It is peaceful now, the lake silent and cold. I am the last as I look back toward the now-distant shore. My wife and my children are safe and warm in our home. I will never see them again, not in this life. The hoards from the north have made sure of that...
Chapter 2 “You know what?” Jack said to no one in particular. “These last eight months have been really busy.” Little Albert and Georgie took no notice but continued to bicker over some insignificant disagreement. “Is it really?” he continued, the sarcasm...
I thought I'd write a poem, I imagine it can't be hard, A few words that ebb and flow. Something avant-garde. Should it be a story? Write about a war? Something quite original, That's not been done before? What about a work of peace? In praise of friends,...
“The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is th...
Penny Lambert sat in the darkest corner of the bar, nursing a glass of Orange juice. She checked her watch... again! Still only ten o'clock. She had never felt so lonely and miserable. In fact, the whole week had been miserable. Only one week before, she...
Munich, Pasing. November 10th 1989. For Kate Madison-Becker, the day was turning out to be something special. Not that it wasn't anyway, especially since today was her Eighteenth birthday. Over in the corner of the living room, where the radiogram had onc...
Munich, February 21st 1945 Driving slowly along narrow country roads, Maria considered what Stefan had said about finding more fuel. She estimated that the twenty litres he had put in from the can would be enough for one hundred and fifty kilometres at be...
Geiselwind, February 21st 1945 When Maria and Katarina arrived at the scene of the disaster, they found chaos. A railway bridge that had been damaged in a previous raid had collapsed onto the road below. Unfortunately, just at that moment, a tram had been...
“Hi, Mum!” “Jeannie! How lovely to hear from you. Where are you?” “I am on the motorway. I'm finally coming down to see you at last! I hope it's alright at such short notice.” Jeannie Powell had not seen her mother for nearly two years, not since before t...
Zwickau, February 19th 1945 When Maria opened her eyes again, the room was in total darkness. The only light emanated from a thin gap under the door. From the other side, she became aware of the sounds of someone moving about. Beside her, Katarina still l...
Berlin, February 16th, 1945 Katarina lay motionless on the damp, cold pavement, almost hidden by the masonry that surrounded her. Her grey-coloured greatcoat blended in with the ruins. Not only did it help protect her from the elements, but it also hid he...
To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, bluejeans, and a red hoodie. Nobody looked. No one cared. She was just another customer with a laptop, like so many others in the coffee shop. She ordered a drink, waited patiently,...
Berlin, February 16th 1945 As Maria turned the handle of the apartment door, she pushed and stepped forward, only to find that there was nothing but empty air in front of her! She screamed as she fell forwards but kept a tight grip on the handle. Almost...
“Goodnight, Miss. Go safely, now.” I closed the door behind me, leaving the warm fireplace and friendly chatter behind, and stepped out into the cool night air. It had been a wonderful evening. I had only moved into the village the week before, exactly...
Katarina didn't sleep at all. After being arrested the previous day, she had been thrown into a cell in the basement of the Gestapo headquarters on Prinz Albrecht Strasse. The only food she was given was a bowl of thin soup and a small chunk of stale, gre...
