Soul to the Rhine

Chapter 89 Talk
Rosia stood blankly for a while, then knelt down to pick up the scattered papers.

Proof of German citizenship for Pinault.

Documentation of Heinrich's SS appointment.

Property Sharing Statement.

Inheritance of inheritance.

And, a marriage certificate!

Why is there a marriage certificate?

She picked up a piece of medal, which was Heinrich's meritorious service medal in the army. She looked at it with trembling hands, only to find that his full name was Heinrich von Bolton.

On Pino's German identity document, his name is clearly Pino von Bolton.

Pino became Heinrich's descendant. Why?
What did he do to save people in the concentration camp?
Rosia couldn't react at all. She hurriedly stuffed all the things back into the small box. She didn't dare to look at the details inside. Just one thing was enough to bring her back to consciousness.

Suddenly, she stood up, rushed up to the second floor with her things, opened a cabinet in the corner of the room, threw the small box and all the nightmare-like things inside, and locked it.

She would rather this was all a dream and none of this was real.

When she didn't know anything, and no one was involved, how could she get married, how could she get married, she wouldn't, it was all fake.

Rosia shook her head and bumped downstairs. She was completely lost. Aunt Mesa had already shouted from below:
"Xia, what's wrong with you, you ran so fast just now?"

"No, it's nothing..." She forced a smile, but it was uglier than crying.

"What's wrong, are you feeling unwell?" Aunt Mesa sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward: "Did you catch a cold because you didn't wear enough clothes?"

Rosia didn't want to talk about what happened just now. She forced a smile and lied with an embarrassed expression: "It's nothing, just that..."

Women's illnesses are most easily misunderstood. Aunt Mesa immediately understood: "Then you go up and put on some clothes. I'll help you make some red date porridge. You've been out running for the past two days." After she finished speaking, she immediately Went to the kitchen.

Rosia looked at her back, and the expression on her face suddenly couldn't be maintained. She was filled with bitterness and hatred, as if she had been hollowed out by something.

She sat numbly on the sofa, looking at the newspaper on the table expressionlessly. She thought of what had just happened again in her mind, and suddenly she became more and more annoyed, and the more she read, the more she wanted to die.

"Ahhh-"

He fell into the sofa and screamed a few times like a ghost.Rosia hit the sofa hard with her hands, feeling so depressed that she wanted to vomit blood.

"What's the matter, aren't you usually fine, why is it so painful this time?" Aunt Meisha popped her head out of the kitchen again.

Rosia raised her head with her messy bird's nest hairstyle and said feebly, "Aunt, you really have a temperament that follows you everywhere."

"I see there's nothing wrong with you. Go ahead and open the door. It's been ringing for a long time." Aunt Mesa pointed in the direction of the door.

"Really?" Rosia slowly moved up from the sofa, feeling extremely irritated. She really wanted to hit and curse people now. The person outside the door was most likely Vitti. She was so angry and resentful today. , anger, ghostly anger, no matter what kind of anger, it will definitely be spread on that girl.

"Didn't you say that the letter will be sent in three days, and you told me to read it? Where's the letter? Where's the person? Where's the gift?" Rosia opened the door and was met with a fierce meal.

Suddenly a burst of winter chill came in outside the door.

"...I'm sorry, this time the army's numbers were completely disrupted and communications could not be maintained." A cold and familiar voice came from outside the door. Werner seemed to be carrying the cold air of Siberia, freezing to death. He looked at the petrified Rosia, who looked like a girl, stretched out her hand and handed over something: "Merry Christmas, a gift!"

When Aunt Mesa heard the sound at the door, she immediately rushed out like a rocket. When she saw Werner, she was so happy that she didn't know what was going on. She rushed towards him and hugged him again and again.It has been a year since we parted, and I miss Tarsus, and now we meet again, which seems so precious and difficult in this war-torn era.

Werner honestly let her hug enough, and asked as he entered the door: "What's wrong with Sia?"

Aunt Mesa was so happy that she didn't know what to mean in her words: "It's nothing, my stomach hurts and I start to feel awkward. Don't worry, it's a woman's disease!"

"..."

Aunt, are you really okay with this?

Pino heard the commotion below even when he was upstairs. When he ran down and took a look, everyone was stunned.

Werner waved to him, and the little guy rushed towards him like flying, grabbed his sleeves and rubbed it twice, then suddenly raised his head and looked at him: "Brother, you are so cold."

"Can the cold brought by Moscow not be cold? You should stay away from him first. Be careful, he will freeze you to death in a moment." Rosia took the gift box and sat down in front of the fireplace with her lips curled up.

Werner also consciously let go of Pino and sat on the other side to warm himself by the fire.He was not injured, and his expression was very calm and indifferent. He could not see any sadness or joy, which made Rosia, who glanced at him secretly, feel a little uncomfortable.Of course, this is how he always looks, calm and rational.But now, Germany's situation in the Soviet Union is already very bad.

