Freedom never comes - Part 21

The day started off with rain, much desired for as for two weeks the soil was bone dry and plants needed dripping water from the underground pipes. Water containers on roofs and in gardens got dangerously low. People were praising the heavens for the water coming down on them. It was the time the cotton fields on the other side of Kibbutz Ginegar needed water to grow and blossom to full potential. Shabbat last night was a special occasion, pupils and students were about to embark on their summer holidays displaying performances of dance and recitations of famous authors, a great outcome as all had a very good time.

Saturday morning was not the busiest time of a day Jews are mandated to rest. Cars did not pass by the Bus Stop at the gate to Kibbutz Ginegar in great numbers. Most of the drivers did not want to expose themselves to others violating God´s holy commandment especially into the face of foreigners. Heinz Wohlfarth and George Fähnrich waited and waited under the roof of the Bus Stop protected from the rain fall. They were just about to give up when unexpectedly and old car came to a stop right before them. They were asked to jump in and be taken to Haifa around which to take another ride further down to Netanya the place where their hosts were living in a farming community. Once Monica and Heinz Blum had lived in Kibbutz Ginnosar at Lake Galilee founded in nineteen thirty-seven as one of the first settlement that was heavy fenced to protect itself from intrusion. By that time, it had still a Socialist touch child not staying in their parents’ home but children’s quarters all together. On arrival both had enjoyed the comfort of the old concept realizing over time it is not benefitting their own personal progress. They had wanted to decide for themselves what to think and what to do for which reason they had left after only five years the Kibbutz and had found and settled into their own private home with their own piece of land near Netanya never looking back.

A young couple that just got married living in the old city of Jerusalem gave them the ride. Originally migrated to Israel one year back they had found work in one of the many Technology Firms working in improving the internet connection with the outside world, well paid jobs. They knew some among them were engaged in illegal activities, experts to hack computers all around the world. Not only from there place Hackers were braking into computers of private companies and into the governmental infrastructure as a potential threat to political and financial stability but they felt like being on a mission to stay afloat the ever faster development of the internet and by doing so to protect the interest of Israel. That Israel was a Nuclear Power House was not a problem to them; on the contrary it gave them the reassurance their hostile neighbours would not dare to launch a massive attack against their country. They saw Jerusalem as the natural capital of Israel favoring a two-state agreement knowing of the permanent danger the country of Israel will be in always. They were ready to pay the price to be possible targets of rockets of suicide bombers and preferred that life over a more secure life in San Francisco where people having guns and mass shootings are common.

Their first lift ended in Haifa Port. They got off, walked around the docks as they had plenty of time to reach Netanya later in the afternoon. The Port of Haifa was not suitable for gigantic container ships, had storage facilities of the old style in limited capacity. Heinz Wohlfarth knowing Hamburg Habour very well looked around, smelt the sea water, salt not as much as in the Dead Sea and felt the warm water of the ocean in the air. He saw a rat crossing the tarred road from one storage warehouse over to the huge facility, white painted, that stood like a book laid on its back before the scenery, unreal in its looks yet real in its existence. Comparing with what he was used to Hamburg Port and Rotterdam, a big smile rushed over his face. George Fähnrich looked at him knowing what he was thinking but asked him to consider the Port only needed to be big enough to feed a small population unlike Hamburg Port to serve Germany and the Hinterland to East Europe and Scandinavia. They took time to watch over the unloading of a fishing vessel returning back from sea full of fresh fish ready to the markets all across the country. Being born near the Sea both never enjoyed fish too much. Walking along the Port they discovered a Falafel restaurant walked closer, bought each one Falafel with pita bread, stuffed them with freshly cut vegetables, added sauce to taste as much as they could, made sure to bit into them without having the food all over their shirts, looked at each other with great happiness. They could never get enough of that simple, delicious, and cheap food at all. The heat of the day made them move on and buy a selection of pastry covered in syrup, sweet as sweet can be. Without the heart and a freshly made peppermint tea, with lots of sugar at the bottom, they would not have been able to eat this over sweet pastry. But in the heat of the country, they simply were not able to resist to buy and eat it with great delight. Leaving the Port behind, they walked up the wide road leading to the Temple halfway up the hill with its magnificent round shaped roof in golden colour. Set in a most beautiful garden with think straight into the skies raising trees looking like tooth picks they climbed up white stairs, opened the black metal gate to enter the back garden with orange stones of the ground to give the scenery that extra impressive design that place truly deserved it. From up there both had a most wonderful panorama view over the whole of Haifa to the side of the sea and left and right, simply beautiful, overwhelming. Midday had past, time for them to get down from the hill to look for their next ride getting closer to their destination.

