Yesterday Was Long Ago: Part Two Read online

  Elisabeth and Adam wrote from Holland quite frequently, with their departure to South Africa scheduled at the beginning of March. All preparations for the nice wedding were in full swing, and the guest list included Andreas’ in-laws, with their large family, to make up for the absent Van Dreesens. Isabella was again permitted to leave school ahead of the official Easter vacation, as she was Gaby’s maid of honor.

  Daniella, caring little about her school time, beseeched Isabella to take her along, having never attended a wedding in a castle. Besides that, she loved the Reinhardts and von Waldens, and wrote to America about her wonderful Christmas time. They wrote back that they would see her this summer, and maybe Isabella could spend time with them in America.

  The first weekend in March, Irene called Astrid, sounding extremely upset, begging Gaby to call her at any time, day or night, but implored her never to mention it to anyone. Gaby returned from her visit to Victoria’s place as Paul took residence in two of the many guest rooms. “Gaby!” Irene cried. “I am pregnant and Alain refuses to marry me, claiming it’s not his child. I swear, I never saw another man, never mind go to bed with one. Alain has the key to my house and comes and goes as he pleases.”

  “No, Irene. It’s not that at all. It is how will he tell his mother. That is the only question there is to it.”

  “Well, I am three months pregnant according to my own calculation.”

  “Well, what did he suggest?”

  “An abortion right away.”

  “And how do you feel about it?”

  “I don’t want to lose him.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him or his mother?”

  “God, no! Then it would be really over. I just wanted to talk to someone and have only you I can trust.”

  “Irene, with your money, I would have the child, throw Alain out, and being so beautiful, you will have a man who is deserving of you in no time. This is my honest opinion and I want you to think about it.”

  But Irene didn’t. Alain gave her the name of a doctor, admitting she was not the first one he sent there, and their wedding would be as scheduled. She took his advice, got it ‘over’ with, and was sent home, still bleeding, via taxi.

  Her maid, Yvette, saw a snow-white, sick woman entering. She took her to the bedroom, undressed her, and saw all the blood. Having been through the same thing herself many years before, she immediately called a doctor who put her in the hospital at once. The doctor followed the ambulance and explained the situation in the emergency room. Upon awakening, she was told that she would never be able to have any more children. However, if she wouldn’t give the abortion doctor’s name, she would end up in jail.

  “Gladly!” she said, being furious after Yvette told her that Professor Rousseau had never even bothered to call, let alone come by the house. “It was Dr. Eberti, and I was sent to him by Alain Rousseau.”

  “You mean by…”

  “Yes, the professor from the elite girls’ school.”

  “Well, well.”

  Dr. Eberti went handcuffed to the police, admitting his friend Alain had previously sent him some clients. If he had to go to jail, then stingy Alain, who made the woman pay for it, might just as well be in the same boat.

  It was the biggest scandal in Lausanne for weeks to come. Irene sold the house to a German Jew in a hurry, who offered much more than she paid for it, being grateful he had the connection to escape Hitler’s Germany via Italy. She left for France, but not before Mme. Rousseau set her straight.

  “It took a harlot like you to finish us. But believe me, you will pay like my poor son. Remember, what goes around comes around.”

  ∼

  With the rehearsal dinner behind them, which Victoria had hosted in her mansion, they all went to bed late, promising themselves to sleep in. But it was not to be. They all awoke to the loud screams of “HEIL HITLER” the next day.

  It was March 13, a sunny Sunday with the Austrians going and coming from their traditional mass. The streets were full of brownshirts, among them also black ones with silver death skulls on their uniforms. The new Nazi government in Vienna declared on the radio that Austria was now a province of Germany, and both armies joined together were now called the Wehrmacht. Vienna and most cities in Austria never experienced more shouts of joy. Citizens appeared in brown shirts, marching the main streets with their outstretched arm giving Hitler’s salute. Many Viennese lost no time in plundering Jewish stores and putting ‘pigs’ signs in front of their store windows.