The attack on the Soviet Union began in June. The weather was just right at that time. Germany worked hard and gained the upper hand. However, as Moscow could not be captured for a long time, Germany's millions of soldiers remained in a stalemate. Until now, it is estimated that their offensive and defensive lines have been almost completely overwhelmed by the Soviet Union. Powdered and clean.By the time the Soviet Union began to counterattack in early 1942, Germany had been suffering from the cold for a long time, its morale was low, and it could no longer sustain itself. Then, it was defeated like a mountain.

That day is so close, it's a miracle that Werner can still come back for Christmas.

The afternoon passed, and Aunt Mesa kept asking Werner how he was doing, how his food was, and whether the battlefield was dangerous.Without revealing military secrets, he would also say some things, but it was really just a few things.I wonder what kind of fun it would be to live in a cold, poor place like the Soviet Union where war was fought every day.

At night, because the weather was too cold to go out, and there was no equipment to party at home in this era, the four of them simply chatted about interesting things in the past, looked through photos, and looked for memories, and it was over.Aunt Mesa carried Pino, who was already sleeping on the sofa, upstairs. Werner sat in the living room for a while, said good night to her and went back.

Rosia was the only one below who kept looking at the fire in a daze.

After chatting nonsense all night, she also learned a lot about the current situation in Germany and some things that are not secret in the army but are generally unknown to ordinary people.In fact, she was wondering if she should pick a time to have a good talk with Heinrich.After a long time of precipitation, she felt that she was calm enough, for example, she had understood the reason why he did this.

Elgar's military rank is indeed not very high, but the concentration camp guard is a high position that even some senior colonel officers may not reach. It is true that Heinrich is a member of the SS, but the armed SS and the Skeleton Army It is also that well water does not violate river water.Just like Eric once said, the Gestapo can't interfere with the Skeleton Team.

She went from an attempted murderer to an ordinary German citizen, all the way back to Paris from the concentration camp, without even a big deal of trouble. There was no doubt that Heinrich was in charge of everything.

Plus rescuing Pino, he must have paid something.However, Rosia never thought that he would use this method to pick people out by changing their identities.It also gave Pino the most authentic citizenship. He was betting on his surname and honor as a Junker noble. So, did she really just save a life?
She may have thought about getting married and settling down here if she couldn't go back to China after the war, but that candidate was never Heinrich, and she never thought about marrying an SS soldier.In fact, her current body has only just reached adulthood. During the war, marriage and love are really futile and futile. Regardless of men, women, old or young, no one can guarantee that they will live safely.

Also, with such an embarrassing identity, she will not know how to face the people around her in the future, how to tell Aunt Mesa and Pino, how to get along with Heinrich again, two people who hate each other. How can people survive this?

Rosia let out a long sigh, got up and went upstairs.There are many "dangerous items" in her room now. There is her notebook on the bedside table, recording what just happened and what may happen in the future. However, she can't remember the specific time and can only hang it alone. Try your best to guess slowly.

In 1942, a turning point in World War II, the United States and Japan went to war, the world's anti-fascist forces were established, and the hell on the Eastern Front opened its bloody mouth.

If there were no big mistakes, the Battle of Moscow was followed by the Battle of Stalingrad. She remembered that some German regiment was completely annihilated there.This incident is indeed tragic, so the middle school teacher was more embarrassed when it was mentioned.

She didn't know which legion Werner belonged to, and it would be useless to ask now anyway. There were too many cases of teams being broken up and then reorganized during the war.What's more, it's still dangerous even if you're not in that regiment. The Soviet Union is the grave of Germany.

Almost every time she sees a German soldier now, she can't help but think about the Eastern Front, thinking that their great youth can only be wasted on the battlefield. They are even just 20 years old, or younger than that, and they are still in college now. At such an age, here we have to bear the responsibility of protecting our home and country.On what basis, and for what reason, it is just the greed of one person in power that requires these young people to bear their lifelong faith with their lives and resolutely go to destruction in other people's territory, heading towards a road of no return that will never yield results.

Whenever she thinks of these, she can't help but feel sad for these people, and her feelings are deeper than others.Because there is someone around her who, because of a belief, will fight for his motherland until the last moment even if he has doubts in his heart.

Rosia couldn't feel their souls, she couldn't understand their madness, but looking at the contents of the notebook and gift box, she felt that she should do something, even if it was just in vain.

Rosia stood up, pushed open the door and walked inside. She walked around the second floor two or three times before stopping at the door of Werner's room.

Because he was only back for Christmas, he went home alone without his adjutant Creddy, but Rosia always had the feeling that there was a black-faced god standing at the door, and the cold seemed to be blowing into his heart.

After a while, she reached out and knocked on the door.

"Werner, are you asleep?"

A slight sound soon came from the room, and not long after, the door opened, and Werner stood behind wearing only a sweater and casual pants.

"what happened?"

"Uh," Rosia said a little unnaturally, "Well, can I come in?"

Werner was startled for a moment, then nodded and stepped aside.

