Free The Underground Reporters by Kathy Kacer Page B

several passionate poems for Klepy. “The jokes are getting tiresome. Besides, how can we continue to tell jokes when people are being arrested? It’s time to speak out. “
    “If we speak out as a united front, think of the power that will give us.Perhaps others will support us as well,” continued Ruda.
    “I disagree,” argued Karli Hirsch. “We can’t talk about resistance, or there won’t be a newspaper at all, and our work will come to an end. We have to keep it light. That’s what the community wants and needs right now.” His drawings still entertained their readers, despite their growing worries.
    “But don’t you see?” exclaimed Reina Neubauer. “The paper itself is a form of resistance. It almost doesn’t matter what we write. Just the fact that we produce it and circulate it is what’s most important. That’s what is keeping our community connected. If we get ourselves shut down by speaking out too much, all of that will be lost.”
    The reporters argued back and forth. Some were determined to keep the articles in Klepy carefree and humorous, saying that there were already too many reminders of the hard times they were all suffering. People needed to laugh and try to forget their troubles, not read about them in Klepy. Others, like Ruda, believed that the articles provided an opportunity to speak out more strongly against the Nazis and their oppressive rules. If it put them in some danger, that was a risk worth taking, to keep the newspaper meaningful.
    There was no resolution to this argument. But one thing was certain – the world had become a dark place. And in Budejovice, one of the only things to look forward to was Klepy.

CHAPTER 17
T HE O UTING
J UNE 1941
    One warm day, Rabbi Ferda, who was in charge of school excursions, announced to Mr. Frisch’s class that he was taking them to visit the viaduct where the rivers Vltava and Malse met. John was so happy. Outings like this were a highlight for him. The children enjoyed Rabbi Ferda’s company, and besides, John and his friends would be able to skip school. It was much more fun to be outdoors than stuck inside learning Latin!
    After lunch, they set off with Rabbi Ferda. For the most part, it was safer for the children to be away from town. The Nazis did not regularly patrol the rural areas. Besides, they felt freer in the country, away from the oppressive streets of Budejovice. Rabbi Ferda enjoyed being teacher and guide. On this day there was a lot of excitement in the group, and he had to work hard to keep the children moving. On the way, John and the others entertained themselves with silly jokes, tossing a ball and playfully shoving each other off the path. It was a long walk, and they didn’t stop until they came to the pond. Some dropped wearily to the ground, but others decided to go exploring. They crawled in and out of the largeplumbing pipes that carried river water to the town.
    Once they arrived at the quarry, John and the others found a place to play soccer and boxing. Who could blame them for being excited? It was warm, and they could run and play freely for the first time in months.
    John spotted Tulina playing with a group of girls. He wanted to be close to her and to talk to her. She was smart, funny, and pretty. It was difficult for him to hide his crush on her. The others were beginning to notice, and sometimes that was embarrassing. An article about John and Tulina had even appeared in an issue of Klepy:
It was reported that last week John was seen climbing the stairs to the Holzers’ flat, followed by several other boys. He wanted to tell his future mother-in-law that he was in love with Tulina. And you know, one of the other boys who accompanied John said that some boys had seen him kissing their younger daughter. Mrs. Holzer, although pleased that the son of the local pediatrician would be interested in the daughter of the poorest Jewish family in town, flew into a rage and threw the whole bunch of kids down the