  The Reinhardts, too, were visited by some of their former employees and servants, telling them they had belonged to the Nazi underground. The Reinhardts were extremely careful not to get caught in their well-spun web. They pretended to be glad to see them again, telling them also about Paul’s forthcoming marriage to Gaby.

  “Well, how lucky can you be Miss von Walden,” they said cheerfully, never knowing her other name. “You came back from Switzerland just at the right time. Now you are a German.”

  “Yes,” Gaby smiled. “Unfortunately, I have a dual citizenship, half Swiss and half German,” she laughed.

  “You will make a fine German wife and give Mr. Reinhardt many offspring. Our Führer loves children,” the former manager of the Reinhardts’ vineyard said happily.

  “I hope so,” Victoria replied. “I wish all of you had more time to spend with us, talking about our old times together.”

  “Madame, I hate to disappoint you, but I threw my old times overboard. This is a new beginning for all of us.”

  “Well, I am glad to hear that. As you know, I came from Berlin to marry a Viennese, and now I am a German again.” That statement shut him up, as he had forgotten all about it.

  “Heil Hitler, Mrs. Reinhardt.” They saluted and left.

  “Father, please, you cannot do that!” screamed Erika at the top of her lungs, when three Nazi brownshirts came for Dr. Peter Reinhardt, taking him to the Gestapo’s headquarters to question him about why he lived on the weekends at the former Wertheims’ house.

  “It has always belonged to the Reinhardts, his great-grandfather only rented them the house,” Erika screamed again.

  “Which shows that the Reinhardts were always Jew-lovers.” And a shaking Peter was forced to walk with them, being thrown on a truck full of Jews.

  “Oh, my God!” Erika cried, calling Gisela on the phone as she didn’t want to upset his mother, Victoria. She remembered now that Gisela was once very upset when Rupert, after many meetings, was confronted by her as to whether there was another woman. He had no choice but to confess. “My biggest vice is that I always had to belong to a party. Maybe I wanted to be more than I am.”

  Erika and Gisela were like sisters who confided in each other. Now was the time to get help for Peter. “Gisela,” she cried while being happy to have reached her at once. “My father kept his word and he and two other Nazis picked Peter up, taking him to the Gestapo’s headquarters.”

  “Does my mother know?”

  “No. I thought I’d call you first.”

  “Good. Here is Rupert. Tell him what you told me.”

  Again, she felt relieved to have found him at home. Rupert changed his facial expression after hearing about it. “Calm down, Erika. I belong to the SS, which is way above the SA your father belongs to. I have a secret code and will call there at once. Aside from that, I am already in my uniform bringing some large flags to the Reinhardt palace, as well as to the von Waldens. I am on my way after this phone call.” And turning to an distraught Gisela, he said, “I told you I would help your family one of these days.” And with that statement, he was gone.

  Gisela looked at their flag, already placed that morning with a big swastika on it. Looking also more closely at Adolf Hitler’s large photo she whispered to herself, “I’ll be damned. A little private from Austria.”

  She walked with her children a few houses down to the old Fosters, who were more stunned than jubilant, never having suspected their son’s involvement. “I see i
t this way, Mama. Rupert has a chance to do a lot of good for the people he loves. My family and the von Waldens are only two of them. I am now wondering about Andreas’ in-laws and their little leather goods store. I hear on the radio that the mob is breaking lots of store windows. They are running wild with their newly acquired armbands.”

  “We have known so many nice Jews. Where will it all end?”

  “Well, the Bauers are not Jewish.”

  “Thank God for that.”

  It took Rupert no time to arrive from his ninth district to the first. He hated what he saw, but first went to the office asking for the SA, Teo Landgraf, who took Dr. Peter Reinhardt for questioning under false pretenses. “His only crime is to be Teo’s son-in-law.”

  “You’re trying to tell me he’s one of the Reinhardts?”

  “Yes, and in case you don’t know it, I am married for thirteen years to their daughter.”

  “You don’t say,” he replied, flabbergasted.

  “I also met on several occasions Heinrich Himmler, who will arrive with our Fuehrer in a few days.”

