(Updated on 9/30/2002)

Faces of Courage: Teenagers Who Resisted
by
Sally Rogow, Ed.D.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction The Edelweiss Pirates Franz Berthold Albert	Jacques Lusseyran Jean Karl Noni's Escape Annaliese	The Helmuth Huebener Group Jacob Louise Yojo Maria Kirsten [to Lesson Plan]

Introduction

If there is any light in the darkness of the Nazi era, it is to be found in the courage of those who dared to fight back, to rescue others, to join resistance movements, or simply to survive. This book chronicles the stories of young people whose courage lit a candle of hope in the darkest of times.

Jacques Lusseyran was a leader in the French Resistance movement at the Sorbonne in Paris. He began his resistance efforts when he was only 16 years old. Lusseyran was blind. Jean saved the life of an American pilot in the south of France. Jean was a teenager and was deaf. Karl and Noni escaped from institutions where people with disabilities were being murdered. Young people who had any type of disability were considered "unworthy of life" by the Nazis and were removed from their homes, schools and communities. Thousands were murdered in the killing program, euphemistically called "Mercy death" or Euthanasia that took place in well-known hospitals and institutions in Germany.

Hundreds of young German boys and girls tried to resist Nazi oppression. They refused to join the Nazi Youth groups and instead joined groups like the Edelweiss Pirates. What made these young people unique was the fact that they chose to be resistors, they had choices, unlike Jewish people, people with disabilities, and other people
targeted by the Nazis for extermination. The story of Albert, Franz and Berthold reveals the fellowship as well as the hardships faced by those who refused to conform.

These stories portray the compassion and understanding of young people whose stories need to be told, and their courage acknowledged. All the stories are based on factual information and historical accounts. In those cases where the names of the heroes were not known, fictional names were used. The sources of information on which these stories are based are listed in the References.

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The Edelweiss Pirates

I want a brutal, domineering, fearless cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes. That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication. That is how I will create the New Order.

Adolph Hitler

There were many young people in Nazi Germany who resisted the cruelties of the Nazi Youth and remained true to their own codes of moral conduct. The Edelweiss Pirates was one of the largest youth groups who refused to participate in Nazi youth activities. The police were not allowed to arrest members of the Hitler Youth Patrol Service, who were known for their brutality and bullying. Hitler Youth were guilty of many crimes, they broke shop windows, stole, and beat people on the streets. In one case, a group of Hitler Youth broke the windows of the home of a teacher who had given them low marks. The Nazi Youth Patrol raided movie houses, cabarets, billiard halls and coffee shops looking for the Edelweiss Pirates, who stood up to them and even fought with
them on the streets of the cities of Dusseldorf, Essen, Cologne and other industrial cities in western Germany.

The Edelweiss Pirates had different names in different cities, but they shared basic beliefs and attitudes. They were not deprived children or delinquents; most were not even deliberate resistance fighters. They were simply the sons and daughters of working class parents who refused to be bullied into absolute obedience. Most of the Pirates were between 16 to 18 years of age and were too young for military service.

The first Pirates appeared at the end of the 1930's. Dressed in checkered shirts, short dark trousers and white stockings, the Pirates wore metal Edelweiss pins on their collars. Because they lived in the same neighborhoods they had a territorial identity and shared beliefs. Refusing to participate in Nazi Youth activities, they shared a strong sense of social identity and solidarity with one another.

The groups of Edelweiss Pirates consisted of ten to fifteen boys, there were girls in some of the groups too. During the day they worked in factories and mills as unskilled workers and in the evenings and weekends they met together in cafes or in the parks. The high point of their activities together was the hikes they took into the countryside with rucksacks on their backs and their bread and butter rations. At night they slept in barns or tents. Sometimes they rode bicycles deep into the countryside ignoring the Nazi rules. Always on the watch for the dreaded Nazi Youth Patrols, they sometimes provoked street fights, but most of the time they avoided the Nazi Youth.

As the war progressed, social chaos intensified, and many Pirates became active in the underground resistance movement. When the industrial cities were being bombed between 1942 and 1945, the conflicts between the Edelweiss Pirates and the Nazi authorities intensified. Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne offered shelter to German army deserters, escaped prisoners from concentration camps, and escapees from forced. labor camps. Groups of Edelweiss Pirates made armed raids on military depots and deliberately sabotaged war production. The Nazis were determined to suppress them.

A Nazi official wrote, "There is a suspicion that it is these youths who have been inscribing the walls (of the pedestrian underground walkways in the Altenbergstrasse, a boulevard in the center of the city) with the slogans "Down with Hitler". "The OKW (Oberkommande des Wehrmacht) is lying", "Down with Nazi brutality". No
matter how often the writings on the walls were scrubbed away, they were back again after a few days.

Nazi patrols were constantly looking for members of the Pirates and those who were caught were imprisoned, sent to jails, reform schools, psychiatric hospitals, labor and concentration camps and many lost their lives. In a single day of raids in December 1942, the Dusseldorf Gestapo and the Secret Police made more than 1000 arrests. During the round ups, the Nazis were brutal. Captured Pirates had their heads shaven, were threatened and beaten, and often cruelly punished. A member of the Pirates was publicly executed by hanging in the center of
the city of Cologne. The story of the Edelweiss Pirates is a story of courage and resistance.

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Franz

Dressed in his checkered shirt and short trousers, Franz walked quickly along the dark street bordering the park. He saw the flashlights and heard the Nazi Patrol and quickly jumped into the bushes that bordered the park. Knowing how to avoid the patrol was important and Franz, who knew every bush and hiding place in the park, was sure he would never be caught. Patrol would never catch him. The son of a steelworker, Franz had just turned 16 when he left school and joined the Edelweiss Pirates. He knew most of the other boys from his neighborhood, they were his friends and he had known them for most of his life. His father was a Social Democrat who lost his position as trade union leader because he opposed the Nazis. As soon as Franz was old enough, he quit school to avoid having to go to Nazi Youth meetings. He took a job in the steel mill as an apprentice and joined the Edelweiss Pirates.

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Berthold

When Berthold was 12 years of age, his father was killed in an accident in the steel mill. His mother had to work as a domestic to feed her family of four children. Berthold was the oldest and when he was 14 years old, he left school and found a job in a factory. He was glad to be making some money to make life easier for his mother.
Hitler promised to make a good life for all Germans, but his mother worked harder than ever trying to support her family. There were no benefits for ordinary working people. The people who profited were the rich, the factory owners. Workers had few benefits. The Nazis were always boasting about the good life they were making, but Berthold knew it was a lie.

"Everywhere you see signs, "Forbidden" "Prohibited", Not permitted" and "Forbidden on pain of death" "What kind of country am I living in?" Berthold made no secret of his hatred of the Nazis and he joined the Pirates at the same time as Franz. There were ten boys and two girls in their group.

Unlike the Nazi Youth, the Pirates tolerated differences and found a sense of solidarity with other young people who wanted to escape the strict control of the Nazi Youth groups. Having fun together was as important as the freedom they found in their activities. Being with the Pirates broke the monotony of life in the steel mill and made life exciting.

The high points of the week were the weekend hikes into the countryside and the parties in the café. Some members of the Pirates wanted to be more political and fight openly with the Nazis. They wrote anti-Nazi slogans on the streets with chalk and even distributed papers describing Allied victories. They wrote songs and sang them in the cafes at night. Although, most of the time they tried to avoid the Nazi Youth Patrols, they sometimes had to fight with them on the streets.

Despite the bombings, Berthold and Franz met their group of Edelweiss Pirates almost every evening. Food shortages, increased work loads in the mill, and the heightened efforts by the Patrols to suppress the Pirates hardly affected their activities. They knew that the Nazi authorities were more determined than ever to suppress them, especially after they began to carry on more serious resistance activities. Berthold and Franz listened to the forbidden British broadcasts on the radio and wrote a leaflet describing the Allied victories, which they printed and distributed them to people in their neighborhood. They also began to help young people who had run away from reform schools and labor camps.

Franz and Berthold helped to clean out an old empty warehouse that was used to shelter people who were hiding from the Nazis. Albert found his way to freedom with Berthold's help.

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Albert

Albert lived in a home for orphaned boys in the working class section of the city. The Director of the Home forced him to leave school and work as a street sweeper because he refused to attend the Nazi Youth Club meetings. Small for his age and frail, Albert worked all day sweeping streets and carrying big bags of trash. One afternoon, he dropped a bag of garbage and began to sweep it up, when he heard a friendly voice whisper, "So you are a member of the slave gang" Albert turned and saw an older boy dressed in a checkered shirt and black hat.

"You don't have to be a slave. I've been watching how hard they make you work. Why don't you just leave?" Berthold whispered.

Before Albert could answer, his boss began screaming at him and raised his fist, but Berthold came up from behind and held the boss' arms.

"Run away," he shouted. Albert dropped his broom and ran away. He knew he was going to be punished by his boos of he stayed and he knew that the Director would punish him if he went back there. He didn't know
where to go. When Berthold caught up with him, Albert was close to tears. He could barely speak when Berthold asked him where he lived.

"I have no place to go. I can't go back to the orphan home. The Director said he'd send me to reform school if I caused more trouble.

"Don't worry, you don't have to go back. I know a place where you can stay and I'll take you there".

"But I have no money", Albert swallowed hard.

"Don't worry. You'll be O.K. There's other guys who have run away and you can all help one another," Berthold told him, putting his arm around the frightened boy who looked much younger than his 14 years."
Besides I think I can help you find a job." Berthold took him to the empty warehouse that had become a home for six other homeless boys.

The boys slept on mats on the floor and shared whatever food they could find. Sometimes they had to steal food. But the Pirates often brought food to the warehouse. The older boys looked after Albert who
began to feel safer than he had for a long time.

For most of his life, Albert lived in the orphan home. His mother died when he was an infant and he lived with his father and grandmother. There was no work and when his grandmother got sick, his father took a
job in another city and put Albert in the orphan home run by Herr Weinstein who made sure that Albert had contact with his father. He lost his contact when the new Director came to the Home.

Herr Weinstein was a Jewish man was like a father to the boys in the home. A gentle kindly man, Herr Weinstein treated the boys like they were his family. Older boys helped the younger ones. There were always outings and picnics and Herr Weinstein helped the boys with their schoolwork. Boys who needed special help received it. Albert felt safe and cared for in the Home. Then one afternoon while Albert was in school, the police came and took Herr Weinstein away. When Albert came home from school that day, there was another Director there. Under the Nazis, Jewish people were not allowed to be teachers or Social Workers.

More and more boys were crowded into the Home and those who were failing in school or had other difficulties were sent away. The boys Albert knew and trusted were sent to work all day and others disappeared. The new Director did not interfere when younger boys were slapped or pushed around by older boys. Albert who was small for his age was often the target of jokes and teasing. The Director, a cold and cruel man, never called the boys by name; he was only interested in forcing them to attend Nazi youth meetings. The boy who bullied and
tormented Albert was the leader of the Nazi Youth club.

