A Promise: A Sweeping Story of Friendship in WWII by Amelia Martin

Author:Amelia Martin [Martin, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 5 Hawks Publishing LLC
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

21

Hannah

Ice glazes the leafless trees under a bitter cold sky. Power lines snap from the ice causing loss of power in many areas of the city. The Germans use all of the coal and fuel that they desire, leaving little to the Parisians. The same can be said for food. Meat is a rarity, as well as cooking oil. There are even shortages of cabbage and potatoes, which is a true indicator of the desperate conditions brought on by the Nazi regime.

Acts of French resistance are recurring more and more. German officers have been assaulted and underground movements are gaining new members every day. Even the communists in France are gaining a following.

Itzhak, Marie, and Giselle move in with Otto and Hannah. Otto and Hannah are undocumented Jews, so it is safer for everyone to stay at their flat. In the eyes of the law, Hannah and Otto don’t exist.

Hannah is grateful that she hadn’t turned in the documentation for their flat. Their last known address is Otto’s uncle’s flat. Their landlord didn’t require them to submit documentation. The building is in disrepair, so the landlord accepts any tenants that are willing to live under such deplorable conditions. He doesn’t care who they are as long as they pay the rent on time.

The flat seemed small before the rest of the family moved in, and now it feels even smaller.

Marie does what she can to keep everyone fed, but most nights they go to bed hungry. Itzhak’s business had been stolen shortly before they moved in, so both he and Otto lost their jobs. One day, a man just walked into the store, accompanied by the French police, and advised that the business now belonged to him. He wasn’t required to pay anything for it. The French police escorted Otto and his employees out within minutes. The Jews are hated in France, just as they are in Germany.

Otto and Itzhak now work at a factory on the outskirts of town. The owner of the factory is a Jewish sympathizer, and many of the Jews that have lost their jobs and businesses work there. Otto and Itzhak walk to work every day knowing that they could be arrested if they are caught, but they have no choice. They also know that it is only a matter of time until the factory is raided, but they have a family to feed.

The Jews are now hunted in Paris, not only by the Nazis, but the French police. They stop people on the streets demanding to see their papers in search of Jews. Raids are carried out daily on homes and businesses; many are arrested. Hannah, Marie, and Giselle rarely leave the flat. Otto and his uncle are always careful on their way to and from work to remain out of sight. It makes their journey much longer, but they have no choice.

On June 22, 1941, Germany invades the Soviet Union. Hannah is pleased to hear it. The more countries that are against the Germans increase the odds of beating them.

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