Climate Of Change

Climate of Change

After the war, times were hard. We had overspent and the economy had fallen apart. Ingrid and I had been fine though. People would always need lawyers and we had managed well enough. But not everyone had done so well, so many had gone hungry, so many had died for lack of help. The weakest, as always, bore the weight that let the others survive. So was it really any wonder that the people had chosen to follow the first voice that promised change? They had kept their promises at least; people no longer went hungry as they once did.

We were expecting our first child, something Ingrid and I had put off while things were so uncertain. But now it seemed things were changing for the better. As we climbed into bed together I ran a hand over her stomach again and she smiled.

“Not long now,” I said to her.

“I wish it were sooner,” she replied. What was wondrous to me had become a burden she yearned to be free of. “Then we can share the sleepless nights together my love.”

“Are you still having problems?”

“Your snoring doesn’t help, but it’s just hard to get comfortable. Still, not long now.”

We began to settle down together and I reached out to turn off the light.

“Oh yes,” she said suddenly. “Remind me to get the new Doctor sorted out.”

I paused, my hand near the lamp. “New doctor? Did something happen to the old one?”

She looked at me as if I was clearly missing the obvious.

“Well, I shouldn’t really go to Doctor Goldberg any more should I?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

“Oh, you know. It’s nothing to do with him really. It’s just that, well, you know.”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“He’s Jewish darling.”

I sat up, surprised to hear her talk like the men who kept proselytising in the bars around Berlin. “Ingrid, really. You’ve not been listening to that sort of talk have you? You know Doctor Goldberg.”

“Yes, I’m sure Doctor Goldberg is a fine doctor, but there are plenty of Jews to keep him in business. I just think it’s probably better in the current climate to find someone else. I heard that some young men actually spat at Helga Schweiss and called her a dirty Jew when she came out of his surgery, and she’s not even Jewish.”

“Maybe that’s exactly why you should keep going to see him.”

“Hans, this is our baby we’re talking about. What if someone hurt our baby just because I’d stuck to some principle? You’ve seen how some of the men of the National Socialist party behave sometimes.”

“You’re not saying you agree with Chancellor Hitler’s new policies are you?”

“Well, not all of them, but you must admit they’ve turned the country around. Of course I think its unfortunate how some of the Jews are getting treated, but there’s no smoke without fire darling. I’m sure this will pass once things settle down properly. Anyway, Doctor Goldberg will be fine; he’s not one of those Jews.”

“Those Jews?”

“The ones they talk about. The ones they make the laws about. That’s not the people we know, it’s the lazy ones, the ones who aren’t working for a better Germany like the rest of us. I know the Chancellor’s policies seem harsh sometimes, but things were really bad and a few harsh measures had to be taken to make things better.”

“But it’s not getting better for some people.”

“Yes, but it is getting better for us. We have a baby on the way, we have responsibilities. I’m sorry for the Jews, I really am, but we have to think of our own future. I’m sure things will be better for everyone in the long run.”

I was about to reply when I heard a crash in the street below. It was the sound of glass being shattered, loud and sharp across the darkness. The climate in Germany was changing, shattering with the shop windows below, and I began to fear it was already far too late to stem the tide.