Goodness Alone Prevails

Year 1940

The World War 2 had begun. The Axis powers had launched a war against Allies. The Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and most of the Jewish population was either slaughtered, killed or brought to German villages as labour. Some of the Jews were brought to Koblenz, a village in Central Germany. Most of the youth in this village had joined the German Army, the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the regular German Armed Force.

“Kein Geld? No money...? Then you are of no use..!“ saying this, the senior soldier, Felix ,took his M37 German Pistol from his holster & without warning, fired a bullet straight into the Jewish woman’s head. Moritz helplessly kept looking on.

Felix & Moritz belonged to a group of 5 Policemen called Die tödliche 5 or ‘The Deadly 5‘,famously known for the harassment that they caused to the Jews. It was almost 2 years since they were ruling the Jews in their village. Felix and his friends knew everything of the German Army.

Moritz was troubled looking at this. As Felix proudly holsted his weapon back, Moritz pitifully told him, “She called me Bruder...as in an elder brother...!“

Felix quickly turned and looked directly at Moritz. “Soldat.. Listen to me.“ He then showed Moritz his shinning Army Batch.“ Do you think Der Fuhrer would have awarded me this medal,this post if I would been kind to those dogs..?“ They are a waste in this world...!“

As Moritz came home that day, he was thinking about his ambitions. I want to be a successful doctor..., he said to himself, and to be that, I should reach the neighbouring town Nuremberg for further studies. Youngest amongst The Deadly 5, about 16 years old, he was always ready to shift there, but as per the German Laws, only soldiers who had won the Medal of Honour were allowed to go there. Felix Jones, his senior soldier had won this Medal.

Moritz never liked the rules of the Nazi army. He was totally against killings,however, to get the Medal, he was ready to sacrifice his values. He only wanted to get out of Koblenz for attaining his ambition.

“Be kind to other people, Mori..“ his mother told him the next day as he started for his duties. Moritz nodded and smiled back, as only he knew the real story. Goodness always Prevails.

A couple of days later, Felix received a Telegram informing him to join in the Higher commanders in the German Army in the neighbouring town Nuremberg, owing to the Medal of Honour that he had previously won.

The 5 policemen were celebrating his success in a bar, including Moritz.

“Du Narr...!“ Moritz cursed a Jewish waiter boy serving the drinks, who accidentally dropped a glass on him, “You fool...! Can’t you do one thing right?“

That night,as Moritz lay down on his bed, he remembered how the boy was crying, how his mother was pleading to let him go. Felix forced him to shoot and Moritz had no option but to pull the trigger.

He remembered how his mother cried when she saw her dead kid. The other 4 policemen were laughing, cheering each other. But somehow, Moritz felt bad about this. I don’t belong here,he thought to himself, I don’t like killing people for the sake of any medal. But the next moment,he realised that he required the medal. That was his passport to move out of this village. But to gain the passport,he had to kill people & achieve the medal.

Suddenly, an idea striked Moritz. He sat up on his bed. Großartige Idee...!, he thought,Great Idea..! I need to kill to get the Medal......

Moritz was so thrilled with the idea that he couldn't sleep the whole night. He kept planning his moves .

“Du bist der Held ...!“ Moritz exclaimed as he met Felix the next day,who was now the Hero of the village,“ You are the Hero...my friend..!“

“Thank You,Bruder...!“ Felix exclaimed back.

“You’ll be gone permanently....before that, why don’t we spend some time together..?“ Moritz requested his senior.

“Sure Bruder,anytime...!“ Felix patted on his back and fixed a time the next day.

That day,Moritz hurried home early. He packed some of his important things in a bag. He took some money, some notes, a map, an extra set of uniform and pressed it nicely. He informed his mom that he was going for a major assignment for some days to the next town.

The plan that he had thought off, was about to be executed the next day.

Today, Felix was happier than ever. His train to Nuremberg was in the evening. He had scheduled to meet Moritz in the afternoon before he left. At the decided time, he reached the deserted Barn on the outskirts of the village in the fields.

Moritz took a local truck till the Barns. As he strode through the open land,he saw a faint outline of Felix. He was seated with his back to him. A perfect moment, he thought as he slowly moved ahead. Without making any noise, he slowly reached nearby Felix. He was seating still, with no movement, staring at the fields. Steadily, Moritz moved ahead and as he neared, he withdrew his knife. As he was about to stab Felix,he noticed something was wrong. He went ahead and looked at his face.

