50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany by Steven Pressman

Author:Steven Pressman [Pressman, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: NF-WWII
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

It would be illegal for the American consul general at Vienna to grant non-preference visas under the German quota.

—R. C. ALEXANDER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

BUDAPEST–VIENNA

MAY 13–17, 1939

Gil had been working nonstop, almost around the clock, from the moment he arrived in Vienna. “Gil was so overworked, so taut, so used up that we both agreed that we needed a couple of days of relaxation away from Germany,” wrote Eleanor. Bob Schless, who had visited Budapest a few weeks earlier, urged them to spend a weekend in the Hungarian capital. Budapest was the “gayest, most dazzling city in the world—far more entertaining than Paris,” he told them. That was all the encouragement they needed. Eleanor in particular was eager for a respite from Vienna’s storm troopers and Nazi banners, however brief.

As they would be gone for the entire weekend, Gil thought it would be prudent to check out of the Hotel Bristol in order to save some money. After telephoning the front desk several times, however, the bill never arrived. Gil had booked an evening train to Budapest and was running out of patience with the hotel staff, which by late afternoon still had not presented him with a bill. Finally he paid a visit to the front desk and, in no uncertain terms, demanded that the clerk hand over the bill. The clerk apologized for the delay, explaining that it had been a very busy afternoon and that the bill would soon be ready. Gil had been in Vienna long enough to realize what was happening. “The clerk had been trying to get orders from somebody as to whether or not it was all right to let us go out of the country,” wrote Eleanor. Clearly, the orders had not yet come through. Eleanor kept glancing at the large clock above the front desk. The seconds were ticking away, and she and Gil had no intention of missing their train to Budapest. “Is that clock fast?” Eleanor asked the somewhat sheepish desk clerk.

Bob came downstairs to say good-bye and could not resist having a little bit of fun. “I see there are two kinds of time in Austria,” he told the clerk, as a sly smile crossed his face. “Fast and half-assed.” Gil and Eleanor broke out in laughter. The clerk looked blankly at the three Americans; despite his command of English, he clearly did not catch the meaning of Bob’s pun. Finally, the clerk received permission to produce the hotel bill. Gil and Eleanor arrived at the train station with only minutes to spare.

They awoke the next morning in their hotel in Budapest feeling refreshed. “We felt as if we had been let out of jail,” said Eleanor. “Our room was beautiful and sunny. When the waiter brought our breakfast, he did not say ‘Heil Hitler.’” As she dressed for the day, Eleanor thought appreciatively of her sister Fannie, who had helped select her wardrobe during the hasty preparations for Eleanor’s journey to Europe. Uncharacteristically, Eleanor had originally thought to restrict herself to relatively plain outfits in light of the somber purpose of her journey.

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