Heimat

By Paul Marzell

In 1929, four young Germans embark on a life-altering journey from the remnants of post-WWI Germany to the promise-filled streets of America. 

 

Dreaming of returning to their beloved hometown of Neisse as triumphant American citizens, their fate takes a dramatic twist in the heart of Berlin's teeming train station. A daring rescue of an American diplomat binds them in an enduring friendship, setting them on a path through the shattered illusions of the American dream, the harrowing depths of the Great Depression, and the challenging process of assimilating into a new culture.

As the world plunges into the chaos of World War II, their lives diverge in ways they could never have imagined. Matthias finds himself in the paradoxical role of building ships in an American yard aimed at destroying their homeland. Feliks, driven by a sense of duty, joins the US Army to fight against the Japanese in the Pacific, later aiding the Polish resistance in their homeland. Josef, caught in an ill-timed visit to Neisse, is swept into the ranks of the Wehrmacht, partaking in the invasions of France and Russia, eventually coming face-to-face with Americans in the Battle of the Bulge. 

Meanwhile, Edo steps into the hallowed halls of the Nuremberg trials, contributing to the monumental task of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice.

Their story is a tapestry of loyalty, betrayal, and the relentless grip of fate, weaving a compelling saga of friendship tested by war, ideology, and the quest for identity in a world coming undone. 

 

This is more than a tale of four immigrants; it is a poignant exploration of the human spirit caught in the tumult of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Marzell
• Release date: Jun 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9780578841199

Paul Marzell

Paul Marzell was born and raised in Philadelphia and currently resides in western Pennsylvania with his wife, Janet and Golden Retriever, Nala. He is a United States Air Force veteran and served in West Germany in the early sixties. He earned BSBA and MBA degrees in operations management and financial analysis from Temple University and Golden Gate University. Heimat is his first novel. He worked in the airline industry for thirty years with Trans World Airlines and USAirways in nonmanagement and management positions.

Book preview

May 1946

Hann-Munden,

Germany

Dear Matthias,

It is with great hope and prayers that this letter finds you and that you are well. I don’t know how to begin to tell you what happened to us.

So much has changed since the last time we could write. You know the big story from your side of the Atlantic from newspapers, but not of the millions of individual tragic stories here like ours. So many horrible things have happened. It should not have ended the way it did. No one expected that our country would decay into what it is today. It was supposed to be different…

Matthias Schmidt read the letter several times over, studying every character in every word in every sentence looking for something not on the paper. He received her last letter and letters from others in the Heimat near the end of August 1939. He did not recognize the return address on this letter. Where is she?

The last time he saw her was July 1929, when he left her to pursue an uncertain future in a foreign country where he did not speak the language. It was a simple plan; get established, be successful, and make her proud of him. He tried, but in the intervening years, events beyond his control changed everything.

On September 1, 1939, the day after her last letter arrived, radio broadcasts and newspaper headlines reported the news that upended his and the plans of millions around the globe. The announcement was not surprising. There were many signs that the disaster was coming, but the world, in general, was in denial. By the morning of September 2, he dreaded that she and others close to him could be gone from his life forever. The letter in his hand reassured him that she is alive, but she is not well.

The tone of her letter is different from the messages she sent during the years before 1939. Then they were usually cheerful, hopeful, optimistic, imploring him to return to the Heimat. This letter is sad, dark, and desperate. She missed him dearly and needed his help, but he cannot return to her because the country is destroyed, so there is no place where he can stay. The catastrophe is shamefully unbelievable.

It isn’t likely that he can get there anyway. He has responsibilities and cannot leave quickly. He finally realized his dream, so it is impossible to go. He cannot spare the expense and the time, and there would be no income in the meantime.

He concluded to agree with her and help from a distance until his life and theirs settled and stabilized.

He reread the letter hoping he would uncover more, and visualized the last time he saw her…

MAIDEN VOYAGE

Chapter 1: Leaving Neisse

August 1929

Neisse, Ober-Silesia

Germany

My Dearest Matthias,

The past month has been unbearable for me because I have not had any news from you. I am going insane thinking about you and trying to picture in my mind where you were at the moment of my thoughts. While you were on the ship, I tried to estimate how far across the Atlantic you were and how close you were to America. When I knew you should have arrived, I tried to visualize what you could be doing in that big city. I knew it was too expensive for you to send me any wires while you were at sea. Although you posted your letter immediately upon arrival, I hoped I would hear from you much sooner. I do miss you very much. I wish you had stayed here. I want you here. I don’t want you to be there. I suppose we did not consider how much time would pass between our letters. It will be impossible for us to have a genuine and intimate conversation.

