Disgusting animals.

Frederick and Edith ran back to the room and ushered everyone out the back door of the house. They stepped out into the cold night air where they saw two other trembling Jewish families with children huddled together. They were watching the synagogue burning to a black crisp. The gray stones that made up the walls would soon be the only remnants left of the structure that had been built nearly one hundred years earlier.

“Where do we go?” asked Edith.

“These people are animals,” said Grandpa. “Maybe Herschel made the right decision after all.”

“The children don’t even have clothes, Frederick,” said Edith. “They’ll freeze out here.”

None of the children had much clothing on. The girls were all wearing night gowns and Zammie had on his green shorts and his white shirt.

“We can go to the hospital. They’ll give us shelter for the night there,” said Frederick.

“The Catholic hospital?” asked Grandpa. “It’s on the other side of the woods!”

“Exactly. It’s away from here.”

The temperature continued to drop, and they needed to find shelter soon. Frederick led both his family and the other two families they met towards a dark wooded area on the other side of the village.

Zammie couldn’t help but look back at the burning town center as they scrambled towards the trees. He saw one man being thrown out of a second story window and landing with a thud on the cobblestone street. A lorry driver was being directed by another officer to drive his truck into different shop windows, smashing the glass and destroying the storefronts.  A pile of Torah scrolls and prayer books were burning in the middle of the square. All sorts of furniture had been pulled out of the houses and the synagogue by soldiers and boys and were being set on fire in the road. Marga’s favorite bakery where their Friday Sabbath bread was bought was engulfed in flames. A grand piano was pushed out onto a third story balcony and then tipped over the ledge by four cheering boys. The piano fell majestically through the air for a second before smashing into a million pieces when it crashed on the street below. Even after its demolition, the piano chords vibrated with a sonorous and melancholy tone.

“He’s dead,” said Frederick.

Zammie’s attention snapped back from the village to the group. They had just entered the forest when Grandpa noticed someone tied up to a tree. Frederick checked the man’s vitals and gave his verdict. The women and children stood back in horror.

“Disgusting animals,” said Grandpa. “Unconscionable.”

The young man from the village had been tied up to a large tree with rope. He had then been executed. There were several bullet wounds in his chest and one in his head. Zammie guessed he had probably been one of the first people to try and stop the burning of the synagogue. 

-- from Killing for Country

Now available at Amazon!

What made the Nazis so smart?

Herschel walked outside the hotel into the cool, early morning air and took in a deep breath of Paris. For a brief moment he wondered how many more such breaths he had left to take in his life. He walked along the sidewalk to the first open café he found and ordered a dark roast coffee and a butter croissant. He did his best to savor every bite, but he was too anxious to finish the pastry. He was a bundle of nerves. His brain was filled with thoughts of his parents and their current state of de facto imprisonment. He also thought of brown Nazi uniforms and their pompous arrogance; thinking they knew what was best for everyone. What made them so smart? How did they know what was best for everyone else? And how could someone as small as he get their attention and make them listen?

He had received a postcard from his mother a few days earlier. In it she had described their dreadful condition in the Polish refugee camp and it had filled his eyes with warm tears. He prayed daily for God’s inspiration for some action he could do that would help bring attention to the plight of his family in particular and the Jewish people in general. His young mind ran rampant with emotion, but he tried his best to think clearly. In the end he felt he had made the best decision possible given the limited means available.

After breakfast he continued his walk and found a small gun shop a few blocks further down the street. The sun was now up and the shop had just opened. Herschel looked at the small handguns in the glass case near the front counter.

The shop owner said something to Herschel in French, but Herschel didn’t know exactly how to respond. He noticed the yellowed, handwritten price tag on a small 6.35mm revolver. He pointed at the gun and the shop owner pulled it out of the glass case. He had some limited experience with small firearms, and this one looked similar to some of the guns he had seen in the detective movies he watched. Plus the price was right. He also picked out a box of bullets. The total came to 235 francs which nearly cleaned him out. 

Herschel put the gun and the box of ammo in his coat pocket and made his way towards the metro station.

-- from Killing for Country

Now available at Amazon!

Under Siege

Then the children watched as a gang of young men dressed in brown shirts and pants approached the synagogue just a few doors away and began throwing bricks through all the windows.

“No!” Marga gasped.

