“I have to park the car,” Kathie said. She gave him a smile that melted his heart. “Go see your aunt and uncle.”
Jordan kissed her again, then opened the door and stepped out onto the street. His uncle’s house loomed up in front of him, easily two or three times larger than they needed. But then, Rudolf and Mary had hoped for more children, even after they’d adopted Jordan. They’d just never had them.
He waved to Kathie – who started the engine and drove away – and pushed the doorbell, hearing it echoing inside the house. Perhaps he could talk his uncle into going to Kathie’s family tonight… but he knew it was unlikely. Uncle Rudolf would want to talk about his training, while Aunt Mary would want to discuss how Jordan could support a wife on his salary. Kathie wouldn’t be permitted to work, once she was married. Her family would never allow it, even if she was working for her father-in-law.
The door opened. “Jordan,” Uncle Rudolf said. “Welcome home.”
Jordan hugged the old man, then stepped backwards to take a good look at him as he led the way into the house. Uncle Rudolf was old, easily old enough to have fought – and been wounded – in the war. Jordan didn’t know much about his military service, but the small cluster of medals his uncle wore for Victory Day parades told their own story. Maybe he wasn’t Waffen-SS – his training officers had told him that the Waffen-SS was the best of the best – yet even the Wehrmacht didn’t give out medals like candy. Uncle Rudolf had been in some of the most intensive fighting of the war.
“Kathie’s just parking the car,” he said, suddenly awkward. He was no longer a child, but not quite a man either. “Uncle…”
“We have to talk,” Uncle Rudolf said. “Mary will take care of Kathie.”
Jordan felt a sudden lump of ice forming in his chest as Uncle Rudolf led the way into his study. It was a large room, crammed with books and bookshelves; Jordan, as a young man, had been absolutely forbidden to enter the chamber. Uncle Rudolf had always made sure to keep the door locked. But now, it just felt cramped and uncomfortable as Jordan took one of the hard wooden seats and sat down. His uncle had never been one for comfort while he was working.
Uncle Rudolf closed the door and took a seat himself, his blue eyes studying Jordan narrowly. “There’s something I have to tell you,” he said. “Something I wasn’t sure if you should be told – or not – at all.”
Jordan frowned. His imagination supplied too many possibilities. “Is it about Kathie?”
Uncle Rudolf blinked. “No,” he said. “It’s about you – and your parents.”
“My parents?” Jordan repeated. “You never told me anything about my parents!”
He swallowed, hard. His uncle was a calm and dignified man, rarely raising his voice… but he’d been furious when Jordan had started to ask questions about his parents. Jordan had been just over nine, yet old enough to get the impression that some questions were better not asked. He had no idea why. Hadn’t they been taught, at school, to honour their ancestors?
“No, we didn’t,” Uncle Rudolf said. “What you didn’t know, Jordan, you couldn’t tell.”
Jordan stared.
“You… you were six months old when your parents were uncovered,” Uncle Rudolf said, curtly. “Mary and I were already starting to realise that we would never have children of our own. She knew your mother, Jordan. When it became clear that there was no hope of escape, she insisted on taking and adopting you. I altered the records to create a false record, then took you far from your natural parents.”
“Uncovered?” Jordan repeated. “Uncle…”
“My elder brother was killed in the wars,” Uncle Rudolf said. “Even before then… we were not close. We certainly never lived together. It was easy enough to convince people that you were his son.”
He took a breath. “Jordan… your parents were Jews.”
Jordan felt his mouth drop open in shock. Jews? It was a joke. It had to be a joke! He’d been told, time and time again, that Jews were subhuman monsters. The pictures he’d been shown in school were of shambling cripples, twisted parodies of the human form. But he was no cripple, no monster! He’d showered beside hundreds of other recruits at the castle and noticed no difference. Jews…
“There weren’t many left at the time,” Uncle Rudolf said, remorselessly. “The smart ones fled to Britain or America before the war. Your parents were isolated, their names changed; they thought they could hide forever. But they were wrong.”
Jordan swallowed desperately to keep from throwing up. He wasn’t a Jew. He couldn’t be a Jew. And yet, his uncle wouldn’t have played such a ghastly practical joke on his adopted son. Jordan still remembered just how furious his uncle had been after Jordan and a handful of friends had played a nasty prank on the nearby shopkeeper. Uncle Rudolf had no sense of humour at all.
“I can’t be a Jew,” he said. The doorbell rang. Kathie would be standing outside, blissfully unaware of Jordan’s true nature. She wouldn’t want to marry him after she learned the truth… she’d never be able to marry, once word got out that she had kissed a Jew. “Uncle…”
“I am sorry,” Uncle Rudolf said. “But we told your parents that we would tell you once you were a man.”
Jordan wanted to scream. His world was spinning around him. Uncle Rudolf… Kathie… his real parents… and his comrades! What would they say if they knew they had welcomed a Jew into their ranks? And what would happen if the truth came out? A Waffen-SS Stormtrooper might pass unnoticed, but anyone who wanted to be promoted to high rank had to have Germanic ancestry that stretched back at least four generations. Uncle Rudolf was the Town Clerk, in a perfect position to alter the records to hide someone’s true origins, yet what would happen if the investigators discovered the truth? Even not being able to prove one’s roots would bar any future promotion. And the truth…
He shuddered, helplessly. It would come out eventually, he was sure. Kathie might be fine – her family roots were solid – but he would be killed… and so would his children, if they had any. If Kathie could bear the thought of touching him after he told her… and he couldn’t keep it from her, could he?
“Go to your room and think,” Uncle Rudolf said. “We’ll discuss possible options in the morning.”
“Damn you,” Jordan snarled. “You could have said nothing…”
“You needed to know,” Uncle Rudolf said. “I did try to keep you from joining the SS.”
Jordan bit off a curse as he headed for the door and walked up the stairs to his room. It was true. Uncle Rudolf had tried to forbid him from joining the SS, but Jordan had been determined. Everyone knew the SS was the finest fighting force in the world, always ready to protect the Reich against those who would tear it down. He’d wanted to be part of it, desperately. And he’d made it through training when so many others had not…
He closed the door and sat down on the bed, trying to gather his thoughts. But it was impossible. He was a Jew. Everyone knew Jews were inferior, yet he’d passed one of the hardest training courses in the world. And everyone knew Jews were monsters, but he was no monster. If he’d been lied to about that, what other lies had he been told? And Kathie… how could he marry her now? How could he live with the possibility of discovery hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles? There was no way he could live!
Quite calmly, he drew his pistol from his belt, placed it to his temple and pulled the trigger.