Chapter Eleven

"Hitler reveled in his unique creation (the new German flag). A symbol it really is! he
exclaims in Mein Kampf. In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the
nationalist idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan
man."
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer, p. 71-72.

1942

One afternoon my mother told me we had an apartment. I was overjoyed. Wed
been sleeping on the streets for six weeks now and I yearned for a real bed. So did my
mother. It was on the third floor again but it was facing the street and had a balcony. We
entered the apartment and encountered a musty smell so my mother opened all the
windows as we looked around. There was a large room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a
small entrance hall. But there was only cold water. Still, we had furniture and didnt
care that it was old furniture. There was a dark velvet couch with a flower print, a lamp
with long fringes and in the corner by the stove was a large round table with cane backed
chairs. It was old but well kept.

My mother told me the place belonged to an old man and that we have to pay him
something for the furniture. I was shocked and asked, "Are we putting somebody out
Mama?" My mother said that she was told the man went to live with his daughter and
that the place had been vacant for six months. He no longer wanted to return and besides,
it was the law to help women and children first. He had to give up the apartment.

My mother got in touch with this man and it was decided we would give him
150.00 marks for the furniture that turned out to be fifty years old. We were happy and
started to clean the place up. We even found pots and pans and a lot of things we needed.
For us it was paradise after living on the streets for so long.

I was also glad because we were back in our old neighborhood. My mother
planted flowers on the balcony which had a small table and chairs and large french doors
opening out to it. It was beautiful. Buildings in Berlin were designed like squares with a
courtyard in the center where the garbage was deposited, but it was also pretty with
grassy areas, trees and flowers.

Im not sure when it was, although I believe it was Hitlers birthday, but there was
an announcement on the radio telling us that we had to have flags hanging on a particular
day if our apartment faced the street. It was quite a sight that day. The streets looked
beautiful with all the flags lining them and flying in the air at every window, row after
row, four and five stories high. It was mandatory to put the flag up on special occasions
now, but there were some enthusiasts who displayed their flags in the rear too.

Soldiers were checking the area to see if all flags were being flown when I ran up
the stairs to my mother and told her to get a flag because the soldiers were checking. I
did not want my mother punished. "Dont worry," she laughed, "my flag is hanging." I
ran to the balcony but I saw nothing. "Mama please get a flag, it is important." With that
she shoved me onto the balcony and showed me our German flag that was about three by
five inches in size. I gasped at her and the flag while she laughed. "Well," she said, "it is
a flag, isnt it?" I had to admit, it was a flag. But then I heard heavy footsteps stomping
up the three flights of steps and someone banging at the door.

"Madame, open the door," someone demanded. I almost passed out with fear.
My mother quietly opened the door, very composed, and said, "Heil Hitler, Herr Officer.
What can I do for you?" Three pairs of heels clicked at the same time, "Heil Hitler
Madame. We noticed from the street that you disobeyed the Fuehrers order and did not
display our flag." My mother answered, "But that cant be!" she cried, "it may not be
large, but my flag is there." The three SS men were now in the living room and my
mother motioned for them to come and see her flag. As she spread the petunias aside she
took out the little flag and put it more toward the front of the flowers toward the street.

"With good eyes," she said, "you can see it from downstairs." The three officers
looked at each other and as I watched their faces I saw a very small grin around the
mouth of one of them. My mother told them that we had just moved in and the furniture
was not even paid for so she could not afford a large flag, but it was still there, regardless.
Then one of the officers asked my mother for her ID and when he saw that she was a civil
servant employee his entire attitude changed, thinking that she had to belong to the Party
with that kind of job. But she didnt. He apologized to her now and the three SS men left
in a friendly manner, one by one clicking their heels and stretching out their right arms
while bellowing, "Heil Hitler," and smiling.