At 4 am, Daddy went up to his office, also Sister Olga, our
diakoness, who could not stand it any longer. She had special
forebodings and had to put all sorts of things in order. Still
under the protection of the fleeing night, Papa and Sister Olga
dismounted our large sign at the building front, “Missiunea
Norwegiana pentru Israel” (Norwegian Mission for Israel). They had
recognized the danger. A friend came to your father during the
early morning hours and pled with him to hide. It had been plotted
to arrest or kill all Jews. This also was only told me afterwards, for
had I known it, I could have asked him to find shelter with Christian
(Gentile) friends. But just that was what he did not want to do in
order not to expose us and others to danger.
Slowly morning dawned, the saddest morning in your short life.
The shooting and thundering faded out a little, but bombs came
over the city again. Papa came down in the morning and told
us to stay downstairs all day. I was to keep the children quiet,
comforted, occupied. While your lives were filled with little,
insignificant things, something most terrible was occurring in the
streets outside, in that cruel city.
All Jews were driven together, every house searched for them;
and from everywhere one could see long trails of these poor
people, even sick ones and children; they were led through the
streets, toward the Police Headquarters. Everyone had to walk
with uplifted arms; when someone would lower them from
exhaustion or could not rightly move forward anymore, he was
beaten by the accompanying soldiers with their guns, or struck
with the bayonet. Old women who could not continue were
simply mowed down and left lying in the gutter. A Roumanian
priest for whom this slaughter had grown too much and who tried
to intervene, was shot down by his own people. German soldiers
and officers stood along the way, derided and photographed
with satisfaction that miserable march. I was not able to look at it
long—it was almost at the last after your Dad had been led away
with one of these sad columns and I followed to notify Sister
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