  “So I was told,” he said, somehow uneasy, knowing very well the difference between the SA and the SS. “There is our third roundup and possibly the man you are looking for.”

  The SA leader pointed towards the door. Rupert turned around and noticed Peter at once, though he was tending a nosebleed. “Peter, can you point out the man who hit you?”

  Peter thought for a moment that he was dreaming after having taken a few beatings and kicks with boots on the way to the headquarters. “Rupert in an SS uniform?” he wondered, but was more than happy to encounter him. “There he is. Erika’s father, who hates every Reinhardt.”

  “Happy to meet you at last, as I heard so much about you. In case you don’t know me, I am Rupert Foster, Captain in our Waffen SS.” He watched the man shaking, his face turning every color possible, and at a loss for words.

  “I expect to be saluted by any SA man,” Rupert said harshly. He did it at once without uttering a word. He was tongue-tied on top of it. “Just in case you still don’t know who I am, I am Dr. Reinhardt’s brother-in-law, married to his sister. As a matter of fact, Erika and Peter met at our wedding. How is that for a coincidence?” Still no answer, but a gulp of disbelief, looking quite afraid knowing he had had it.

  “Peter, sorry for the misunderstanding. My car is outside. You cannot miss it with the insignia of the German flag on it. I’ll give instructions on what to do with the man who had you picked up for personal reasons. We cannot have such incompetence in our Führer’s party. It gives us a bad reputation.”

  “Yes, Captain Foster,” the SA man saluted, being very afraid to cross him.

  Rupert left the place hearing many people still screaming, only to walk on the street to experience their loud ‘Heil Hitlers’. Girls were kissing the newly arrived German soldiers, who were utterly surprised at their enormous reception. No one expected Austria’s welcome to the extent of going to the extreme.

  “My God, Rupert, did you steal that uniform or what? Never in my life have I been so happy to see a black shirt. Erika’s father gave strict orders to break every bone in my body so I could never function as a doctor again. The way I saw it, Paul would have been the next one. As of tomorrow, he has him watched at his factory to see if he says ‘Heil Hitler’ or not. Imagine that. I am sure Gaby will go back to Switzerland.”

  “No, she won’t. I told my Gisela that I will play it very smart and can do a lot of good.”

  “Well, you started with me already.”

  “And helped the Silvermans a few months ago. I bought their house, with the promise to return it should they ever want it back. They left with the van Dreesens to Holland and are on their way to America, as the Wertheims sent them their affidavit.”

  “I never heard a thing about it,” he said, trying to sit up straight.

  “You never will. They are on a ‘visit’ to America.”

  “I liked them a lot and now he and she would be scrubbing sidewalks, and be kicked and beaten for it.”

  “I swear it, Peter. I had no idea when I joined the party it would end up like this. We used to bring people food and clothing and at Christmas time, plenty of toys for children. I loved it.”

  “Whatever, Rupert. We all know you are a good man. Now you have a chance to prove yourself to be even better. You got a fast start already with me. God only knows where or how I would have ended up. You should have seen poor Erika pleading with her SA father. I will never forget the agonized expression on her frightened face.”

  “I assure you, Peter, he will never come back, because if he does, there is no telling what he will do next.” Rupert couldn’t help but think of Bertram.

  They arrived at his weekend place in Lindenfels, with Erika looking anxiously out of the window. She embraced Peter, still crying, with her eyes red and swollen. “Thank you, Rupert. You saved the life of the kindest person in the world.”

  “You tell me nothing new, Erika.”

  “Oh my God, Peter. They beat you up. I am so ashamed of my father.”

  “It’s not your fault. Who could have known?”

  “Yes,” Rupert said thoughtfully. “Who could have? Now, I am going to put flags anywhere a Reinhardt, von Walden, or Wiland lives. The first few days will be crucial, as the young and unemployed will wear a band, pretending to have belonged illegally to the party and use their power to get even with anyone they encounter. Believe me, it will die down, as all the real underground Nazis know each other and carry a card.”

  “What a difference a day makes, Rupert. I can never thank you enough.”

