German Rebellion | Teen Ink

German Rebellion

February 26, 2015
By Kayla Goodman-Weinbaum BRONZE, Nyack, New York
Kayla Goodman-Weinbaum BRONZE, Nyack, New York
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

German Rebellion

Everyone knows me as the perfect German girl. Not only do i look the part, with platinum blonde hair and eyes my mother says are bluer than the sky, but I’m extremely obedient. What people don’t know about me is that I’m secretly friends with a Jew.
It was early on an Autumn morning, October 15th to be exact. I was on my way to school. When I got there, I did what I was told. I saluted Hitler, then went outside for physical training. We had to be good runners, swimmers, and throwers. I’m one of the best in my group. after lunch we learned more of Hitler’s rules. Honestly, it gets quite boring. Of course, I wouldn’t dare to say anything.
Finally, we were allowed to go home. I walked down the street to my small house, where my parents were waiting. “Anneliese!” my mother scolded. “Are those pants?!”
“No mother, look,” I replied, twirling around.
“Good, she said. “You know I only want you in skirts. It’s what Hitler prefers, so it’s what I prefer.” My parents are extreme followers of Hitler, which is why what happened next I could never tell them. “I’m going outside to practice my running,” I announced. I tromped outside and sprinted from one side of my yard to the other. After many repetitions, I sat in the grass to catch my breath. In the corner of my eye, I saw a shadowy figure in the woods. Without thinking, I sped to the figure and gasped. There was a young girl, perhaps younger than I, sitting in a pile of leaves. She was staring at me, wide-eyed.”Ummm...hello,” she whispered.
“Who are you and what are you doing here,” I demanded.
“I...I,” the girl said, then burst into tears. This caught me off-guard. I took her hand and lead her to an area with more light so I could see her better. I gasped. I could then see that she didn’t look right. She had ink black hair and dark, ominous eyes. “You’re a Jew!” I exclaimed. I started to run back to my house, to report her. After all, it’s what any good German would do. “Wait!” she cried. “Let me explain!”. I was torn. Could I really disobey Hitler like that? “Okay,” I said. I could see her relief. “Tell me why you’re here.
“About six months ago, when Hitler was still rising in power, I lived with my parents and older brother in a house similar to yours,” the girl said. “When we heard Jews were being killed, we were terrified. Only a few days later, three Nazis barged into our house and took us to get gassed to death. Me, being so small,was somehow able to get out of their grasp. I ran right here, into the woods. I thought I’d been chased, but the Nazis never came for me. I assume they didn’t want to risk my family running away too.” “Since then, I’ve been here, alone. I haven’t talked to anyone until now.”
“Wow” I said, amazed at what she'd gone through. "Will you help me?" the girl asked hesitantly. I couldn't believe when I heard myself say "yes".
"I want to, well, need to, find my family. I can't live with such little food, water, and shelter much longer, especially as the weather gets colder," the girl, whom I later learned was named Ingrid, said. "I know that Jews are often imprisoned for extensive periods of time before they're killed" Ingrid voiced, "and I think they could still be alive. Will you come with me to the concentration camp and help me save my family?" I couldn't imagine leaving Ingrid alone like this. "Okay" I said, "I'll help."
For the next few weeks, I would meet Ingrid at the same spot in the woods to plan how we'd sneak into the concentration camp. Finally, we came up with this: on the night of November 8th, Ingrid would climb through the barred window in the back of the building, which she assumed was large enough for her to fit through, I would keep watch while she found her parents. It was up to get to sneak them out the side door without getting caught.
It was 10:00pm on November 8th when my parents finally went to bed. The anticipation was killing me. I then snuck outside to the woods, where Ingrid was waiting for me. We quietly walked to the concentration camp and stood at the barred window. ¨Okay,¨ Ingrid said to me, ¨wish me luck, Anneliese.¨ I nodded and helped Ingrid through the window. After that, I just waited. I sat against the concrete wall and prayed Ingrid would soon be back with her family.
Hours went by, and I got worried. What was taking her so long? Even if she hadn’t found her family, she should’ve come back by then. All of the sudden, it hit me. Maybe Ingrid was caught.
I had to go home, for I knew my parents would soon awaken. But the next day, when I returned to the concentration camp, Ingrid was no where to be found. It wasn’t until I peered in the window and saw dead bodies that I knew Ingrid was dead.


The author's comments:

An English class assignment was to write a story that takes place during the Holocaust. This is what I wrote.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.