Albert dreaded the meetings and found it hard to keep up with the others. He didn't know how to defend himself against the bullying and began to skip the meetings. When the Director found out, he scolded Albert and threatened to send him away. Under the new social welfare system, boys as young as 12 could be removed from the school and sent to work as garbage collectors, street sweepers and other menial jobs. They worked as much as 48 hours a week or more. Albert worked with the street sweepers and found the work very hard. He could barely manage to lift the heavy bags of trash.

Berthold took a special interest in the small boy who looked much younger than his 14 years. He even found a job for him in the steel factory and took him to the meetings of the Edelweiss Pirates. With the money he earned Albert bought himself a checkered shirt and trousers. He went on outings and hikes with Berthold and Franz. Albert was devoted to the two older boys who made him feel like he was someone. He had new confidence and he volunteered to be the one to watch for the Nazi Patrols. He also helped to distribute the leaflets and write anti Nazi slogans on the streets. Dressed in regular clothes, he often stood guard outside when the Pirates were having a meeting. Alert and inconspicuous, Albert knew when to warn the others when he saw the Patrol.

One evening as soon as the bombing stopped, the boys left the shelter and started walking to the park, when they saw the Nazi Youth Patrol. They began running toward the park, but Albert could not run as fast as the others and he tripped and fell. Before he could get up, he felt someone kicking him. Pain flashed through his body as they pulled him to his he feet and slapped him hard. They turned him over to a policeman who took him to Gestapo Headquarters.

Albert could only hope that they had not captured anyone else and he refused to answer any questions or give the names of the other boys in the group.

"You riff raff are nothing but troublemakers, and you will pay heavily", the Gestapo officer shouted at him and took him to a jail. Once inside the jail, he saw Franz, Berthold, and some of the other boys. Albert, Berthold and Franz were sent to a concentration camp along with hundreds of other Pirates.

The Gestapo and the Hitler Youth brought an armory of repressive measures including sending Pirates to concentration and labor camps. For many Edelweiss Pirates the hunt ended in death. In Cologne, sixteen year
old Bernard Schink was publicly hanged in November 1944.

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Jacques Lusseyran

Jacques Lusseyran was only seventeen years old when he organized the "Volunteers of Liberty" (Voluntaires de la Liberte) an underground resistance group of university and secondary school students. The "Volunteers" became part of the "Defense de la France", a major underground resistance network affiliated with Charles De Gaulle and the free French government. The Germans occupied Paris from June 14, 1940 until August 25, 1944.

Blinded in an accident when he was eight years old, Lusseyran was a brilliant student and courageous leader who led a double life as resistance fighter and brilliant student until his arrest by the Gestapo and internment at the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The story of Jacques Lusseyran is based on historical accounts of the French resistance and his own autobiography.

Jacques and his family were living in Toulouse when the German army marched up the Champs Elysee, took over the center of the city and threw Paris into chaos. Thousands of people crowded the roads trying to leave and those who remained were relieved that there was no destruction, bombing or shooting. Jacques' father, an engineer, was ordered to return to Paris in September 1940.

The family settled in an apartment on the Boulevard Port-Royal in the Latin Quarter, a part of the city known for centuries as the place where poets, writers, and artists lived, worked and met with one another in the cafes that lined the streets. After the Nazi occupation, the city was wrapped in a silence, broken only by the ringing of the church bells. The familiar sounds of automobiles, buses and trucks had vanished along with the lively chatter that made the streets of Paris so lively. The silence made the streets seem wider and the houses taller.

Ever since he lost his sight in an accident when he was eight years old, Jacques relied on sounds to bring him information and create images in his mind. Without sight, Jacques learned to concentrate his attention to sounds, touch and smell. His family encouraged his independence and never isolated him. He mastered Braille reading and
writing in six weeks and returned to his school his friends. When his family lived in Toulouse, he was as much at home on country roads and mountain hikes as he was on the streets of Paris.

Life in Paris in the autumn of 1940 had become a struggle; food shortages forced housewives to stand in lines for hours waiting to purchase their share of the meager food supplies. The fuel shortage caused constant cold and Paris clocks were turned to Berlin time. Logic seemed to have vanished along with the hustle and bustle of the streets.

No one was talking about the occupation. People turned away from one another when the words "Nazi" "Gestapo", "torture" or "killings" were mentioned. Jacques wondered if people were simply afraid to talk or
afraid to face the reality of the occupation. But like other boys, he was eager to get on with his life. Blind students were required to take a special exam to prove they could keep up with their studies A good student and well prepared, Jacques passed the exam and was accepted to the Louis Le Grand Lycee, a well known secondary school in the Latin Quarter. Impatient to begin his studies he had to wait a month before the lycee opened. The new fascist government had closed all the schools in Paris.

Jacques spent his time rediscovering the Paris streets with his friends, Jean and Francois. His parents gave him the two small rooms in the back of their apartment. A long corridor separated the rooms and this gave Jacques the privacy he needed to study and meet with his friends. Jacques arranged his furniture and stacked his Braille books
neatly against the walls.

The school opened in October and school life resumed in a normal fashion, in spite of the new rules imposed by a government eager to conform to Nazi ideology. The principal read announcements from Marshall Petain and other government officials over the loudspeaker.

Jacques walked to the lycee with Jean and Francois every morning, and could never understand why he attracted so much attention. Groups of other boys seemed always to be trailing behind him and when he reached the school, the concierge greeted Jacques by shouting, "It's the Lusseyran parade".

Enrolled in philosophy, psychology and history classes, Jacques found his history class to be the most interesting. His history teacher commanded Jacques' attention with his rapid speech and warm resonant voice. He told class about the war and Hitler's ambitions. One by one, the Germans occupied Austria, France, Holland, Denmark and Norway. Hitler's plan was to make all of Europe subservient to Germany and 85% of the agricultural and industrial production of France was being sent to Germany.

Incidents of Nazi brutality were becoming more and more obvious and they were happening to people Jacques knew. Francois was almost in tears as he told Jacques of Mr. Weissberg's arrest. Weissberg was Francois' good friend and tutor and when he arrived for his weekly biology lesson, Weissberg's rooms were empty. The concierge told Francois that the Gestapo had arrested Weissberg that morning. Weissberg was Jewish. Soon after Jacques heard about other Jewish friends who were taken away by the Gestapo.

The French police were acting like Nazis, there were book burnings, arrests and racial laws. Paris newspapers were censored and carried only German news. Some boys at Louis Le Grand joined Nazi youth clubs and boasted that the Nazis were good for France. Jacques' school was closed for a month after a demonstration by university and lycee students. Twenty students were shot and killed.

It was freezing cold in his little room; Jacques felt his fingers stiffening and had to stop reading. The frightening events that were happening around him dominated his thoughts; something had to be done to arouse the conscience of the French people. The idea of forming a resistance group of young students took shape in his mind.

Knowing his friends as well as he did, Jacques was not surprised that Jean and Francois readily agreed and they began to organize a resistance group made up students from Louis le Grand and the university. In school the next say, they spoke with trusted classmates.

A few days later, ten boys crowded into Jacques' room, and the next week 52 boys showed up. The student resistance group called the "Volunteers of Liberty" became a reality.

From now on there was to be no turning back and no giving in to fear. Jacques warned the boys to say nothing about the meeting, even to their families. Gossip was dangerous and would give them away. No more than three boys would meet with one another at any one time. A Central Committee was formed to keep the students in touch with one another. Their task was to inform the French people about the brutality of Gestapo arrests, the persecutions and torture of captured resistance fighters and the arrests of Jewish people. News of the War was to be gathered by listening to forbidden radio broadcasts from England and Switzerland. The "Volunteers of Liberty" planned to write and circulate a secret paper that they called "Le Tigres". Before they could begin, more students had to be recruited.

Jacques was elected to the Central Committee and went to the first secret meeting with Francois. The meeting was held in an old apartment house in a working class section of the city, the old building was chosen because there were always people coming in and going out and the arrival of strangers was not likely to arouse suspicion. Jacques was to be responsible for interviewing everyone who wanted to become a "Volunteer". The other boys trusted his ability to judge people.

The "Volunteers" sent word out about the secret resistance group to the lycees and university. Students who wanted to join were watched for several days or sometimes weeks by one of the original 52 members. Those who were considered trustworthy were told "to visit the blind man."

Jacques conducted the interviews in his rooms. Two short rings and one long ring of the doorbell told him that a perspective volunteer had arrived. The rules were strict. No one was interviewed if he was not expected or did not appear within five minutes of the specified time. No one was given Jacques' name. Forced to rely on his instincts, Jacques knew he was not infallible and was constantly on guard. It was too easy to be trapped by an informer or spy. He planned the interviews carefully and discussed nothing of importance for the first 10 minutes. Sometimes he conducted the interview in the dark because he forgot to turn on the light.

Taking his time, Jacques listened intently to the words and the silences. Elaborate explanations and well-rehearsed speeches aroused his suspicions. He knew they covered lies and deceit. He also knew that anger was a difficult emotion to disguise. If Jacques considered a boy trustworthy, he gave his name to the Central Committee and he was admitted to the "Volunteers of Liberty". At first, only young students between 17 and 19 appeared, but after a few weeks, older students from the university began coming. Jacques interviewed 600 young men in less than a year

The Volunteers did not think of themselves as a professional group, they were simply young students eager to liberate their country from the terror of Nazism. They wrote, mimeographed and distributed their bulletin, "Le Tigres", to houses all over Paris. One boy watched the exits while the other went from floor to floor, carrying his shoes in his hands and slipping the paper under doors.

The French government no less than the German characterized the Resistance as a gang of terrorists. Denouncing them was seen as a civic duty, for which informers received money. Jacques and the other leaders were aware of the dangers; resistors who were caught were arrested and punished severely. It was also disappointing that so few of Jacques' classmates were willing to join the Volunteers, only 6 boys of the 90 enrolled in the elite classes at Louis Le Grand joined. In every class, there were 2 or 3 boys willing to report them to the police. Some of the
teachers were also Nazi collaborators and they had to be careful never to talk about their activities at school. There were many narrow escapes.

Surveys, discussions, choosing articles for the bulletin and frequent Central Committee meetings kept Jacques busy. Meetings were never held in the same place. Always by Francois or Jean, Jacques traveled on the routes set up for safety. Schoolwork occupied his daytime hours, but at 5 PM, Jacques became a resistance fighter and
sometimes did not return home until 11 PM.

Keeping up his grades while devoting so much time to the "Volunteers" took all his energy, but he succeeded and graduated from Louis Le Grand in the Spring of 1941. He enrolled at the University and planned to take the special exam to qualify for "Ecole Normale Superieur", the highest institution in the French educational system. The Vichy government and its Nazi racial laws, declaring students with disabilities to be ineligible, dashed his hopes Disappointed and angry, Jacques wanted to fight the ruling, but he knew that he would put the "Volunteers" in jeopardy by calling attention to himself, so he put his ambitions aside and decided not to appeal the ruling.

