was not part of German culture. Jews in Germany enjoyed unfettered business penetration, excellent assimilation, social and religious freedom, and preeminence in the professions. It was only in the civil service and military where they were prevented assimilation. In contrast, however, prior to the 1890’s, Germany did persecute socialists and Catholics with some governmental support, but even though there were German anti-Semites in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, they had no intra- governmental or political traction. This raises an intriguing question. How did Germany, a relative haven for Jews in the 1890’s, evolve into the master planning agent for the destruction of World Jewry in less than forty years?
Adolph Hitler, in his rise to power in Germany, utilized two principle methods in his efforts to bring the German citizens to his way of thinking. The first approach was anti-Semitism, a two-thousand year old phenomenon. He added to Jew hating by bringing others into the mix; specifically Gypsies and Slavs.
Gypsies were wandering people of Europe who originated in Northern India and arrived in Europe during the ninth century and have been persecuted for much of their existence. They were convenient scapegoats easily added by Hitler to a list of people to hate because they lived in Eastern Europe, an area that Hitler coveted. Hitler would use this fact to invent the fiction that Slavs were untermenschen (inferiors) who must be done away with so as to provide lebensraum (living space) for the German race of superior beings. This was another fiction Hitler used to infect the minds of his citizens, thus offering less opposition to his delusional thinking. To the detriment of the entire world he slowly and inexorably succeeded, paving the way to World War II and the death of 60,000,000 human beings.
This book is a story of that infamy and includes an outline of events leading up to World War II and the war itself written in 11 font Arial Rounded MT Bold intermingled with a fiction tale based upon fact written in 12 font Times New Roman.
CHAPTER 1
Russia 1944 Last Jewish Partisan Battle
Albert Tepper and Sam Rosen knew that the coming battle would be their last. After more than three years of deadly struggle, the Jewish partisans, in conjunction with the Russian army in Byelorussia planned their last battle. The Nazis were in flight. The Russian army had turned the tide finally, and Hitler’s dream of a rapid victory had evaporated as his military was fleeing the tenacious advance of the Russians.
As the Germans fled, they passed through partisan territory where Albert and Sam and their multiple Jewish and non-Jewish colleagues armed with dynamite, rifles, pistols and machine guns awaited them with glee. The Germans would die before ever getting out of the territory they invaded three years ago with the idea that victory would be swift—three weeks at the most.
The partisans took up positions ahead of the retreating Germans and waited. Their signal would be the sound of Russian guns coming ever closer. As they waited, they did what they were good at in order to slow the fleeing Germans; destroyed rail tracks, bridges, laid booby traps and anything necessary to slow the hated enemy and entrap them between the Russian army and themselves. When the enemy was close enough, the Partisans would turn their attention to the retreating Germans and make sure that they would remain, for all eternity, in the Russian territory that they coveted. It took the partisans less than thirty minutes to accomplish that goal.
The guns fell silent. The partisans slowly and warily left their positions. They gathered together alternately crying, laughing and hugging each other.
It took a few minutes until Sam finally noticed that Al was not amongst them. He looked many times in all directions. Panic overcame him. Oh my God, he thought, did his best friend who was born on the same day as he, who he grew up with, who he loved like a brother, fall in battle—for them the last battle of the war!?
CHAPTER 2
Berlin 1896…Birth of Albert and Sam
Early in the afternoon of April 19, 1896, Ms. Frieda Tepper and Ms. Hilda Rosen entered the Berlin maternity hospital within thirty minutes of each other. The 26 year old Jewish ladies were assigned to the labor room to monitor their vital signs and the progress of their first birth. Their nervous husbands paced back and forth in the adjacent waiting room. Both women experienced definite uterine contractions and were monitored by experienced obstetrical nurses. The impressive new medical facility had rows of single beds lined up against opposite walls and was located just down the hall from a sign that read Delivery Rooms from which a pleasant antiseptic smell would waft down to the labor rooms when the doors opened.
“Let’s hope we get to that sign pretty quick,” grimaced Frieda to Hilda immediately after her most painful contraction yet.
“Amen,” answered Hilda in a calm voice and compassionate expression delivered between contractions.
Frieda and Hilda occupied neighboring beds. Thus they naturally struck up a friendship as their labor contractions progressed and intensified. They learned that they lived less than one half mile apart, were both married almost two years, were both Jewish, born in Poland, emigrated to Germany, attended the same synagogue (The Neue Synagogue) and hoped that their first child would be a girl. They both agreed, “Whatever it turns out to be, Gott es Willen (God willing), as long as the baby is healthy. We’ll meet again after this is all over so we can gloat over our daughters.”
Although Frieda and Hilda recognized one another, they had never been close friends. That would change now with the closeness and intimacy of a first birth binding them together for the future.
Midnight passed. The discussion between Frieda and Hilda dwindled as each became more aware of and focused upon the irresistible task at hand. Their contractions increased in frequency, duration, and intensity, Frieda’s son was born at 2:30 A.M. Hilda’s son followed approximately 2 hours later. The date was April 20, 1896. And…
Adolph Hitler was born exactly seven years earlier on the same day, April 20, 1889.
In the Hebrew bible (Genesis 17:10-14), God issues a command to his patriarch Abraham to be circumcised: This is My covenant, which ye shall keep between Me and you and thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a token betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generation, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of thy seed.
And so it would be. The two babies, born eight days ago, their mother, father, grandparents, family and friends would all be there to celebrate this rite of passage performed by a Mohel, one specifically trained and certified in this discipline. Once completed, the Jewish heritage of Albert and Samuel were fixed in time for the rest of their lives, and their friendship would forever grow…
CHAPTER 3
Family history of Albert and Sam
Albert and Sam’s ancestors can trace their lineage to Germany when their ancestors were forced to flee because Jews were blamed for the plague which decimated Western Europe in the fourteenth century…
This plague was caused by a bacterium within fleas that would infest rats. Bacteria were an unknown entity at that time. The bacteria received the name of Yersinea pestis many years later. Once the rats were killed off by fleas, Yersinea needed to find another host, so they chose the human species. A human who was bitten by a flea would have Yersinea pestis deposited under the skin, which would then spread to regional lymph nodes causing them to swell massively forming a “bubo,” hence the name bubonic plague. Eighty percent of humans infected would die, and millions did within a matter of days.