I am so happy that you got my package and the note to look for me before boarding the train. After you passed from view and crossed the river, I knew my days would be terribly empty. I didn’t know what to do. I cried all the way home. I could not stop crying for hours. I am trying my best to fill my new unfilled time and space since you left me.

In your letter, you said that you did not read the book I gave you yet. You should have had time to read it on the ship. I hope you do read it soon. Also, I’m so glad you liked the flowers. I like what you told me about what you did with the bouquet and one of the flowers. You will never forget me and think of me as long as you shall have that flower.

From what you tell me about the Third-class berth on the Bremen, I am not sure I could make such a trip. I could not share a tiny cabin, even with someone I knew well. It would be impossible for me to share a berth with a stranger. It would be so uncomfortable and embarrassing. When you ask me to come over, I need to travel in a higher class cabin with more privacy.

I saw your family a few times during the past month. Your mother is so sad. I didn’t know that she didn’t get a letter from you, and I told her about the letter I received. I think she was upset. I shouldn’t have told her, and I don’t want her to be jealous. You did write to her, didn’t you? If you haven’t, you better do so soon. She will be very hurt.

Your sisters miss you, but they are still excited about your prospects. They think it is a big adventure. They don’t miss you as I do.

Gerhard is imagining and hoping that you will not last long and will return to work for him. I am not sure how your father feels yet. He does not discuss the matter.

It is Tuesday night, and I received your letter in yesterday’s post, so I wanted to post mine as soon as possible. I want to minimize as much as possible the amount of time between our letters.

I miss you so much and love you,

Olivia

Waiting for the train on the Bahnhof platform in Neisse, Germany, four young men are nervously reconsidering and overthinking their decisions about the journey they are embarking on this Monday morning, July 15, 1929. Like thousands of other German men and women, they are leaving the familiarity of their homes, families, and friends with one-way tickets to a foreign land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean with little or no fluency of the language spoken there. They are leaving their Heimat and their Homeland. Heimat connects them to their birthplace through dependency, community, and tradition; Homeland is their nation. Heimat is the multi-layered environment that embodies language, traditions, customs, nature, politics, and food. The young men belong to Neisse in the state of Silesia, but they ‘live’ in Germany. It’s a feeling.

Founded around the tenth century, Neisse is one of the oldest towns in Upper Silesia, which became part of Breslau’s Bishopric, one hundred and forty kilometers to the north. It is in the predominantly Protestant and the Catholic Kingdom of Prussia. Its many churches built in the Gothic and Baroque styles earned it the ‘Silesian Rome’ nickname.

The morning is pleasantly sunny and warm, the kind of day that would typically tempt two of the travelers to go swimming, camping, or hiking in Silesia’s forests. Or, if it were winter, they would ski through the forests and cross the Czechoslovakian border into the Sudeten Mountains. Instead, four travelers follow forty-seven thousand other Germans, men and women, who preceded them to America in the past twelve months. They grew up in various social statuses that ranged from day-to-day subsistence and hardship to comfortable upper-middle-class living.

Seeing them and other fellow travelers off at the Bahnhof is an assortment of family members, friends, fiancés, or sweethearts. One group is larger than the others because two friends are traveling together. Most of their family members and some friends are at the station with them. Matthias Schmidt is twenty, with brown hair and blue eyes, is noticeably skinny in a seventy kilogram, one hundred and seventy-eight-centimeter tall body. He completed his baker’s journeyman certificate six months ago. Although thin and not powerful, he is deceptively agile, coordinated, and athletic as an excellent gymnast, skier, and hiker. He belonged to the local Turnverein, the association of gymnasts founded in Berlin in 1811. He played football but was never invited to join a club. His thin, precisely trimmed mustache portrayed a distinguished look that made him appear older.

Matthias’s friend and neighbor, Josef Turner, is twenty-two years old and is larger at one hundred and ninety-five centimeters tall and one hundred kilograms. He earned his watchmaker’s journeyman’s certification two years ago.

Josef’s parents and Matthias’s mother, Maria, father, Wilhelm, sisters, Helena, Anna, Onkle Kurt, and Tante Martha are seeing them off.

Edo Rabinowitz, a slender, soft-spoken, nineteen-year-old Jew with dark hair and deep-set eyes, is accompanied by his mother, father, and sister, Sharon. Like his father, Edo is a tailor, but there was never enough work in his father’s shop to employ him full time, so he was a salesman in a men’s clothing store in Neisse.

Fifteen-year-old Feliks Bartol is alone. Feliks is fifteen, the son of ethnic Polish farmers in the countryside outside Neisse. He is still growing but will become a physically imposing young man within two years. Feliks never saw the inside of a secondary school classroom.