Felix was shot directly in between his eyes. Blood was oozing out from the wound.

Moritz was shocked. It was his plan to call Felix in the deserted fields. He had planned to kill him and grab his Ehrenmedaille, the Medal of Honour. It was his only way to escape out from Koblenz to the neighbouring town for further studies. Plus,in the past 2 years, Felix had killed many innocent Jews and Moritz considered this to be an ideal punishment for him for the harassment that he had caused to other people.

However, now someone had already killed Felix. Who could have done it? Suddenly, he remembered his Ehrenmedaille. Terrified, he opened Felix‘s travel sack. He found the Medal in one of the pockets. He remembered Felix telling him that the guards asked for the Medal before they were allowed to enter Nuremberg. Without thinking much, he grabbed the Medal, his travel ticket and ran towards the station.

After 8 long hours, the train reached the small town of Nuremberg. All the fleet of soldiers got down there. As Moritz neared the exit, he saw a person of the Schuzstaffel or SS, the German.Paramilitary, checking there medals. All those who had failed or forgotten their medals, were detained on the spot. Others were allowed to exit the platform.

"Where's your Ehrambaille?" the officer asked sternly as he looked at Moritz. As Moritz showed his medal, the commanding officer took a good look at him.

"You did good work, my friend..!" he said as he returned the medal to Moritz.

Killing people is good work for the Nazis, he thought as he exited the station.

Now he was on his own. He wanted to escape deep in the town of Nuremberg, work as a waiter or bellboy in the morning and study medical college at night.

"My friend, I have found out that you have done a great job. You received the Medal directly from our Fuhrer.” Moritz turned and saw the same soldier who had greeted him at the platform,” That’s the reason we are escorting you to Reich stag, the German Wehrmacht defence. You will have a good secured position there as a commanding officer in the army. "saying this, he ordered his troops to receive Moritz’s luggage.

"Sit down... Sir… " the soldier said as a jeep came and parked in front. Still annoyed, Moritz got in. As they were en route to the Reich building, Moritz saw some structures in the town were half collapsed, some were still burning due to recent bombings. There was war all around, and the beautiful town of Nuremberg had not escaped it.

Back in Koblenz, there was mystery running in the entire village. Four more bodies were discovered, all of them belonging to the Die tödliche 5 or The Deadly Five. No one knew who was killing them. The Germans put the blame on the Jews. All of the Jews, including women and children were arrested, tortured, beaten up and harassed, but no one confessed the crimes. They were then tied up and left to starve in the scorching winter. German police were confident the killers were from the Jews, probably to avenge the death of their fellow countrymen in the hands of the deadly 5.

Further investigations revealed that the killings may be done by a totally different person or someone from the village itself.

That night, as Moritz was lay down on his bed, he kept thinking about his ambition. The soldiers had informed him that he will be posted in Berlin as a commander, owing to the Medal that he had received. Moritz had robbed the medal, only because he wanted to escape out from Koblenz. He wanted to leave behind all his bad past, the slaughtering and the killing, everything that made him look guilty in himself. He wanted to see himself as a doctor who is helping injured people during the War. But the German Army was still posting hhim as a Commander to harass and kill more people. He then firmly decided to speak up for himself. If I don't do it now, I'll never be able to do it the entire life.

The next day, Moritz woke up and went for a stroll outside. World War 2 was till on. Half of Nuremberg was filled with Jews being tortured, harassed and killed. People, including small children were living on streets, being used as labour. Jewish women were brutally raped, tormented and killed. Bombings were quite common from the Allies. The corpses of dead Jews were then burned in open grounds. The strongest of the Jews were selected for labour which extended their life for some months.

Is this what I am made for? Moritz thought as he came to his quarters. Am I not human? Am I destined to do this? I robbed the Medal to enter this town, to fulfil my aspiration, to become a Doctor and help people, but again I’m forced to enter the German Army. He then sat up on the Bed. Now is the time. I should take stand for myself. I should keep doing what I always wanted to do…to help people.

“Bist du dir sicher?“ the joining Commander questioned on seeing Moritz’s entry application a week after. “You sure about this?”

“Es ist endgültig...“ Moritz replied sternly. “It’s Final. I’ve decided to become a doctor and help people.“

The German Commander frowned as he stamped his paper & allowed him to enter the Army Medical College.