Other villagers threw torches into the synagogue and within seconds a large fire began to swell inside the sanctuary. Soon the flames were burning through the wooden roof.

“Who are those people?” asked Zammie.

“I don’t know,” said Marga. “I don’t recognize any of them.”

Marga noticed a few of the men who were wearing brown military shirts began walking towards her house. Nearly everyone in the street was carrying a torch in one hand and a large rock in the other.

“They’re coming this way!” said Marga.

“Are they gonna hurt us?” asked Susan. Her eyes were filled with terror.

Marga could hear her father and Grandpa talking downstairs. “Let’s go downstairs. Follow me!” she said.

Marga led the other children out of her room and down the hardwood steps. When the children arrived downstairs they found Frederick, Edith, and the Grandparents standing in the dark. They were all looking out the front windows.

“Stay back!” said Edith when she saw Marga.

“What are they doing, mother? Why are they burning the synagogue?” asked Marga.

At that moment a brick flew through the kitchen window with a loud crash and landed on the floor. Susan began crying and ran to her mother.

“Everyone, this way!” said Frederick. He herded his parents and the children towards a small room in the back of the house just as a second brick flew through another window and landed on the floor next to Zammie’s feet. Chipped shards from the brick and glass shot up and stung Zammie’s bare shins on impact. He was grateful he had put his shoes back on.

“Watch out, Zammie! Are you okay?” asked Kyla.

“I’m fine. Follow Mister Silbermann!”

Everyone went into the small room. Frederick kept the door open a little to make sure no torches were thrown inside the house. Grandma and Grandpa held each other close. Edith held one daughter in each of her arms. All three of them had tears streaming down their faces.

--from Time Trip #4: Killing for Country

 

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Festival of Purim

    

    “This blanket is so pretty.” Kyla was feeling the plush material of a red cloth that was hanging over a small wooden table. It was a vibrant crimson color that reminded Kyla of Little Red Riding Hood.

          “We use that as King Ahasuerus’s mantle during Purim,” said Marga.

          “What’s Purim?” asked Kyla.

          “You are a shiksa,” said Susan staring at Kyla with her wide, doll-like eyes.

          “A what?” asked Kyla.

          “Susan, be nice,” said Marga with a scowl. “It just means non-Jewish girl, Kyla.”

          Zammie looked at Kyla and grinned. “Yeah, she’s a shiksa.” Kyla ignored her cousin.

          “The Festival of Purim celebrates the Jewish people’s deliverance from Haman in ancient Persia,” continued Marga. “He had planned to kill all the Jews in the empire way back then, but his plans were ruined by Mordecai and Queen Esther.”

          “And how do you celebrate?” asked Kyla. “Are there dances and stuff.”

          “Yeah, people dress up in costumes, watch performances, we eat a lot. We also bundle up gifts for charity.”

--from Time Trip #4: Killing for Country

Images of recent Purim Festivals 

 

Read more about the Purim Festival here. 

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Adventure 4: Killing for Country

"I thought dying for your country was the worst thing that could happen to you, and I don't think it is. I think killing for your country can be a lot worse. Because that's the memory that haunts."

--Senator Bob Kerrey, Vietnam Veteran

From Civil War to Civil Rights . . .

From a simple pistol to the atomic bomb . . .

TIME TRIP #4: KILLING FOR COUNTRY
 is a journey through history 
unlike anything you've ever read.

The latest installment in the Time Trip series will push the boundaries of historical adventure once again, sending Zammie and Kyla on an epic path across three continents as they experience the lead up, breaking point, and culmination of war and its impact on the children who have to live through it.

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Dinner with Marga's Family

“A hero?” said Grandpa nearly dropping his fork. “Killing a man in cold blood makes no one a hero.”

“Herschel?” asked Zammie.

          “You think we should just stand back and take this treatment, father?” asked Frederick, ignoring Zammie’s question. “They boycott our businesses. They take away our citizenship. At what point do we say ‘enough’? Something must be done. We are Germans. No different than them!”

“Of course, Frederick,” said Grandpa, “but ‘doing something’ doesn’t mean killing a man. You’ll see this will give them free license.” Grandpa glanced at the front of the house. “As soon as we’re done eating we need to close the shutters. And don’t answer the door tonight.”