  “Forget it,” he said, and left knowing there was still so much to do. But first he must see his wife and family. Everything else could wait an hour. It was not even noon.

  ∼

  “How about my brother Peter?” Gisela asked anxiously.

  “I got there just in time.”

  “What kind of a father would do that?”

  “Well, he is on his way to a concentration camp. That’s what he had planned for Peter.”

  “NO!”

  “Don’t mention a word to Erika, please.”

  “She wouldn’t have cared if you killed him. She called me back… that poor thing.”

  “I have a few calls to make to secure the Reinhardts’ mansion and Paul’s factory.”

  Gisela sighed. “People are dancing in the street. Can you believe that?”

  “I have seen it myself. I hope they all get a tour of the Gestapo headquarters. It would make their heads spin.”

  “My God, Rupert. What next?”

  “I wish I knew. Believe me, I would feel much better.”

  “Or worse!” she replied, leaving him to do his work. “But what work?” she thought in dismay.

  ∼

  It seemed like all of Vienna had gone crazy one way or another, so Paul went to his factory just to make sure some hoodlums were not there. No one was, but on his way home he had to make a dozen detours just to arrive at his own place. While driving, he thought mostly of Gaby. Will she change her mind and return to Switzerland? He imagined that quite a few phone calls were being made, declining to come to her wedding. What about Isabella? Will Aunt Ingrid let her leave? And there was Irene, who was possibly laughing her head off, having left at the right time to marry a Swiss professor. Well, this time Paul was wrong on all accounts.

  “Where is Gaby?” he asked his mother, embracing her.

  “Talking to Erika on the phone.”

  “Did she mention anything about leaving?”

  “Leaving to where?”

  “Switzerland… with all the commotion going on.”

  “Paul, she just tried the dress on for the wedding to let me see it. She loves it and so do I.”

  “Oh, good,” he said with a sigh. “Has anyone called from Switzerland?”

  “No, but I imagine all lines are busy. Only Rupert called, and he will get us flags out to save us from harassmen
t until the disorder has calmed down. Hitler and Himmler are supposed to arrive in a few days. Better close down your factories on those days.”

  “Hello, Paul,” Gaby said cheerfully, hiding from Victoria and Paul what she just had learned from Erika.

  “I had more than two hours of detours. So sorry, Gaby. I was so afraid someone would call from Switzerland and tell you to return.”

  “Now that would be silly a week before my wedding. My relatives may be afraid to travel, but it won’t change a thing.”

  “You have not the slightest idea what all came to my mind,” he lamented. “What poor timing.”

  “How was anyone supposed to know?” Victoria joined the conversation, looking at Paul’s distraught face.

  “Gaby, I suggest you call your mother and stay for one or two nights in one of our guest rooms.”

  “Good idea. I have to wait one hour until her prayer meeting is over.”

  Paul also hinted about their own servants’ affiliation with the Nazi party, as one just didn’t know who was who. “I forgot to tell you, some of our former servants were already here this morning to pay their respects. All in brown shirts, which to my little knowledge is the SA.” The phone rang and it was Rupert, who was on his way to the mansion. “He has to talk and explain a lot. Also, we shouldn’t be surprised to find him in the SS uniform.” Victoria tried to prepare them as much as possible.

  “The world has gone crazy, Mother. Rupert will be here shortly in a black shirt?”

  “Knowing Rupert as I do, there is a reason for it. Let’s see what he has to say.”

  And there he was with flags and another SS man, who was his chauffeur, waiting in the car after he opened the door for him with a salute and his boots clicking.

  “Lord have mercy!” Victoria greeted him, and their old doorman nearly fainted, not knowing what to do. He was not even able to announce Rupert properly when Victoria, Paul, and Gaby met him halfway.

  “Now we have seen everything,” said Paul.

  “Possibly… but not heard,” replied Rupert and he then began with his story, starting with the frantic call from Erika and including the departure of the Silvermans with Adam and family, including Isaak Wertheim who helped with the real estate transaction. Now it was Rupert’s house until their return.