Blut und ehre - Blood and honour

Kurt Bormann stood with his head held high against the backdrop of the setting sun. Nobody would fail to make out the unusual smirk on his usual expressionless face. The deafening gunshots of snipers rifles and the consequent grenade attacks marked the arrival of the Hitler youth in yet another German village."Go ahead, bastards!’ Bormann said to himself, “you won’t find the trace of even a damn fly here!"

Kurt, a bigwig among the soldiers in Hitler Youth, was nothing less than a Nazi version of the classic Robin-hood. Fuhrer Der Juden. The leader of the Jews. That’s what the Semites called him. Kurt had been alerting the Jews about every possible Nazi raid hitherto. Indeed the next 'messiah of the Jews' after the Christ. This raid was no different. Kurt let a sigh of relief as the commander cursed his luck for perhaps the hundredth time.

"I'll butcher that bloody traitor, the redeemer of those goddamn Jews myself when I drag him out of his hiding!" roared the angry commander, whose unsuccessful raids were arousing suspicion among the seniors that he himself was 'the traitor’. The soldiers expressed their fury over the failed raid by rampaging the village. Every house burnt down. Farms destroyed, making it impossible for an observer to make out that it was the same peaceful village that stood there minutes ago. Kurt was hearing his colleague's 'theories' about the 'traitor' as the soldiers dragged an 8-year old girl out from a ghetto. Her face resembled that of an angel, in contrast to those demons dragging her. ‘Must be an orphan’, sympathized Kurt. As she was being taken to the base, Kurt wondered how those tears couldn't melt the hearts of these people. Devils they were. But, ultimately mere humans. Blut und ehre, blood and honor, their motto said. Slaughter of a child an honor? Bullshit, he thought.

Kurt glanced uneasily at the locked door, as he passed by it for having his dinner. He could almost hear the cries of the little girl in his head. As he was having the keys, Kurt opened the door ensuring no was around and peeked in. The poor thing was fast asleep, unaware of the horror that awaited her. Those gas chambers.... Kurt's mind raced back in time a few years ago. He was having a tryst those terrible days again in his mind. The sexual liaison with his childhood sweetheart, unfortunately a Jew, forcing both his girlfriend and their 3 year-old child to go into hiding. But it wasn't long before the Nazi storm troopers found them and had them slaughtered. The very reason Kurt joined the Hitler Youth. Not because of the love for nation. Rather because he didn't want to witness the carnage of thousands of innocent Jews. ‘I must help her' Kurt thought, his mind back in reality.

Midnight. Kurt hurriedly carried the sleeping child on his shoulders to Lake Hennessey. He had made the necessary arrangements for getting her out safely from this abyss. Kurt looked around and making sure he was not being watched, placed her softly in the boat that waited near the lake. ‘Enjoy freedom' Kurt whispered into her ears, before kissing her on the forehead. The boatman silently rowed through the beautiful, blue waters of the lake. Kurt saw the boat disappear and smiled in a pleased manner.

"You son of a bitch!” cried an infuriated voice behind him. Kurt turned back to see the fiendish look on his commander's face."You tried to frame me?!Who thought that I will be leading the smartest of my men to the gallows? The traitor is destined to die.” he cried, firmly clutching the pistol in his hands.

"You won’t have to”, laughed Kurt. He was convinced there is no way out because soldiers were approaching him from the camp. Obviously, as per the commander's orders. Then Kurt took a decision."You won’t have to”, repeated Kurt. He slid his hand into his pocket and took his luger p08 pistol out. He pointed it at himself. Smiling at the soldiers around him, he pulled the trigger. Kurt yelled in pain as his body fell into the lake making the blue waters suddenly turn dark red.

At least I could save the poor thing, he thought while enduring the last spasms. He was on his way to death and she, on her way to freedom. Blut und ehre