In 1943, the work of the "Volunteers of Liberty" caught the attention of the "Defense de la France"; an official Resistance group connected with Charles deGaulle and the Free French forces. The "Defense de la France" had more funds, its own print shop, trucks disguised as delivery wagons, an organized editorial board, a radio transmitter and a channel to the deGaulle government in London. The "Defense de la France" had everything the Volunteers lacked.

When Jacques was contacted by a leader of Defense de la France, he agreed to meet with him. Accompanied by Georges, they met Phillipe, the leader in the back room of a small restaurant. Jacques immediately liked the relaxed manner of the big man with the warm friendly voice, calm manner and keen sense of humor. Phillipe had solutions to difficult problems and talked of the advantages of merging the "Volunteers of Liberty" with the Defense de la France". Their main task would continue to be the distribution of a secret newspaper. "Le Tigres" was to become a real newspaper called "Defense de la France.

The "Volunteers" merged with the "Defense" and for the next six months, Jacques and Georges met with Philippe every day. They planned a complicated system of drop-offs, mailboxes and hidden communication and both Jacques and Georges became members of the executive committee.

As part of a major group, Jacques no longer felt alone or isolated, but he found the work to be harder and more demanding, One hundred thousand copies of "Defense de la France" a two page newspaper were to be printed and distributed all over France. Every article was carefully reviewed for its power to impress readers and make them aware that there was an active French resistance. The paper was filled with articles telling people of the brutal treatment and torture of arrested resistors, the slaughter of Jews in the death camps and appealing for
passive resistance to Nazi orders.

On February 16, 1942 the Nazi government issued the order, demanding that all young Frenchmen over 21 years be sent to Germany as forced labor. Thousands of young men were sent to Germany, the only exceptions were students and heads of families. The order strengthened the Resistance movement and the "Defense de la France" grew. Eighty young people, including Georges became professional underground operators. Francois was placed in charge of resistance in Brittany.

The members of the "Defense de la France" were young men and women who carried the secret to all parts of France at the risk of their lives. Georges and Jacques were responsible for the distribution of the newspaper in Paris. The two friends agreed that if one were arrested, the other would carry on the work.

The office where the newspaper was printed came under Gestapo suspicion and for three days, everyone who came out of the office was followed. The young people working with Jacques learned how to avoid being followed, they would go into a bakery and leave by the back door, board a subway train and exit at the next stop. They led the spies down false trails, while the equipment was packed up in small trucks with signs, "fragile" "meteorological" or "optical" equipment" were pasted on the outside of the trucks and a new print shop was prepared and the distribution of "Defense de la France" was resumed.

The government of Free France, established in Algiers, asked resistance groups to coordinate their efforts as much as possible. Jacques met with leaders of other groups including the famous writer, Albert Camus, who worked for the group called "Combat ". The work was dangerous; the students could be betrayed at any time. Still in charge
of recruitment, Jacques was taken by surprise a young man named Elio, who came to his home without prior notification.

The group was looking for someone to coordinate the distribution of the newspaper to the industrial and mining communities in the north and Elio, a native of the north was willing to give up his studies to devote himself full time to the resistance movement. Elio had good recommendations, but something about him aroused Jacques' suspicions. His heavy handshake and low voice lacked honesty and conviction and Jacques did not trust him. Phillipe said they could not afford to be too cautious and against his better judgment, Jacques reluctantly agreed and Elio joined "Defense de la France, " went to the city of Lille in the north and established a network for the distribution of the newspaper.

Thousands copies of "Defense de la France" were being distributed throughout France. Jacques and Georges were busy with distribution activities in Paris until the morning in July 1943 when two officers and four armed soldiers knocked on the door of the apartment in the Boulevard Port Royal. Heading straight for Jacques' rooms, they sent his Braille papers flying. Jacques worried that his parents would be arrested too. They knew of his activities and never did anything to discourage him. He felt relieved that he was the only one arrested.

At Gestapo headquarters, Jacques discovered that the Nazis had a record of every one of his activities from the day Elio joined "Defense de la France". When they took him to the Fresnes prison, his suspicions were confirmed. It was a mass betrayal; every one of his friends except Philippe had been arrested.

He was taken from Fresnes to Gestapo headquarters 38 times, he was threatened with death, beaten, and questioned from 7 o'clock in the morning to 7 o'clock, but he was resolute and determined not to give them any information. In July, he was sent to Buchenwald. Starved and sickly, Jacques tried to keep up his spirits and those of his friends. Knowing German and Italian, he even translated for other prisoners.

The United States Third Army liberated Buchenwald in April 1945. Jacques was one of thirty survivors of the 2,000 people who were arrested at the same time he was. He and Phillipe were the only leaders of the "Defense de la France" to survive the war. The newspaper of the "Defense de la France became the "France Soir", one of the most important daily newspapers in France.

Jacques returned to the university and his studies and his fight to be admitted to the Ecole Normale Superieur. Finally admitted to the elite school, graduated and took a teaching position in Paris. In the 1950's he moved to the United States and taught Literature at Western Reserve University and the University of Hawaii. He was tragically
killed in a tragic automobile accident when he was only 47 years of age.

References

Ehrlich, Blake, Resistance France, 1940-1945, Boston, Mass.: Little Brown and Company. 1965.

Lusseyran, Jacques, And There Was Light, New York: Little Brown, 1963

Perrault, Gille & Azema, Pierre, Paris Under The Occupation New York: The Vendome Press, 1989.

Pryce-Jones, David, Paris in the Third Reich: A History of the German Occupation, 1940-1944 New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1983.

Shiber, Etta with Anne and Paul Dupre, Paris Underground New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1943.

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Jean

On the way back to the village, Jean was climbing the hills bordering the Dordogne River when he saw a streak of silver twisting and turning in the sky; trailing streaks of black smoke as it hurtled to the ground. Jean was deaf and did not hear the plane crash, but he saw the smoke rising above the trees on the other side of the river. Jean stopped on the top of a hill and watched the smoke circling above the sparkling river, and then he saw the white parachute tangled on a tree below him. A man dangling from its ropes was waving his arms, frantically trying to reach the branch of the tree.

Jean quickly ran down the hill toward the tree and climbed up, as he came close to the man he reached and pulled him to safety in a branch of the tree. Then he disentangled the ropes and helped him climb down from the tree. Jean guessed the man was the pilot of the small plane. He knew from his uniform that he was not a German. He suspected he was British or American.

The people in the farming village were happy to see the fighter planes, everyone was hoping that they would free France from the German occupation. The year was 1944 and German soldiers were all over France. Jean knew his father resented the German soldiers who took so much food from the village that there was little left for the farmers to sell.

Safely on the ground, Jean faced the pilot who was speaking to him, but he could not read his words. They were not French. Jean pointed to his ears and shook his head, trying to make the pilot understand that he could not hear. Jean could see fear in the pilot's eyes and he wanted to reassure him and let him know he was safe. Jean quickly pulled his sweater off and pushed it in the pilot's hands and pulled on the pilot's jacket. The American understood and removed his jacket and pulled Jean's sweater over his head.

Pointing to the parachute that was still tangled in the tree, Jean climbed back up the tree and brought it down. Rolling it up into a bundle, he hid the parachute and the pilot's jacket beneath a bush. Pointing to a path through the oak trees that bordered the road, Jean led the pilot along the dirt road overgrown with bushes. Jean hoped they would not be seen. As they trudged side by side though the trees, Jean, sure his father would want to help the pilot, Jean decided to bring him back to the farm in the next village. Jean was on his way home after delivering butter and eggs to his father's friend in the neighboring village. Jean lived with his father; his mother had died the year before. Jean had two older brothers but they were in the French army.

Tall and husky, Jean was tall for his seventeen years, but he was lonely. No one in the farming village knew his language of signs. Jean left the school for the deaf in Paris when the Germans occupied the city. Jean had a friend from the school for the deaf in the nearby village and he was disappointed to discover that he had moved away.

Jean and the pilot could not walk very fast over the overgrown path through the trees. The path led to the main road where walking was easier. They no sooner started walking on the road, when Jean felt the pilot shake his arm. Jean turned and saw the truck coming up the road behind them and quickly pulled the pilot up a hill beside the road. They hid behind the small cottage on the top of the hill. There was a gasoline shortage and no one but the Germans had gasoline for trucks.

Jean peered around the cottage and looked down at the road. The truck did not stop and went it had passed, Jean and the pilot began to make their way back to the road. The door of the cottage opened and a large black dog came towards them blocking their path. Jean knew the dog was barking. An old woman came out of the cottage and looked around. The dog came close to Jean and the pilot, but Jean stood by calmly and let the dog approach. Then he reached out and petted him. The dog stopped barking and went back into the cottage.

Walking along the road, Jean felt happy, he had a companion, someone who trusted him and let him lead the way. As they got close to the village, Jean could see children coming out of the school next to the church. The village priest stood in front of the church and Jean did not want him to see the pilot. Grabbing the pilot's arm, he pulled him to the back of the church. When the children had gone, the priest went back inside the church. And they began walking again.

The road led through a countryside that was dotted by small farms and the market place in the center of the village. It was late afternoon, but there were still many people in the market. Jean was wondering how they could avoid being seen; there was no place to walk. except in front of the market. Jean had an idea and began showing the pilot some of his signs. The pilot nodded and began to imitate him and Jean and the pilot walked through the market making signs. Jean thought the neighbors would think the pilot was his friend, Phillipe from the neighboring village. He knew that many people knew about Phillipe, but they had never seen him. Jean felt more confident now and was not afraid of meet anyone.

One of the farmers saw Jean approaching and stopped him. Jean put his arm around the pilot's shoulder and carefully pronounced the words, "My friend, Phillipe, he deaf like me". The man stared at the pilot but then he shrugged and walked away. A number of other people were also looking at Jean, but he did not think that their behavior was unusual. Few people took the time to talk to Jean even though he could read their lips and pronounce words clearly. Jean often felt he was ignored, he thought people thought he was dumb as well as deaf.

The smell of freshly baked bread wafted out of the bakery reminding Jean had promised his father to bring home bread. Leading the pilot into the bakery, Jean repeated his words to the baker, "He my friend, Phillipe, deaf like me." The baker nodded and gave Jean two loaves of bread and then he hurried them outside through a back door.

When they got close to the farm, Jean was surprised to see his father waiting for them in front of the house. He seemed to be expecting the pilot and hurried him into the barn. His father sent Jean back to the house for a blanket and some clothes while he brought soup, bread, and cheese on a tray. Jean's father made the pilot a bed of hay and put the blanket down. He did not know the pilot's language either, but he knew he was an American. After eating the soup and cheese, the pilot gave the bowl back to Jean and covered himself with the blanket. Jean and his father left the barn and went back into the house to eat their dinner.

Sitting across from his father, Jean thanked him and said. "People think he is my friend Phillipe. He stay in the barn and help on the farm."

