Authors: Gilbert Morris
“Yes. You will remain here for the time being.”
“But, sir—”
Rahn laughed harshly. “I know. You’re anxious to get to the front. Well, you’ll get there, my boy, but I will need your assistance for a while. This is an important job. I know you young fellows think that killing the British is the only thing that counts, but the führer’s plan is complex. He has assigned you and me to the job of seeing that Holland is completely subservient to the will of the Reich. These Dutch are a stubborn bunch of fellows, but it is our job to see that all goes smoothly in the master plan.”
“But now that you’re here, sir, I don’t think it will take long for you to take hold and crush any rebellion.”
Rahn laughed. “Your father told me you would be champing at the bit, ready to go and fight. But as I told him and your mother, I will need your assistance here for a time, so let’s hear no more about it.”
“Yes, sir.” Erik was dissatisfied. He hated his service and longed to go to the front. If it had not been for Gabby’s presence, he would have been completely miserable. “Things seem to be going fairly smoothly, General Rahn,” he said.
The general gave him an austere glance, almost bleak. “You think so, do you, Colonel? Well, I do not.”
“You’re unhappy with the situation? In what way, may I ask, sir?”
“This resistance movement. It must be crushed at once.” Rahn laid his riding crop on Erik’s desk. “I know it’s hard to identify these traitors, but I’ve been studying your reports, Colonel, and I am not satisfied with them.” He punctuated his statement with a slap on the desk. It made a resounding noise, almost startling Erik. “They must be rooted out, every one of them!”
“It’s a little difficult, sir. They’re very clever.”
“I understand you’re holding four of them now.”
“We have four prisoners, yes, but they’re merely suspects. So far they haven’t confessed.”
“Confessed! The fools will never confess. Shoot them immediately!”
Erik blinked with surprise, and shock ran through him. “But, General, we’re not certain they’re guilty!”
“You were certain enough to arrest them. That’s enough for me. I want them shot at once. Tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Erik licked his lips nervously. He knew General Rahn was a cold, efficient machine, but this order startled him, and he rebelled against it inwardly. “Sir, give me a few days. If they’re guilty, they shall certainly be executed, but—”
“Colonel, you’ve been running a lax operation here. That’s why the resistance has not been crushed. I want these people to understand that we are the masters, and anyone who questions us will die. Of course, a few innocent ones may get killed, but that’s the nature of war. If you were at the battle-front and ordered to take a village, there would be civilian casualties. It’s unavoidable. We’re in a war here, Colonel Raeder, and these people would kill us all if they had the power. But they will not have it, for we will exterminate this
underground—every man, woman, and child involved in it. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good. Have them shot. Now, let’s get down to business.” Rahn sat down at the desk and laid his hands flat. “You’re a good soldier, Erik, but I want all security doubled. And I want all Jews and all gypsies rooted out.” He looked up and said, “I’m expecting good things from you now. I know that some of my orders will seem harsh, but you have not yet experienced war in all of its horrors. You will be moving out to a fighting unit soon, and I want to be able to write to your father and tell him that you are totally dedicated to the cause of the Fatherland.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Now, I want a meeting of all officers in exactly one hour.”
“I will go alert them.”
As Erik left the office, he felt a great weight settling on him. He had interviewed the four prisoners—three men and one woman. The woman was a housewife who had been caught on the streets after the resistance had pulled off a spectacular feat. She denied her guilt and wept when he spoke with her. As Erik moved stiffly along the corridor, he envisioned the woman tied to a post with a cloth over her eyes. He could almost hear the commands of the officer in charge of the execution.
Ready—aim—fire!
He shuddered as he imagined the bullets tearing into her soft flesh, crushing the life within her.
Mueller was coming down the hallway toward him, and it required all of his strength to say, “Lieutenant, the four prisoners will be executed at dawn tomorrow.”
Mueller’s eyes gleamed. “Excellent, sir. I will see to it myself. Will you attend the execution?”
“If the commandant orders it, I will. The general has called for a meeting of all officers in my office in one hour. See to it.”
