Free Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf Page B

language lessons. Both were model German citizens: eager, smart, always prepared, and quick to criticize anyone who faltered in the slightest way, either in lessons or in her allegiance to the Nazis.
    Fräulein Krüger and the other instructors pointed them out as examples of young German women who "have the best handwriting" or "truly understand the German philosophy" or "will become fine German mothers someday."
    Everyone else seemed either jealous of them or irritated by the constant praise they received. But we were all too afraid of what Fräulein Krüger or the other adults would do if we openly defied or challenged either girl.
    Franziska was the teachers' favorite because she so completely embraced the Nazi philosophy of the adults around her. And she not only knew she had this power, she also knew how to use it.
    One day, during a lesson, Franziska was reciting a passage from a German poem. We had all worked hard the night before in the sleeping room, reading the assigned lines back and forth to one another, trying to memorize them. Franziska, of course, had memorized the poem quickly and seemingly effortlessly, while the rest of us had struggled.
    I wasn't surprised when Fräulein Schmitt called on Franziska to recite the first part of the poem. She delivered it perfectly, and Fräulein Schmitt lavished praise on her.
    "Now, Franziska, you may pick a partner to recite the second half with you, in unison."
    There was no hesitation from Franziska. "I would like to recite with Gerde."
    Gerde's face reddened. We all knew she had struggled most of all to memorize the poem.
    "All right, Gerde," Fräulein Schmitt said. "You and Franziska may begin."
    It was painful to listen as Gerde attempted to keep up with Franziska's pace and confidence. Franziska kept having to stop so that Gerde could check her book for a forgotten line. When they finished, Gerde's eyes were filled with tears.
    "Franziska, that was beautiful," Fräulein Schmitt said, clapping her hands together. "You are always so excellent with your studies. And Gerde, I don't think I need to tell you how poor your performance was. To be a proper German girl, you must study as hard as Franziska does, even if it means less sleep at night. Tonight you will not go to bed with the other girls. Instead, you will sit with the night guard in this classroom until you have learned to recite this poem as well as Franziska."
    Everyone studied harder the next time we had a poem to memorize. All of us were willing to forgo sleep because we were so afraid Franziska would use her power to humiliate us.
    ***
    I was glad that I had Liesel. We continued to make periodic visits to the church at night. One of us would stay awake and then awaken the other after everyone else was sleeping soundly. Together we would sneak out into the night to look up at the stars and sit in the small church and talk. These visits were what kept hope alive and made the center bearable throughout that second year.
    Inside the church we created our own place with our own rules. We called each other by our real names and talked about things from before. I told Katarzyna about my family, about Jaro and Anechka and Mama and Papa and Babichka. I let her hold Babichka's pin, and I described how Babichka had taught me to sew and bake. I told her about Terezie and the things we had done together and the birthday party we had planned but never had. Our time together felt comfortable and real, like the moments I had spent with Terezie. And I began to consider Katarzyna, like Terezie, a best friend.
    "I have three older sisters and an older brother," she said one night, after I had told her about Jaroslav being so nice to me at my birthday party. "Father was killed fighting the Nazis when I was still little, and my brother hates them because of that. And yet here I am, one of them."
    "But you're not a Nazi," I told her. "Not really."
    "I know. But sometimes it is hard to remember." We sat in the dark