Like a reckless person who broke into another world, Rosia carefully stepped into his territory. Werner closed the door behind him, keeping the cold outside.

His room was just like a human being, with gray-blue tones and a very deserted feel. There was a book on the bedside table, "Military Theory and On Blitzkrieg."

Rosia looked panicked and didn't know what to feel.

There was a simple and compact coffee table next to the window. She took two steps back and sat on the chair next to her. Werner was very casual and sat on the bedside and looked at her.

"Well, maybe, can I ask, when will you leave?" Rosia didn't know what kind of topic to start with, so she had to ask a crucial question first.

"I don't know, maybe ten days, maybe tomorrow." Werner said simply.

Rosia frowned: "Aren't you on vacation?"

"No, this time I came back with the commander to award the honor. I just came back by the way. I will leave immediately after the order is given."

"So, where are we going? The Soviet Union, Moscow? Or Stalingrad?" Rosia couldn't help but ask, she felt cold and never-ending.

Werner was slightly startled, then narrowed his eyes: "Who told you? Bettina?"

"No, I haven't seen her for a long time." Rosia felt that her rationality was slowly fading: "Living here, I think as long as you have a little common sense, you will know your intentions."

"..."

"Then, are you going to stay in the Soviet Union, and you will stay on the Eastern Front, and then in order to achieve something, complete some missions, etc., then..." Rosia felt that her mind was starting to get messy, and she herself was confused. I don’t know what I want to say or express, let alone whether the other party can understand me.

"Where is Aunt Mesa? She doesn't say anything, but she is worried about you all the time. This year, you were on the battlefield, would you know what happened to her?"

Werner frowned. He seemed to understand a little bit what she wanted to express, but he didn't seem to understand it completely. After hearing the last sentence of "battlefield", he could only say: "This is my responsibility."

"Responsibility?" Rosia wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. "What about Aunt Mesa? Isn't she your responsibility?"

Werner looked at her with some confusion. He probably felt that the cultural differences between the East and the West were a bit big, and he could not fully analyze the ingredients of this sentence.

Rosia thought his silence was just a guilty conscience, and continued: "I think as a soldier, you should understand what this war can bring in the end. We can't stop you from doing anything, but don't you know everything? ?Are the deaths and sacrifices you have seen not enough for you to understand the nature of war? We are a family, but neither Aunt Mesa nor I can accompany you to the front line. Is it possible that what you asked us to wait in the rear is just anxiety? Are you looking forward to receiving a letter with no deadline, or waiting to open the death notice?"

Werner frowned: "What do you want to say?"

Rosia shook her head. She didn't know what she wanted to say or what she was saying, but: "Can you not go to the Eastern Front?"

There was a war on the Western Front and a war in Africa. Why did he have to go to the Eastern Front?

There wouldn't be death on the Western Front or in Africa, but at least it wouldn't be as despairing as on the Eastern Front.

Werner's brows never relaxed. Regarding this, he shook his head: "This is not something I can decide."

He thought for a while and then said: "I understand what you mean, but I'm sorry, I can't promise you anything."

"why?"

"My honor and loyalty! When I entered the school and heard the head of state's first speech, I had to say this." His calm voice made waves, as if he had returned to a few years ago, when he faced the whole world "You don't understand. You were not in Germany at that time. No matter what you hear later, you will not understand how desperate Germany was at that time. You can imagine but you will never understand how desperate Germany was in the face of hunger." The crazy feeling of wanting to commit suicide. I have never understood that just a treaty can cause a country to suffer so much. The whole of Europe and the whole world are squeezing us. Without the head of state, we will all die, and we will not survive now."

"Only the Führer, his spirit supports all of us, and he did not let Germany down. We have food since then and can survive in this tragic era. I am calm enough. I hope that my life is for Germany, not for Germany." To fight alone, I became a member of the National Defense Forces.”

"So, this is my responsibility. What I follow is also the footsteps of my father. He sacrificed his life for Germany. I can't live in the rear fearing death."

Rosia had mixed feelings in her heart, and once again felt that sad sense of powerlessness.People without faith can't understand what kind of power is supporting them: "I didn't keep you in the back, I just thought, maybe..."

"I know." Werner cut off her words for the first time. His expression was a little painful, but more of a firm, steel-like determination that would never be bent by anyone: "I know this, but this It cannot be changed. We should go to the most cruel and dangerous places, and the easier battlefields should be for the elderly veterans and children."

"My men and I also discussed at night, why are we fighting? They know that every day may be the last day, but they still move forward bravely, even if they die without complaint."

"I don't want to hear about their deaths elsewhere, and I don't want to regret my dead brothers alone later. To this day, I have participated in many wars, fired many times, and killed many people. You know, West Asia Is it? Faith and life, even if only one in ten million people insist on the former, the meaning of its existence has already exceeded the length of life."

"Germany is fighting for survival, and I cannot escape!"

　A five-thousand-word chapter, even if it’s a bit more!

　　They know that every day may be the last day, but they still move forward bravely, even if they die without complaint!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)