Jean's father looked at his son's smiling face and shook his head. He knew that Jean had no idea how quickly news traveled in the farming village. Everyone knew that an American fighter plane had crashed. They also knew that German soldiers would be coming to the village to search for the pilot. Jean's father also knew that there were a few people in the village who were cooperating with the Germans and he was too worried to explain to Jean why the pilot could not stay.

As soon as they had finished their dinner, Jean's father opened the door and a man Jean did not know entered the house. Jean tried to read his lips as he spoke to his father, but he was talking too quickly. His father told Jean to stay in the house and took the man to the barn. But Jean followed them, he could see that the man was able to talk to the pilot.

His father gestured him to go back to the house and Jean obeyed. He went to bed; he could not sleep. Later that night, he went out to the barn. The pilot had gone. There was no sign that he had been there. Jean felt angry and betrayed and he woke his father. "He had to go. He will be safe, now go back to bed," his father told him.

Jean felt like he had lost a friend, he wanted him to stay on the farm. He had no idea where the pilot was taken. He thought he would be safe on the farm.

The next morning, German soldiers drove up to the farm and searched every room in the house. His father put his fingers to his lips and Jean knew why the pilot had to leave.

The soldiers were holding guns and one of them came close to Jean's father. Afraid the soldier would hurt him, Jean moved close to him. The soldier looked angry Jean read the words on his father's lips, "No one here but me and my son. " Jean could not read the soldier's lips when he yelled in German, "There's no one else here but a deaf dummy".

When the soldiers left, Jean embraced his father and thanked him for helping the pilot escape.

After the war, Jean received a letter from the American pilot. Jean's father took it to his English-speaking friend to translate it.

Karl

A small crowd of villagers watched in tearful silence as Karl was taken away from his home by the public health official. His parents were sobbing. No one knew when he or she would see Karl again. When his father was told that Karl had to leave the village and go to the state hospital, he protested angrily. The official warned him that Karl would be taken by force, if they did not let him go willingly.

The Nazi government had a law that required all children with mental or physical disabilities to be reported to the public health authorities. The village priest urged Karl's parents to avoid trouble with the police.

The fifteen-year-old boy looked no different from other boys his age, but his speech was slurred and sometimes he had trouble putting words into sentences. No one thought of him as being "feebleminded", the word the public health official used to describe him. Karl's parents treated him no differently from their other children and he went to the village school with his brothers and sisters. The teachers at the school knew that Karl was slower than other children, but they knew he was eager to learn and did not fuss over his inability to learn as quickly as the others. Then the Nazis took over the schools and children like Karl were no longer permitted to attend the village school.

The new headmaster was a Nazi official and he reported Karl to the public health authorities. A public health official came to Karl's home and told the family that Karl could not stay in the village and had to go to the state hospital. Karl knew how sad his family felt and he tried to be brave as he got into the small car. He saw his mother sobbing and heard his father say, "Don't worry son, you will come home again."

It was a long ride to the old gray stone building that served as hospital and home for children with disabilities. As soon as Karl stepped inside the hospital, a nurse took away the suitcase his mother had packed for him and gave him a uniform just like all the other boys wore. The gray and white shirt and the gray trousers the boys wore made
them all look alike.

The nurse took Karl to a long narrow room with two rows of beds lined up against the walls. There were thirty narrow beds in the long narrow room. Karl was shown his bed and then he was pushed into the line of boys who had to march to the dining room. This was a large room filled with wooden tables. Ten boys sat at each table and ate in silence. There was no talking allowed in the dining room. Karl looked around him and felt very lonely. He did not understand this place where everyone was dressed the same and no one was called by his name. The
nurses and attendants never looked at him and no one seemed to care.

At night, Karl could hear some of the boys sobbing and he struggled to keep himself from panic. He felt lost, afraid and confused and did not understand why he was in this place, but he managed to suppress the fear. He thought if he obeyed and did as he was told, he would be able to go home again.

All the boys had jobs to do; they scrubbed floors, collected garbage, swept and washed floors and walls. There was nothing else but work to do in this place. Sometimes in the evening, the boys marched around the grounds. They were taught to sing Nazi songs and salute to Hitler.

It did not take Karl long to make friends, his best friend was Rudi, the janitor's assistant. Rudi made Karl laugh by making funny faces and telling him funny stories. Karl felt safe with Rudi. When the janitor let Rudi pick his helper, Rudi chose Karl.

Every day more children were brought to the state hospital and the wards were crowded with children of all ages. Some were blind or deaf or physically disabled. There were enough wheelchairs or beds. Some children slept on straw mats on the floor. The food was drab and tasteless and there was never enough to eat. Karl was given more work to do, but he did not mind when he worked with Rudi.

Then Rudi told Karl that he was leaving the hospital. Karl knew that Rudi had an operation to make it impossible for him ever to become a father. Boys who had the operation were allowed to leave the hospital and go back to their homes. They joined work crews in the towns and cities.

The day Rudi left, he gave Karl a paper with his name and address written neatly on it. He told Karl that his home only a few miles from the hospital. Karl took care never to lose the piece of paper, he kept it with him all the time. At night, he carefully put it under his pillow and every morning he put it back in his pocket.

Karl had to collect big bags of garbage from the dormitories and he saw how miserable many children were. Some had to lie on their beds all day. There was nothing to do on the wards and he was glad he was able to work. He collected the garbage in big sacks and brought the sacks to the big garbage behind the building. Karl missed Rudi and when a new janitor replaced the man who worked with Rudi, Karl was even more upset. The new janitor was a cruel man who called the boys "idiots" and "morons"; he slapped the boys when they did not work quickly enough to suit him. And he never explained what they had to do; he simply shoved brooms or mops into their hands. With the new janitor, the boys did all the dirty work, while the janitor sat and drank from a bottle he kept in his pocket. Karl worked as fast as he could and tried to stay out of the janitor's way.

One afternoon, just as Karl was carrying a sack of garbage to the outdoor bin, he saw the janitor beating a boy with a broomstick. "I will teach you not to make a dirty mess," he shouted, hitting the boy again and again. Without thinking, Karl threw the bag of garbage he was holding at the janitor. The garbage bag hit the janitor in the head and spilled all over him. Suspecting that the janitor had seen him, Karl ran around the side of the building and hid in a barrel. He knew the janitor would be looking for him and he ran to the back of the building and hid in a barrel. He could barely breathe but he dared not make a sound. He could hear shouting and cursing and then it was quiet. Karl climbed out of the barrel and ran to the road, he did not stop running until he was some distance from the hospital. He did not know where to go, and then he remembered the paper Rudi had given him. He took the paper from his pocket and read the name of the town where Rudi lived. Rudi said it was not far from the hospital. It was getting dark and there was a chill in the air, but Karl did not stop to rest. In the twilight, it was hard to
see the signs. Finally he came to a large sign and as he came close, he saw it had the name that Rudi printed on the paper. Rudi told him he lived in a brown house, but it was too dark to see the color of the houses. He was not sure what to do, but then he saw a man sweeping the street in front of a shop. Taking a deep breath, approached the man. "I look for my friend, " he explained, showing the man the paper. The man pointed to a narrow lane and told Karl to go down the lane. "It's the third house on the lane," he explained.

Karl ran to the house and knocked loudly on the door, shouting "Rudi, Rudi".

A woman's voice called out, "Who is there?" Karl stood at the door, not sure that he had come to the right house. A woman opened the door and looked at Karl. "Please I want Rudi, I look for Rudi", Karl was almost sobbing as he showed the woman the paper Rudi had given him. The woman recognized the uniform and knew that the trembling boy had run away from the hospital. She pulled Karl inside and quickly closed the door.

"Rudi told me come to see him. Tell Rudi I am here. I am Karl".

Rudi came into the room and Karl rushed to him. "It's me, Karl. You remember me, you gave me paper and told me to come to you."

Trembling from head to toe, Karl tried to explain why he had to run away. "They going punish me bad. The janitor beat the boy and I throw garbage at him. So I run away fast".

Rudi nodded and told Karl "You do a good thing. You are safe here."

Rudi's mother brought a blanket and wrapped it around Karl; she gave him a glass of warm milk and bread.

"You can stay here tonight," she said as Karl gulped the milk and stuffed the bread into his mouth. Then she made a bed for Karl on the sofa. Feeling safe and secure, Karl fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Rudi woke Karl and gave him a clean shirt, trousers and a sweater. He told him he had to leave for work but his brother was coming to take care of Karl. Rudi began work very early in the morning. His mother made a good breakfast for Karl and explained that Rudi's brother was coming to take him to a place where he would be safe.

"I want go home, Karl said. "You please help me go to my family?" Rudi's mother explained that the police would be looking for him and would go to his home. "It is safer to live where no one knows you for a while," she said. Rudi's brother will take care of you. Please do not worry," she said. A tall good-looking man who looked a lot like Rudi came into the house. He asked Karl if he knew how to work on a farm.

Karl nodded his head and said "I like work on farm. I work on my father's farm."

"Then you can help my friend. He is my neighbor", Rudi's brother said kindly and helped Karl climb into the back of his truck and covered him with a pile of rags. "No one will find you now," he said.

Karl trusted Rudi's brother and did not mind the long and bumpy ride. When they reached the farm, Rudi helped Karl climb down from the truck. Rudi's brother introduced him to a farmer and his wife. The farmer and his wife seemed to be expecting Karl. Rudi's brother had told them that Karl was a family friend who was looking for work.

"You show me you do good work and I'll try to get you work on other farms too. Then you can earn some money."

The farmer took him to the barn. Karl helped the farmer clean the barn, spread new hay on the barn floor, fix a broken fence and clean the shed where the farmer kept his tools. The cellar in the farmer's house was a cold, but the farmer's wife made sure that Karl had enough to eat.

Karl woke up early in the morning, washed his face and hands in a bucket of water and went upstairs for breakfast. After a good breakfast, Karl worked around the farm. Rudi's brother came to the farm to see how
Karl was doing. The farmer told him that Karl was a good worker. Rudi's brother told Karl that some of the other farmers had work for him too and would pay him money. Karl went with Rudi's brother to a neighbor's farm, but the man asked Karl to show him his identification paper.

Every boy over 16 years of age needed an identification paper in order to work. Karl had no papers and the farmer was suspicious. "If he escaped from somewhere, we'll be in trouble if we do not report him", he told Rudi's brother who took him to the village priest

"Why doesn't he have identification papers?" the priest wanted to know and asked Karl many questions.

"I have no paper. Nobody give me paper".

"Everyone is given an identification paper," he answered. "If you want me to help, you must tell me the truth."

Karl put his hands on his face and cried out, "I run away from bad place. They hit people there and I not go back. I want go home".

"It is dangerous to give false identification papers, but let me see what I can do," the priest said quietly. He had heard about the terrible conditions in the hospital from the nuns who tried to visit there. Looking at Karl, the priest told him he would try to help.

The next day the priest brought Karl an identification paper. Karl looked at the neatly typed paper and did not recognize the name that was printed on it. The priest explained that now had a new name and that he had to remember it. With his identification paper, Karl was able to find more work on the neighboring farms and make some money.

