Germany, 1943.

I am surviving the Holocaust.
I survived as the ordinary German. We were subject to the leadership of the Fuhrer. He was the dictator, and we suffered. My papa didn't join the Nazi party, so he was punished. He couldn't find work because everyone was scared to get out of Nazi favor. The German society was about revenge. When Papa painted over slander on a Jewish wall, he was shunned. He was later allowed to join the Nazi party, but only to be placed in the war as revenge. Our Leader was afraid of defiance. Books with any anti-Nazi, or pro-Jew sentiments were burned. That is where I acquired The Shoulder Shrug.
I survived living in a town next to a concentration camp. I know that the Jews are suffering more than I did, but because of that knowledge, I felt some of their pain. When the detainees were marched through our town, no punishment was enough to stop me from helping them with some bread or a kind word. I watched for Max, hoping to see him, and yet hoping he got away. The memory of Max cowering in my basement is enough to make me resent this war.
I survived the bombings, although everyone else on Himmel Street did not.
My papa survived his military assignment, but others did not. He came home because of injuries. Others in the vehicle were killed. My papa was lucky. Lucky, and that was all.
The war is coming to an end, and Hitler will have much to answer for.
April 7, 1945