The Serpent's Egg (37 page)
The work of the Red Orchestra continued apace in Berlin. The circulation list for their monthly broadsheets grew. Arvid’s spare Hectograph was taken out of its hiding place and put into production.
The NKVD set up a radio transmitter in Zurich to replace Gilbert’s in Brussels. Harro Schulze-Boysen continued to expand his network of spies in the ministries, and the Red Orchestra continued to pass intelligence reports to Moscow through the Russian embassy or via the transmitter in Switzerland.
Ule was the center of Greta’s life. Now nearly three years old, and eating like a horse, he was growing fast. His language skills were encouraging, too, and she planned to start teaching him to read on his third birthday.
She had heard nothing from Max or Anna, and she often wondered if they made it to safety, if they’d found work and a place to live, if Sophie had found a measure of happiness. And whether the 9-year-old was still clinging to her doll.
Then one day in December 1940, she received a letter postmarked Zug, in Switzerland.
Dear Frau Greta,
I am uncertain that this letter will reach you. I hope it does. Are you and Adam well? And little Ule, is he still growing!? We are now settled in Switzerland. We moved from Zurich to another town where they speak German. Life’s no gymkhana, but Max has found work. He’s paid quite well, despite being an
Ausländer
. Living on one income is proving difficult, but we’ll manage until the baby is born.
I should have mentioned that earlier, I suppose. Yes, I am expecting a baby in January. Sophie’s hoping for a baby sister. Max says he doesn’t mind what it is, but I suspect he secretly wants a boy.
Remember Aschenputtel’s cameo brooch? We took it to an antiques expert here, and he identified it. It was once owned by the Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova, one of the daughters of Tsar Nicholas of Russia. It’s worth A LOT of money. But, of course, Sophie says Aschenputtel doesn’t want to sell it. It was the last gift her mama and papa gave her. Max has persuaded her to put it into a bank deposit box for safekeeping.
Max says the war should be over by Easter. Let’s hope he’s right. If he is we’ll come and visit you with the new baby, maybe in the summer. In the meantime, look after yourselves.
If you get a chance to visit Switzerland, the manager of the Storchen Hotel in Zurich has our address.
All our love,
Anna, Max, Sophie and Aschenputtel.
THE END
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. However, several of the members of the Red Orchestra featured in the book were real people: Adam, Greta (and baby Ule) Kuckhoff, Arvid and Mildred Harnack, Harro and Libertas Schulze-Boysen, Annie Krauss, and Dr. Himpel. I have included these people in order to respect their actions, their bravery in the face of implacable evil, and the personal sacrifices that many of them made. They were all heroes of the German Resistance. In order to incorporate these real people in the book, I have had to imagine and invent scenes and dialog and some of the events have been moved around in time for storytelling purposes.
There were many more people involved in these resistance activities, of course. I couldn’t include them all. If you are interested in reading the history of this group, I recommend The Red Orchestra by Anne Nelson, Random House 2009, ISBN 9781400060009
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to all my proofreaders, Bonnie Toews, Lara Zielinski, Lesley Lodge, Paul T. Lynch, and Pam Toner. A special thank you to Marion Kummerow, who took time from the launch of her own book about the Red Orchestra, Unrelenting, to proofread the book from a German perspective. I am indebted to Stephen Walker for an inspired cover design and to Janet for editing the book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JJ Toner lives in Ireland. He writes short stories and novels.
JJ Toner’s website