When the first snows came and there was no more work on the farms, the priest found Karl a job in a nearby market and let him sleep in the church. He also managed to notify Karl's family and tell them that their son was safe. Karl always carried his identification paper with him and did not forget his new name. He knew that having a different name did not make him a different person.

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Noni's Escape

Peering out of the dusty window, Noni was looking for the birds that made their nests in the tall trees that ordered the state hospital, when she saw the big gray bus with blackened windows pull to a stop. Everyone in the hospital heard the rumors about the buses that came every day to take another group of people away from the hospital.
Everyone talked about the killing of people with mental handicaps that took place in Grafeneck, the psychiatric hospital in the next town. When Noni saw the bus, she knew the rumors were true.

Noni felt an icy stab of fear and silently watched the soldiers in black uniforms burst into the quiet room. The director of the hospital nodded to them and pointed out the girls who were to be taken. He pointed to Noni and a soldier pushed her into the line of girls, who were screaming and crying. Girls who could not walk were taken from
their beds and carried like sacks of potatoes outside to the waiting bus. Noni and the others were forced into a line-up and marched outdoors. Noni felt as if she were frozen and moved slowly. But when she saw the soldier standing at the door of the bus go inside, she quickly stepped out of the line and walked past the bus, the she turned and ran to the back of the building.

The door of an old shed filled with bags of garbage was open and Noni slipped inside and hid behind a barrel, the smell of garbage made her feel sick, but she forced herself to stay there. She heard the bus leaving and then she peered outside of the shed. Seeing no one, she made her way down the path away from the hospital. The path met a road and Noni began walking. She could feel her heart beating and she was breathless and very tired. She sat behind a tree to rest.

Noni's mother died when she was an infant and her father left his tiny daughter with his mother. Small for her age, Noni had a crooked spine and her speech was slow to develop. A doctor told Noni's grandmother that Noni was mentally handicapped and should be placed in an institution for children with mental handicaps. But her grandmother refused, she loved Noni and kept her at home. Feeling happy and safe, Noni did everything with her grandmother. She learned to cook, sew, and help with chores around the house.

When she was eight years old, her grandmother became very ill and died. A social worker brought Noni to an orphanage and the director sent her to a home for children who were mentally handicapped, run by an order of Catholic sisters. At first, Noni was so frightened that she dared not speak Her life was shattered by her grandmother's death. One of the sisters reached out to the small girl, Noni called her Sister Kati. She comforted Noni and did not scold her when she cried. Sister Kati spent a lot of time with Kati and Noni began to talk again. Sister Kati knew how capable Noni was and gave her special things to do.

Some of the children in the Home were blind or deaf and others could not walk or talk. Sister Kati showed Noni how to feed and help the children who could not care for themselves. She made friends with the other girls, especially Berti who was her age. Berti's arms and legs were thin as twigs and she could not walk. When Noni fed her, Bert always ate her food and when Bert was sad, Sister Kati always brought Noni to comfort her.

When Noni was 15 years old, the Nazi government closed the Home and moved all the children to a large state institution. Sister Kati told Noni to be brave and do as much for herself as she could. Noni clung to Sister Kati and they cried together. That was the last time Noni saw Sister Kati.

A bus took the children to a large hospital-like institution where Noni lived with forty other girls in a long narrow room. The beds were in two long rows with hardly any space between them. Everyone on the ward was given a short haircut and an ugly cotton smock. The girls own clothes and books, toys and other personal possessions were removed. There was no talking or laughter in the large dining room, where the only food was potatoes and turnips; the girls were always hungry.

More and more children were brought to the crowded wards and those who could walk had to work in the kitchen or in the laundry. Noni wanted to help the younger children, but the nurse on the ward would not let her and made her work in the laundry. Every day, Noni had to carry heavy bags of soiled clothing and sheets to the big steamy laundry room and carry the clean sheets back up to the wards. Noni's back was never very strong and it began to ache. It was hard for her to carry the heavy bags of laundry. One morning her back hurt so much that she could not get out of bed.

Noni was moved to an even more crowded ward with girls who had severe physical disabilities. Some were in wheelchairs and others were never taken from their beds. But there were a few girls like Noni who were able to walk. After a few weeks, Noni began to feel better but she was forbidden to leave the ward. There was nothing to do on the ward, there were no toys or books or games. Sensing the loneliness and fear of the younger children, Noni kept herself busy making up games and trying to play with them. She comforted and sang to them. Noni also spent a great deal of time gazing out of the dusty window. The hospital was once a castle and was built on the top of a hill and Noni could see the countryside below dotted with trees and flowers. It was a sunny morning in late spring when the gray bus with its darkened windows pulled up in front of the hospital.

Sitting beneath the tall tree at the bottom of the path, Noni saw a bird fly to a nest high in the tree. Watching birds always reminded Noni of Sister Kati who always kept little bags of seeds in her pockets and every time the girls took a walk, Sister Kati gave them seeds to Sprinkle on the ground. Noni loved to watch the birds come to eat them. Thinking about Sister Kati made Noni feel better and she got up and began walking by the side of the road. Whenever she heard the sound of an automobile or truck, she hid behind a bush or tree.

Passing the marketplace, Noni saw barrels filled with red and green apples; potatoes and onions and realized that she was hungry. As she neared a barrel of apples, she reached in to take one and then remembered her grandmother telling her not to take food from the barrels if you had no money. A half-eaten apple lay on the ground and Noni picked it up and ate it.

Two small boys standing nearby saw her and began pointing and laughing at her. That made Noni feel afraid again and she quickly left the marketplace and went back to the road. She passed a large park; a crowd of people was standing around a man who was tossing red, green and blue balls into the air. The juggler was smiling and laughing as he tossed the balls into the air. Noni could not take her eyes off the juggler and the balls that seemed to be dancing in the air. When the juggler had finished, the crowd left. Noni watched the juggler put the balls into a canvas bag. He saw Noni, smiled at her, and began to speak. Not wanting to talk, Noni turned away and began walking again.

Feeling tired again, she lay down beneath a tree to rest and did not see the old woman approach her. Then she heard the footsteps and quickly scrambled to her feet and began to run away. The woman grabbed her arm, "Girl, help me carry these sacks to my cottage. It's not far from here."

Noni began to pull away. "Don't me afraid," the woman said, "I won't hurt you", the woman spoke kindly. Noni felt trapped and when the woman pushed a large bag into her arms, Noni took the bag and followed to a small cottage by the side of the road.

The woman opened the door to the cottage and took Noni inside. When she put her bundle down, the old woman looked at Noni, "Did you run away from the hospital?" she asked. Noni did not know what to say and burst into tears, "No go on bus," Noni cried.

"Don't worry. I won't make you go back. You did the right thing. You can stay here for the night and I'll give you some supper".

The woman's calm voice calmed Noni and she wiped her eyes.

"I glad to help you".

The woman smiled and did not say anything as she began to take potatoes and onions out of the bag. Noni helped her to peel them and put them in a soup pot. While the soup was cooking, Noni took a broom and swept the floor. "I good worker" she told the old lady.

When the soup was ready, Noni sat at the table with the woman and ate the soup quickly. She did not realize how hungry she was. The woman gave her another bowl and a big chunk of bread. After dinner, the old woman fell asleep in her chair and Noni was careful not to waken her. She washed the dishes in a pail of water and dried them and when she had finished, she lay down on the floor and fell fast asleep.

The next morning the woman woke her up and gave her bread and tea. Then she told her she could not stay there.

"Please, I stay with you and work for you. I slow, but I not dumb", Noni pleaded.

But the old woman refused. She told Noni, "It is better for you to get away from here and find work on a farm." She gave Noni an old cotton skirt, a blouse and a sweater and told her to change her clothes. She explained that she would be recognized as a run away from the hospital if she wore the institution dress.

Noni did as she was told, but the clothes were too large for Noni's small frame. The woman trimmed the skirt with a pair of scissors and tied a rope around Noni's waist.

"Now, no one will know you come from the hospital," the woman said patting Noni on her shoulder. Handing her a bag with fruit and bread, the woman told her. "Go back to the road and you will soon come to a farm. Farmers always need good workers. Tell them you will work for food and a place to sleep. You will be safe on a farm", she said.

Noni walked for a long time and did not see any farms. Feeling uneasy again, she sat down to rest next to a stream, washed her hands and face in the cool water, and ate some of the fruit and the bread. Then she began walking again and saw a farmhouse in the distance. A farmer was working in the field and remembering the old woman's advice she went to speak to him.

Taking a deep breath, Noni spoke to the farmer, "I look for work. I good worker. I work for food and a place to sleep."

The farmer was surprised to see the small girl and he spoke softly. "Where do you come from?" he asked.

Noni did not know what to say, but she looked up at him and repeated, "I live not far from here".

"You are not running away from home, are you?" the man asked her.

Noni did not expect to answer questions and she looked down on the ground. Then she raised her head and said, "My grandmother got sick and she die. I have no home now." Noni repeated.

"Who is your grandmother?"

"Her name Noni just like me" she answered. "Please. I do good work."

"I don't know any woman called Noni", the farmer replied not knowing what to make of the small girl.

"Come with me", the farmer said, I will take you to my wife and see of she has work for you".

Noni followed the farmer to the farmhouse. The farmer's wife was working in the kitchen. The farmer asked his wife to give Noni some work. Noni spoke with confidence, " I good worker. I work for you. I work only for food and place to sleep."

The farmer's wife nodded and told Noni she could use some help on the farm and asked Noni if she was willing to scrub the kitchen floor and sweep and dust. Noni nodded her head vigorously. The woman gave her a pail of soapy water and a scrub brush. Noni scrubbed the kitchen floor as hard as she could, then she washed dishes and dried them. She did everything the woman asked. It was late in the afternoon when the woman gave Noni some food and a blanket to take with her to the shed.

Noni was very tired, but she ate every drop of the food and wrapped herself in the blanket and fell into a sound sleep. In the morning, she went back to the house.

The farmer and his wife were eating breakfast and the wife gave Noni a sausage and eggs. Noni licked her lips. She had not eaten so well in a long time. When she was cleaning the breakfast dishes, a neighbor woman came by. She looked at Noni a long time and did not say anything to her. Then Noni heard the woman tell the farmer's wife. "You should call the police. That girl looks like she is running away from someplace."

The farmer's wife asked her if she had run away from home and Noni did not answer her. "Tell me the truth", the woman insisted. "Where are you from?"

"My grandmother die and I have no home" Noni said in a small voice.

"Then you should be in an orphan home", the woman said. "I can take you to the church. They will find a home for you. "

Noni was afraid that the church would find out she ran away from the hospital and would bring her back to the hospital and she began to sob. " I not tell you true. I run away from hospital. I not go on bus. I not be killed," she cried out.

The neighbor said, "I told you she was a run away. You will have to report her. Then the woman left.

