Chapter 15.

November 1939
Auschwitz, Poland.

The door opened abruptly and Fritz looked up from the stack of paperwork he was trying to deal with.

"Have you no respect for the rules of the army," he snapped at his sister, who had barged into his office and slammed the door behind her. "In the work place I am not your brother Fritz but Kommandant Schultz, and you will afford me the proper respect. I don't have time to bother with you at the moment so get out."

Johanna paid no attention to her brothers words. She marched up to his desk, her eyes burning with anger, a stack of papers in her hand.

"I found out who it is that Erik recognized."

"Well isn't that just great! What a wonderful detective you make, Johanna. I shall ask Father to transfer you to work with the Gestapo. Now out!"

"It isn't a Soviet POW," she continued, ignoring his words again. "It's Ruth Kohen."

"Whatever."

"Fritz!" Johanna slammed her free hand down on the desk. "Do you remember Ruth?"

He lifted his gaze from the papers again. Annoyance flashed in them. "Should I?"

"She was out neighborhood back when we lived in Lüneburg."

"So he saw a childhood friend. Is that a good enough reason for you to be so disrespectful?"

"She not just some childhood friend. Erik warned them to get out when Father told him the Nazi Party would start making things difficult for the Jews. Apparently he was in love with her. The family moved to Holland but it didn't end there. For a period of six years he would make frequent trips to Amsterdam to visit her and they kept their romance alive."

Fritz frowned at his sister. "How do you know all this."

"Remember when I had gone to visit Oma right before the war started? I found letters she was sending Erik. But that's not all. Take a look at this!"

Johanna threw a paper on the table. Despite his anger at her behavior Fritz picked it up.

"It's a marriage certificate," he said. "Between an Erik Schultz and..." his voice died away and he looked up at Johanna with disbelieving eyes. "Noooo. Erik married her? He actually legally married her? Where did you get this?"

"One I learned from Martin that Erik had whispered the name Ruth I immediately went to the bookkeeping office to see if any of her things had been persevered. There were a handful of photographs, several different paintings of her, you will remember, Fritz, that Erik is an artist. And then I discovered this. No doubt it's her greatest treasure and she even brought it with her here. How does it feel, Fritz, to know that you have a Jew for an in-law?"

The brother and sister were silent for a few minutes. Fritz played with the certificate in his hands.

"We've got to get him out of here," Johanna said at last. "I always knew Auschwitz was no place for him. He's too soft. Now with his little...little...little Jewish slut here it's all going to get so much worse. Already he's known to be too kind to the prisoners in his block. He doesn't approve of beatings or unnecessary punishment. Those inmates of his no longer fear roll call. He's always makes sure the guards under him are on time which means the prisoners are not made to wait for hours and hours. The counting is quick and efficient and then men are off. If this gets out our whole family will become an entire joke. You're the Kommandant, Fritz, look at the fool your brother is making of himself. I didn't know where to look when Martin was telling all this to me. He'll be here later on to report to you and you can hear it first hand. We've got to send him back to the front, that's the only place he's good for."

Fritz shook his head. "That won't happen. Even if you put a gun to Father's head he won't send Erik back. The last time was too close a call for Father. When the seriousness of the injury was reported to Father, he actually had Erik flown out of Russia. Father said the sight of him when they brought him to the hospital was more than he could bear His entire back was ripped open by the explosion. It's a miracle they were able to piece him back together. He was in the hospital for five months. You remember I went to Germany for a week when he was still recovering and I couldn't believe the way Father fawned over him. He was always so tough on that brother of ours, it was unnatural to see him so gentle."

"But with a situation like this..."

"It doesn't matter if Erik marries twenty Jewish woman all at the same time. Father will sooner kill off the entire Jewish race single handedly than send Erik back to the front."

The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter." Fritz called.

The door opened and Martin stepped in. "I'm here to make a report..."

"There is no need anymore," Johanna snapped at him. "Erik is to be transferred tomorrow so the report is of little use. If that's all then you can leave."

Martin frowned at her. "You're a rank under me," he growled. "By what right do you give orders?"

Fritz also frowned at his sister. "You are dismissed for now, Bauer. I'll summon you when you are needed."

Martin saluted and left.

"How dare you say Erik is being transferred." Fritz snapped at his sister. "Who is transferring him? You? Keep in mind he is a rank above you, so you have no right to order him about."

"Call Father and make the situation known to him. If he's so fond of Erik then let him place the boy by his side and fawn over him all he likes. Fritz, do you realize that Erik is of course plotting to get his little Ruth out of here? And don't forget he's an artist. And a good one at that. He can fake your signature if he wants too, can draw a stamp so well You will never believe it's a drawing and not a stamp. You know he's going to do anything to get her out of here. He's saved her in the past. He'll do it again."

Fritz let out a sigh. He knew there was truth to his sister's words. "What about the Jewish in law?"

Johanna's entire face turned a deep red as the anger whelmed up inside of her.

"Don't call her that. She doesn't deserve to be an in-law of ours. Don't you worry, I'll deal with the little bitch myself. You get ahold of Father and deal with Erik."

"Come to think of it, those women will soon all be sent to the gas chambers anyway. Once we get Erik out of the picture there's nothing to get excited about."

"The gas chamber is a death kind for her! She'll rue the day she ever agreed to marry a Schultz."

With these words Johanna turned to go.

"Johanna," Fritz called after her. "Just don't deal with her today. That's an order, you hear me? Let's deal with Erik first, then you can do whatever you want to the Jew."
"Don't worry, Kommandant." She coldly replied and left.

Once alone Fritz turned his attention back to the marriage certificate. He leafed through the other papers Johanna had brought. Among the photographs he found several of Erik and Ruth together.
"He knew how to smile back then," Fritz mused. Fritz had to admit the paintings were exceptionally good. There were many of Ruth, but also of landscapes and portraits of people Fritz didn't know.

On sudden impulse Fritz picked up his radio.

"Keller, keep an eye on Rapportführerin Schultz cand report to me here actions."

"Copy that, Kommandant."

Fritz fetched a metal bowl. Sitting back at the table he pulled out his lighter and one by one burned the photographs, the paintings, and finally the marriage certificate.

"No matter what the evidence must be destroyed." He muttered. "Father doesn't have to know either. We'll invent a story, say something like Erik is suicidal and needs supervision."

The stack of papers was nothing more than a pile of ashes when his radio crackled.

"Kommandant, sir, Rapportführerin Schultz has gone to the work yard and retrieved a female inmate. From the looks of it she is taking her to Block 13."

Fritz slammed his fist in the table. "Damn it, Johanna, why do you have to get so predictable? How dare you deliberately disobey my order? You couldn't wait a day or two? You've just let the cat out of the bag."

Fritz glanced up at the clock then back at the pile of ashes in the bowl. "Bauer has a loose tongue, Johanna an impulsive temperament. Could it get any worse?"

Fritz got up from his seat and stood by the window, staring out at the dismal scenery. He could stop Johanna of course, but what good would it do. The damage had already been done. His right hand gripped his radio tightly. From the look of things there was really only one option left to him.

"For never was there a tale of more woe," he quietly quoted. "Than this if Juliet and her Romeo."