LENA'S POV

I couldn't hold myself back. After I heard the gunshots, I ran. I ran toward them, hoping Fritz was alive. I looked back and Lukas was running behind me. He looked worried too. Finally, I reached the wood were Hitler had walked them. I figured we probably weren't allowed to be here, so I crouched down behind a tree. "All of you are Jews. You have committed serious crimes and the punishment is death." Hitler told them. I wanted to yell stop, but I held it in. "What crimes did we commit, Führer?" one of them asked. "I told you. You are Jew's." "Now, take off your clothes and line up." he told them. At that exact moment one of them said "No." "Fine. Shoot him.". They immediately shot him and put him in this big hole. Then, they lined everyone up and shot them into the big hole, even Fritz. I couldn't watch. The horror and all because they were Jewish. I completely fell to the ground and everything went black.

LUKAS' POV

Lena started running. I don't know why, but I followed her. I heard more gunshots. I ran faster. He won't die. I told myself. When we got there, we hid behind a tree. I watched with Lena as they killed all of them for being Jewish. Then, women started sorting their clothes and took them home. I quickly ran out from behind the tree when no one was looking and grabbed my Papa's pocket watch out of his pants. I needed something to remember him by. Before anyone saw me, I ran back to the tree. "Oh no." Lena was laying on the ground, her eyes closed. Her face was deathly pale. "Did they take you from me too?" I asked myself. I didn't know what to do, so I picked her up and ran all the way home. If she was sick, I knew my Mama could take care of her. I burst through the door. "Mama!" "Mama!" I yelled in between sobs. She came running out of her room. "What is wrong?" she asked me. I couldn't answer. I just held Lena and sobbed. She seem to have saw Lena and took her from me. About an hour later she came out from the spare room. "She is all right, something must have shocked her." "What is wrong?" she asked me in a delicate voice. "Papa." I said "What about him?" she asked worried. "Hitler, he shot him along with Lena's brother and other men." I told her. I pulled out his pocket watch and we sobbed together. Having to tell her Papa was dead was the worst moment ever. Somewhere in the midst of all of it, I fell asleep.

LENA'S POV

I woke up with a startle. I couldn't seem to remember much. "Okay, calm down." "Just find out where you are." I told myself. I felt around. It was dark outside and I couldn't see much. I was in a bed. "Lukas' house." I said aloud my voice filled with relief. All at once everything came back to me. The killing, my brother, everything. I sobbed. For everyone who had died, for my brother, for me. "Why God?" I heard someone say on the other side of the wall. I walked into Lukas' room and saw him and his mother crying together. "Couldn't sleep?" his Mama said. "Yes, can I join you?" "Of course sweetie." she said in a soft tone. I walked over to the bed and got under the covers with her. I looked over at Lukas. Why is he crying? I asked myself. His Mama must have noticed because the she said "My husband, his Papa, was with your brother.". I nodded and started crying silently. She held me tight and did the same. We stayed that way until morning.

LUKAS' POV

"What do you mean Death Camp?" I ask him my voice filled with fear "What are you talking about?" "Listen kid, Hitler hates Jews so, he sends us to camps where we work with little food and die." "Sorry kid." "What are we gonna eat?" "Where is the food?" Lena asked "Listen kid, there is no food on the train. People will die here. I wish I could tell you differently, but I can't. You need to know the truth." he said. Mama insistently started praying "Lord have mercy on us." all night. There was no room to stand, so I had to sleep standing up. People were moaning and the train stunk. After what felt like a month, the train stopped. As they opened the door light spilled in, blinding us. They herded us out like cattle and when we were too slow they hit us. It looked like there were millions of Jewish people here. They led us to a line as another line of Jewish people walked past whispering, "Lie about your age. Say you're 18."

LENA'S POV

I was up next. "Name, Age, and Date of Birth." one of the Stasi said. "My name is Lena Georg, I am... I am seventeen and was born on January 16, 1929." I told him. Should I have lied about my age? I asked myself. "Okay, go to the right line." They sent Lukas to the same line as me and Lukas' mother to the left line.

