I shrug because I don’t know much of how Danner ended up Dachau, but he’s there.
“What is this prison camp doing to Jewish people, Otto?” He must know they are executing them.
He shakes his head and closes his eyes. “Everything is so covert. I only see the people who are in the hospital block, but until last week I wasn’t crossing paths with anyone except other medical professionals working on the research I had been assigned. I told you we were being shuffled around.”
Otto seems to have a challenging time finding his voice and clasps a hand around his throat. He can’t possibly be in a state of denial. These camps that hold Jewish people don’t have a reputation of giving them simple jobs, a place to sleep, and enough food to survive. It’s the opposite, and worse. Much worse.
“What does this research truly entail, Otto?”
“I’m not sure. I mean—I think we may be…I just—” Otto averts his gaze to the popcorn plaster on the ceiling. “There are papers we have to sign tomorrow before any further information will be given.”
“What will I be signing? What will I be agreeing to?” I ask. I’m not sure whether he knows and would rather not say or is inthe dark like me, but he’s been there. He should know how they operate.
“I don’t know.”
It doesn’t matter. Knowing Danner is there, I can’t sit here and do nothing. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do but anything will be better than remaining ignorant to the truth of what’s happening behind those gates.
When Danner was forced to leave us four years ago to go to Poland, we had no way of helping him. I can’t let him down again. I won’t.
TWENTY-TWO
EMILIE
JULY 1942
Dachau, Germany
The next morning, the heavens above bear witness to me sliding into the passenger seat of the car, knowing we’re returning to a prison camp. There isn’t a right decision to be made. All I can do is pray I find a way to help the innocent. I’ll need to mask every emotion, each sawing pain in the pit of my stomach and the hiccups in my racing heart. No one can know I have ulterior motives. I have never considered being untruthful, unfaithful, or disloyal to someone I love, but now I’m forced to question whether Otto is capable of betrayal when it comes to his family.
“Are you feeling better this morning?” Otto asks, placing his hand on my knee.
I exhale sharply through my nose, still unable to fill my lungs. “I’m not sure I’ll ever feel better.”
He sighs and nods in agreement. “I didn’t sleep well. Hopefully, I didn’t keep you up,” he says. “My mind was racing much of the night, worrying about you—us, and this job.”
“You’re right to do so,” I tell him, hating to be so pointed. Otto has said there are two sides to this war, but there aren’t,and we can’t walk by as if innocent people aren’t being terrorized through a dictator’s orders. It’s Hitler against the world. We are all on one side except for him.
“Emi, if—” he begins to speak but clears his throat as if something is stuck.
“Yes?”
His hands tighten around the steering wheel, the plastic scrapes against the inside of his palms. “If you see Danner again today, I need to know you won’t interact with him. It will be a violation of the agreement.”
“What agreement are you referring to?”
“One that you will be asked to sign today about the research.”
I twist my head, staring at his pale profile, his veins bulging in his neck, and the tremble moving through him. “Did you acknowledge Danner yesterday after I left?” I ask rather than respond to his statement.
“I couldn’t, because I signed the agreement back in February.”
“You signed an agreement stating you wouldn’t be caught communicating with a man you’ve been friends with most of your life?”
“I agreed not to fraternize with the inmates, Emilie.”
“With the prisoners, you mean?” I lash back.
“Yes, you’re right.”