Their second lift of the day along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea was up to Caesarea Maritima, an old city famours for its ancient roman Amphitheater, the oldest and last one of its kind in the region, host each summer for performances to entertain tourists and locals alike. As the afternoon approached and their destination was just around the corner, the last ride to take was easy to get. An old couple on their way down from Haifa down to Tel Aviv was more than willing to bring them right to the doorstep of Heinz and Monica Blum`s house. Happily, waving good-bye with best wishes for a great awesome weekend, left the old couple off to their own home.

Sitting out on the veranda of their little nice house cozy for a couple with no children anymore to provide rooms for, they enjoyed the treat they were served, freshly squeezed orange juice, steaks with vegetable and grilled potato slices well-seasoned with a desert of fruits and homemade cake with walnut and raisons. Looking over the long-stretched swimming pool with crystal clear water not often used by the couple, wine was in each hand to toast to each other’s health and a prosperous life. While Heinz Blum turned to work in the house, Monica kept her guest company out on the veranda, pointed to the flowers and lemon tree she took great pride in to have planted only last year and they had come out beautifully. Once a secretary for the Manager of the Community they were living in and part off, she always needed to use her hands and form something, to be creative in her own way. Gardening was her way to create a piece of paradise as she mentioned. Her husband on the other hand was the one looking after their farm land. They did not do the work alone but had workers they paid for doing most of the work. Livestock was what they never had wanted so they stayed with vegetable and fruits mainly for the domestic market, only a small portion of their harvest would go into export to Cyprus or Turkey.

While chatting along, Heinz Wohlfarth looked over to the stone wall made of untreated stones from the farmland and surroundings he did not want to believe his eyes. He closed his eyes, opened them again, close them again and opened them again. He wanted to make sure as long as he was not certain about what he saw Monica Blum and George Fähnrich would know what he thought he saw. A man in white, shining brighter than the midday sun, was walking along the stone wall a metal rod in his right hand. While he was walking all of a sudden, he stopped, turned around, looked at Heinz Wohlfarth, raised his metal rod, greeted him very friendly with a big smile on his face, turned around again to walk his way. Heinz Wohlfarth closed and opened his eyes again, but the white man in his shining silhouette had gone.

"Is something not okay with you?" asked Monica not having noticed anyone or anything unusual at the wall but wondering why Heinz Wohlfarth starred at it for long. "Are you okay?"

Heinz Wohlfarth answered with wide opened eyes: "Oh...oh, nothing. I am okay, do not worry. I only for a second thought of something...but it is nothing, really!"

Monica Blum offered another helping of cake or fruits but both German friends reclined seeing Heinz Blum joining them again. The sun set brought relief of fresh air to them. Lights got turned on automatically. The noise level from around got dimmed down, everyone was in their homes. No wild dog to be seen anywhere.

Out of the blue did Monica Blum ask them a question: "Tell me, what do you think, why did I invite you to come to our house and spend a few moments with us?"

Heinz Wohlfarth and George Fähnrich looked at each other puzzled not knowing what to answer. They did not want to say anything stupid or offensive. Finally, Heinz Wohlfarth said: "Maybe because we are nice people and you saw it in us right at first sight?" He paused and added fast: "Possibly!"

A smile rushed through Monica Blum`s face and she told them: "Not that! But I like to have guests at home especially from Germany the country I was born. But I take great care to ensure anyone entering this house was born after World War two so that I know they could not have been responsible in any way for the horror caused to us Jews."

"My mother was seven years old when the war ended and my father eight years," commented Heinz Wohlfarth being cautious not to hurt her feelings.

"I can imagine that se and he were," replied Monica Blum with understanding in her eyes. Heinz Blum was serving Cognac but only he took a shot while his wife explained herself further: "It is the feeling, the bad and sad feeling I get when I see old Germans that could possibly have...it is not rational, cannot be explained with clear words, it is a feeling that I do not want to be face with. But the truth of life is also where your roots are, that stays in you whether you like it or not. You can run, but your blood never hides. Your shape, your eyes, your face, it all shows the country you once were born in...and your body is always with you. It came out from your mother´s womb in a certain place. When you came out, you saw the world you were born into, the specific world or a specific country, not the world at large. The smell, the sound and sights of the country that gave birth to you via your mother is the country that places deep roots into your spirit and soul, something deep in you can never escape from. I would not go as far as this country of birth will keep you in a form of bondage and steal your freedom to be and think as you really are, an individual person born for himself into a certain setting of people, a specific society and physical surrounding. A place we call society with its own rules and regulations that puts it marks onto your thinking and feeling. I would really not go that far but declare that if you really live a life as a human that tries to understand the issues of life and by his own will want to live his own life as meant to do regardless of the roots that keep him rooted and possibly down but fly as an eagle over everything and anything. But I want to say it is indeed a constant struggle to liberate oneself from others and unveil its own identity. Many, too many people are reluctant to take up that battle and fight to become truly free. They sense that doing so the price to pay is high. They assume not and never ever will have...the strength to fight and liberate its own mind from other people`s influence, their own ideas what their life and for that matter the life of others should look like. Someone not willing to sacrifice his life for living his life is living a useless life indeed."

