The Plum Tree

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

“We just have to hope for the best and keep going,”

“When you’re in love, you can’t let anything stop you!”

Time was the only thing she had on her side, because it was the only power that could command change.

Christmas was an enduring milestone that came and went, while the world forever changed.

How long can a person live in fear of dying before it becomes too much?

“How will we live with ourselves if we do nothing?”

The only thing I can do is keep going. If Isaac and I think we can get away safely, so be it. If not, then we’ll wait for things to change. They have to change. For better or worse, they always do.

How will we change things in the future if no one talks about what’s been happening? The old tradition of denial and hard work hasn’t helped anyone.”

War makes perpetrators of some, criminals of others, and victims of everyone. Not all of the soldiers on the front are fighting for Hitler and his ideals. Just because a soldier is in the battle, doesn’t mean that he believes in the war.

Tell the world that it is the soldiers on the front lines who are burdened with the fear and guilt of the actual combat, while the guilty men hide in their bunkers and make life-and-death decisions for the world.

“Look calm and strong. No matter what they do, act strong. If you want to survive, you have to look like you can work hard.

“Listen. People are fighting for their lives, and that changes everything. You’d be surprised what people are capable of when it comes to saving their own skin.”

“It will be later, when this war has ended, when we go home, when we sit at the dinner table in our comfortable houses, after we kiss our wives good night, it will be then that we will dread the night. We know what visions will rise from the depths of our guilty minds. It will haunt us until the end of our days, and we’ll surely be spending eternity at Hitler’s side in hell. All of Germany will pay for our sins. You wait and see. Yet brutal actions become war crimes only if you lose.”

The ground would never be the same. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, the earth would take back the dead . . . and the earth would never forget.

“Brutal acts only become war crimes if you lose.”

“I think everyone is born with the will to survive. It’s just stronger in some than in others. Listen, I know it’s hard, but try to remember how lucky you are. You’re here, with your family. We’re all together, with a roof over our heads and food on the table. It’s perfectly understandable what you’re feeling, and you’ve got good reason to cry. But, bitte, try to be grateful for the little things. That’s what I have to do every day.”

So that’s how it happens, she thought. I’ll get distracted by life. The wounds will be covered by pleasant moments, moments that I used to take for granted. Hopefully, the pleasant moments will become more frequent, and longer lasting. Because if I keep living in the past, I won’t survive.

But all the love and hard work in the world won’t protect anyone from fate.