LUKAS' POV

,

"Say goodbye to your mother." one of the skinny people said "Why? Where is she going?" "The gas chambers." he said to me. "They take the people who cannot work and kill them in the gas chambers." Tears slid down my cheeks. I felt Lena put her hand on me, "Verzeihung '' she said. Mama's line started walking away and waved goodbye. She waved back with tears in her eyes. She knows what is coming, I told myself. "MOV E!" the Stasi yelled at us. They separated me and Lena. "Lord, let her be okay, let Mama die peacefully." I whispered to myself. "You sleep here. You come out when we blow the whistle." he yelled and then left. There were seventeen people in this cabin and nine bunk beds. I walked over to one of the beds ``Can I have this one?" I asked the kids "Sure." one of them replied. I sat down and saw that all of these kids looked like me, lost and afraid. "What is your name?" someone asked. I looked around and realized it was the boy above me. "Lukas, yours?" "Stefan." "How old are you?" he asked "Fifteen." "I am seventeen." "That over there is Tobias, Fred, Leon, Jürgen, Klaus, Mateo, Elias, and Emil." "The other seven won't tell us their names." he told me. "You should sleep, tomorrow is your first day right?" "Yes." I said cautiously "Tomorrow will be hard, try to rest." he told me and laid down.

LENA'S POV

I never thought things would get this bad. I actually never thought about life before the bomb. I always thought that I would live a good life, now all of that is coming to an end. No, positive thoughts. I am grateful for.... for what? I asked myself. Is there anything to be grateful for? They led me our line to a cabin that was partially filled with girls. "Take any empty bed." he said and slammed the door shut. "Who are you?" one girl on the top bunk asked "Lena, who are you?" "I am Emilia." "Can I take the bed below you?" "I don't care." she said to me. I sat down on the bed and instantly regretted it. It was rock hard and smelled like death. Did someone die on this bed? I shuddered at the thought. I laid down and tried to sleep. Sleep is my only escape now, my escape from reality. "Are you okay?" Emilia asked me "Honestly no, but how can anyone be in here?" "Who did you lose?" "My whole family and the woman who took care of me." "Verzeihung '' she said "All of us here have lost someone and my advice is to say your goodbyes and forget them. Your life here will be much harder if you remember them. The hole will only grow bigger." "The Stasi will also notice and make your life even more miserable." she said to me. "I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, but have a little cry and push them out of your mind." "Okay." I tried to make my voice sound confident but I came out as a squeak. "Good night" she said softly.

LUKAS' POV

Two weeks had passed since Papa died. We rarely talked about it and Mama acted like everything was okay. We stayed inside now. Mama didn't think it was safe and it wasn't like we had school to attend. Hitler had taken that too. Hitler has taken almost everything from me. My Papa, my education, and now my home.

LUKAS RELIVES A MEMORY

At least I can read. I told myself, when I heard three loud raps at the door. “Go to your rooms and lock the door. Do not come out until I tell you.” Mama told me and Lena. Lena clutched my hand. We both knew who was at the door. It was the Stasi. They were Hitler’s men and they were dangerous. They killed innocent people. I shut the door and put my ear next to it. “You and your family are Jewish, correct.” “Yes sir.” Mama said with fear in her voice. “We are moving all Jewish citizens into a new home.” “We will come and get you when it is time to move.” “You have three days to pack. Only pack your necessities, nothing else.” And with that he left. I heard the door slam shut and I saw Mama sink to the floor “Why Lord, why us?” “Do you not love us?” she cried.

LENA'S POV

We leave today. "Where are we going?" I ask Lukas "I don't know Lena. None of us do." "How do you stay happy? How do you not feel broken?" I asked Lukas. "It is hard. But, I try thinking about the things I am grateful for." "But, what is there to be grateful for.?" I move my voice to a whisper "I mean Hitler has taken everything from us." I told him "Not everything. I still have you." he told me with a smile on his face. I let my head fall on his shoulder. BANG BANG BANG. They were here. "Grab your bags." Mama told us. I didn't have one. I lost everything I owned in the explosion. No, I'm grateful for a light move. I won't be so exhausted then. He was right. It kind of worked. "Hurry up, it is time to leave." the Stasi yelled at us. We walked out of the door and followed a group of people, all Jewish. They led us to a train. But something about it wasn't right. There were no seats. "It's a cargo train. They are not meant for people." Lukas told me. I could tell he was scared too. "Get in!" the man yelled and me while hitting me with the end of his rifle. I walked in and it was crowded. There was no room to sit down. They shut the door on us and the train started moving. I squeezed Lukas' hand and he squeezed back. "What is the bucket for?" I heard a kid say. "That is the restroom." the elder man told us. As I looked around I realized that there were some really skinny people in here too. And they were dirty and tired. "What is wrong?" I asked one of them "Where are we going?" "To a Death Camp."

LENA'S POV

I couldn't hold myself back. After I heard the gunshots, I ran. I ran toward them, hoping Fritz was alive. I looked back and Lukas was running behind me. He looked worried too. Finally, I reached the wood were Hitler had walked them. I figured we probably weren't allowed to be here, so I crouched down behind a tree. "All of you are Jews. You have committed serious crimes and the punishment is death." Hitler told them. I wanted to yell stop, but I held it in. "What crimes did we commit, Führer?" one of them asked. "I told you. You are Jew's." "Now, take off your clothes and line up." he told them. At that exact moment one of them said "No." "Fine. Shoot him.". They immediately shot him and put him in this big hole. Then, they lined everyone up and shot them into the big hole, even Fritz. I couldn't watch. The horror and all because they were Jewish. I completely fell to the ground and everything went black.

