Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass by Emma Bernay

Author:Emma Bernay [Berne, Carlson Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Capstone; Stone Arch Books; Girls Survive; Emma Carlson Berne; Matt Forsyth; World War II; Action & Adventure/Survival Stories; Historical Fiction; 9781496583871; 9781496584496; 9781496583925
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2015-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Frankfurt, Germany

Ruth’s apartment

November 9, 1938

Mama and I stared at each other. Mama’s eyes were huge. She seemed frozen with fear. I couldn’t move.

“Do everything they say,” Papa ordered. He grabbed our coats from the wardrobe and slung them around our shoulders just as heavy boots pounded up the stairs.

Two SA officers in brown uniforms burst into the room. “Put some clothes on and come with us,” one ordered. “All Jews are to report to the square.”

My fingers were shaking so badly I couldn’t fasten my coat. Mama grabbed my elbow, hard, and pressed me close to her side as we followed the officers out of the room.

Swirling soot struck me in the face as soon as we stepped outside. I coughed and wiped at my face. Smoke hung everywhere. I could hear the roar and crackle of the synagogues burning and people crying and shouting and screaming. Every few moments, glass shattered.

The square was full of people, all pressed together. Thousands of Jews—men, women, children. A soldier near us stood over an old man with a gray beard, hitting him with a stick. The old man was screaming as he lay curled up on the ground, his hands over his head. A few feet away, a woman who must have been his wife was sobbing, her arms around two little children. They were crying too and hiding their faces in her coat.

My eyes stung with the soot from the fire, and I wiped at my face over and over. Then I heard Mama scream, “No, no, no, Mendel!”

I turned and saw that an SA soldier was dragging my father away by the arm. “Get with the other men!” the soldier shouted.

Papa was fighting back, pulling away. In response, the soldier punched him in the jaw.

“Papa!” I screamed, trying to reach him. He was crumpled on the ground, holding his face.

Mama held my sleeve in a tight grip. Just then a huge crash came from the burning synagogue, and soldiers’ voices shouted. The SA officer gave Papa one last shove and hurried away.

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