A fifth man, Willy Ernst, twenty-two, his fleshy body matches his porcine visage, is not nervous. The son of a successful engineer, he holds a degree in rhetoric and communication studies from the University of Breslau.

Except for Ernst, the forces driving Matthias, Josef, Edo, and Feliks from their Heimat are high unemployment from the Versailles Treaty’s financial rules levied on Germany following the Great War. The rules hamstrung Germany’s ability to run its economy efficiently. The Weimar Republic printed currency in such massive quantities between 1921 and 1923, which caused hyperinflation so extreme a wheelbarrow full of Reichsmark notes was needed to buy a family’s groceries. The economy suffered, properties foreclosed, and bankruptcies were common, as were suicides and malnourishment. Unemployment was as high as forty percent, and thousands were homeless.

Political instability opened opportunities for fringe parties, like the Communists and Nazis, to rise. The country was on the brink of civil war as both parties engaged in armed street fights in the major cities of Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich.

The final insult was the Treaty’s demand that Germany accepts blame for starting the war, which many citizens likened to a dog having its nose rubbed in its excrement to be housebroken. Low public discontentment created a festering brew of anger, offering politicians opportunities to exploit with promises that their ideologies and programs would return the nation to its former greatness. The conditions also inspired many to seek new lives elsewhere.

In addition to the nation’s economic, social, and political turmoil, Matthias, Josef, Edo, and Feliks have other personal reasons to seek opportunities in America. Matthias is breaking away from a family situation that, to him, is intolerable. His close friend, Josef, expects to capitalize on the high demand for his skills in America. His father’s jewelry store is next door to Matthias’s father’s bakery. Josef was expected to take over the business when his father retired, but Matthias’s excitement to emigrate to America inspired him to go along without much thought. His father said he is reckless.

Edo Rabinowitz will establish a foothold in America so that his parents and sister can follow later to escape growing anti-Semitism.

Feliks Bartol is leaving because his two older brothers will inherit and share their father’s small farm. There will be no room for Feliks and little chance they will acquire more land to farm. A neighbor farmer who had to go to the city for supplies brought him to the Bahnhof on a horse-drawn cart.

Wilhelm Ernst is supported by his father. He is leaving to study for an advanced degree at a major university in America. His father hoped that experiencing the nation’s diverse culture would eliminate or, at least, mitigate his intolerant son’s xenophobia.

Matthias’s older brother Gerhard is not at the station. His brother’s absence did not surprise him. In addition to the country’s dire economy, Gerhard is a principal reason to go to America.

Matthias’s mother, Maria Schmidt, is in her early fifties. She is upset that her youngest is leaving for an indefinite period and an uncertain future as any mother would be. She successfully hid her sadness from everyone. Other mothers at the station sobbed in fits. Some fathers did too.

Maria took Matthias’s hand in hers and pulled him from the crowd to a quieter spot at the platform’s end. For one last time, she will try to convince him to reconsider. She said, Matthias, I know you feel strongly that this is the right decision for you, but leaving the Heimat to live in a strange land where everything is so different cannot be right. Please reconsider! You can still change your mind. Once you get on the ship in Bremerhaven, there is no turning back. It will be years before you have established yourself in America and can repay your brother.

Taking both of her hands in his, Matthias looked directly into his mother’s eyes and, with his best attempt at self-confidence to conceal his nervousness, said, "Muttel, my mind cannot be changed. If I don’t go to America, I will never repay Gerhard for the loan he gave me to make this journey. The tickets, visa, passport, job, and sponsorship were arranged and paid for in advance, and none of it is refundable. The only work I can find here as a baker is to work for him, and I can’t do that, not after what he did. He would pay me little, which would lengthen the time it would take me to repay him, and he would gloat endlessly all the while.

Plus, if I changed my mind, it would embarrass Onkle Kurt, who guaranteed the loan. I owe an honorable debt to Onkle Kurt. Gerhard gave me the loan because he didn’t think I would go through with the plan, hoping I would be indebted to him, for God knows how long? It would be indentured servitude.

With confidence, he added, It won’t take me long to repay him. I start the job in New York City as soon as I arrive. I will work as many hours as I can until I settle the debt. The economic situation there is not as bad as here; there is always work for a baker.

Not reassured, Maria said, Son, I’m afraid it will be a long time until we see you again. You must promise to return to the Heimat as soon as you can.

I will, Muttel. Sensing that she is at her emotional limit, he tried comforting her and said, I read a quote once that supposedly came from a Greek ship captain, he said ‘All journeys home begin with the first step from the door of the house.’ I’m taking the first step this morning.

Not comforted, Maria said with a sigh, I hope this Greek sailor’s name was not Odysseus. It took him more than ten years to return to his home and family.

