The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) by Christoph Fischer Page A
Authors: Christoph Fischer
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natural talent for planning and foresight, had known how to prioritise and had never once forgotten the daily routine tasks in the heat of other more pressing projects. That this capable young lad should be the first to jump ship was particularly painful.
Benedikt had at first tried to bully the aspiring pilot into staying and had threatened that should things not work out in Berlin he wou ld no longer be welcome back on the farm; a threat the old man had considered rather grave so soon after the big economic crisis in Germany. Yet the effect of his speech had been disappointing and Ludwig left regardless.
When Bernhard mentioned his own plans of moving , Benedikt had had enough. Everyone knew how he felt about Ludwig leaving but that did not seem to matter to the Berlin strand of the Winkelmeier family; these town folk from the German metropolis. They seemed to have their heads and noses too high up to think of anyone but themselves, to feel grateful to their benefactors or to consider their relatives as equals. He suspected that this was also the reason why none of the boys had taken to his lovely daughters, a fact that had always been beyond him, especially as they would come with a great dowry.
Apparently , the otherwise so reliable Ludwig, had a lot of fancy ideas in his head about flying and seeing the world, and Bernhard missed Berlin and what he called real city life. What a bunch of weaklings.
“The young er generation is nothing like they were in our days.” he lamented.
“At least the re are fewer mouths to feed now,” Johanna consoled him. “And at least one of the Winkelmeier family has shown staying power. Wilhelm has no intention of leaving. In fact, he told me that he is quite cross with them.”
“Be that as it may, he has got to go too,” Benedict said. “He is no use to us on the farm. The little he brings in from the bookshop is not worth our trouble. That should teach the family a lesson on how you treat the hand that feeds you.”
“Oh Benedikt, don't take your anger out on the boy. He is a young father. It is not his fault what his family has done. We are still relatives of his,” Johanna insisted.
“He is only staying because his wife is a bloody Jew,” Benedikt barked at her. “If she wasn't, don't you think they would have been on the very same train up north?”
“No , I think he would still have stayed here,” she replied confidently. “He likes it here and he appreciates what you have done for him. If you don't want to let him stay for his own sake, then please let him stay for mine. Greta would be very useful to have as a help now that Elizabeth has left.”
“I suppose you are right, there is not much harm in letting them stay. You just make sure that she pulls her weight and make it clear that they were very lucky we did not throw them out after what their family did to us.”
“Don't you worry, I certainly will,” she promised.
From the day of her arrival at the farm Greta had quickly got used to the hard work in the kitchen and on the fields. Once they had recognised her willingness and endurance, Benedikt and Johanna had started to become a bit friendlier towards her and later on to her son Karl. But it was only since her conversion to Catholicism that the Winkelmeiers had really taken to Greta and had started to treat her with genuine respect. They were also pleased with her moderate and obedient nature that never strained any one's patience. If encouraged, Greta could talk but she was mostly quiet and spoke usually only when spoken to, respectfully accepting her low place in the family hierarchy.
Since the departure of Elizabeth to Berlin , Johanna did not have to encourage Greta to work harder; the young mother felt the urge to prove her commitment and more importantly, lend her support to the farm quite naturally and made every conceivable effort to help wherever she could. Johanna had expected nothing less and started to invite Greta more frequently to
Benedikt had at first tried to bully the aspiring pilot into staying and had threatened that should things not work out in Berlin he wou ld no longer be welcome back on the farm; a threat the old man had considered rather grave so soon after the big economic crisis in Germany. Yet the effect of his speech had been disappointing and Ludwig left regardless.
When Bernhard mentioned his own plans of moving , Benedikt had had enough. Everyone knew how he felt about Ludwig leaving but that did not seem to matter to the Berlin strand of the Winkelmeier family; these town folk from the German metropolis. They seemed to have their heads and noses too high up to think of anyone but themselves, to feel grateful to their benefactors or to consider their relatives as equals. He suspected that this was also the reason why none of the boys had taken to his lovely daughters, a fact that had always been beyond him, especially as they would come with a great dowry.
Apparently , the otherwise so reliable Ludwig, had a lot of fancy ideas in his head about flying and seeing the world, and Bernhard missed Berlin and what he called real city life. What a bunch of weaklings.
“The young er generation is nothing like they were in our days.” he lamented.
“At least the re are fewer mouths to feed now,” Johanna consoled him. “And at least one of the Winkelmeier family has shown staying power. Wilhelm has no intention of leaving. In fact, he told me that he is quite cross with them.”
“Be that as it may, he has got to go too,” Benedict said. “He is no use to us on the farm. The little he brings in from the bookshop is not worth our trouble. That should teach the family a lesson on how you treat the hand that feeds you.”
“Oh Benedikt, don't take your anger out on the boy. He is a young father. It is not his fault what his family has done. We are still relatives of his,” Johanna insisted.
“He is only staying because his wife is a bloody Jew,” Benedikt barked at her. “If she wasn't, don't you think they would have been on the very same train up north?”
“No , I think he would still have stayed here,” she replied confidently. “He likes it here and he appreciates what you have done for him. If you don't want to let him stay for his own sake, then please let him stay for mine. Greta would be very useful to have as a help now that Elizabeth has left.”
“I suppose you are right, there is not much harm in letting them stay. You just make sure that she pulls her weight and make it clear that they were very lucky we did not throw them out after what their family did to us.”
“Don't you worry, I certainly will,” she promised.
From the day of her arrival at the farm Greta had quickly got used to the hard work in the kitchen and on the fields. Once they had recognised her willingness and endurance, Benedikt and Johanna had started to become a bit friendlier towards her and later on to her son Karl. But it was only since her conversion to Catholicism that the Winkelmeiers had really taken to Greta and had started to treat her with genuine respect. They were also pleased with her moderate and obedient nature that never strained any one's patience. If encouraged, Greta could talk but she was mostly quiet and spoke usually only when spoken to, respectfully accepting her low place in the family hierarchy.
Since the departure of Elizabeth to Berlin , Johanna did not have to encourage Greta to work harder; the young mother felt the urge to prove her commitment and more importantly, lend her support to the farm quite naturally and made every conceivable effort to help wherever she could. Johanna had expected nothing less and started to invite Greta more frequently to
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