“Yes, sir. Heil Hitler!”
Suddenly, the Nazi salute seemed to be out of place, but Erik forced himself to lift his hand in a halfhearted fashion.
“Heil Hitler,” he muttered and watched with disgust as Mueller hurried along, pleased with the execution to come.
How can any man be pleased that people who may or may not be innocent will be shot?
he wondered.
And a woman, no less. I hope and pray to God that I will never reach that point of enjoying seeing people die!
****
The cell had gathered in Betje’s apartment. It was somewhat hazardous, but since the group had never met there, it seemed to be only a small risk. She stood facing the small group and said, “You’ve all heard, I suppose, that the Germans are going to kill our friends tomorrow morning at dawn.” Her face was pale, and her lips were drawn into a set line. Her eyes reflected a rage that she was barely able to suppress.
“How did you find this out, Betje?” Karel Citroen asked.
“It wasn’t hard. The Germans want us all to know about it. It’s been announced publicly.”
“Perhaps I should talk to Colonel Raeder. Or perhaps you should go,” he suggested to Gabby.
“It won’t do any good for anyone to try to get him to do something. Raeder is no longer the commandant. Bruno Rahn, the one they called the butcher in the Great War, is now commandant. You know his reputation.”
“And Groot—he will be shot with the others?” Jan ten Boom asked.
“Yes, all four of them,” Betje said.
Groot Dekker had been taken in the operation, but everyone had been hoping that he would be released, since there was no real evidence.
“We’ve got to do something!” Jan exclaimed. “We can’t let them execute Groot and the others.”
“One of them is a woman,” Gottfried Vogel said, “and innocent at that. I know her. She’s had nothing to do with this operation.”
“The Germans don’t care about that. They’re out to teach
us a lesson,” Betje said bitterly. “We’ve got to break those people out of there.”
“Yes!” Jan said, his eyes brightening. “We can get enough men to fight our way in.”
“No we can’t,” Pastor Citroen said. “And even if we did, can you imagine the retribution that would come? Why, they would kill half the village if we did that.”
“But we can’t do nothing, Pastor!” Jan exclaimed. “We’ve got to help them.”
Citroen’s eyes dropped. He had no better answer for them. “It’s impossible.”
“What do you say, Dai?” Betje said.
“I agree with the pastor. I think it’s impossible.”
“I thought nothing was impossible for this God you serve!” Betje cried. “Isn’t there a verse in the Bible that says something like that?”
Citroen was stung by her words and retorted, “Of course nothing is impossible with God, but—”
“But what? You think He wants that woman to die? And Groot and the others? Is it His will that these German swine kill our countrymen?”
“Betje, calm down,” Dai said. “In a war people are lost. I may be the next one to go, and if I were there in that cell, I would tell you not to try to rescue me.”
“I can’t think like that!” she said.
“Of course you don’t want to. We’re concerned about Groot and the others, but we have to look at the big picture.”
“You think of the big picture!” Betje flared. “I say if we can’t save one of our own, what use is there in fighting!”
Gabby had said nothing up until this time, and now she said, “Please, Betje, I hate to hear you speak like that. We all knew when we joined this cell that we might die, and it’s likely that we will. Some of us at least.” She continued in a quieter tone. “I’ll go to Erik. Perhaps there’s something that can be done.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Betje said. “Rahn is now the
new commandant and has given the orders, and your friend will obey them.” She felt defeated. She could not bear the thought of losing one of the cell. “Go talk to him,” she said bitterly, resignation on her face. “Little good it’ll do us!”
****
“I wish I could do something, Gabby, but it’s impossible.”
“But, Erik, can’t you at least have it postponed? The woman is totally innocent. She’s a poor peasant who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
He chewed his lower lip with a worried expression. “I’ve already tried to reason with General Rahn, but he won’t listen. He intends to set an example.”
“What good will it do to execute innocent people?” Gabby stood before Erik as he sat at his desk, her face twisted with the horror she felt. This was not someone being killed on a battlefield far away. This was her friend, Groot Dekker, an amiable, good-natured farmer. She had known Groot for years and had bought vegetables from him and laughed at his stories. The thought of him being executed was painful beyond anything she had known.