Before Matthias could respond, a messenger approached with a bouquet of roses and a small package. Seeing the anguish in Maria’s eyes and knowing what is going on, the messenger apologized for the interruption. He also considered leaving Germany. He addressed Matthias, Are you, Herr Schmidt?

Yes, I am.

These are for you. He handed Matthias the bouquet, and the package turned and left. The roses are a deep, dark red nestled in a spray of white edelweiss. Matthias pulled an envelope from the bouquet, removed the enclosed card, and read it. Before he could finish, Maria asked, Who is it from? suspecting who sent it. He ignored her and continued reading the message. Then he confirmed her suspicion and said, It’s from Olivia.

Olivia is the daughter of Neisse’s police chief. She is a blue-eyed longhaired blonde beauty Matthias had been courting for the past two years. She is not at the station, and her absence is troubling to Matthias. He could not understand why she is not there to see him off. He did not think anything could keep her away. He wanted one last chance to hold her and assure her that they would be together again soon.

Maria asked, What does she say?

Matthias sighed and answered, Among other things, she says that she regrets that she could not be here to see me off.

Anything else? Olivia should be here. What’s in the package?

There’s more. I will open the package on the train. His manner told her that he is not going to give her any details. So she left it alone.

Anyway, Muttel, unlike Odysseus, I will return to the Heimat in less than two years. It all depends on how quickly I can pay off the loan to Gerhard and start my own business in America. I will come back before opening the bakery because I will need at least a full month or more to make the round-trip transatlantic voyage to visit here for at least two or more weeks. Finding free time to travel will be much more difficult after I have a business.

Matthias, you can have your bakery here! There will be opportunities once the economy improves. You will see it! This Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei that this Hitler fellow leads is promising. He will return Germany to its rightful place in the world and improve our lives. He says he will eradicate Germany’s ‘War Guilt’ and ignore the Treaty of Versailles. There will be jobs again. The NSDAP holds less than twenty seats in the Reichstag today, but that will change with next year’s election. They will gain many more seats. With increased agitation, she added, His book, Mein Kampf is top-rated. You should read it and give his ideas some thought! You could join the police as Alfred Reineke just did. Being close to Olivia should be helpful. Her father likes you. This way, you could have a steady income, and you can quit when you save enough to open your bakery.

Muttel, I have little interest in politics and none in the police, but I wish Reineke well. His arrogance suits him for the job. As for this Hitler fellow, I think his speeches are always angry; he rants and raves, and he looks like Charlie Chaplin in the ‘Little Tramp’ cinema. Not long ago, he was an unemployed vagrant with no schooling selling postcards on Vienna’s streets. He isn’t even a German citizen.

Just then, Helena and Anna, who were watching intently from a distance, joined them. They are curious about the bouquet and package. Helena, and Anna, one and two years older than Matthias, did not view the occasion as somberly as their younger brother and mother did. They are excited that their little brother is venturing into the unknown. The consequences of decisions are not vital to them. They are young and attractive girls, but neither had any serious suitors. An unemployed accountant from Breslau is currently courting Helena. They met while he had a temporary job in Neisse but will probably return to Breslau as soon as he can find work there. Before they could ask about the bouquet, Helena noticed the train approaching the station and suggested that they get closer to the platform’s center. She asked Matthias, When will you arrive in Bremerhaven?

He said, I have a stop in Breslau, and then I have to change trains in Berlin. Tonight, I will stay in a boardinghouse near the harbor in Bremerhaven with Josef. The ship sails tomorrow morning. It makes a stop in Southampton and another in Cherbourg before crossing the ocean. I will be in New York on the twenty-second of July.

How exciting! Anna exclaimed. Helena and I have never been further than Breslau! Muttel, I wish I were going too! The burst of unrestrained enthusiasm from her daughter was too much for Maria; she began sobbing uncontrollably as the train rolled to a stop. She succumbed to her despair and managed to say something that resembled, ‘I shall never see you again, my son!’

Matthias hugged and kissed his sisters, shook his father’s hand, hugged his mother, and kissed her on the lips, promising that he would return. He saw Josef board the train and got on behind him, carrying his suitcase, the bouquet, and the package. He is the last to board.

After stowing his bag in an overhead rack, Matthias asked Josef if he could have the window seat that he was already occupying. Josef saw the anxiety on Matthias’s face and the bouquet, so he suspected there was a good reason to give his friend the seat. From the window, Matthias could see his sisters and mother among the other lingering families and friends. His mother was still crying but no longer convulsing. Helena and Anna held her tightly. His father was off to the side, looking at him through the window. His Onkle Kurt and Tante Martha are close behind them.

Josef’s mother was crying too. Josef recognized Wilhelm Ernst’s father walking away. In less than five minutes, the train slowly rolled, and the station slid past.