LUKAS' POV

Lena started running. I don't know why, but I followed her. I heard more gunshots. I ran faster. He won't die. I told myself. When we got there, we hid behind a tree. I watched with Lena as they killed all of them for being Jewish. Then, women started sorting their clothes and took them home. I quickly ran out from behind the tree when no one was looking and grabbed my Papa's pocket watch out of his pants. I needed something to remember him by. Before anyone saw me, I ran back to the tree. "Oh no." Lena was laying on the ground, her eyes closed. Her face was deathly pale. "Did they take you from me too?" I asked myself. I didn't know what to do, so I picked her up and ran all the way home. If she was sick, I knew my Mama could take care of her. I burst through the door. "Mama!" "Mama!" I yelled in between sobs. She came running out of her room. "What is wrong?" she asked me. I couldn't answer. I just held Lena and sobbed. She seem to have saw Lena and took her from me. About an hour later she came out from the spare room. "She is all right, something must have shocked her." "What is wrong?" she asked me in a delicate voice. "Papa." I said "What about him?" she asked worried. "Hitler, he shot him along with Lena's brother and other men." I told her. I pulled out his pocket watch and we sobbed together. Having to tell her Papa was dead was the worst moment ever. Somewhere in the midst of all of it, I fell asleep.

LENA'S POV

I woke up with a startle. I couldn't seem to remember much. "Okay, calm down." "Just find out where you are." I told myself. I felt around. It was dark outside and I couldn't see much. I was in a bed. "Lukas' house." I said aloud my voice filled with relief. All at once everything came back to me. The killing, my brother, everything. I sobbed. For everyone who had died, for my brother, for me. "Why God?" I heard someone say on the other side of the wall. I walked into Lukas' room and saw him and his mother crying together. "Couldn't sleep?" his Mama said. "Yes, can I join you?" "Of course sweetie." she said in a soft tone. I walked over to the bed and got under the covers with her. I looked over at Lukas. Why is he crying? I asked myself. His Mama must have noticed because the she said "My husband, his Papa, was with your brother.". I nodded and started crying silently. She held me tight and did the same. We stayed that way until morning.

Some say life is great,

but others treat life with hate.

The world is getting darker.

Depression getting stronger.

Happiness is fading away,

replaced by a new day.

Darkness left and right.

People filled with shock and fright.

Life isn't a person.

It is never easy.

Nothing in it might be fun.

But don't let your story be quickly done.

I woke up the next day and could see. The blurriness was gone. I tried to get up and walk, but was very sore. Lukas woke up soon. "How are you?" "Pretty good, just sore." "And your eyesight?" "It is better, thank you." I told him. "After breakfast we can depart for Augsburg." "Thank you." "Your welcome" he said to me. We left pretty soon after and were there in half an hour. When we got there, all I saw was destruction. Almost every house was burnt and destroyed. "I'm sorry." Lukas said. I saw my house but, it didn't look like my house. It was burnt to the ground and there were ashes everywhere. I ran over to it and immediately started moving pieces of burnt wood. After a while, I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. It was my neighbor Frederika. "She's gone sweetie.". I felt like everything was falling down. "What about Fritz?" "We didn't find his body." she told me. I fell to the ground and started bawling. I didn't care if Lukas saw me. I couldn't hold it in anymore.

LUKAS' PERSPECTIVE

I didn't know what to do. She was broken. Her Mama is dead and her brother is lost. I finally put my hand on hers. I wasn't sure if it would help, but it was all I thought of. "Lass uns gehen (Let's leave)." I said to her. She gets up and I lead her back to my house. We were about to go in, when I thought of something. "Follow me.". She followed me without question. She looked like if someone touched her she would break. I took her to an empty field in the woods. I went here whenever I needed to think or be alone. She seemed to understand why I brought her here. We sat down in the grass. We just sat there looking up at the sky, in silence. After an hour or so I said to her, "We have to get going, or we'll be late for the announcement." "What announcement?" she asked in a voice that was barely audible. "Hitler told everyone to be in the main court at noon." "Oh, okay.". I led her to the main court and soon after Hitler started talking. "I am going to call out some names, and if it is your name you will line up over there." he has said. "Benno Eike, Fridolin Kaspar, Johann Konrad, Maximilian Oskar, Leopold Otto, Friedrich Henri, and Fritz Georg." When he said the last name, she gasped. "Is that your bruder?" "Yes." she said. One by one they all lined up and left to follow Hitler. A few minutes later, we heard gun shots.