Moritz was rejoiced. His dream finally was slowly coming true. He started the college next day itself. As days went by, he got totally engrossed in his studies and education. He enjoyed every part of his course. He also sent telegrams to his mother almost every week, but never received any reply.

“No contact is still received from him…” the first person in the Dark Green uniform with the Nazi badge on his left hand said as he went through the incoming telegrams.

“Irgendwas stimmt nicht...“ the second Person in the same coloured uniform said. “Something is wrong.He was quite attached to his mother. He must have sent something to her. She’s probably hiding something...“ he ordered the other two soldiers to recheck with their sources inside the local German Police.

“We need to find him as soon as possible...else the Soviets will come to know everything about the

Wehrmacht.” The second person said as he looked at the photos of Die tödliche 5, including Moritz.

Moritz was terrified as he read the telegraph from his mom. Through her sources, she had somehow managed to destroy all the telegrams received from him. She had also instructed him not to have any communication with her for some months, the reason being some people behind him nd also the murder of his 4 colleagues.

Moritz was totally shocked as he read this. What was Felix doing? Why were some people behind his 4 other colleagues and eventually him? What was Felix and the other 3 doing? He had no answer to these questions. Moreover, he had to keep his identity hidden, as exposing himself could only lead to him being arrested and executed.

Moritz further continued his studies. After the completion of the First term in 6 months, he joined the Town Hospital as a intern to manage his accounts. He worked under medical Practitioners and learnt the basics of medicine. Within a short time, he became popular amongst his colleagues

.

Most of the junior and senior doctors were told to be present for legal reasons during Mass killings and execution of Jews. However,Moritz politely declined it everytime whenever he was told to do so.

“Es ist gegen meine Prinzipien ...“ he told to the senior Commanders when questioned, “It’s against my principles...“ He was everytime acquitted from arrest for not obeying the commands,considering the fact that he had won the Prestigious Medal of Honour.

“ Bist du sicher?“ the first person in Dark green Uniform asked his assistant, “Are you sure?“

“Ja...Ja..!“ one of his soldiers said, “The mother of the absconding soldier...she’s getting telegrams from someone...but I can’t track who’s sending this to her...!“

The first person eyed him for a long time, thinking his next step.

The next year, by the fall of 1941, the Germans officially named the attack on Soviets as Operation Barbarossa, after Hitler officially authorised the action. This lead to a fierce battle between the Soviets and the Nazis, with troops of both the countries trying to invade each other.

“Warnen Sie alle ...!” Moritz woke up with someone shouting. Suddenly he heard explosions outside. “Alert all of them…!” someone screamed in the outside corridor. Moritz at once understood what was happening. The town was being bombed in the wee hours of night by the Allies. Moritz heard the engine sounds of Bomber planes flying low and dropping bombs. The Nazi anti-aircraft guns opened fire to them. In midst of absolute chaos, all the medical team was told to rush to the hospitals. Many injured people were coming in; however, only German citizens were to be treated.

Moritz started treating all the injured who came in the ward assigned to him. Some senior doctors warned him for doing this, however, Moritz never stopped. Irrespective of whether German or Jews, he kept treating all the injured.

By early next morning, the bombings stopped. The whole hospital was full with injured and dead people.

Moritz was treating one patient. He was dressed in Dark Green Uniform, with a Nazi badge on his left hand. Moritz recognised him from the Schutzstaffel, German Paramilitary organisation. As he treated his injuries, he saw his rucksack. To identify the injured, Moritz opened it. Suddenly he found a set of pictures. They were photos of his 4 colleagues, Die tödliche 5.

Moritz was horrified as he looked at the pictures.

As he further checked the documents, his photos with all 4 of his colleagues flashed out. All 4 of them were now murdered. Moritz was shocked.

“Ein Verräter, “suddenly the injured soldier spoke, “A Traitor. Your friend, Felix, was a Traitor to our country...! “ Moritz couldn't believe what he was hearing. Felix...a traitor..?

“He was helping the Soviets by giving information about our movements.“ He sat up as he continued, “He had got the Medal of Honour,but he never deserved it. All of his 4 friends, including you were spying us.and giving reports to the Soviet Army...!“

“But I never did anything....! I never even knew that Felix was doing it...!“ still unable to believe, Moritz replied back.