The farmer's wife called her husband and told him. The farmer did not want trouble, they were afraid the neighbor woman would report them to the police. The farmer's wife gave Noni a package of food and a purse with a few coins in it and told her she had to leave.

"You can find work on another farm" the farmer's wife told her and showed her which way to walk.

Noni took the parcel and the purse and walked for a long time. When she came to the next farm, she knocked on the door. A few children were in the house and they laughed when they saw her. She felt too frightened to stay and went back to the road. Her back began to ache and she sat down beside a small pond to rest. It was already late afternoon and Noni watched tiny ducks swimming in a straight line behind their mother in the pond. One duck was swimming alone. "I like that duck, I all alone" she thought, munching on the sandwich the woman had given
her. She did not know what to do.

She wrapped the old sweater around her and lay down beside the pond. Then she thought Sister Kati would be proud of her. She did not get on the bus and she was free. She had come a long way from the hospital and she even got some work. A feeling of calm washed over her. She would rest now and then begin to search for another farm. Somewhere, she would find a new home, she thought as she fell asleep.

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Annaliese

There was chaos; everyone was running in all directions in the forest. Annaliese held the hand of a young boy and they ran together behind a tree. The soldiers were firing their rifles in all directions. There was screaming and crying. The shooters were relentless and bodies were scattered everywhere. Annaliese and the young boy were murdered with the twenty-five other young people who lived in St. Joseph's Home in Silesia. The Nazi officials calmly boarded the bus that was meant for the young residents. The priest buried his head in his hands and the nuns wept.

St. Joseph's was a small school for children and young people with mental and physical disabilities. Like other small religious schools in remote parts of Germany, St. Joseph's school was a haven for children with disabilities during the war but as defeat came close, the Nazis intensified their killing of children and adults with disabilities as well as prisoners in concentration and death camps. The children and young people of St. Joseph's were killed in March 1945.

Annaliese never knew her parents. She was placed in a state orphan home for girls when she was a baby. Alone and abandoned, there was no one to whom she felt close. The teachers at the school and supervisors in the Home did not pay very much attention to the quiet little girl who worked hard at school and never caused trouble. When Annaliese was 14 years old, the war began and the orphanage became very crowded. There was a shortage of food and clothing and more and more troubled girls were sent to the Home. It was chaotic, noisy and dirty and Annaliese became increasingly uncomfortable and retreated into herself. She missed the girls who had been sent away and felt uncomfortable with the new director, who gave the girls cleaning chores to do. After school, Annaliese and the others barely had time for their school work. They had to wash the dishes and clean the rooms of the smaller girls. The only relief was attending church on Sundays, but the new director preferred the girls to attend meetings and march in the streets chanting Nazi slogans, rather than go to the church. Annaliese felt lonelier then ever and did not enjoy the outings with the German Maidens. She did not like the girls who were the leaders, they were bossy and picked on the smaller or weaker girls.

Modest and shy, Annaliese was not even aware of how pretty she was. She kept her long blonde hair in braids and when she looked in the mirror, she saw only sadness in her blue eyes. When the director told her she was being moved to a home in the country, Annaliese was surprised. She looked forward to leaving the noisy, crowded home. She had never been out of the city, but she knew the countryside was quiet and peaceful. The Director did not tell her anything about the home except that it was a special place for German Maidens.

One week later, after her sixteenth birthday, Annaliese found herself on a train

with one other girl from the Home. Seated next to a window, she could not take her eyes away from the sight of rolling hills, forests and farms as the train sped along the tracks. She thought about her life and hoped that life in the country would be peaceful and that she would make friends in the new home. An older girl accompanied her and she was happy too. She told Annaliese that they were going to be treated very well because they were specially chosen by the German Maidens. No one told her that the girls in the new home were expected to make babies for Hitler.

The house was an old mansion with rugs on the floor and lovely dark furniture. Annaliese was given her own room with a comfortable bed and curtains on the windows. The girls in the home came from all over Germany and at first they seemed very friendly. The girls were given new and pretty dresses and the food in the home was delicious. Annaliese never tasted so many different kinds of foods before. In the new peaceful surroundings, Annaliese began to relax her guard and took long walks around the grounds. She loved the big gardens with their rosebushes. But she could not help wondering why there were no supervisors in the home, there were maids who did the cleaning and laundry and one older woman, who did not bother to call the girls by name. She referred to them as "Maidens". Annaliese offered to help with the chores in return for living there. But the woman just shrugged and laughed. "You'll have plenty to do when the soldiers arrive. Don't you know you are here to give our soldiers a good time?

Annaliese did not understand what she meant and asked another girl what they were expected to do. One of the other girls laughed at her and told her they would be making beautiful babies for Hitler. Annaliese was stunned, she had heard of girls getting pregnant before they were married but she did not want that to happen to her. She hoped to finish school and become a nurse before she married. After all she was only sixteen years old.

The other girl saw her fright and told her, "Don't worry", the other girl said. "We're going to have fun and have dances and parties. The soldiers are really handsome fellows".

"Not me" Annaliese said, "I'm much too young to get married. I want to be a nurse".

"Oh they won't marry us. They just want us to have babies for the Fatherland. It's a great privilege to make perfect babies for the Fatherland. Don't you it's your duty to make beautiful babies for Hitler" the other girl said sharply.

Annaliese suddenly felt frightened, but then she thought no one would force her to do something she did not want to do.

That night there was a party, but Annaliese pretended to be sick and did not go.

She refused the next night after as well. The woman in charge of the house scolded her and threatened to send her back to the orphanage. Annaliese asked to go back and the woman promised to try to arrange it.

There were parties nearly every night and Annaliese discovered how hopeless her situation was. One night a soldier forced his way into her room and roughly pulled off her clothes and made her lie down with him. He was rough and cruel and caused her a great deal of pain. He got up off the bed and laughed at her as he got dressed and left the room. Annaliese lay in her bed in terror. She felt violated and ashamed, she had nothing, not even her body belonged to her, she thought. Suddenly she knew that the only one who could help her was herself and she planned her escape.

She did not sleep that night and with the first light of dawn, she left the mansion. Outside the first rays of light were streaking the sky and Annaliese walked quickly. She stood at the edge of the forest wondering in which direction to go and then she entered the forest. Forcing herself to be calm, she stepped carefully around the bushes and trees. She rested against a tall tree and imagined that the trees were protecting her. The thought comforted her and she continued walking. The sun was shining brightly when she reached the end of the forest and saw noticed that she was close to the edge of the forest. She saw a small church on the other side of the road and she ran towards it.

Sister Mary was coming out of the church when she saw a disheveled girl running towards the church. As soon as Annaliese saw the nun, she began sobbing. The sister put her hand on Annaliese arm and pulled her inside the church and calmly spoke to her. She asked her if she was running away. Annaliese nodded and then decided to tell the Sister everything. She told her about the mansion where the girls were ordered to make babies for the Fatherland. Annaliese told her about the soldier and how he had hurt her. Sister Mary listened quietly and then took Annaliese's hand. "You are safe now", she said. "There is no need to be afraid."

Sister Mary brought her to the priest who told her that the church was also the home of 26 children and young people who were disabled. He asked her if she were willing to work and help take care of the boys and girls who lived there. Most of the children and young people were independent, but they required some help to do their chores and their school work. Annaliese nodded her head, she was so nervous she could barely hear what the priest was saying. But his voice was gentle and calming and she saw the kindness in his eyes.

"I'll do whatever you like, but please let me stay," she said.

The priest nodded and told her she would be expected to help with the cleaning and cooking chores.

Annaliese did not hesitate and promised to do whatever they asked of her.

Sister Mary took Annaliese to the dining room where the residents were eating breakfast. The residents were seated around a long table. There was no fighting or loud talk, but there were smiles and quiet laughter. Sister Mary walked her around the table and introduced Annaliese. One by one they stood up and greeted her politely. The sister introduced each resident by name. Annaliese barely noticed the slight physical disabilities or deformities of some of the residents. Their friendliness was what important to her. One of the boys invited her to sit with them and have breakfast. They brought her a plate filled with eggs and fresh bread. He told her to eat as much as she wanted. For the first time in a long time, Annaliese felt safe.

After breakfast, Sister Mary showed Annaliese the small room where she would live and brought her some clothing. After she washed her face and changed her clothes. Sister Mary took her around the grounds and explained that most of the boys worked on the small farm in back of the church and the girls worked inside the Home. There was a sewing room and a school room for the younger residents. It was calm, friendly and peaceful at St. Joseph's and in a short time. Annaliese settled into the routine of the home. She worked in the kitchen helping with cooking and cleaning chores and assisted the younger children with their school work. The residents appreciated the help she gave and they were always polite and respectful. Annaliese felt as if she had found a real family and she joined in all of the activities of the home. She always there to help a child solve a problem and they began looking for her whenever they needed help. And when one of the residents was ill, Annaliese sat by their bedsides and read or talked to them. She took the boys and girls on picnics and outings and earned their love and trust. The priest and the two Sisters who worked at the Home told Annaliese that she was making life easier for everyone. Annaliese felt that she belonged and had a great respect for these young people who accepted and encouraged one another. There was no teasing or bullying and everyone cooperated.

One afternoon, black smoke surrounded the barn. One of the older boys was the first to see the smoke coming out of the barn and he called to the others. Annaliese watched in quiet admiration as the boys filled buckets with water and quietly put out the fire. Even the priest and the Sisters were surprised that the residents knew exactly what to do. No one panicked or refused to help. Afterwards they even helped to repair the part of the barn that was damaged. Annaliese thought that the young people at the Home were a lot smarter than the girls who were making babies for Hitler.

Annaliese had been at the Home for two years and her life was good. Germany was losing the war and Sister Mary confided to Annaliese that she was glad. "Life was good before the Nazis and will be good again", she told her. But then groups of soldiers and many Nazi officials came to the village that was near the Russian front. They wanted to escape the approaching Russian army

Until the end of the war, children and young people with disabilities were safest

in homes run by religious orders in rural parts of Germany. In other places Nazi doctors were killing them. The killings continued even though Germany was losing the war and the killing operations were being extended to rural homes like St. Joseph's.

It was just a few months before the end of the war, when the public health doctor came to see the priest and told him that his residents were to be put to death. The doctor told the priest that the residents were a burden on the government and that as a good citizen he was obliged to cooperate. The doctor planned to inject everyone with poison.

The priest knew that children and adults who lived in the big institutions and hospitals were murdered, but he never thought that would happen at St. Joseph's. As soon as the doctor left the priest went to the town hall to beg the Mayor to intervene, but the Mayor refused to help. When no one offered to help, the priest and the nuns and Annualize tried to make a plan to keep the residents out of the Home when the public health doctor paid a visit.

Annualize took the residents for long walks in the forest and stayed there until nightfall. It was an abrupt change in routine and older children sensed the fear. They stayed close to one another and to Annualize tried to be cheerful as she led them through the thickest parts of the forest.