Before crossing the Neisse River, the train passed a crossing road that ran parallel to the river. The road was less than 400 meters from the end of the station; at this point, the train’s speed was less than 10 kilometers per hour. Matthias saw Olivia by the crossing, her beautiful long braided blonde hair lying lazily over her shoulders. She was wearing a light summer yellow dress with white trim around the collar and short sleeves. The train’s speed was agonizingly slow, and as her image drew nearer, he was beginning to feel regret. She spotted him on the train, then waved and smiled as she held a white handkerchief in her other hand. Then she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. As the train gained speed, he waved and raised the bouquet of roses; he twisted his torso as he passed her and pressed his forehead into the cold glass of the window to keep her in view until she was out of sight as the train crossed the river and left Neisse behind. He thought, ‘I’ll be back by next year.’

#

The Breslau Bahnhof is larger and busier than the Neisse Bahnhof, and consequently, the stop was longer. Only a few people got off, but many more got on. The next stop will be Berlin, where they will transfer to another train.

Matthias and Josef did not say much during the first leg but started talking when they left Breslau. They are in a Second-class coach car and noticed a well-dressed Jewish boy and a teenage farmer are in the same coach. Willy Ernst was at the far end of the coach. No one was inclined to engage in conversation with Matthias or Josef, nor with each other. Neisse was small enough, so they occasionally saw each other in passing, but they were not close friends. Their families’ origins and histories are dissimilar. All are German citizens, born and raised in or near Neisse, but the commonality ends there.

Matthias and Josef are Catholics. Their elementary schooling ended shortly after their twelfth birthdays when they started their apprenticeships to become a baker and a watchmaker.

Edo is Jewish, and his father is a tailor, which helped him find work in a clothing store for men.

Feliks comes from a family of Polish ethnicity and a lineage of farmers.

Feliks and Edo consider themselves one hundred percent German, but they also feel marginalized because of ethnic heritage or religion. They are ‘outsiders within’.

Ernst is university-educated. Willy’s father is a self-employed engineer and sits on the town council as a city planner. Other members of the extended Ernst family studied at universities around Germany. Some hold degrees in the arts and others in sciences or business. Some, including Wilhelm, studied in other countries.

Their Heimat, Neisse, is in Upper Silesia, formed by a mixture of ethnic and national identities by borders that morphed over centuries through hereditary possession, inter-marriages of noble houses, and the rise of nation-states. Upper Silesia became part of the early Polish state, and as borders changed and Poland’s existence vanished and reemerged, so did Silesia’s national identity. Conquered by Prussia in 1742, the area was transferred from Austria to Prussia in the Treaty of Berlin. In 1871, it became a part of the German Empire under the Weimar Republic. Today people of Polish heritage speak Polish and identify as Polish but are citizens of Germany.

In 1921, the League of Nations organized a referendum to decide if Silesia would be Polish or German. An overwhelming percentage of the population voted that the area should remain German.

#

Matthias was lost in his vision of Olivia at the crossroads when Josef interrupted his thoughts and asked, Matthias, please pardon me for prying, was there a note with the bouquet of roses?

Yes. Olivia wanted me to be certain to look for her at the first crossroad after leaving the train station. That’s why I asked you to let me have the seat. She said that she didn’t want anyone to see her crying in public.

I thought so. Was she crying when we passed her?

Yes.

Do you miss her already? Regretting what you are doing?

Yes, and not sure.

That’s a complicated answer. I’m glad I didn’t leave a girlfriend behind. This way, I will concentrate on succeeding in America. I can find someone there if I am so inclined, so I don’t have to arrange to bring someone over later if I feel a need to marry. Besides, that’s another series of letters I don’t have to take the time to write. There are plenty of German girls in New York already. You are planning to stay there, aren’t you?

I did note on my visa application that I planned to become a citizen. How about you?

The same, but I’m keeping an open mind. Conditions may change for the better in Germany, and I may review my options later. I may also relocate to another city in the United States.

Improved conditions won’t help my situation. If they do, you may have a future to return to. I don’t.

I know. It’s unforgivable what your brother did. I know your sisters despise him for it, and your mother is disappointed in him, but she still loves him. You are the superior at your craft.

Matthias knew Josef is sincere and thanked him for his understanding. He returned to his thoughts about Olivia. The bouquet was still on his lap. He did not dare stow it in the overhead luggage rack, fearing that another passenger’s baggage would crush it. He was not sure what he should do with it. It would not last forever. He opened the package. In it was a novella by Stefan Zweig. The title was ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman.’ He reread Olivia’s note. In it, she wrote, ‘Dearest Matthias, I’m so sorry that I could not see you off at the train station. I would not be able to control myself and would cry. I would be ashamed, and I could not let anyone see me behave like that. It would be embarrassing. I will be standing on the first crossing road after the train leaves the station. Please take a seat on the right side of the car facing forward. You should be able to see me. I will miss you. Please write often. Ich liebe dich, und ich vermisse dich sehr. Olivia.’

