Soul to the Rhine

Chapter 23
December soon entered, and the weather in Warsaw had become very cold, and Dean Fritz finally sent news.

I don’t know if his affairs are going smoothly or not. I only wrote a letter saying that I would pick him up at the train station this afternoon.

Several male doctors in the hospital had operations today, and Henry couldn't go out casually.This task fell gloriously on Rosia and Dill.

Originally, Dill was the only one to go, but Henry was very worried about her and was afraid that she would cause trouble outside, so he asked Rosia to accompany her.

During this month in Warsaw, it was a mess outside, and Rosia basically never left the house, but Dill was very excited to be able to go on a "far trip".I looked for the bag specially and stuffed it with zlotys.

Prices in Warsaw were horribly high. Marks were not yet in circulation, and Warsaw residents generally used zloty.And if you take out a handful of zlotys, you may not be able to buy a piece of European milk candy.

The two of them walked out of the main area, and the streets outside immediately became lively and chaotic. There were people of all kinds, and the most obvious thing was that there were more Gestapo.

Since the Germans occupied Poland, it has become the most basic principle for men to take off their hats and salute when they see Germans. Not only that, they must also avoid the direction the Germans are going and make way for them.

Although women do not have this requirement, no one dares to challenge the authority of the Germans, so no one dares to wear the exaggerated hats that were necessary for noble ladies in the past.

People walking on the street lowered their heads and walked in a hurry. Occasionally, when they passed by Germans, they would involuntarily flinch, with fear in their eyes.It wasn't until the Germans stopped to cause trouble that they dared to fly away.

Rosia and Dill walked close to the side of the road, and Dill became obviously more silent than before leaving the hospital. At this time, Rosia could only increase his vigilance, on the one hand, be careful not to provoke the Gestapo, and on the other hand, be careful not to be around This hot-blooded impulsive guy did something stupid.

The further you go to the periphery, the more Jews there are, but only in relative terms.

Passing by a building that was being rebuilt, the two saw a little Jewish boy standing by the wall carrying a small woven basket selling things.

The little boy was wearing a tattered and thin jacket. The jacket was so wide that it covered his knees, but his legs were naked. They were exposed to the cold wind and were swollen and blue from the cold. The skin on the ankles It has been broken and covered with bloody scabs, and it looks very shocking.

Seeing two well-dressed ladies staring at him, the little boy couldn't help but flinch, hesitated for a while, then raised his head: "Yeah, do you need a book?"

The basket in his hand contained several fairly new books, which were heavy.Rosia and Dill's eyes fell on his hands, and they discovered new injuries.

It was obvious that this was a Jewish child who was living a very difficult life. Normally, there would be no need to think that they would definitely help him.But now, Rosia is not sure if there is a Gestapo watching behind them.

Helping the Jews was a serious crime, and if the Gestapo who caught them was in a bad mood, there was a possibility that they would be shot.

But as two hospital staff, it was hard for them to stand by and watch a child standing alone in the cold wind with injuries all over his body.

While Rosia was thinking about how to help the little boy, the guy next to him had already rushed past like a rocket.She stretched out her hand to grab it, but she didn't even touch the corner of her clothes.

Dill squatted down in front of the little boy with a look of pity, looked at his hands, and asked distressedly: "Does it hurt? They are all suppurating. How can you wear so little in such a cold day?"

The little boy looked at her with wide eyes.

Dill grabbed a handful of zlotys from her bag and put them in the little boy's basket. After thinking about it, he only kept some for himself, and gave the rest to the little boy. Two books were drawn out.

"Yes, it doesn't cost so much..."

"It's okay, sister still has it. Go home quickly and don't stand here anymore."

The little boy looked at the basket of money hesitantly, then at Dill. After a while, he finally nodded.

Rosia looked around and saw that there were people around, but not many. Fortunately, there were no Gestapo among them.She didn't have any money with her, so she took off the silk scarf from her neck and wrapped the frostbite ointment she brought with her inside.

The little boy quickly bowed to thank the two of them, looked around, then turned around and ran away to a ruins.

Dill looked at his back, the more he looked at it, the more distressed he became. His expression seemed to make him want to catch up to him and give him the last bit of money he had.

Rosia quickly grabbed her preemptively: "Okay, hurry up and leave. We are already very eye-catching. Don't attract the Germans here."

Dill had no choice but to turn around and continue walking the same way.

Rosia looked around again to make sure that no Gestapo had discovered them.

Unexpectedly, when I looked around, I found that several people had gathered not far away, gathered together, not knowing what to do.

Rosia's heart thumped uncontrollably, Dill was also startled, and his steps suddenly froze in place.

After watching in horror for a few seconds, I realized that there was an old Jewish man standing among the Gestapo, with his head half down and his body trembling faintly.

"Where's your Star of David?" one of them asked.

The old Jewish man bowed: "I'm sorry, sir, I forgot to bring it."

Jews were required to wear the Star of David, which was humiliating but could prevent the Germans from making trouble.And this old man obviously didn't take the life-saving gadget with him when he went out.

"Forgot? Hahaha." A Gestapo laughed. He took out the gun from his waist and put it against the old man's head: "Then why don't you forget about your head too."

Pretend to shoot.

Another Gestapo stopped him: "Don't do that, let him go." He took out a Star of David from the pocket of his black uniform and handed it to the shivering old man.

"It's really yours, and you still have this thing on you." The Gestapo put away the gun readily.

Rosia and Dill watched from a distance, holding their breath. They did not believe that the Gestapo would be so kind.

Sure enough, when the old man reached out tremblingly to pick it up, the Gestapo's finger shook, and the Star of David fell.

Next to them was a ditch that was neither deep nor shallow, about a person's height. The water was so turbid that the Star of David fell into it and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"You bastard." The Gestapo punched the old man in the face. The old man was caught off guard and fell to the ground. The other one kicked him into the ditch.

"Damn Jews, don't know what's good, go down and fish it out."

The old man rolled into the sewer in embarrassment, causing a splash of dirty water.

Several Gestapo stood on the shore with interest and watched the old man flopping around inside.

"These devils!"

Dill gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists.Rosia has always known that the Gestapo's methods are cruel. At this time, it is very good that they are just teasing and not killing anyone.As for Dill's anger, she could understand it, but she couldn't let her go to challenge the Gestapo.

"Dil, go quickly."

This is something they have absolutely no control over.

The old Jewish man fished in the water for a long time but could not find the Star of David, but the Gestapo had admired it enough and called him up again.

"Christmas is coming, why are you still so dirty." The Gestapo pulled out a knife, "It seems that I will show kindness and shave you today."

He grabbed the old man's beard with his slender hand and shaved it directly with the sharp blade.

The beard was suddenly broken off, and a shocking blood mark was scratched on the old man's chin, and the skin and flesh were turned out.

"Oh, it seems that my skills are not good enough. Eric, do you want to try it?"

Rosia resisted the inexplicable impulse in her heart and pulled Dill forward quickly, but her hand slipped.

"stop!"

(End of this chapter)