The Russian troops were getting closer and the Nazi officials knew they would be taken prisoners. They too planned to escape, but that did not keep the public health doctor from planning the murder of the residents. The doctor did not disguise his anger with the priest, who secretly arranged for a bus to come and take the residents to another church far away in another village. Finally the bus arrived on a Saturday night and was parked in front of the church. Early the next morning, the residents went to the church and the plan was to board the bus after the Mass. But as soon as they emerged from the church, Annaliese saw the soldiers coming and shouted for everyone to run into the woods. One of the younger boys tripped and fell and Annaliese stopped to help him and together they ran into the woods.

The Russian troops were expected to be coming soon and the Nazi officials were eager to escape before the Russians came. The soldiers were yelling and shooting and there were dead bodies everywhere. Annaliese held the shaking boy in her arms and tried to calm him. She took him behind a tall tree, but a soldier saw them and fired his rifle. Annaliese and the boy were killed.

The priest and the Sisters stood in front of the church in silent horror and watched helplessly as the Nazi officials climbed aboard the bus to escape from the Russian army.

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The Helmuth Huebener Group

Helmuth Huebener and his friends, Karl Heinz Schnibbe, Rudolf Wobbe and Gerhardt Duewer, were known as the Huebener group. They defied the Nazi regime by distributing leaflets to expose the lies and deceit of Nazi propaganda. This was viewed as a crime by Nazi authorities and was severely punished. Helmuth Huebener was seventeen years old when he was sentenced to death. Karl, Rudolf and Gerhardt were imprisoned and sent to forced labor camps in Russian and Poland.

From 1941 to 1943 they distributed their leaflets to working class sections of Hamburg, a busy industrial city, situated in northern Germany on the Elbe and Alster Rivers. Hamburg was Germany's second largest city and its biggest port.

Sons of working class families, Helmuth and Gerhardt were administrative apprentices in social administration. Karl-Heinz was apprenticed to a house painter and Rudi (Rudolf), the youngest member of the group, was a mechanic's apprentice. Full of youthful idealism and exuberance, the Huebener group may not have been fully aware of where their activities would take them.

"Come and visit me. I have something to show you", Helmuth told Karl at a meeting of young people at St. Georg's. Karl had no idea of what he would find when he arrived at the apartment later that night. It was dark and quiet in the apartment; Helmuth's grandparents were already asleep. Helmuth showed Karl a small radio. "The radio has short wave and we can listen to foreign broadcasts."

"Man are you nuts?" Karl said. "Don't you know that's illegal?" He was feeling nervous, knowing that listening to foreign broadcasts was strictly forbidden and severely punished.

"Hitler is making a lot of good things illegal. But we are not sheep, we don't have to obey all the crazy laws." Helmuth said, turning on the radio.

A feeble light illuminated the numbers on the short wave dial and they listened to the German language broadcast from the Britain. The broadcast contradicted all the boasts of German victories they were hearing every day.

"Do you realize that we are being told lies. They tell us that hundreds of Russian soldiers are being killed, but they don't mention how many German soldiers are also losing their lives".

"Think about it, Germany has no raw materials and is dependent on other countries. When the Allies will start to win, Germany will have nothing. Hitler is leading us to destruction. Don't you think people have the right to hear the truth".

The British had already begun to bomb Hamburg. After the broadcast, Helmuth showed Karl a leaflet he had written.

"I know you'll want to help me distribute these", he said handing the leaflet to Karl. Karl picked up the red paper and felt it burn his hand, He could not believe what he was reading.

He put them in the telephone boxes of apartment buildings with the notice, "This is a chain letter, so pass it on." The first leaflets were very short and contained brief messages, but listening to the radio broadcasts gave him the idea of writing news reports. With carbon paper he typed seven or eight copies at a time. Realizing that if the information campaign was to be successful, he would need the help of his friends.

"The Danish Freedom Council sharply condemns the pogroms the Germans have set in motion against the Jews in our country. Among the Danish people the Jews do not constitute a special class but are citizens to exactly the same degree as other Danes. The Council calls on the Danish population to help in every way possible his fellow Jewish citizens who have not yet succeeded in escaping abroad."

When Germany occupied Denmark in 1940, they allowed the Danes to govern their own country until August 1943. Fearing the growing Danish Resistance, the Nazis declared martial law and took control of the government and ordered the arrest of Jewish people. The Danish Resistance discovered their plan and within a few weeks, the rescue of the Jewish population of Denmark was organized and carried out. People were hidden in homes, hospitals and churches and transported to safety in Sweden.

The Danish Women’s League for Peace and Freedom and the Society of Jewish Women worked together to get young Jews out of Germany into Denmark. Children were also brought from Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1943, there were 174 young refugee children in Denmark. Many children were placed with families and others lived in children’s homes. Kirsten was one of many young people who assisted in the rescue of Jewish children.

Dressed in her yellow clown suit with big green polka dots, Kirsten tucked her blond hair tucked inside an orange wig and a purple cap, painted two red circles on her white cheeks and a big red smile around her lips and went to greet the children on the ward in the Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen.

The children were sitting up in their beds or on chairs and greeted her with smiles and laughter, they joined in the singing of silly songs and rhymes and watched her juggle red balls in the air. Although she was only sixteen years old, Kirsten was a skilled performer and a familiar figure on the children’s ward where she performed for the children every Saturday afternoon. When she was a clown, she sang silly songs, juggled balls and told riddles and jokes. She also gave puppet shows and told stories about the ancient Vikings who lived in Denmark.

When she finished her clown act, a tall woman with gray hair came up to her and introduced herself as Mrs. Berger, the supervisor of a Jewish orphan home.

"You made Stella very happy today," she said pointing to the little girl with curly brown hair who stood close to her." I came to take Stella home this afternoon, but she refused to leave the hospital until you finished your clown show."

"Ask her to come to our home." Stella said in a loud whisper.

Mrs. Berger nodded and invited Kirsten to come to the orphan home.

"Please say you will come," she pleaded. "The children in the home have so little joy in their lives. They miss their families so much and they don’t even know if they will see them again." Mrs. Berger explained that the eight children in the home came from Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1939. They were very young when they arrived and some had no memories of their families. The youngest child was Stella who was seven, the others were eight, nine and ten years old. They went to the Jewish school and had little contact with Danish society.

"Adjusting to life far away from their families and having to learn a new language
was hard for them," Mrs. Berger herself spoke with an accent and came from Czechoslovakia.

Always eager to perform for children, Kirsten quickly agreed. Jumping up and down with glee, Stella beamed at her. Kirsten came to the home the next Wednesday after school.

As soon as she arrived at the brown house near the synagogue on Krystalgade Street, Stella opened the door. "Kirsten’s here, Kirsten’s here," She cried out happily and ran to tell the other children. Mrs. Berger took her into the small parlor, where they were waiting. They were very quiet as they stood up to greet her. Only Stella had a smile on he face, the others looked at her with wide eyes. Kirsten sat down behind a small table, the children sat down and watched as Kirsten took the puppets out of her sack.

"These are my Viking puppets," she said cheerfully, showing them the Viking sea captain in a red robe and the handsome Prince Erling in leather trousers and a purple woolen cloak. Princes Freyja wore a blue silk dress and the ugly giant named Thrym had long arms and a big round head. The puppets were made of cloth and paper and had sticks beneath the their clothes.

"What are Vikings?" asked one little boy. Kirsten had never before met a child who did not know about Vikings.

"Vikings lived in Denmark many many years ago, " she explained. "They sailed to far away places in long wooden boats and gave each other funny nicknames like Olaf the fat, because he had a big round tummy and Erik the Red, because he had a red beard."
They were farmers and sailors and sailed to far away lands in big wooden boats."

Kirsten lifted her Viking sea captain and put it in a boat with a rectangular sail.

"I am the lord of the sea. There are no waves, no winds big enough to scare Me." The captain declared and the boat went up and down as it sailed over ocean waves.

"Here comes Prince Erling. He is very brave." Kirsten took the prince in one hand. " He had to wrestle with a giant to save Princess Frejya." Thrym chased Princess Frejya around and around. Prince Erling wrestled with Thrym until the giant fell down.

"You saved me from the giant," announced the princess. The prince and princess danced together. "The prince and princess were married and lived happily ever after." Kirsten announced and looked at her wide eyed audience.

"Tell us more about the Vikings," one of the older boys said. "Did giants live in the olden days?" "Were people scared of giants?" "Do Vikings still live in Denmark?" "Why aren’t they here any more?" "Did they have to fight in wars?" "Were there Jewish Vikings?" "Were the Vikings mean like the Germans?"

There were so many questions and comments that Kirsten couldn’t answer them all. She told them another Viking tale and then another. When it was time for her to leave, Stella asked "Can you show us how you make puppets."

"Next week I’ll bring some paper bags and cloth and we’ll make puppets," she promised.

The next week, clowns, kittens, fairy princesses, German soldiers and Viking sailors, princes and princesses were made with paper, glue and paints. The puppets spoke of their fears, their sadness, grief, and dreams of being united with their families.

"I come to Denmark, because they do not like Jews in my country, " a clown with a red face declared.

"I scared but I brave," declared a Viking prince.

"I wish there were Vikings in Poland to protect my family," one of the older boys said sadly.

"In Denmark, Jewish children are safe," said one of the girls.

Another afternoon she brought her face paint and painted their faces. They made wigs out of yellow and orange wool and funny hats out of paper bags. When they finished eight clowns were jumping, hopping and twirling around the room as they chanted silly rhymes and tried to juggle balls in the air.

"We are having a real clown parade," Stella said happily as the clowns marched up and down the stairs, beating on small drums and blowing small horns.

The children introduced her to old Jewish tales and they made more puppets and celebrated birthdays with clown parades. Kirsten never missed a visit to the children’s home. Kirsten’s visits broke up the monotony of life in the small orphan home. Mrs. Berger was afraid of the German soldiers and rarely took the children out of the brown brick house. They left the house only to go to the Jewish school or to the synagogue. In 1943, there were many German soldiers on the streets of Copenhagen.

During the summer holiday, Kirsten went to visit her grandparents who lived in the country.

"We’re going to miss you," a chorus of voices sang out on her last visit.

"As soon as I return to Copenhagen, I’ll be back," she promised.

Kirsten came back to Copenhagen at the end of August. The streets were crowded with German soldiers. Afraid of the growing Danish resistance, the Nazis took over the government of Denmark in August 1943. Men in Gestapo uniforms as well as German soldiers patrolled the streets and flags with swastikas were flying from the flag poles. Kirsten’s brother Jens, who was eighteen, joined the Danish resistance and no longer lived at home. Her Jewish friends and teachers were no longer in the school.

At the orphan home, the children were happy to see her, but they were restless and unhappy. Even the Viking tales about fierce warriors and brave heroes could not hold their interest.

"It is just like Czechoslovakia before I left," Mrs. Berger told her. "Jewish people are going to have to wear yellow stars just like they do in the other countries the Nazis occupy." The Jewish school was closed and Mrs. Berger kept the children in the house all day. Fear took away the smiles and laughter.

