Page 19 of The Berlin Sisters
Ava reached for her handbag and took out a handkerchief, pressing it to her forehead and upper lip when he’d gone. Her heart rate had slowed, but she was certain she was still shining, even though her nerves were beginning to abate.
‘Ava, you might need to go home. Your colour isn’t right today.’
‘Thank you for your concern, Greta,’ Ava said, straightening her shoulders and placing her hands on the typewriter keys. ‘But I am perfectly fine. I shall rest tonight once my work is done.Heil Hitler!’
Greta looked hurt, her eyes like saucers, not used to such a rebuke from her usually pleasant and softly spoken colleague.
‘Heil Hitler,’ Greta repeated, before turning her back slightly to Ava.
It wasn’t in her nature to be anything other than nice, but right now, she had to wear the mask of the perfect German. Not being caught was all that mattered now – she had a job to do.
Ava had only just finished with her pink slips of paper when her father came to the door of the office. She stood and quietly excused herself.
‘Ava,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you yesterday.’
‘We missed you,’ she said honestly. ‘Hopefully we can all have dinner again soon? Mama said she will be joining us at the apartment this week.’
‘Your mother has actually just been asked to host a very important dinner party in a few weeks’ time,’ he said. ‘Many important ministers and their wives will be in attendance.’
Ava found it almost impossible to mask her surprise. ‘What an honour for her to be hostess. Will Hanna be assisting her, or should I—’
‘She would very much like you both to return for it,’ he said. ‘Also, I have other important news. News that I know will be even more exciting to you than a party.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘News?’
‘Heinrich has been granted leave. I personally signed the papers.’
Ava’s heart began to hammer in her chest. ‘He will be here? In Berlin?’ She swallowed. ‘Soon?’
‘Yes, my dear. Your fiancé will be home within the month. He will have a short period of leave, and then he is to be stationed somewhere closer to home on a special assignment. I’m certain he will tell you more about it when he’s here.’
Her father’s hand closed over her shoulder, and she shut her eyes momentarily, seeing Heinrich’s face swimming beforeher in her mind. A week ago, even a few days ago, such news would have set her heart racing for an entirely different reason, but now, everything had been turned upside down. Because she knew, in her heart, what someone like Heinrich would do if he found out what was happening. He would tell her to cast her family aside and denounce them as Jew-loving traitors, and she had little doubt that he’d treat her any differently if he thought she had involvement in the situation. Any allegations that Heinrich made would be taken seriously, of that she was certain, but it didn’t stop her heart from fluttering at the thought of being in his arms again.
‘Thank you for telling me,’ she said. ‘It gives me time to prepare for his arrival. I’ll be certain to make it a wonderful homecoming for him.’
Her father gave her a long look then turned away, leaving her standing in the open doorway. She took a moment to gather herself, before going to Herr Frowein’s office and collecting the notes he’d asked her to type.
‘These are to be returned to me immediately when you’ve finished.’
‘Of course,’ she said, taking her time on the walk back to her desk, her mind a jumble of thoughts as she wrestled with her feelings.
Ava set her typewriter, checked her paper and opened the file beside her. She usually glanced over whatever she was given before typing, to ensure she had a grasp of the work and to check for any errors that she would have to change, and this one was no different. In fact, it seemed even more important to do so, especially given her nerves and that she’d been personally requested to type it.
The Final Solution.The words meant nothing to her until she read on, and then her stomach dropped.
The reports from guards at Auschwitz have already proven the success of the recently completed chambers.
Recommend a tour at your earliest convenience, to see the simplicity of the design.
Approximately four thousand or more Jews can be disposed of each day.
Request for more deliveries of gas to ensure ongoing productivity.
Ava quickly shut the folder, coughing as she tried to disguise her dry-retching, as she realised what she was being asked to transcribe.
‘I’ve told her to go home, but she insists she isn’t unwell,’ she heard Greta mutter to one of the other secretaries.
‘I’m fine,’ Ava managed, still coughing as she imagined the Goldmans there, imagined what their fate would have been. Imagined the fate ofallthe Jewish families she’d once known.
