“The great time has now begun. Germany is now awakened. We have won power in Germany. Now we must win over the German people.”
Adolf Hitler, speaking to his S.A. and S.S troops the evening he became Reich's Chancellor of Germany
Losing faith
Grossvater
We received a letter from Helga yesterday telling us that scum von Schirach came to check on them. To learn our Helga was so happy she passed inspection by a Nazi makes me want to shoot the man.
I’m old, but my eyes and ears are working fine. That snake Goebbels is one of the engineers of all this mess. I have to say he’s good at his job. His propaganda sneaks up on you. It’s believable, too. I can see the man whispering in Hitler’s ear what rotten things to say and do. Not that Hitler isn’t devious enough. They’re both evil. They’re both liars and good at it. Hitler has a lot of help from Hermann Goering, too. He’s got Hitler’s other ear, helping him decide what filthy deeds to do next. Scariest thing of all, Hitler thinks God approves. Goering spoke his drivel in Munich a few years ago. He sang Hitler's praises to the skies, said he couldn’t find the words to tell the Fuhrer what was in his heart, claiming, “You were sent to us by God for Germany!”
Now, can you figure out why any sane man would think those crazy things, no less speak them? They’re all insane. Mean, lying and insane! And they’re teaching my Helga to believe all that junk. Someone needs to stop them before it’s too late.
Helga
The day after von Schirach’s visit, Hitler began air raids on central London and we returned to our daily schoolwork. The teachers taught us reading and math every morning. But, just as it was at home in Berlin, after a few weeks our schoolwork became secondary to what we were taught by the leader Jugends each afternoon. But their attitudes were changing. They were no longer sweet, smiling girls. They were on their way up the ranks of the Nazi party and becoming arrogant. They were strict and intolerant of our mistakes. They seemed obsessed with their message, “The Nazi government is the only way it should be! Hitler is the greatest leader of all time. ”
I know now they were motivated partly by fear. But at that time I hung on their every word. They repeated these words over and over again. And we mimicked them.
“Other countries don’t count at all. Their people and customs are silly and unimportant.”
It was wonderful. We were in an elite club. We were better than anyone else in the whole world. They kept telling us, “You are special. You are pure.” We repeated the chant to ourselves constantly and celebrated feeling superior.
Then one day Emma came running up the stairs to our room. “Did you read it?” She was breathless. Her words came in spurts.
“Read what?” Agatha asked.
Emma closed the door and leaned on it. “We can’t close our bedroom doors any more. No one can.”
“Where did you read that?” I asked.
“It was posted outside the dining room.” Emma sat down hard on her bed.
“Are you sure that’s what it said?” Agatha asked. “You get things wrong sometimes.”
“I’m sure. Go down and read it for yourself.”
“I wonder why,” I said.
“Probably because Hitler wants us safe in case of fire or something,” Agatha explained as she crossed the room and opened our door.
“Of course! You’re right,” Emma said. “I love him for it. I’d do anything for him.”
When we studied, it was for Hitler. When we marched, it was for Hitler. When we played sports, it was for Hitler.
“The Fuhrer wants you to have strong, healthy bodies.”
While the Nazis invaded Poland, Britain, France and Austria, we played ball games and ran races. We were expected to be competitive. Winning was everything. Winning for the Fuhrer! We hopped, ran, jumped, constantly pushing our bodies to go further. We would be strong and healthy for our Fuhrer. Day after day we pushed our bodies and minds for Hitler. I found my niche in running. I loved to feel the wind against my face and all the parts of my body moving together. I loved being a winner.
“You must never forget. The Fuhrer is the country, and the country is the Fuhrer.”
I loved those words, repeating them in my head as I ran, certain they made me a better runner. I became obsessed with running. I may not have had beautiful blond hair, but I could run. And I was running for our Fuhrer!