"I am so grateful to you, Madam Blum, that you speak out great words with ease," complimented Heinz Wohlfarth his host accepting another last helping of cake. Meanwhile they had moved over to the kitchen in which Monica Blum was about to prepare some sandwiches for her young German guests to ensure when waking up the next morning at the beach they would have something to eat on them before shops and bakeries would open their doors again. "I absolutely agree with you on the aspect, that when people do not give everything to understand life´s matters and fight for their own original destiny but bow down to an easier life to please others for whatever reason, such people live a useless life indeed."

Monica Blum asked for the cucumber from the fridge and the ketchup she wanted to use for the sandwiches, thanking George Fähnrich for passing them over to her and said: "Some people are too lazy or fearful to fight their own way through space and time...something I honestly can never understand...and in a way never accept. Such people in the end are the once that ask of others ready to fight more than they morally are entitled to. When you make it as small man to riches the society which is the majority of people not willing to fight to the max will proclaim you are the one with strong shoulders so you financially must carry a greater burden of the society."

"But that is nonsense!" said Heinz Wohlfarth and wrapped the sandwiches into paper.

"That is what I keep saying," gave Monica Blum Ketchup, salt, and the rest of the cucumber back to George Fähnrich for him to store in the fridge. "Everyone is born vulnerable, a little innocent baby with the same chance to make it to the top. But their decisions prevent most people never to reach their God given destiny. We are truly not born as aunts crawling along, as busy bees working hard but die unnoticed and with no stone left behind. No, we are all born as Kings and Queens to the glory of God."

"Tell the world!" asked Heinz Wohlfarth putting slices of cake, their sandwiches and soft drinks into plastic bags to carry along to the beach.

"For thousands of years...look into history...people have spoken out...but see...look around," opened Monica Blum her arms while sitting for a few more moments on the veranda with Heinz Blum in bed long time, "nothing has basically changed. The process of selection which innocent child will make it to the top and leave a stone is still the same."

"The hamster wheels?" asked George Fähnrich with a smile on his face.

Monica Blum looked around and at him with great wisdom in her eyes: "True...the hamster wheel peoples! They will never die out; I am telling you the sad truth."

Heinz Wohlfarth waited a moment before breaking the silence. Night was already falling, and darkness had risen. "Can you share something with us...I mean about your time in Germany. What you remember of?"

Monice Blum did not respond immediately. She took her time to think and think. finally, she came out by saying: "It was in Bergen-Belsen, the last camp I was in. Before we were in Theresianstadt while my uncles and aunties died in Auschwitz. I was a little girl by that time. I saw how they brought the Jews and others into our camp. They selected the once read to be gassed right away useless for hard labour. Men got separated from their wives and children taken to a special block. They had to labour hard on the fields around or companies that needed cheap labour. We were lucky enough not to be used to produce the V two rocket in the underground bunkers Hitler moved the production too and not in the swamps to harvest burning material for wintertime. In our camp we had a Jewish small orchestra that played even for the Germans when time was quiet, work done, Jews burnt enough for the day. It was a bizzar setting when you see behind the scene and the situation on a human side. We were also lucky that unlike in Bullenhuser Damm in Hamburg-Rothenbrugsort Doctor Mengele was not performing deadly tests on us meant to die in the end of testing. What I know from there’s a horror story in itself and as far as I know that red brick massive building is still standing at the old site with only a metal sign explaining the history of that huge facility. In all the suffering we went through, the agony, the pain, the tears, we children tried to create a form of normality for ourselves. With little things we were able to get a hold of we created simply, primitive toys so that we could dive down into a fantasy world we wanted to have forgetting the reality around us. The younger we were the higher the chance we were left alone, ignored by the guards. The older we girls became the more rape was on our mind. The often-married men were using us innocent girls for sex and our parents knew about it unable to help us and bring us out of the hands of our perpetrators. At a certain age, these guards married with children used us as sex toys and not seen as human beings. I still wonder how a man is able to rape a woman that is in hock, free blocking all her emotions yet they can come into our private parts that are tense and not wet. This is something till date I will never understand at all...also not in our days. Such men are sick in the head and need the most severe punishment possible...their private parts be cut off. Such men are monsters and no human beings. I am still confused how such men were able to go home in the evening after having raped one of us, mishandled us, beaten us and kicking life out of us to greet their children, hug them, oversee their homework, eat and drink normally and before falling asleep put their thing into their wives body...no way I will ever understand human beings...never!"

