letter, he finally got a response.
Nick’s hands were trembling as he tore open the envelope in front of Alex and his
father and read what they said. There was dead silence. Alex was afraid that they
had turned him down. It had been almost three weeks since the general’s visit, and
the threat of labor camp, or worse, was becoming more real by the day. Ringling Brothers
was their last hope. Nick met Alex’s eyes when he put down the letter, and there were
tears in his eyes as Alex gently touched his arm to console him.
“My God, they want us,” he whispered, “it’s all here. Everythingwe need. They’re even going to post bond for us. We can leave.” The tears rolled down
his cheeks then, and Alex gave him a hug, let out a war whoop, and they could see
that Paul was crying too. It was both happy and bitter news. With luck, they could
avoid being sent to hard labor, but it meant they were leaving Germany forever, and
it had to be very soon. Time was running out.
Paul regained his composure quickly, congratulated his son, and said he would book
passage on a ship to America as soon as he could. He hurried off to make some calls
and was back half an hour later. He had booked Nick and the boys in first class in
two cabins, on the luxurious
Bremen
, which was leaving in four days for New York. It was willing to take the boxcar and
the horses with its cargo, and Nick and the boys would have to tend to them. It was
going to be their last voyage in luxury, possibly ever, or for a very, very long time.
Who knew when or if they would ever come back to Germany? The atmosphere was one of
jubilation and sorrow, excitement and despair. And when Nick told the boys they would
be leaving, everyone cried.
The six of them spent the next four days together, and Alex was relentless rehearsing
their act with them. Nick and the boys actually looked like an experienced circus
team by the day before they left. And Marianne and Alex and Nick’s father were planning
to accompany them to the boat. They were going by train to Bremerhaven, via Nuremberg
and Hanover, and boarding the ship there. And on the last night, Alex and Marianne
had them to dinner at Schloss Altenberg. The meal was superb, there were many toasts,
many silent moments filled with emotion, and a constant flow of tears. It was hard
for all of them. Lucas was the most excited, but he had no real concept that they
might never come home.
Their documents were in order, Paul had paid their emigrationtax, and thanks to the general, the Reich had given its seal of approval to the plan.
It was satisfied to see them leave. As far as they were concerned, there would be
three fewer Jews in Germany, which appeared to be what they had in mind, to either
force them to leave or strip them of all the rights they had ever had, or find some
excuse to treat them as criminals. Hitler was “reclaiming Germany from the Jews,”
and now suddenly Nick had become one of them, and so were his boys.
By the time they boarded the train from Bavaria to Bremerhaven, and saw the boxcar
with the horses loaded onto the train as well, all six of them were silent when they
took their seats for the long ride. There was nothing left to say. They had said it
all the night before: their hopes, their dreams, their regrets, their fears for one
another, their sorrow to be parting. They watched the countryside slip by, as Toby
and Marianne held hands, and they all fought back tears. Nick had a lump in his throat
the size of a fist when the train pulled into the station in Bremerhaven, and Alex
got up to help him oversee the move of the boxcar by crane onto the ship. The two
men looked at each other for a long moment, as they watched it with their hearts in
their mouths, terrified the boxcar would slip, and at that moment, Nick knew exactly
what Alex had done for him with his plan and his incredible gift. He had given them
a new life,
Nick’s hands were trembling as he tore open the envelope in front of Alex and his
father and read what they said. There was dead silence. Alex was afraid that they
had turned him down. It had been almost three weeks since the general’s visit, and
the threat of labor camp, or worse, was becoming more real by the day. Ringling Brothers
was their last hope. Nick met Alex’s eyes when he put down the letter, and there were
tears in his eyes as Alex gently touched his arm to console him.
“My God, they want us,” he whispered, “it’s all here. Everythingwe need. They’re even going to post bond for us. We can leave.” The tears rolled down
his cheeks then, and Alex gave him a hug, let out a war whoop, and they could see
that Paul was crying too. It was both happy and bitter news. With luck, they could
avoid being sent to hard labor, but it meant they were leaving Germany forever, and
it had to be very soon. Time was running out.
Paul regained his composure quickly, congratulated his son, and said he would book
passage on a ship to America as soon as he could. He hurried off to make some calls
and was back half an hour later. He had booked Nick and the boys in first class in
two cabins, on the luxurious
Bremen
, which was leaving in four days for New York. It was willing to take the boxcar and
the horses with its cargo, and Nick and the boys would have to tend to them. It was
going to be their last voyage in luxury, possibly ever, or for a very, very long time.
Who knew when or if they would ever come back to Germany? The atmosphere was one of
jubilation and sorrow, excitement and despair. And when Nick told the boys they would
be leaving, everyone cried.
The six of them spent the next four days together, and Alex was relentless rehearsing
their act with them. Nick and the boys actually looked like an experienced circus
team by the day before they left. And Marianne and Alex and Nick’s father were planning
to accompany them to the boat. They were going by train to Bremerhaven, via Nuremberg
and Hanover, and boarding the ship there. And on the last night, Alex and Marianne
had them to dinner at Schloss Altenberg. The meal was superb, there were many toasts,
many silent moments filled with emotion, and a constant flow of tears. It was hard
for all of them. Lucas was the most excited, but he had no real concept that they
might never come home.
Their documents were in order, Paul had paid their emigrationtax, and thanks to the general, the Reich had given its seal of approval to the plan.
It was satisfied to see them leave. As far as they were concerned, there would be
three fewer Jews in Germany, which appeared to be what they had in mind, to either
force them to leave or strip them of all the rights they had ever had, or find some
excuse to treat them as criminals. Hitler was “reclaiming Germany from the Jews,”
and now suddenly Nick had become one of them, and so were his boys.
By the time they boarded the train from Bavaria to Bremerhaven, and saw the boxcar
with the horses loaded onto the train as well, all six of them were silent when they
took their seats for the long ride. There was nothing left to say. They had said it
all the night before: their hopes, their dreams, their regrets, their fears for one
another, their sorrow to be parting. They watched the countryside slip by, as Toby
and Marianne held hands, and they all fought back tears. Nick had a lump in his throat
the size of a fist when the train pulled into the station in Bremerhaven, and Alex
got up to help him oversee the move of the boxcar by crane onto the ship. The two
men looked at each other for a long moment, as they watched it with their hearts in
their mouths, terrified the boxcar would slip, and at that moment, Nick knew exactly
what Alex had done for him with his plan and his incredible gift. He had given them
a new life,
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