"I’m afraid the children know how frightened I am," she told Kirsten that the Nazis had murdered her husband just before she managed to escape from Czechoslovakia.

The older children remembered when they had to leave their parents and
their homes. Albert was only six years old when they arrested his father in Poland. That was just before he was brought to Denmark. Another child had seen her grandparents murdered. Fear became a permanent resident in the small children’s home.

At the end of September, her brother Jens came home to tell Kirsten and his parents of the Nazi plan to arrest all the Jewish people.

"They are going to raid all Jewish homes on Oct. 1st . We need to warn every
Jewish person." Jens told them that the Danish resistance was organizing a rescue operation to transport people to Sweden.

"Escape routes are being planned and money is being collected to pay the fishermen who will take them to Sweden. Jewish people are being hidden in hospitals, churches, and private homes," Jens knew his parents would want to help. The Jewish Home for the Aged had already been raided. The old people were dragged out of their beds and taken away in a truck.

"We have to help the children in the home," Kirsten said with tears in her eyes. "They are so frightened."

Jens promised to make arrangements for the children. Her mother went to speak to Pastor Pedersen. The young pastor had given many sermons condemning the Nazis treatment of the Jewish people and she knew he would help.

As soon as she returned from the church she told Kirsten. "Pastor Pedersen will hide the children in the church. Mrs. Berger can bring the children tomorrow and they can stay there. We’ll bring food and clothing to the church. The children won’t need to bring anything."

Early the next morning Kirsten went to the orphan home. As soon as she saw Kirsten, Mrs. Berger's eyes filled with tears. "A neighbor came and told me to hide the children but I don’t know where to take them." Kirsten had never seen the older woman look so distraught. A few children ran to her and put their arms around her.

"You are all coming to my church," Kirsten told them. Turning to Mrs. Berger, she said, "I came to tell you to bring the children to my church. Pastor Pedersen is going to hide them. Bring them as soon as you can. He is waiting for you."

Mrs. Berger wiped her eyes. "Will you come with us?" she pleaded.

Kirsten nodded. She had not planned to stay, but when she saw how frightened the children were, she decided to see them safely to the church.

Mrs. Berger went upstairs to get the rest of the children. Kirsten heard her cry out, "German soldiers are standing across the street. They know this is a Jewish orphan home. They are going to arrest us."

Stella was still holding on to Kirsten, the others sat stiffly on chairs or walked restlessly from room to room. Kirsten peeked out of the window and saw the soldiers standing across the street. The church was six blocks away and on the other side of Krystalgrade Street. There were no alleys in which to hide.

Suddenly an idea took shape in her mind.

" We’ll dress the children up as clowns and walk in a clown parade. If we are stopped I’ll tell them the children are going to put on a school play. " she announced.
Mrs. Berger did not know what to do, but she agreed. She knew they could not remain in the house.

"The soldiers are not likely to stay there all day. We’ll leave as soon as they are gone."

Turning to the children, Kirsten said in a cheerful voice, "We are going to have a clown parade. I’ll paint everyone’s face and we’ll be real clowns again."

The children stared at her.

"Remember how you all enjoyed being clowns." She reminded them.

"We don’t have clown costumes," one of the children argued.

"We’ll make costumes by putting our clothes on backwards and putting scarves around our necks. If you still have the wigs you made you can wear them." Kirsten tried to sound cheerful.

"I’m too scared to be a clown," Stella was trembling.

"We are going to be very brave, even braver than Vikings," Kirsten encouraged them. "We are going to fool those silly Germans."

Mrs. Berger went to find the box of face paints Kirsten had left at the home. The children changed their clothes and came downstairs with their shirts and dresses on backwards. Kirsten painted their faces and Mrs. Berger found some scarves to put on them. A few children wore the funny hats they made. Kirsten painted yellow and red streaks on the hair of those who did not have wigs or clown hats. They were ready for the parade.

Cautiously, Kirsten peered out of the window. The soldiers were still standing across the street.

"We’ll wait until they’re gone," she told Mrs. Berger. "They’ll get hungry and go away." It was almost noon when the soldiers left.

"We’re going to leave right now," she said as soon as the soldiers had gone.

"Remember we are clowns and clowns smile and laugh. We must not look like we are afraid. We are going to be funny and silly."

"And very brave, " Stella said.

Kirsten ushered them out of the house and down the stairs. With their heads held high, eight small clowns jumped and hopped down the street. Mrs. Berger wore Kirsten’s wig and clown hat as she walked with Kirsten. They were crossing Krystalgrade Street when a group of German soldiers suddenly appeared.

"Look at those silly Danes. They teach their children to be clowns" one of them sneered and came up to Kirsten.

"What is this all about?" he asked.
"Can’t you see. It’s a clown parade, " Kirsten replied stiffly. "The children are getting ready to perform in a school play."

"Why are you on the street, instead of in the school?"

Just then a policeman approached. It was Mr. Johansen, Kirsten’s neighbor.

"Oh officer, I know these children. They are wonderful clowns. I can’t wait to see them in the school play." he said and turned to Kirsten, "My son wants to join your clown group," he said in a loud voice. "Let me walk you back to the school." Mr., Johansen motioned to Kirsten to begin walking and he walked next to the children. The soldiers turned away and did not see them enter the church instead of the school across the street.

Pastor Pedersen quickly opened the church door and ushered them inside. "We
were so worried," he said. "Your mother went to tell Mr. Johnson to look for you."

"It was a good thing too. They were stopped by German soldiers." Mr. Johnson told the pastor. He turned to Kirsten, "You sure fooled those Nazis with your clowns," he congratulated Kirsten.

"German soldiers were on the street and we did not dare to let them see us leave the orphan home’" Kirsten explained and thanked the policeman. "I was so scared when the soldiers stopped us."

"You children were very brave too and you are wonderful clowns," Pastor Pedersen told the children as he took them down the stairs to the church basement.

The basement of the church was arranged like a dormitory with nine mattresses and blankets placed in rows on the floor. A big basket of sandwiches and fruit was waiting for the children.

"Your mother came with her friends and got everything ready," Pastor Pedersen told her. "The children will be safe here until we can get them on a boat. Jens is arranging their escape"

Kirsten returned to the church later that afternoon to see how the children were doing. They seemed much calmer and showed her the games that Pastor Pedersen had given them.

"Your Pastor is like our Rabbi," Stella said happily.

"Pastor Pedersen is so kind. He made us feel welcome, " Mrs. Berger told her.

A few days later, they heard from Jens, He was making an arrangement with a fisherman in Dragor to take the children to Sweden. Dragor was a small fishing village close to Copenhagen. Jens needed money to pay the fisherman. After school the next day, Kirsten’s mother gave her an envelope with some money to give to Jens. Kirsten put the money in her paint box and put it inside her school bag, She went to meet Jens in the garden around the Rosenborg castle.

The bicycle wobbled and Kirsten slowed down to steady it when she heard a voice shout "Halte." It was a German officer.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked in stilted Danish and grabbed her school bag.

"You Danes think you can fool us. We don’t trust you for a minute," the officer scolded and grabbed her school bag .

"What are you hiding in here?" he asked dumping the contents on the street.

Afraid he would open the box and find the money, Kirsten got off her bike and bent down to pick up the paint box. The officer grabbed it from her and started to open it.

"Please don’t open my paint box, all my paints will spill," Kirsten forced herself to smile. "You don’t want to get your nice uniform dirty," she said.

The German officer looked puzzled.

"Can’t you see, it’s only a paint box," she repeated. The officer hesitated and then gave her the box.

"Oh, thank you so much. You know paints cost a lot of money," Kirsten said forcing herself to smile as she got back on her bike.

"Don’t forget your books." The officer said pointing to her three books lying on the ground.

"How stupid of me," she said. " I forgot about them." She hoping that he would think she was dumb.

"The Germans think we Danes are dumb, so we act dumb. That’s how we fool them," her father had told her.

" You see I don’t really like school very much, " she said brightly and got off her bike to pick up the books. The officer walked away.

Back on her bike, she could feel the rapid beating of her heart. She passed more soldiers as she pedaled away. If the German officer found the money in the paint box, he would have taken it and even arrested her. It was a lot of money for a schoolgirl to be carrying. She had to go around the city square to get to the gardens around the Rosenborg castle. She tried to look casual and kept her eyes on the road. She hoped that the gardens would be empty.

It was a Fall afternoon and a cool wind was blowing. Kirsten parked her bike near the gardens, took her school bag and went to look for Jens. There were still a few flowers blooming in the gardens. No one else seemed to be in the garden. Jens was waiting for her behind the statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Hugging her brother, Kirsten carefully took the paint box from her school bag and put it into the pocket of Jen’s jacket.

"Oh, Jens, I feel like I’m living in a nightmare," Kirsten told him about the German officer.

"You can be thankful he understood you. Most of them don’t speak Danish and they expect us to understand them."

"The children have to get to Dragor tonight. A fishing boat will be waiting at the harbor. Pastor Pedersen has already made arrangements." Jens was in a hurry to get back to Dragor. As he was leaving he turned to Kirsten, "Be careful," he warned. "The German troops are all over the city. "

When Kirsten arrived at the church, she went around to the side of the stone building and knocked on the door. Pastor Pedersen opened the door and took her inside.

As soon as she was inside, the pastor told her the children would be leaving in a milk wagon. "We have to get them out quietly. The Germans have become suspicious and have been searching some of the churches."

The light in the basement was dim. The children were sitting quietly on the floor. No one was talking. They had already been told that they were going on a boat to Sweden.

"A very nice man who with a milk wagon will take you to Dragor. His name is Mr. Swensen and he is my friend," Pastor Pedersen spoke in a soft voice.

"Everyone must be very quiet in the wagon. The trip in the milk wagon will be short."

Rigid with fear, the children said nothing.

"Tonight you will be brave Vikings. You are going to sail on a boat," Kirsten said encouragingly.

Come with us," Kirsten," Stella pleaded. "I scared again. What will happen if I cry?"

Kirsten hugged the little girl. "You are not going to cry. I’ll ask if I can come along so I can see you get on the boat." Kirsten stayed at the church. After a quiet supper, she reminded them of how brave they were in the clown parade. Tonight they would be brave again.

It was late at night when Mr. Swensen arrived. Some of the children were sleeping. Mrs. Berger woke them up. Pastor Pedersen and Mr. Swensen helped the children and Mrs. Berger climb into the milk wagon. He covered them with blankets and emptied a sack of hay over the blankets. Kirsten sat next to Mr. Swensen.

It was still dark when they arrived in Dragor. Jens was waiting for them. As soon
as the wagon came to a stop, Kirsten jumped off and went to help Jens and Mr Swenson take off the hay and help the children climb out of the wagon.

"You are even braver than the Vikings", Kirsten told them as they boarded the little fishing boat. Kirsten saw that there were other people on the boat.

Jens found out from the fishermen that the boat arrived in Sweden and the children were being looked after. They were safe.

After the war, some of the children came back to Denmark to live.