“What for?” asked Frederick. “You want to go into hiding? You think that will save us?”

“Enough. No yelling in front of the guests, please,” said Grandma.

“We’re not yelling, mother,” said Frederick.

Zammie was enjoying the hearty kishka sausages and potatoes he was given when he decided to speak up. “Excuse me. So that man that Herschel shot died?”

“Yes,” said Frederick. “Just a few hours ago, they said.”

“And now you watch what the Nazis will do,” said Grandpa. “Any excuse to tighten their grip on us.”

-- Dinner with Marga's family

from Time Trip #4: Killing for Country

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Parisian Police

Abraham was just about to open a new bottle of red wine when there was a knock at the door. He instantly fell back to Earth. Even before answering he knew who it was and who they were looking for.

“Evening officers,” he said. There were two Parisian policemen in dark blue uniforms standing on the porch of his small house.

“Evening, Mister Grynszpan. Is Herschel at home?”

“No, I told you before. He has left. We have not seen him for weeks.”

“I know you’ve told us that before, Mister Grynszpan, but we have received reports of a teenage boy entering and leaving your house late at night.”

“From who?” asked Abraham. “Who’s telling you these stories?”

“May we come inside, Mister Grynszpan?”

“Now? But I am just sitting down for supper.”

“I am truly sorry, Mister Grynszpan. It won’t take but a moment.”

          “Tomorrow,” said Abraham. “Come back tomorrow—“
          The second of the two officers, the much larger one, stepped up to Abraham, towering over him, and pushed the door open. He brushed past Abraham and entered the house.

          “What are you doing?” asked Abraham. “You have no right!” He did his best to feign indignation, but they all knew he was guilty of harboring a fugitive.

          “This will just take a moment, Mister Grynszpan,” repeated the first officer.

          The larger officer stomped through the tiny house, opening doors and ruffling through closets. After several minutes of searching and researching the domicile the large officer finally gave up.

          “I told you he’s not here,” said Abraham. His heart was pounding and he tried to hide the shaking in his hands. If only these officers knew exactly how close they were.

          “So you say. When he returns I want you to call us, is that understood, Mister Grynszpan? What you are doing is illegal, and you’ve worked too hard here in Paris to be locked up in jail for doing something so stupid.”

          The officer looked at Chawa, smiled and nodded. “Madam.” Then he turned and walked out of the house with the larger officer following closely behind.

          Abraham closed the door with his trembling hands. “Wine. Please.”

          Chawa brought him a glass of red wine and he drank it down in one gulp.

          “Animals,” she said. “Barging into our home like that.”

          “They’re just doing their job, Chawa.”

          “Their job is to interrupt your supper and search through my closet--?”

          She stopped when she heard the steps behind her. They both looked over to see their teenage nephew Herschel, now seventeen years old, creeping towards the front window to see if the police were gone. He had grown a couple inches since arriving in France. His hair was a rich, dark brown and his piercing eyes crackled with electricity.

          “You cannot stay here any longer.” Abraham stepped towards Herschel.

          Herschel knew this day would come at some point, but he was still taken by surprise to actually hear his uncle say the words.

-- Parisian Police 

from Time Trip #4: Killing For Country 

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

The Start of Kristallnacht

“What is it?” asked Kyla. She could now hear noises coming from outside; the sounds of voices in the streets.

“I thought I heard a crash,” said Marga. “There are people out here.”

“Who is it?” asked Susan.

Both Susan and Zammie were now awake as well. All three children rushed over to join Marga at the window. It was still dark in their room, but their faces were illuminated through the thin plate glass by the glow of burning torches being held by the people outside. Moving up the road towards the house they saw volunteer firemen dressed in heavy coats and helmets. There was smoke rising from a couple buildings a few blocks away from them.

“There’s a fire!” said Zammie. “And there’s another one!”

Crowds of people were now filling the streets. Zammie spotted several soldiers going door-to-door holding large, growling German Shepherds on leashes. Some of the villagers were throwing rocks and bricks through the windows of every building they passed. Why didn’t the police stop them? thought Zammie. Other people were tossing lit torches through the smashed windows of some of the storefronts.

Kyla saw a gang of men break down the door of one of the houses and barge inside. A few moments later she saw them dragging an older man and woman out of the house and throwing them in the street. The woman was crying hysterically and the old man was trying to calm her down. They were both in their sleeping garments.

