow man approaches, I shine my light upon him and the first thing I notice is his piercing blue eyes and sharp stubble jaw of an older man. A man beside him asks,"Should we shoot him, he's one of them." The blue eyed man, who must be there leader, replies, "No this Nazi has conviction." I respond," I am not a Nazi." "Then who are you?" the leader asks. "I am Franz Henkel of 43rd Auxillary Anti-Aircraft Battery." "You know Sprieg boy?" he asks. The sound of rifles lowering begins. "Yes he is my commanding officer." I reply. He extends his hand for a handshake saying," Sprieg is an honorable man, he has been good to the jews. Any friend of his is a friend of mine." I shake his hand and ask,"Who are you?" "I am Devias, the leader of the Blue Rose and we are trying to get jews out of the city." He continues," You have done a brave thing Franz helping these people, If the Nazis find out they will have your head." "I know." I say. He states,"We will take them off of your hands and escort them out of the city, your job is finished." Onica looks at me worried. "Come." Devias says," There isn't much time." Irina says, "It is ok." Onica and Greta hesitantly approach the freedom fighters. Another man asks, "What about this one?" referring to Irina. "I'm with him." Devias say," You two should come with us, we can get you out of the war." I think for a moment before a since of duty and betrayal overwhelm me. "Thanks." I say, "But I must finish the war it is my duty." He shakes his head and says,"It is your funeral, we must go." With that said the group begins to leave us.

Me and Irina now travel alone through the dark damp sewers but fortunately we still have our light to see. The light reflects off the wet glimmering dark brick rounded tunnel. We wade in ankle deep water. Irina asks,"Do we know how to get out of here?" "I'm really not sure" I say. We come to a T junction. Irina asks,"Which way do you think?" I reply, "I'm not sure." Then I hear people dashing through the water at the other end of the tunnel from which we came. At first I think the partisans have come to rejoin us but as the sounds approach, the foot splashes are far too numerous for that little group. Then I realized, it's the SS! I quickly grab Irina and pull her to the left of the T junction wall. I put my hand over her mouth just as she tries to muffle her surprise. I quickly cut off the light and just in time. The foot splashes have stopped and a bright light flashes down the tunnel.The light illuminates the fog on this side of the tunnel giving it an eerie look. Me and Irina press tightly against the wall in an effort not to be spotted. The light stays there for a moment silently observing before switching away. I breathe a sigh of relief. Irina looks a me perturbed as the foot splashes recede away. Then horror strikes me, they are heading in the same direction as the group! Suddenly shouts can be heard echoing throughout the maze of tunnels. They found them. The arguing is incomprehensible but I can sense the tension from here. Irina has a worried look on her face. "Ratatatatata!" Abruptly the chatter of gunfire can be heard and it is deafening to the point where me and Irina have to hold our ears. The violent forte of submachine guns tearing into their prey like hungry wolves ring and echo throughout the sewers. The firing is long and unending, disturbing the labyrinth's slumber. I can still hear it with my ears closed, the sound of slaughter. Then abrupt silence. We uncover our ears, a woman's blood curdling scream tears into the air like a shrieking banshee. It scares me and Irina to where we almost jump out of our skin. A scream of pure emotional agony and a wail of mourning. The cry is followed by a sharp "Krack!" that echoes, marking the end of the massacre, then unnerving hostile eerie silence. Irina holds tears that run down her cheeks. Then the sound of amused laughing echoes as the murders relish in their orgy of violence.

Those bastards! Anger wells with in me, but there is nothing we can do. I grab Irina's hand and we quietly trek through the ancient sewers.

We found our way into the catacombs and then back up to the surface back in the inner city. Now it is dark and the blackout has begun. I am exhausted and so is Irina. Now we our wondering how we will get back home. Suddenly light catches our attention as a vehicle comes our way. I swallow hard fearing that we have been discovered breaking curfew. As the vehicle stops, I brace myself. "There you are! Where the hell have you two been." a voice demands. Not just any voice but Obrenski's voice. "Do you know how many check points I had to drive through, I have been looking for you for hours." I am too exhausted to respond. I am about to approach him when I feel a tug on my sleeve. I look back and I see Irina's head hung low. She says quietly,"I think I am going to walk home." "But…" I say, before she interrupts saying quietly, "I need this Franz." I hesitantly nod and see begins to walk into the darkness, her arms clutching herself in an effort to console her. We have witness things no one should see and the events of the day flood my mind to where I am both emotionally and physically drained. I wearily get in to the passenger seat and Obrenski begins to drive. "Where have you been and why do you smell like shit?" he asks. I cross my arms and say coldly,"I don't want to talk about it." "Obrenski fumes," Well I got shit that Sprieg needs to hear about." My mind flashes the sounds of gunfire and screams that ring in my ear. The trip there after was silent.

As we returned to the gun pit, and walk down the ramp. Lieutenant Sprieg approaches and asks," Where have you been? What happened?" Obrenski says angrily," Its the Jews! They loaded them on cattle cars like they were fucking animals!" " Where did they send them?" I ask weirely, "I don't know!" he shouts," East, they went east!" The Lieutenant seems unsurprised. Obrenski confronts him,"Sprieg, did you know about this?" The Lieutenant refuses to answer. I look at him curiously, he seems as though he is ashamed. Obrenski presses him sterner, "Did you know about this?" "Yes" the Lieutenant replies almost in whisper. Obrenski shouts,"You bastard! You knew and didn't say anything?!" The Lieutenant shouts his reply,"They told the officers this morning! They said they were suppressing a Jewish rebellion!" "Obrenski shouts back,"You know that's bullshit!" The Lieutenant replies with a lower but stern tone,"Yes I know. But what are we to do? We couldn't stop it, our duty is to be here." Obrenski snaps, "Where did they send them?" "I don't know, they wouldn't say." replies Lieutenant Sprieg. " Why should we believe you?!" snaps Obrenski. The Lieutenant shouts his reply," Because it's happening everywhere!" Obrenski is taken back, he whimpers shocked," What?" I am not far behind him. The Lieutenant says calmly,"I have been listening to the radio traffic all day, and what is taking place here is happening all across the fatherland." Obrenski asks, still in shock,"Why?" The Lieutenant replies,"I don't know. But I have seen this in the occupied territories where jews would be deported. But not like this, nothing of this scale." I step up and ask,"What are they doing with them?" The Lieutenant shrugs ashamed," I don't know. But what I do know is that there is nothing we can do about it. Us few won't be able to stop what's happening on a continental scale." I feel so helpless, I want to stop this madness but the Lieutenant is right, what can we do, and I have already seen what the SS will do if one tries to intervene. Obrenski utters,"Sprieg, these are our people. This isn't right." The Lieutenant replies simply but disheartenedly," I know."