Matthias heard about Zweig’s writings. They were usually heavy on anxiety and one-sided frustrated emotions. Zweig’s stories often ended sadly. Matthias was not sure he wanted to read the book. His feelings were already a complex mixture of sadness and excitement. He did not need to stoke them any further. He decided what he would do with the bouquet.

Chapter 2: Lehrter Bahnhof

August 1929

Neisse, Ober-Silesia

Germany

My son,

I am so happy that I received a letter from you, and to know that you arrived safely in New York. I must confess that I was upset when I saw that Olivia got a letter from you before I did. But I saw her again yesterday, and she told me that our letters were postmarked on the same day. I guess, unlike Germany, the American mail service is inefficient.

It took hours for me to stop crying when the girls and I returned home the day you left. Vatel was sympathetic to me but did not seem to mind that you are gone. I will keep Gerhard’s comments to myself. He was annoyed that I could not calm myself enough to work in the store as soon as we arrived home. Anna filled in for me until she had to work at the town hall, and Helena went to the restaurant.

The days are quite empty without you here. Every day I see something that reminds me of you, and I expect to see you standing nearby. I see Herr and Frau Turner almost every day. They are saddened about their Josef, who, by the way, has not sent a letter to them yet! You must make him write soon if he has not done so by now. If it were not for your letter, they would not know that he got to New York.

Your accounts about the incidents in Berlin and on the ship are fascinating. I hope you did not ruin the new suit and that you got your coat back. Anyway, the other two fellows who helped you did not do me a favor. I think it would have been my good fortune if you missed the train. Then you would have missed the boat, and you would be here.

I would caution you not to get too friendly with the Jewish and Polish boys. At least the Polish boy, as you say, will not live in New York, and since New York is so large, you might not ever see the Jewish boy again. You probably will not ever see the American either.

It is well that you won’t see the Ernst boy either; he is useless. He’s not honorable like his father. His father was in the store last week. He said Willy is going to further his studies at an American university. He said Willy learned to speak English when he went to school in England. At least you have Josef for companionship.

I will close this letter now and pray that you return to the Heimat soon.

Your Mother.

Josef and Matthias’s train arrived late in Berlin’s Lehrter Bahnhof, two platforms from their connection to Bremen. The late arrival forced them to hastily run to the terminus and turn toward the platform where the connecting train is ready to depart. The connection was supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes, but it was shortened to fifteen minutes, so they could not linger.

Matthias grabbed his suitcase, the book, and the bouquet and hurriedly followed Josef off the train. Everyone around them is walking fast, almost at a trot, bumping and shoving for position. They turned right at the end of the platform toward the next platform and the awaiting train, as a voice on the loudspeakers announced that all passengers must be on the Bremen bound train immediately. Conductors are waving excitedly and blowing whistles urging everyone to hurry. The last coach on the train is at least thirty meters from the end of the terminus.

A man carrying a suitcase in his right hand and a briefcase in his left is five meters ahead of Matthias. He is trailing a porter pushing a cart loaded with a large sea trunk. Matthias heard heavy breathing behind him and glanced over his left shoulder to chide Josef for being out of shape. It surprised him to see Willy Ernst passing him. It amused him to watch Ernst in a panic running as fast as his corpulent body could move. He remarked to Josef, who is on his right side, What an ungainly lout.

In the next instant, Ernst shoved the man trailing the porter, knocking him onto the track below. The man dropped his suitcase onto the platform as he fell but clung to the briefcase with an iron grip. Fortunately, he is agile enough to land on his feet and broke his fall with his free hand but still landed on his side and soiled his suit with a mixture of soot and grease. Ernst continued running.

Nearby passengers were shocked and dumbly stared down at the man on the tracks or continued in haste to the train. Without hesitating, Matthias put his suitcase on the platform, placed the bouquet and book on top, pushed through the gawking passengers, and nimbly jumped onto the track without falling. He assisted the man to his feet then noticed that the platform is too high to climb, and he did not see Josef. He needed help. Most passengers had left for the train, and the man he is trying to assist is still clinging to the briefcase and would not be of any help either. Then he heard someone out of sight on the platform say, Watch our bags for us, please. We can help.

Matthias looked up and saw two men who positioned themselves at the edge of the platform, telling Matthias to grasp the man’s left foot in his cupped hands to give him a leg up so they could hoist him by his arms. After getting the man up, they reached down to Matthias’s outstretched arms and pulled him up. Once on the platform and safe, Matthias thanked the men for their help, looked around for Josef, who he found standing by a pile of luggage, including the man’s suitcase, his, and he assumed, everyone else’s.

