LOLLAND'S WAR

EXCERPT #1

At home, her father sat at the kitchen table applying a common apothecary ointment on Alina's wounds; an ointment rarified by war. Because her father practiced medicine, they lived a little better than most Danes in the occupation.

     The calendar on the wall read May, 1944, and the Germans had been in total control of the Danish Government for more than six months. Alina had no siblings. Her mother had passed away in 1940 after the German occupation began. An indirect casualty, Mrs. Lolland did not die in a battlefront. Instead, a chain of events caused by the war effected her passing. She died of respiratory failure after contracting Influenza. The war made the cure impossible to obtain. Husband and daughter could only watch wife and mother slowly waste away until her frail life disappeared.

     "Father," Alina moaned, turning aside and forcing him to pull her back around to finish applying the salve to her upper arm. "I am so ashamed. I just sat there and did nothing."

     Dr. Lolland eased the bandage in place. "What can a fourteen-year-old girl do against two highly trained killing machines?"

     "I let them take away my best friend. I should have done something. I could only think of what they might do to me."

     "Self-preservation is a powerful. It is difficult to act against that instinct."

     Alina lowered her head and cried. "I was selfish, Father. No matter how you try not to make it so." She slammed her free hand on the table. "I was a selfish coward!"

     Dr. Lolland finished wrapping the bandage in place and, with his finger under her chin, lifted his daughter's head upwards. "Now, now. I'm willing to bet that I would have done the same thing under the circumstances … and so would most people, the truth be known."

     Alina jerked her head back. "What will happen to Katerine and her family?"

     "They will be put in confinement to sit out the war."

     Alina jumped up. "That's a lie, Father! Stop treating me like a child. I know what war is." She trudged away and stood with her back to him sobbing. After a minute, she twirled around and faced him. "I've heard that all the Jews taken away from Copenhagen are killed. Is that true, Father?"

     "I wouldn't take stock in what other people-"

     "Is it true?" Alina screamed, darting to her father. "Tell me the truth, Father!"

     Her father turned his eyes away. "No one really knows the answer to that, child. Perhaps there is a chance that we may never see her again."

     "Oh, no!" Alina said, wiping her tears away.

     Her father rose and stepped toward her. "I said, 'perhaps'."

     "Katerine was only twelve … always cheerful … incredibly kind." She nodded and smiled. "The things she did to keep me happy … she was so unselfish that way." Alina squinted. "How could they do that to such a wonderful person?" She slapped her open hand against her chest. "I should have done something!"

     Alina bolted from the kitchen.

EXCERPT #2

The next morning, after slipping into a dress featuring a tight-fitting bodice covered by a white lace pinafore and a red vest, Alina received her final instructions from Viktor in her father's living room.

     "Nice dress," Viktor said. "You look very German." He knelt in front of her. "Speak only German, and speak it the best you know how."

     "Not to worry. My teacher says I'm the best in my German class."

     "Did you say good-bye to your father?"

     "He gave me a big hug and kiss."

     He looked her up and down. "Are you up for this?"

     Alina smiled, trying to ignore her pulsating nerves. "I'll be fine."

     Viktor slipped a piece of paper into the pocket of her dress. "This is the location of the Jews. Did you memorize the address of the backup agent?"

     Alina smiled. "612 Windjammer Street."

     Viktor patted her left shoulder. "Good. If you show up at Nielsen's and there is an SS presence, go on to the second agent. If both men are being watched, abandon the mission and come back to us. Your safety comes first."

     "All right," Alina replied as Viktor escorted her to the door. She kissed him on the cheek and sauntered outside.

An hour later, Alina peddled her bicycle around the last corner leading to Nielsen's row house to discover an SS soldier standing by his parked vehicle. Because he stared in her direction, she had to continue riding toward him.