Dec. 31, 1936
Berlin, Germany
"Look Mommy, all done!"
Greta Strauss glanced over as her daughter proudly set down the last of the dishes she had been drying. She smiled and said, "Very good Emma, do you want to help Mommy put them away?"
Emma nodded her head and put her arms out so that Greta could lift her up to reach the cabinets. Before she could, there was a forceful knock on the door.
Emma immediately raced for the door and flung it open to see who their visitor was. "Mom, it's Uncle Hans.", she called into the kitchen. Looking up at Helmut she asked, "Uncle Hans did you bring us any chocolate today? I'm sure Mom would let me have some, I just helped dry the dishes."
Helmut glanced down and replied, "No Emma, I have no chocolate today. I am here to see your parents, where are they?"
Emma thought and said, "Mom is in the kitchen and I think Dad is in the other room. Hey, do you want to play tea party again? It was so much fun last time. Daddy doesn't have a lot of time to play and Eric won't play at all."
Helmut pushed past her saying coldly, "No Emma, I am too busy to play with you step aside."
As he moved into the house, leaving the two men who accompanied him on the step, Greta moved to meet him.
"Hans, what a pleasure. Would you like-"
She broke off as she saw what Emma had not or did not understand. Her blood turned to ice as she took in the black uniform, the runes on the collar, and the SD patch displayed on the forearm. This man had Hans' face, but it was different somehow. It was hard and his eyes cold.
Something is wrong, she thought. Holding her hand out she said, "Emma get away from him and come to Mommy." Turning her head slightly she called, "Kurt get in here."
Kurt Strauss walked into the room with his son riding on his shoulders and asked with a smile, "What is it honey?"
Seeing Helmut, the smile slipped from his face. He set Eric down and told him to go to his mother who clutched both of her children tightly. Turning to face Helmut he said, "What is this? If coming here in that getup is your idea of a joke, it's not funny Hans."
"It is no joke.", replied Helmut. Stepping deeper into the room he continued, "Kurt Strauss, for conspiring to commit treason against the Reich and the Fuhrer, you are under arrest. You will come with me."
Kurt turned white and said, "No, I don't believe you. This...you can't do this to me Hans, we're friends."
Helmut sneered, "You are no friend to me, you are a traitor and will be punished." Nodding his head toward Greta he added, "Her too."
Looking to his weeping wife and confused children Kurt screamed, "What? You can't do that! Leave her out of this."
"By failing to come to the proper authorities with her knowledge of your activities, she is just as guilty of treason as you.", came the reply.
"That's insane", shouted Kurt," you can't arrest a wife for not incriminating her husband."
"The law is clear. For the sake of the children I suggest you both come peacefully. I am prepared to use force, but I would prefer not to in front of them."
"No, you'll just take their parents from them, leave them orphans. That's all.", sneered Kurt.
"The children will be well provided for, I have seen to it personally."
Filling his voice with all the scorn he could muster Kurt replied, "Well, how gracious of you. Tha-"
He was cut of by the sound of his wife's voice asking, "What will become of them? What will you do with my children?"
Helmut turned to her and replied, "I have gotten Emma a place in the local Bund Duetscher Madel, and I managed to pull enough strings to get Eric assigned to the Deutsches Jungvolk despite his age. From there he will continue into the Hitler-Jugend."
"You say that like you expect gratitude.", Kurt spat.
Rounding on him Helmut countered, "It's better than traitors like you two have the right to ask for! It's certainly more than I had to do. I could have sent them to an orphanage, but I understand that their parent's crimes are no fault of theirs. Count yourself lucky that I intervened personally in this matter."
Kurt stepped toward Helmut and said as he raised his fist, "Count myself lucky? You bastard, I ought to-"
Helmut placed his hand on the butt of his weapon and responded, "You'll do nothing. Do not believe for a second that I will not harm you."
As Kurt backed off he continued, "This has gone on long enough. You two will leave the children with me and exit the building. There are men outside waiting to take you into custody."
Sobs shaking their bodies, Kurt and Greta hugged their children close and kissed them. At an impatient cough from Helmut, they released them and headed out the door.
After the door had closed behind them, Helmut held his hands out to the children and said, "Come over here children."
Slowly, they moved to stand in front of the black-clad man. With tears in her eyes Emma asked, "What's happening Uncle Hans? Where are they going? Why was Daddy yelling at you?"
Stroking her hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner Helmut replied, "Mommy and Daddy have to go on a little trip. It might be a long time before they come back. As for the yelling, sometimes grown-ups just yell at each other. It doesn't mean that anything is wrong."
Emma looked doubtful and asked, "But, why were they crying if nothing was wrong?"
"Because they were sad about not being to see you and Eric for awhile.", he replied.
"What will we do while they're gone?", asked Eric speaking for the first time.
"Well, how would you both like to live in a special place with other little children? You get to wear uniforms,sing, and march a lot. There will even be camping trips and lots of sports. Doesn't that sound nice?"
Eric nodded and said, "That sounds like fun."
Emma asked, "Will you come to visit us Uncle Hans?"
Helmut looked down and smiled, "Of course children, as often as I can. Now we have to hurry, there are people waiting for you two."
Leading the children outside by the hand, Helmut passed them off to representatives of the organizations that would be guiding their development into proper German citizens. As the the cars pulled away he returned the children's waves and called out, "Goodbye children, have a good time. I'll see you soon."
Climbing into his car, he bid the driver take him back to his office so he could compile his official report on the operation that was even now beheading the resistance movement. As the engine roared to life, Helmut leaned back into his seat and reflected on a job well done.