Just as the man turned to say something, a final announcement from the public address system and the conductors’ shrill whistles announced that the train to Bremen is departing. Everyone grabbed their suitcases, ran to the train, and scrambled into the last coach while the train was moving. Breathlessly, Josef and Matthias flopped in the first vacant pair of seats they could find. When the adrenaline rush faded, they noticed the two men who helped them are in the opposing seats in the same row. They looked for but did not see the stranger. Wilhelm Ernst was nowhere in sight, either.

The shared excitement of the experience on the platform opened a floodgate for conversation. The youngest and strongest with broad shoulders, blonde hair, large, calloused hands, and the most agitated spoke first. That man is lucky that he didn’t fall on his head. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be going anywhere today. It’s also fortunate that we were there because he still wouldn’t be going anywhere. He couldn’t get back up onto the platform on his own. He wouldn’t have made it in time to make it to the train.

The dark-haired man said, You are so right. But it seems rude that he left so abruptly without thanking us, but on the other hand, we all would have missed the train if we wasted time with pleasantries. By the way, my name is Edo Rabinowitz. What’s your name?

Feliks hesitated for a moment, relaxed, then said, Feliks Bartol. All of you look familiar. I believe I have seen you around Neisse from time to time. I live on a farm outside of the city, so I don’t know many people in the city. I only came in occasionally to get materials and supplies for the farm. Angrily he added, Did anyone see the oaf who knocked the man down? Where did he go?

Josef reached across the aisle to shake hands with Edo and Feliks and introduced himself. He said, I know who the oaf is. His name is Willy Ernst. He’s a snobbish ass. His father has an engineering firm in Neisse and does a lot of work with the city. Willy thinks he has inherited rights that others do not have because his father has political connections. He is university educated and makes it obvious to everyone that he is knowledgeable about everything and nothing at the same time. In other words, he’s a narcissist who postures himself as the smartest man in the room, which bores and annoys anyone with average intelligence and above. Only the dimwitted find him fascinating.

Looking at Matthias, Edo said, You certainly moved quickly. You jumped down to the tracks without hesitation. Weren’t you concerned that you would injure yourself and not get back up onto the platform? You could have ruined your suit. You would have missed this train too! What were you thinking?

Chuckling, Matthias said, If I were a thinking man, I would have watched someone else save him or moved on. I thought that he might be injured and would need help getting back onto the platform. I didn’t know it was so far down to the tracks. There was no danger other than getting dirty. Thankfully, we are on this train because of your help instead of watching it leave the station from the tracks. We are both indebted to you. Would any of you recognize him if you saw him again?

Josef shrugged, No. I was just the baggage guard. I don’t do heroic things.

Feliks added, Maybe. I got a good look at his face when we lifted him to the platform. I would guess he is in his late twenties or early thirties. I noticed that he had a scar about three centimeters long on his cheek just below his right eye.

Edo noted, I’m certain that he is not German.

Josef asked, How would you know?

His suit is not of German style. He might be an American. I’m from a family of tailors, and I was a sales clerk in the men’s clothing store in Neisse, so I know something about styles and materials. His clothes were expensive and tailored, but not in Germany. Maybe he did not thank us because he was embarrassed or thought it was necessary to run to the First-class coaches before the train started, not realizing that he could get to them from this coach. Anyway, he held onto that briefcase as if it was a part of his body. He tried to break his fall with the other hand. Edo added, I recognize those suits you are all wearing. The store where I worked sells them. He did not mention that his suit was tailored by his father and is of superior material.

Matthias said, When I was lifting him, I saw something silver like a chain from his wrist to the handle of the briefcase. The briefcase might have been attached to him. The contents must be significantly important. Then hesitatingly, he said, I assume that all of us are going to America. Josef and I are, and that Ernst fellow is too. We are traveling on the Turbine Ship Bremen tomorrow morning.

In unison, Edo and Feliks said, So am I!

During the remainder of the ride to Bremen, Josef, Feliks, and Edo openly shared their reasons for going to America and their plans. On the other hand, Matthias was reticent to share his decision’s underlying cause, but he openly shared his background and experiences. Just not his real reason for leaving.

Josef said that he learned from friends who emigrated before about the demand for skilled, certified watchmakers in the United States. Especially German watchmakers. He had a job waiting for him in New York City. Maybe in a couple of years, he would move to another city where a watchmaker might need to open a business. Edo and Feliks wondered how a man his size could work on such a delicate instrument like a watch. His hands are the size of Bavarian hams.

