Finding Hope

             Finding Hope

Suzanne Marsh

Buchenwald 1943

The train rumbled into the open area where the Jews were made to jump out of the cattle cars they had been transported in. Anna Strausberg jumped and hurried as she had been instructed to do. The huge wrought iron sign simply stated: “Jedem das Seine” (To each his own). Anna moved with legs that felt like they would buckle under her. She made it past the first selection, and was marched to a stone barracks; it appeared fairly clean compared to what she had heard about some of the camps. She was beautiful, with long black hair, deep soulful brown eyes, and alabaster skin. She had committed the crime of being Russian. She hid the small silver ring in the pocket of her dress, the guards searched there but never found the ring. Corporal Hans Kreutz watched her closely, he waited until she was alone. He sensed she wanted to speak to him but he could not imagine what to say to such a beautiful woman. Corporal Hans Kreutz hated being at Buchenwald, he could not understand why they were murdering people for no reason.

One cold afternoon in October, Anna Strausberg saw the Corporal, she knew she was on the list for extermination, he had always been very kind to her, so she waited until he was alone:

“Corporal, would you please see that this ring is given to a member of the Strausbert family?

I saw my name on the extermination list. Please promise me this?” Hans reached out his hand as she placed the small aquamarine and silver ring in his large hand:

“I will do as you ask, I will try to have your name removed from the extermination list, I wish

there were something I could do but I do not make the lists. I will return this to your family,

and I will tell them of the beautiful young woman.” With tears, Corporal Hans Kreutz turned on his booted heel and walked away. Later that evening he took the time to sew the ring into the lining of his jacket pocket. He would never forget the beautiful woman, not in his heart.

Buda, Texas 1999

The years flew by quickly for Hans Kreutz, his trunk with the Swastika painted on it remained concealed, under trunks and an old tarp. He hoped never to have to reveal his true identity, he was simply a soldier carrying out orders, and he had not enjoyed torturing and killing the Jews for sport. Gretchen Kreutz was curious about her grandfather’s attic, she had been allowed to play with her grandmother’s things but she had never been allowed to see what was in the mysterious trunk with the funny line. She often wondered why such an ugly army green had until now never been opened. She was no longer a child, but a grown woman. She had to find out what was in that trunk; she went downstairs looking for her grandfather. She found him sitting in his favorite chair:

“Grandpa, why is the one trunk locked? The one from your army days. The old white-haired man looked sadly up into his granddaughter’s face:

“It is my past Gretchen, a past I have tried hard to forget. I can not and will not open that trunk,

please do not ask again.” Gretchen was taken aback, what was her grandfather hiding? What was in that old footlocker; that was locked and had been that way for almost fifty years? She would have to find a way to see what he was hiding, why couldn’t he just tell her and be done with it? She decided to look in the trunk when her grandfather was visiting his friend down the road.

Gretchen waited until she was sure he had gone, she went up the stairs to the attic, she knew her grandfather had been a Nazi soldier, corporal. She reached the foot locker and uncovered it. The swastika is painted in black on the army gray-green of the footlocker. She opened the foot locker, not knowing what to expect. There was his gray woolen uniform, his jackboots, his helmet. She saw a picture of him in his uniform, she did not recognize the buildings at first then flipped one of the pictures over it read: Buchenwald, 1943. She had studied history she knew what Buchenwald was.

She quickly closed the footlocker, my God what had she done? She knew she had to confront him, especially since he stated he had fought on the Eastern Front. Was he a war criminal? She cried for a few moments; then went downstairs to await his return.

Her grandfather returned several hours later, happy and humming Lil Marlene. Then she saw Gretchen’s face, her large blue eyes red from crying:

“What is wrong Gretchen? When I left to visit Mark you were happy.”

Gretchen felt remorse:

“Grandfather, I opened your old footlocker, I could not contain my curiosity. I am sorry I

should have done as you asked. I saw a picture it was from Buchenwald, were there?

Were you part of the murders that took place there?”

The old man sat down in his favorite chair, a faraway look in his eyes:

“Yes, Gretchen I was stationed at Buchenwald, I also requested a transfer, finally it came but not

before I saw people die. There was a beautiful Russian girl who they executed.” He held the uniform in his lap as if it were a living breathing thing:

“She was Russian, she gave me a small ring, hand me that small pair of scissors would you

please.”

He began to cut furiously at the lining of his uniform pocket, he felt around, then produced the ring that had remained hidden since that day she gave it to him:

“This ring she gave to me, she asked that I find a relative after the war and give it to that

person. Gott in Himmel I had forgotten about it but how do I go about that Gretchen?

How do I find a member of her family? I don’t know if they live in Russia or Europe.

Will you help me find this person?”

Gretchen already regretted nosing in that footlocker, she nodded her assent but said nothing. She rose from where she had been sitting and went to her bedroom where her computer was. She knew some organizations had records from the Holocaust but who they were and where they were. She pulled up several sights on her computer including the US Holocaust Museum, Arolsen Archives and The Holocaust-Tracing lost family members, and the Red Cross. Her grandfather had given her the name of the beautiful Russian girl: Anna Strausbert. She began with that, she took the laptop down to her grandfather and together they looked at photos that were on the site. Suddenly, a face appeared, and an audible gasp from her grandfather told her this was the woman they were searching for. The short piece said that she was Anna Strausberg, she had lived in a small Russian town, gathered intelligence, and worked with a resistance group. She had been captured and hanged. Gretchen stared at the picture for several moments, the girl was beautiful, and she saw the tears forming in her grandfather’s eyes:

“Does it say anything about where her family is now? “ Gretchen read on:

“Yes, grandfather, they are here in the United States, in Pennsylvania, would you like me to

see if I can get a phone number. That ring is beautiful grandfather, it should be returned

to her family.”

Once Gretchen found a phone number she made the call:

“Hello, may I please speak to Melinda Strauss?”

“Yes, this is she.”

“My name is Gretchen Kruetz, I don’t know how to explain this to you but my grandfather

has a beautiful silver and aquamarine ring that belonged to Anna Strausberg, according

to what I have read, you would be Anna’s niece. Your father was her brother I believe.”

Melinda felt as if this conversation was completely surreal:

“Why are you calling now? How did you find the ring, it was given to our grandmother by

Maria Romanov, she gave it to Anna.”

Gretchen was in awe:

“The Grand Dutchess Maria it was hers?”

Melinda could hear the shock in Gretchen’s voice:

“Yes.”

Gretchen had Melinda stay on the line as she went to get her grandfather, the old man’s voice began to quiver:

“Hello, my name is Hans Kruetz, I met Anna several times while at Buchenwald, she was so

beautiful, she gave me a ring that belongs now to you? We would like to return the ring

it is a reminder of good and evil.”

Melidna inquired as to where they were coming from, she took the day off from work. Hans and Gretchen flew United Airlines from Bergstrom Airport to Harrisburg, Pennslyvania, where Melinda met them. She took them to her home in Straussberg where they talked most of the day. Melinda, when they left felt as if they were part of her family, it began a long friendship with Gretchen and Melinda. Melinda wears the silver and aquamarine ring in remembrance of Anna.