EXCERPT: All for You: A World War II Family Memoir of Love, Separation, and Loss
Emil, a Jewish man in 1930s Germany, loves Deta, a Lutheran, but Nazi racial purity laws forbid their marriage. Desperate to find a place where their love can survive, they must separate to get away. Deta leaves for England, but Emil has to overcome red tape, resistance from his aging parents, and his own ambivalence before he can embark for America. With only telegrams and letters from Deta to sustain him, he does all he can to bring her and his family to America. But the clock is ticking as the war breaks out and the Nazis tighten their stranglehold.
From the heartbreaking news of November 10, 1938 (Kristallnacht) to the horrific revelations after the German surrender in 1945, Emil’s story runs the course of the war. Can he make his way in this new world? Will he be reunited with his beloved Deta? And will he ever see his family again?
Told by Emil’s daughter with the help of letters and historical documents, All for You is a true story about love overcoming despair and the impact the Holocaust continues to have on the rising generation.
EXCERPT
From Chapter 6: Deta Responds to Hitler
On July 3, 1937, then twenty-eight years old, Deta bid her parents, “Aufwiedersehen.”
“When will you be back?” her mother asked, sad to see her daughter go.
“In a year, I promise,” Deta answered, kissing her mother goodbye.
Luise accompanied Deta to the Heppenheim train station, from which she would start her journey. She suspected that Deta hadn’t been completely honest with their parents and that Deta’s plans involved Emil. But Luise said nothing and wished Deta a safe trip.
Sad to leave Emil and nervous about not speaking English, Deta was also excited. She was traveling abroad for the first time in her life. As the train passed the familiar countryside, she wondered what England was like and how the Hills would treat her.
In Mainz, Deta changed trains at the Hauptbahnhof. Would Emil be there? Even if he were, she knew they shouldn’t speak to each other. The embrace under the Bensheim railroad trestle was their goodbye. In the darkness that night, Deta had wanted to hold onto Emil forever; now all she could do was store his embrace in her memory. A few minutes remained before her train arrived. As Deta looked among the crowd on the platform, she recognized Emil with his briefcase. She walked slowly toward him, pretending not to see him, yet noticing the circles under his eyes, the sadness in his face. As Emil brushed past her, he slipped a small piece of paper into her hand.
At that moment, her train entered the station, and it was time to go. Holding the paper tightly, Deta climbed aboard and found a seat. She looked out the window, hoping to see Emil one last time. The platform was full of people bidding farewell to relatives and friends. It looked like they too were departing from Germany. Deta couldn’t find Emil in the crowd; he must have already left to catch a train to Frankfurt or to Guntersblum.
Deta carefully unfolded the paper in her hand and read “All for you!” The only signature was the tiny photograph of Emil at the table with the two glasses and the bottle of wine. Deta smiled. How handsome he looked! Had one of his photography colleagues taken the picture? The note and the photo gave her courage; she was ready for whatever lay ahead.
But Emil hadn’t left. He was still on the platform, watching Deta’s train depart. How would she fare alone in a foreign country among people she didn’t know? How would he manage without her support and encouragement? When would he see her again?
BUY HERE
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Dena Rueb Romero grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire, the daughter of a Lutheran mother and a Jewish father, both refugees from Nazi Germany. She graduated from Brandeis University and received an MA in English from the University of Virginia and an MSW from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. Her previous publications include Gretel’s Albums, a collaborative bilingual internet project with researcher Bernhild Voegel (www.birdstage.net/kleeblatt), and an essay about German citizenship in A Place They Called Home: Reclaiming Citizenship, Stories of a New Jewish Return to Germany. All for You is her first full-length book. Dena still lives in Hanover.
Category: On Writing
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