Free Legacy of Sorrows by Roberto Buonaccorsi Page B

been targeted seventy-seven times with heavy bombing raids during the war, and it had left the city with very little infrastructure. Everywhere he looked, he saw ruined buildings and people huddled in what was left of their homes. Long queues were lining up at the soup kitchens the Allies had set up to feed the population. He walked with a heavy heart along what was left of the once wide avenues of the city to his parent’s house on Friedrich Strasse. When he got there, he stopped outside the ruined building of what had once been his house and just stared at the wreckage. ‘This was my parent’s home. Where are they? What happened to them?’ He felt a fury welling up inside him, but it wasn’t aimed at the Allies for what they had done to his city, or what he could see in front of him. It was the Jews he blamed for all of this. Those damn Jews are responsible. Hitler was right. If there had been no Jews in Europe left to speak against us in America and Britain there would have been no war.
    He was about to walk away when he heard his name being called. He turned to see an old woman he recognised as a neighbour of his parents’. ‘Hans, is that you? Thank God you’re safe.’
    â€˜Mrs Prellwitz, it’s good to see you again. Tell me, do you know what happened to my parents? Have they moved away?
    Mrs Prellwitz joined her hands together as if in prayer. ‘They were killed in the last bombing raid. It was early morning and most of us were still in bed when they came. There was no warning. The bombs just suddenly fell. We had no chance. I was pulled from the wreckage with just a broken leg but my husband was killed.’ She started crying.
    Kuller walked away without a word.
    â€˜I’ll find somewhere to rent, then I’ll get a job’ he thought. ‘I’ve got enough money saved to last a little while longer. Maybe there’s a vacancy in a bakery; I’ve got the experience to handle that now.’
    He walked away without another thought for his parents. As far as Kuller was concerned, they were just another casualty of war and he had seen plenty of those.

Chapter 7
    I t was in 1960 when I found myself nervously sitting in the Maternity Hospital waiting for news. Maria was in the delivery ward having our first baby and I was feeling very anxious about the whole experience. What added to my nervousness was she had been in there for over twelve hours and I wasn’t allowed to see her. The doctor had said that the baby was tangled up in something or other and it was going to be a complicated job setting it free. It was moments like this that I felt my lack of a proper formal education. Because I had left school at the age of thirteen, I found myself ignorant of understanding things like how the human body worked. The doctor had mentioned things I didn’t understand but knew that I should, so I nodded my head as if I did.
    I heard the sound of a baby crying and it sounded as if it came from behind the green swing doors facing me. I sat upright in the chair and wondered if it was mine.
    Then, a doctor came out to see me. ‘Well, Signor Verdi, everything went very well, although your wife is very tired and she is resting at the moment with your son.’ It took a moment for this to sink in.
    â€˜A son, doctor? Are they both all right? When can I see them?’
    The doctor laughed. ‘Yes, they are both fine and I can let you see them both for a few minutes today, but that’s all. She really does need rest.’
    I got off my seat and followed a nurse into a small side room.
    Maria was lying in bed with our new-born baby in her arms and she indeed looked exhausted. Her hair was soaked in sweat, but through her tiredness I saw a look of joy in her eyes as she gazed at her baby. I walked up to them and gently kissed Maria on her cheek before kissing my son on his head.
    â€˜Are you happy Bruno? I knew you wanted a boy first so I thought I’d