My search for wood brings me to the patch of grass outside the cinema. It’s the first time I’ve been there in two weeks. The place has become our block’s local burial ground. There are three double graves among the rubble and the bomb craters – three married couples, all suicides. An old lady who is sitting on a stone, chewing away at something and tells me the details, with bitter satisfaction, all the while nodding her head. The grave on the right is for a high-ranking Nazi political leader and his wife (revolver). The middle grave, which is strewn with a few wilted lilacs contains a lieutenant-colonel and his wife (poison). The old lady doesn’t know anything about the third grave, but someone has stuck a stake in the sand with an inscription penned in red: ‘2 Müllers.’ One of the single graves belongs to the woman who jumped out of the window when the Ivans were after her. It has a kind of crooked cross fashioned out of two pieces from a door panel – shiny white paint – and fastened together with wire. My throat tightens up. Why does the sight of a cross affect us the way it does, even if we can no longer call ourselves Christians? Memories of early childhood resurface: I see and hear Fräulein Dreyer, with tears in her eyes, describing Our Saviour’s Passion in infinite detail to us seven-year-olds. For those of us in the West who were raised in the Christian tradition every cross has a God appended to it, even if it’s nothing but two splintered bits of door panels and a piece of wire.
Everywhere there’s filth and horse manure and children playing – if that’s what it can be called. They loiter about, stare at us, whisper to one another. The only loud voices you hear belong to Russians. We see one coming our way, with some curtains draped over his arm. He calls out to us, some obscenity. Now you only see them occasionally here or there or in troops marching off. Their songs strike our ears as raw, defiant.
I gave the baker 70 pfennig for the two loaves. A strange feeling, as if I were handing him something completely worthless. I just can’t believe that our German money still has any value. Erna the salesgirl was collecting all the ration books for the households still in the building, drawing up a list of names and the number of people in each apartment. Evidently new ration cards are in the offing. She came by wearing a flowery summer dress, all done up – a rare sight. For the past two weeks none of the women dared go outside unless they were dressed like low-lifes. I’m in the mood for some new clothes myself. It’s hard to grasp the fact there aren’t Russians knocking at our door, no one stretching out on our chairs and sofas. When I gave the room a thorough deaning, I found a small Soviet star made of red glass and a condom in paper wrapping. I have no idea who might have left that. I didn’t know they even knew there were such things. In any case, where German women were concerned they didn’t feel it was worth the trouble.
They took away the gramophone, along with the record featuring the old ad jingle (For the lady, for the child, everyone can find his style’). But they did leave a total of forty-three classical records, from Bach to Pfitzner, including half of Lohengrin. And the cover that Anatol had broken, which we gratefully toss into the stove.
It’s already evening. I’m sitting on the window seat, writing. Outside it’s summer, the maple is dark green, the street has been swept clean and is empty. I’m making use of the last bit of daylight, since we have to save on candles. No one’s going to bring us any new ones.
So now it’s over – no more liquor, sugar, butter, meat. If only we could get to our potatoes! But as of yet no one dares dismantle the basement barricade. We’re not sure they won’t be coming back, or sending new troops in. The widow preaches one sermon after the other, although not about the lilies in the field, which would be the only apt example for us. She’s spinning more gloom and doom, sees us all starving to death. When I ask for a second helping of pea soup she exchanges glances with Herr Pauli.
Anti-aircraft fire is rattling my writing. People say they’re practising for a victory parade; the Americans are supposed to be there as well. It’s entirely possible. Let them get on with their celebrations; they don’t concern us. We’ve surrendered. Nevertheless I do feel a new desire for life.
Moving along – now I’m writing at night, by candlelight, with a compress on my forehead. Around 8 p.m. someone pounded on our front door crying, ‘Fire! Fire!’ We ran outside, where everything was lit up and glaring bright. Flames were shooting out of the ruined basement two houses down the street, licking at the firewall of the neighbouring house, which was still intact. Acrid smoke came streaming out of a hole in the ruins and creeping up the street. The block was swarming with shadows, civilians. Shouts and cries.