"Very sad...tragic!" mentioned George Fähnrich with disgust in his voice. "Humans are worse than animals as animals do not behave towards their own anything like that."

"I guess...," said Monica Blum taking a deep breath and a sip of Cognac, "I guess you are very right. I mean the line between being a caring father for wife and children on one side while at work torturing and burning fellow humans because of corrupt mind that Jews are the enemies of the White Race, the Master Race...is with normal senses not to understand. But it was reality...very cruel reality. Some of the girl got pregnant by the guards and delivered their children...imagine that...delivering the child of your rapist, the same person that murdered your parents and your family? To top it all up many stories came to my attention that the female guards compared to their male counterparts were the cruelest once to the camp inmates. They treated them with such cruelty, words cannot describe. I still ask myself again and again if such stories are to be true, and I have no reason not to believe that they are not true, why on earth is it possible that a woman that gives birth to a child, educates a child with all her love, breast feeds the child and give the child through her milk food to live...that a woman at the same time is able to take life away from other people just like that and on the way has no inner moral concept not to perform the worst possible torcher on a fellow human being be it adults or children. That was up to today is still a great mystery to me...and I guess I will never understand!"

"That is unbelievable," said Heinz Wohlfarth shaking his head to the left and right. "And I heard that some of you from the Jewish prisoners were asked to run part of the Concentration Camps yourself. Is that true?"

"Yes, that was their tactic...that to survive and have a bit of hope...some of us were made a sort of Managers of the camps. Can I blame them for that?"

"I guess that is hard to do, right?" asked George Fähnrich wishing his glass of Cognac.

"I mean we all have the instinct to survive...that is the minimum we want in life, isn`t it?" asked Monica Blum overlooking her garden, hardly to see anything in the darkness of the night. "We need to survive at all costs, that is hat is in us, deep down. So, when you can see that your life is possibly on the line and someone in power over you offers you the position of a Manager and keep your own people down and in control...of course, people would accept such a job and betray their own people. No, when I would meet such people, I would never hold it against them what they possibly did wrong against their own people. To judge freely other people that are on the same level as you are impossible to do. The idea of freedom of choice in fundamental situations like that, like the Holocaust, is impossible, simply impossible. The hope of freedom becomes a dream unrealistic to your situation, the horror you have around you each and every day with no light at the end of the tunnel close by. Human instincts get down on their knees in the mud and get dirty, really, really dirty. At a point you do not feel being human anymore, at least that is how I felt. I was only there to breath and see...but not to feel and understand. For me it was only the heartbeat to stay alive as long as possible...as long as I could."

"I am sorry," said Heinz Wohlfarth tempted to give Monica Blum a long hug. He looked into her weary eyes with tears wanting to come out but couldn`t; tears that she was holding back in front of young Germans innocent of what their country once had committed. She tried to keep her emotions under control.

"It is not your fault," relaxed Monica Blum his mind by looking at him with love in her eyes. "You must always tell our story wherever you are and never forget us. When you promise this to me...oh my God, that is all I can hope and wish for. Then you do us justice!"

"I promise!" said Heinz Wohlfarth, took the right hand of Monica Blum and pressed it with tenderness and strong certainty. "I promise!" did he repeat once more.

George Fähnrich added his point of view by saying clearly: "Some people living around the concentration camps; after the Allies were setting the skinny Jews, skinny down to the bones hardly alive, free proclaimed they did not know anything that went on in the camps. Unbelievable!"

"All of them saw the trains and trucks, saw the smoke of the cremation facilities, supplied food, rendered services to them, lived in closed communities in which people gossip about anything and anyone...and then to come out after the end of the war and say they did not know anything that went on inside the camps right in front of the...disgusting. I spit a thousand times on these bastards. They are worse than animals, I am telling you the simple truth."

Monica Blum got up and walked over to George Fähnrich, took his right and into hers, put it onto her face, blew air into it and said: "Never forget...never forget us!" She kept silent, than looked up to the stars in the skies and said: "If only people would be strong enough to stand upright for their own belief and fight the odds fearlessly...no soldier would go into war, no human being would have committed such atrocities as the once that had the idea; they would have been silenced right away for good and locked away. If only...humans would know what they are truly worth to God...if only they would hear and know."

"If only humans would understand!" agreed Heinz Wohlfarth. "If only the human race would wake up and go its way in strength...if only they would understand who they are."