Edo also has a job waiting for him in New York in the garment district. He will be living with an uncle and expected to remain in New York, but he was unsure that he wanted to be a tailor as a lifetime career. His sister and parents will come over sometime later. As their conversation continued, it seemed that the others did not have an issue talking to a Jew. He felt comfortable. Maybe they saw that he is Jewish by accident of birth, and it is not his fault. He is not a devout practitioner of Judaism, but he is faithful. Maybe the other three are just passive practitioners of Christianity.

Feliks’s reason for leaving was simple. He is a farmer whose future is limited in Germany. Farming was his family’s life for more than three centuries. Probably longer. His status would never change in Silesia. His father wanted someone in the family to break away from the farmer’s life. Besides, his older brothers will split the farm between them when their father retires. Feliks is the youngest of three siblings, so his parents felt he had the best chance of improving his and their lives if he went to America. They packed him up and sent him on his way at significant cost and sacrifice for the family. His sponsor and employer are waiting for him in Philadelphia. He will be a custodian at a Polish Catholic Church. It is not much, but it is a start.

Chapter 3: TS Bremen

After arriving in Bremerhaven in the evening, Matthias and Josef checked in at a boarding house near the train station. Feliks and Edo had arrangements to stay at separate boarding houses. Everyone agreed to look for one another when they got on the ship the next day. As they left the station, Matthias saw Willy Ernst hail a taxi and the stranger he rescued in Berlin, accompanied by a porter pushing a hand truck loaded with a large sea trunk. Another man in a dark suit accompanied them to the curbside where a lorry was waiting. With the help of a third man, the porter loaded the trunk in the enclosed truck bed. The stranger tipped the porter and got into the truck with the other men. Josef dryly commented, Judging from the size of that trunk, it appears that he has sufficient clothing to replace his suit if he ruined it. Lucky for you, Matthias, you didn’t ruin yours.

Matthias noticed the man still held the briefcase, and the silver chain is still linked from the handle to his wrist. It occurred to him that the briefcase is handcuffed to him.

#

Early the following day, Josef and Matthias arrived at the pier two hours before the scheduled boarding. Sleep the night before was impossible. Their anxiety was overwhelming, and they were emotionally drained. They talked through the night, questioning the sanity of their journey. Josef even suggested that it is not too late to go back, which vexed Matthias. But their exhaustion and the potential consequences of their adventure were forgotten when they saw the ship. They were awe-struck. No matter how many photographs, postcards, or films they saw of great ocean liners, nothing compares to seeing a majestic giant like the TS Bremen up close.

Their Bremen is the fourth passenger ship to be christened ‘Bremen’. The North German Lloyd company launched the first in 1858. Constructed in the United Kingdom, auxiliary sails mounted on three masts backed up the fossil fuel engines. It accommodated sixty First-class passengers, one hundred and ten Second-class, four hundred Tween-deck, and one hundred and two crew members. The gross tonnage was two thousand and seventy-four tons, and she was one hundred and one meters long and twelve meters wide. She left Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage on June 19, 1858, and arrived in New York fourteen days and thirteen hours later.

Matthias’s and Josef’s ship was built for the North German Lloyd Company by the Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau Company in Bremen. President Paul von Hindenburg launched her for sea trials on August 16, 1928, one day after her sister ship, Europa, was launched in Hamburg. Four steam turbines power the liner’s gross tonnage of fifty-one thousand six hundred and fifty-six tons. She dwarfs her 1858 predecessor at two hundred and eighty-six meters long, thirty-one meters wide, and twenty-four meters high.

She accommodates eight hundred First-class passengers, five hundred in Second-class, three hundred in Tourist-class, and six hundred and seventeen in Third-class. A crew of one thousand serves the passengers and ship.

To expedite mail delivery to destination ports hours before the ship arrives at the pier in New York, she is fitted with a catapult to launch an airplane while still at sea.

With a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, this Bremen and her sister ship, Europa, gives the North German Lloyd Company the capability to offer weekly transatlantic crossings with two ships instead of three. The two luxury liners demonstrate Germany’s mercantile revival and its national pride. Initially, it was planned for the ships to make their first transatlantic crossings together, but Europa suffered a severe fire during her shakedown cruise and needed repairs. So the TS Bremen is crossing alone under the command of Commodore Leopold Ziegenbein.

Matthias and Josef traveled to Berlin months ago to apply for visas at the consulate in the United States Embassy to get this far. They were fortunate to get visas because the 1924 Immigration Act tied European immigration to 2% of the number of people from a country living in the United States in 1890. It effectively reduced immigration from Southern and Eastern European countries, with fewer immigrants in the United States at the time. Between 1881 and 1885, one million Germans arrived and provided a broad base for Germany to send more current citizens like Josef and Matthias.