“The Schutzstaffel or the SS were clearly informed about a group of 5 people, who were spying on the German Army. The Soviets needed inside information from the Axis. Somehow, they knew that they will be under attack in the near future, as the Nazis had already captured Ukraine. The Russians needed to understand the entire plotting of ideas, the weaponry and the strength of the Wehrmacht. Therefore, using sources inside, the soviets found out a group of people who had been awarded the Medals, as through it they can be accessible to the most hidden and confidential information. "He then pointed at the photos of Moritz's four colleagues." These people were ready to do anything for money .They started working for the soviets, sending telegrams in coded languages. The SS with the help of German Army were monitoring every telegrams being sent. They immediately came to know about a set of coded telegrams being sent to a village in soviet. Having known the destination, the SS tracked the source."

"So it was the SS who killed Felix...." stunned with the cycle of events, Moritz answered.

"We were paying close attention to every incoming message in the Koblenz, as we knew one of them was missing. Subsequently, we tracked down your messages to your location."

He then removed out his gun. "We knew you would be present in the army.... But when we enquired, we came to know you were in a medical field. That's why we came here, to kill you...!" the soldier answered the last line glaring angrily.

Moritz couldn't believe he was staring straight at his killer.

“However, you were lucky. The Allies started bombing the town, and we had to run for shelter. I dunno where the other two soldiers who were with me are, probably dead by now. I was badly injured, unable to move. But you saved my life....! When you came to know who I am, you could have easily killed me...! But still you helped me... I am so much thankful to you for that....! "He then slowly sat up on the bed, "In return for your gratitude," he somehow managed to smile through an injured face, "I'll spare you. I'm letting you go alive. I'll telegram the SS that you were killed by us, however, we couldn't retrieve the medal back as the bombings started. I understand your mother will be troubled, but you can meet her later... Once this war is over and We Germans become the ruler of the world...! " he proudly patted his chest as he said the last sentence.

Moritz was happy and shocked at the same moment. His goodness saved his life today. His goodwill of doing well to others, always helping the needy today kept him alive and grateful. Goodness always prevails, he said to himself.

Moritz then continued his studies and kept excelling in every term. He kept his good work going, inspite of being harassed by his colleagues and peers for helping the Jews. No further investigations were done for him, as all the SS and Wehrmacht were totally involved in World War 2.

In the later years, Moritz totally stopped communicating with his mom. The war kept getting worse. Operation Barbarossa backfired on Germany, with its troops suffering massive defeats and severe casualties. Reich stag did launch an attack, but failed to utilise proper planning and more advanced infantry against the powerful soviets. As a result, the German troops started losing.

In later years, around 1945, the Soviets kept attacking every major city in the Germany. Finally, with very little army left, Hitler and his spouse both committed suicide in the Fuhrerbunker on 30th April, 1945. Germany was now officially lost. All the Nazi army and officials were arrested immediately by the Soviets.

Situations were not so different in the German towns. All the doctors who were present during the mass killings were arrested and detained.

The soviet army entered the Nuremberg town hospital. "Catch every doctor from here... No one escapes out..!"

The commanders caught hold of every doctor their including Moritz, who was now in his final year.

"Lass ihn gehen…!” a group of Jews shouted as they saw Moritz being detained. "Let him go…! He saved us everytime and helped us when others were kicking us out...! He is not like them... Let him go..!" the Jews started protesting his arrest. The Soviets then decided to let Moritz go.

This time, again his goodness and well being, his humble nature of helping people in need saved his life. I had taken the right decision, he felt as he thanked the Jews and other patients. I did well to people and good came back to me in abundance.

Goodness alone prevails.

With the war already ended and Germany lost, Moritz visited his hometown, Koblenz and his mom.

"I believed you...!" she said as she smiled with tears in her eyes, "I knew you will always do good to other people...!"

Two days later, Moritz was standing on the banks of the Rhine River. The river was still full of debris from the war, with dead animals and lost objects flowing and floating in it. He looked at the Medal of Honour, the Ehrambaille, in his hands.

The medal did bring him a lot of good fortune. It helped him enter the medical college and eventually become a doctor. However, this medal was awarded to the wrong person for the wrong reasons. This respected honour was given to a person who had killed many innocent people, tortured, and harassed a lot of them. This medal would always represent all the lives of the persons whose blood was the result of this honour. This medal would always bring him back all the bad memories and all the bad things he himself had done to many innocent people, just to get it and escape out.

Taking one last look, Dr. Moritz threw away the medal in the flowing river. As he turned and walked away, the Medal sunk deep into the depths of the river, taking with it all the bad and unwanted memories of the War.

THE END