Then the children watched as a gang of young men dressed in brown shirts and pants approached the synagogue just a few doors away and began throwing bricks through all the windows.

“What are they doing?” Marga gasped.

Other villagers threw torches into the synagogue and within seconds a large fire began to swell inside the sanctuary. Soon the flames were burning through the wooden roof.

“Who are those people?” asked Zammie.

“I don’t know,” said Marga. “I don’t recognize any of them.”

Marga noticed a few of the men who were wearing brown military shirts began walking towards her house. Nearly everyone in the street was carrying a torch in one hand and a large rock in the other.

“They’re coming this way!” said Marga.

“Are they gonna hurt us?” asked Susan. Her eyes were filled with terror.

Marga could hear her father and Grandpa talking downstairs.

“Let’s go downstairs. Follow me!” she said.

-- The Start of Kristallnacht

from Time Trip #4: Killing For Country

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Old Synagogues of Germany

Built in 1899, Roonstrasse Synagogue, located in Cologne, Germany, is one of the five pre-Nazi synagogues of the locality, which was destroyed on November 9, 1938 during nation-wide attacks on Jewish-owned property (Kristallnacht) when Germany was under Nazi rule. The synagogue was subsequently rebuilt during the 1950s. It is currently a center of Jewish community of Cologne, and consists of a community center, a small display of items associated with Cologne Jewry, and a kosher restaurant. The interior of the reconstructed synagogue has a vast blue dome.

The Erfurt Synagogue in Erfurt, Germany, was built around 1100AD. It is thought to be the oldest synagogue building still standing in Europe. It is currently used as a museum and permanently houses the Erfurt Treasure.

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Joseph Goebbels - Nazi Minister of Propaganda

Goebbels speaks to a Hitler Youth.

In the days following Kristallnacht, the German leadership announced that the attacks had originated as a spontaneous outburst of public unrest, and that it was in response to the assassination of Ernst vom Rath in Paris by Herschel Grynszpan. The Nazi Party chose to use the assassination as a pretext to launch this night of anti-Jewish attacks. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, was the chief instigator of the pogrom.  At his command, regional Party leaders issued instructions to their local offices, and violence began to erupt in various parts of Germany throughout the night of November 9 and the early morning hours of November 10.

          The rioters destroyed more than 260 synagogues throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Many of the synagogues burned throughout the night. Local firefighters had been told to stand down and to only intervene to keep flames from spreading to non-Jewish buildings. According to some estimates, the gangs of Nazi storm troopers had destroyed more than 7,000 Jewish businesses, set fire to more than 900 synagogues, while killing 91 Jews and arresting and deporting roughly 30,000 Jewish men to various concentration camps.

-- from Mini-Adventure #1

The Night of Broken Glass

Joseph Goebbels was born in Rheydt, Germany, on October 29, 1897. He was a good student winning a Catholic scholarship and eventually achieved a PhD from Heidelberg University. He became the Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism. His ability to push the Nazi message through impassioned speeches and simple artwork would help define Goebbels as an archetype for being able to mislead a large population of people into believing that even the most heinous activities could be done for the greater good. 

          Goebbels was under five feet tall with a bad limp caused by a bone operation as a child and in 1914 was rejected by the German Army. It was later claimed that he spent the next two days crying hysterically in his room.

Goebbels spent the next ten years writing novels, plays and poems. When he failed to find a publisher for his work he developed the theory that this was because the publishing companies were owned by Jews. He was also rejected as a reporter by the newspaper Berliner Tageblatt. 

          Goebbels joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in 1926. Goebbels described one of their first meetings with Adolf Hitler in his diary: "Shakes my hand. Like an old friend. And those big blue eyes. Like stars. He is glad to see me. I am in heaven. That man has everything to be king."

Famous Quotes by Joseph Goebbels:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”


“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”


“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street.”

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!  

Kristallnacht Survivors

Holocaust survivor Susan (Strauss) Taube shares her memories of Kristallnacht.

Holocaust survivor Johanna (Gerechter) Neumann shares her memories of Kristallnacht.

"Shtetl (Ghetto Life)" by John Zorn 

from the album Kristallnacht

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

Available at Amazon.com!