Erik shook his head slowly. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry, Gabby. It’s not of my making.”
A hot reply rose to her lips. She wanted to scream at him,
You could do something if you wanted to!
She knew, however, that he was not a cruel man; he was just caught in the complexity of the German war machine. Thousands were being slaughtered right now, and the machine would not stop for four innocent people. “All right, Erik,” she managed to say. “I had to try.”
“Gabby, I am sorry,” he said as he came around the desk. “If it were in my power—”
“I know. But could the pastor and I at least visit the prisoners?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll give the orders.”
“Thank you.”
Gabby walked slowly out of the office, feeling numb, and when she reached the outer office and found Karel there, she shook her head.
“At least you tried,” he said gently.
“The colonel says we can see the prisoners.”
“Good. I was hoping he would.”
A lieutenant came into the outer office. “I will take you to the prisoners,” he said. “Come with me.”
They followed the officer outside the main building, and he led them to a low rectangular building set off of the square. Two armed guards stood outside holding their rifles as the lieutenant approached. They both saluted, and one opened the door. The lieutenant led them in. “You’ll have thirty minutes. That’s all.”
Two more guards stood at attention while they passed into a room where the four prisoners were already waiting. Groot came forward at once and greeted them. “Pastor—and you, Gabby. Thank you for coming.”
Karel waited until the door shut and they were alone. “I wish we could do something for you.” He looked at the others, who had some hope in their eyes, especially the woman, and he knew there was no point concealing the truth. “Dr. Winslow has begged the colonel, but there is nothing he can do. The general has commanded—”
Even as he spoke, the woman began to weep. Gabby went to her at once and put her arm around her. Tears were coursing down the woman’s face. “What will happen to my children? My husband is dead. They will have no one.”
“I will see that your children are taken into a good home,” Gabby said. “I promise you they will be cared for.”
The woman looked up in disbelief. “You promise?”
“Yes, I promise. What are their names? Let me write them down.”
Karel watched as Gabby took the woman over to a table and began to write the information down. He tried to think of some words of assurance he could give to Groot but for
the life of him could not think of anything to say. He had spoken with dying people before, but they had always been on a sickbed surrounded by doctors with at least the possibility of life. But this big man who stood before him and the other three were as good as dead.
“You’re sad, Pastor,” Groot said.
“I am, brother. I would do anything to save your life, but there’s nothing to be done.” He lowered his voice. “Some in the cell wanted to storm the prison, but you know how futile that would be.”
“Ja, they can’t do that. We would lose more people.”
The two men stood talking quietly, and finally Gabby came over and put her hand on Groot’s arm, tears in her eyes.
“It is good that you will take care of Magda’s children,” Groot told her.
“It’s the very least I can do. Oh, Groot, I can’t help weeping for you!”
“Many have died for our cause, my doctor friend. I am an old man, and I am ready to be with my Lord.”
Gabby could not keep the tears back. She removed a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes.
“One good thing has happened in here. My friend Phillip here has accepted Jesus as his Savior.”
“That’s wonderful!” Karel exclaimed. “I welcome you, brother, into the church of the living God.”
“I should never have waited so long. I have heard many sermons,” Phillip said. His face was pale, but his voice was firm. “And now I have wasted my life and can do nothing for Jesus.”
“You are dying as a believer. Tomorrow you will be in His presence,” Karel said with energy.
For the next few minutes they shared their faith in Christ with one another. Finally, the guard came and told them their time was up.
As they left, Gabby embraced Groot and wept. “I’ve heard
it said that Christians never say good-bye,” he told her. “I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”
Gabby managed to smile at Magda. “Never fear. I’ll see that your children are safe and taken into a loving family.”
“God bless you,” the woman cried faintly.
“Remember, I’ll be waiting,” Groot said with a smile.
The door closed, and numbly Gabby followed the lieutenant out. As soon as they were outside the building, she said, “I can’t stand this, Karel!”