Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf Read Free Book Online Page B

her ruler she hit Heidi five times on bare skin, a sickening
thrack, thrack
echoing in the room with each strike. When she was done, Fräulein Schmitt pushed the small girl to the floor, then crossed her arms and watched Heidi scramble to get her clothes back on.
    That night angry welts appeared on Heidi's skin where the ruler had struck. We were all kept awake by her cries and the sounds of Elsa trying to comfort her.
    I grew more and more angry as I listened to Heidi's moans. Who were these people, these Nazis? Why were they trying to make me one of them, with their language and their salutes and their uniforms?
    I knew Mama and Papa would come for me eventually. And when they found me, we would all watch Heidi beat Fräulein Schmitt with a ruler, and then we would go home. There would be a big party, and I would make sure to take sugar so we could have a real cake to celebrate the Nazi defeat.
    ***
    As we began to master the German language, our lessons changed to include German history and home economics. Fräulein Krüger made a special appearance to tell us about the League of German Girls, an organization for Nazi girls. There was another group called the Hitler Youth, for Nazi boys. We were still too young to be official members, but the League of German Girls philosophy and activities guided everything we did. It was during this lesson that I finally grew to understand the word "Aryan" and to see why everyone at the center had blond hair and light-colored eyes.
    "In this room you will learn of the tragic persecution of Germany after the Great War. You will also learn of the glorious salvation our Führer has brought to Germany," Fräulein Haugen, our history instructor, began on our first afternoon of her lessons. "You will learn how you, as part of the Aryan race, are far superior to others, most especially to Jews, who are no better than the rats that live on the streets."
    Aryan. That word was repeated over and over again. Fräulein Haugen explained that certain things about us, such as our blond hair and light-colored eyes, made us part of the Aryan race, a group of people Hitler deemed superior to all other races.
    "You will learn how
you,
chosen young Aryan girls, are the German salvation." She walked briskly between our rows of desks, the short heels of her black shoes clicking and punctuating each of her words.
    "You are all so very important," she continued, as she reached down and softly touched Franziska's hair. "When you go out into the German world, you will help Hitler usher Germany into greatness once again." Franziska's eyes followed Fräulein Haugen, her head nodding in agreement.
    I fingered my own hair, looking at the light-blond strands. "Straw" was what Jaro would call my hair when he was teasing. "Sun-kissed" was how Papa always described it. Either way, it was the color of my hair that had brought me to this place.
    One day we came to class to find a movie projector sitting at the front of the room. I had seen very few picture shows in my life, and despite where I was and what I was learning, I was excited to see another.
    "This film," Fräulein Haugen said, as she wound the film onto the reel, "will help you better understand your Aryan heritage, and the scourge of the Jews."
    My stomach sank with disappointment. I didn't understand why Hitler hated the Jewish people so much. There were no Jews in Lidice, and I knew nothing of their beliefs or traditions. How could one group of people be the cause of so much trouble?
    We spent the next hour watching Jews be compared to rats and cartoons of Jews with huge noses. We also saw pictures of the ideal German family, all blond haired and blue eyed, playing happily in the park. The movie was convincing. But because it was the Nazis saying it, I didn't want to believe it.
    "Your homework tonight is to read the first two chapters of your racial textbook," Fräulein Haugen said at the end of that day's lessons. "It will help you to