He smiled and wagged his finger back and forth. “Ah, that’s why they call it private. One more thing: I need to take possession of the financial books and records. Have them sent to my office at the city hall.”
“You have an office inside SS headquarters?”
Maximilian raised his eyebrows. “Yes, I do. I’m pretty important around here, in case you hadn’t noticed, and lucky for you that I am.”
“Why do you need our books and records? You have nothing to do with running our business.”
Maximilian smirked. “My business, Eli. My books and records. Don’t forget, it’s my company now. Be thankful that the Nazi command didn’t just give it over to some Berliner. You’d be out on your ass. I assured Herr Brigadeführer that I would personally keep an eye on the finances. He thinks we’re paying out too much in salaries.”
Eli’s face was turning red. He popped a finger on Maximilian’s chest. “You’re not touching my salary, my father’s salary or my brother’s salary, understood? Some of my foremen have been with us for years. You don’t reduce their salaries either. Understood?”
Maximilian took a step back. He spread his hands and smiled. “I don’t think there’s much I can do about that. With regard to the employees’ salaries, Globočnik knows he can get workers anytime for free. He’d just grab them off the street. As to your salaries, if General Globočnik wants to cut them, I’ll have to obey. I think you’d be smart to watch what you spend, because my sense is that he will cut you. He doesn’t like Jews making money in his city.”
“His city?”
“That’s what he says.”
“Well, there’s something you should consider, Mr. Fancy Brickyard Owner. If I don’t get paid, I don’t work. Are you going to run this brickyard by yourself? How will Herr Globočnik like that?”
“Don’t overvalue yourself, Eli. You’re not the only person in Poland who knows how to run a brickyard. I’ll get you what I can, but it won’t be that much.”
* * *
It was evening when Eli entered his home and laid the armbands on the table. “What are these?” Esther said angrily, as though she already knew the answer.
“Armbands. We are now required to wear them whenever we leave the house.”
“Why not just paint a target on our backs?” she said. “Then the Nazis won’t have any difficulty knowing which persons to kick or trip or push aside.”
“Esther…”
“Don’t Esther me. Have you seen what they do if you don’t move out of their way on the sidewalk, or if you dare to look directly at them, as though your eyes will tarnish them? They’ll push you over or beat you. Even women!” With the back of her hand, she brushed the armbands off the table and onto the floor. “I don’t want their bands of hate on my dining room table.”
“It doesn’t matter, Essie. It’s a law and they’ll punish you if you don’t comply.”
“I told you before, Eli, first they will mark us to separate us from society, then they will collect us and then they will eliminate us.”
Eli reached for her and wrapped her up in his arms. “Essie, does it make sense to tear your hair out? It’s only an armband.”
She looked up into his eyes and said softly, “Oh, my husband, I’m afraid you don’t see. It’s an armband today. Tomorrow it’s a yoke.”
CHAPTER TEN
LUBLIN, POLAND
DECEMBER 1939
WEEK 10 OF THE NAZI OCCUPATION
Jakob Rosen called his son in from the brickyard. “Eli, there’s a delegation from a Catholic church in our office, and they’re demanding to talk to ownership directly. I don’t know anything about their account and Maximilian isn’t around. I’d like you to come in and help me.”
Three people were waiting when Eli entered the office. The spokesperson was a woman in a long brown coat with a tan scarf and a soft wool bowler. “I am Lucya Sikorska,” the woman said. “I am the lay business manager of the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle.” She gestured to her right, to a petite woman with a black-and-white cowl and a cloth coat over her habit. “May I introduce Sister Maria.” Then, pointing to an elderly man in a floor-length cassock, she said, “And this is Father Jaworski.”
Eli wiped his hands on a towel. “Please forgive my appearance,” he said. “I was out working in the brickyard. We’re short of help these days. How can we assist you?”
“As I’m sure you know, our church was badly damaged in the September bombings. The entire southwest corner was destroyed. Our roof suffered major damage. We have been waiting for our repairs. I think we’ve been more than patient, Mr. Rosen.”
Eli looked puzzled. “One moment, please.” He pulled the project book off the shelf and thumbed through. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Sikorska, I don’t see a work order.”
Her lips tightened, and she quickly glanced at her companions. She pulled a paper out of her purse and slapped it on the table. “This is a receipt for the down payment given to Mr. Poleski, your account executive.”
Eli sighed and picked up the paper. “Received of Saint Peter the Apostle, the sum of 12,500 zloty as a deposit for wall and roof repairs. Detailed estimate to follow.” It was signed “Maximilian Poleski, account manager for Rosen & Sons Construction Company.”
“I am very sorry, Mrs. Sikorska. The deposit and the work order do not appear to have been recorded.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t have a record of repairs to be made to your church. Or a 12,500 zloty deposit. Did Maximilian ever come back to the church after you gave him the deposit?”
She shook her head. “We haven’t seen him since October.”
The priest stepped forward. “Mr. Rosen, we are not a wealthy parish. That deposit was given to your agent in good faith after we pooled all our resources. We can’t even hold a mass at Saint Peter in its present condition because it’s not safe. How can you allow your account manager to take our money and…”
Eli held up his hand. “Whoa, wait a minute please, Father. I haven’t allowed anyone to take your money. I didn’t even know about it until you came in. But Mr. Poleski was working for us at the time, and we will honor the deposit. He wasn’t exactly a manager, but he was an authorized salesman, and we will assume full responsibility. When can I come out to examine the condition of the church?”
“I am there at all hours,” Father Jaworski said.
“I thought it wasn’t safe,” Eli said.
The priest shrugged. He had a beneficent smile. “It is my church and I must tend to my flock.”
Eli reached over to shake his hand. “I will be there tomorrow morning.”
The group left and Eli turned to his father. “Wait till I get my hands on Maximilian.”
* * *
The wind was blowing hard from the northwest, bringing arctic snow and freezing temperatures into Lublin. It whistled down the streets, across the walkways and through the broken walls of the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle. Lucya Sikorska and Father Jaworski stood in the vestibule in their winter coats to greet Eli and his construction foreman just before the noon hour. Just as she had described, the southwest corner of the building had suffered significant structural damage. The brick and masonry had been blasted loose. Plywood boards, placed over a wide cavity in the fractured wall, were all that separated the church’s interior from the harsh winter elements.