When I was young

My Pa told me to run.

Away from the trouble.

Away from the bombs.

He fought for my freedom.

He fought so I could live.

Even in the midst of darkness,

He had hope.

He told me everything would be alright.

Soon, he would come and find me.

But, he didn't.

He never came back

because, as I was running one of Hitler's men killed him.

Because he stood up.

Because he fought for our rights.

I wanted revenge.

I wanted to kill.

But, it only makes the hole bigger.

It does not help us.

If I went to war for vengeance, it would not fill the hole in my heart.

I was a child then.

Now, I am a leader.

I learned that vengeance had consumed our world.

We cannot let it consume our people.

"Lena, come inside." "Yes Mama." I said. I stared at the night sky for a couple more seconds. "Lena, now." "Coming Mama." I told her. I quickly ran back inside and shut the door. "It is time for bed." Mama said "Yes ma'am" I said and quickly got into bed. I shut my eyes, but couldn't fall asleep. Tomorrow was my fourteenth birthday, I would get to go out with Mama and find a job like Fritz did. I was so excited! After a while I fell asleep, but in the middle of the night I awoke to a whistling sound. I slipped myself out of the covers and quietly looked outside to see what it was. It was so dark out that I could not see anything. I opened the back door and hear not only the whistling getting louder but I heard what sounded like a plane. "What is that?" I thought to myself. Finally, I saw something red coming towards our house. "BOMB!" I screamed and ran back inside. "Mama, Fritz, RUN!" Mama and Fritz came out of their rooms but it was too late. I heard a big explosion and saw red everywhere. I felt myself being carried through the air. I hit the ground with a thud. Everything went black.

I woke up to so many sounds. I heard people screaming. I heard their feet hit the ground as they ran. I heard all these things, but I could not see. Was it still nighttime? Are Mama and Fritz okay? I heard someone running towards me. "What is going on?" I shouted into the darkness. "Hello, my name is Lukas." he said. He didn't sound like an adult, he sounded like a kid. "Are you okay?" he asked "I think so, but I cannot see." I heard him mutter something to himself. "What is happening? Where is my familie?" I asked him. "I do not know where your family is, but the Allies bombed us and the air raid siren didn't go off." I finally remembered what had happened, the bomb. I gasped aloud. "What?" he asked "Listen, we do not have much time. They are still bombing us and we need to get to an air raid shelter." he told me. "Can you walk?" "I think so." I said. He helped me get up, but I still couldn't see. "Am I blind?" I asked Lukas "I don't know, I am not a doctor. Just hold my hand and I'll lead you to the shelter." he said while reaching for my hand. BOOM! "What was that?!" I asked him "Another bomb. We need to hurry." he said, his voice filled with urgency. We finally got to the shelter and waited out the air raid.

By the time we could come out, I was starting to regain my eyesight. Everything was blurry though. "Where do you live?" "I live on Augsburg." I told him "Um" "What?" I asked him with fear in my voice. "Augsburg is gone." he told me "What do you mean?" "I mean almost all the houses got bombed." he whispered "My Mama, My Bruder (brother)" "Are they okay?" I asked almost in tears. "I do not know." he told me. "You can stay with me and my family tonight, and once you can see fully we'll go to Augsburg and look for your family." he told me. He started leading me towards his home. "How old are you?" "I am fifteen." he told me "Could you tell me the date?" "It is Wednesday the 16, 1933." he told me. I gasped. "Why are you shocked? Is today important to you?" "It is my fourteenth birthday." I whispered. "Oh, happy birthday." he said to me. "Thank you, I guess." "Are we close? I don't think I can walk much longer." I told him. When we got their he introduced me to his mom and led me to the spare room to sleep.

Poem of Praise

All alone I cried.

By my own effort I had tried to do it.

Crying all night because I had just lost my

Dreams.

Everyone I loved had left me.

For all I know, I will never get another chance.

Gone all the

Happy times, when we were too young to know.

I could never go back.

Jealous, I was.

Knife stabbed in my back.

Long nights, where I couldn’t sleep.

Mad, I was. He couldn’t do this to me.

No, I wouldn’t put up with it.

One day does not change my life,

Pain stabbed me again.

Quickly, I closed my eyes and tried not to cry. I

Remembered the LORD is my

Savior. I

Thought of all he had done for me.

Unable, as if! He conquered the grave. He had the ultimate

Victory! I am a

Winner in Jesus! Wherever he goes becomes a

Xanadu. You make me feel at peace.

Yes, I will always praise you! In you I will be

Zealous!