Red of Berlin

Epilogue: In the End

Michael's point of view:

"Michael, I am sorry to have brought you here. However you have an honour that needs acknowledgement," one of the British employers said to me as Adèle and I walked inside the courtroom at Nuremberg. When he brought up an honour I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Honour? I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I asked. He chuckled and nodded his head as if correcting one of his own mistakes.

"Don't think much of it. Although we'd like you both to make your way to the platform when you're called. This is to announce Adèle's heritage, and of course, Michael, the fact that you have married her. A formal announcement is crucial," he replied. Adèle and I nodded although I couldn't stop thinking about this honour he spoke about. He walked away before I could ask him. I turned to Adèle, who although she looked lovely, appeared increasingly nervous.

"You don't have to do this. We can just leave now," I said to her. She sighed and shook her head, looking at me in an appreciative gaze. She wrapped her hand around my arm, holding it tightly but comfortably.

"No, this is the right thing to do. Let's find a seat," she replied. I nodded and walked arm-in-arm with her. We took a seat in the front row, and there I saw all the prosecuted men. I recognized a couple people on the stand. Hermann Göring and Rudolph Hess being the most noticed of all. I also recognized Hans Frank and Alfred Rosenberg, and a few others to name. However it wasn't important that I knew them. I'd rather like the block the fact out.

"Again, are you sure you want to do it?" I asked. She chuckled and nodded her head, carefully kissing my lips with her lush ones. I knew she wasn't fully okay with doing this, but she was pressuring herself to be. I didn't want her to take it too far but she seemed to be under as much control over her emotions as she possibly could.

"We would like to call Michael and Adèle Armbrüster to the stand for an announcement," the judge said. Our turn had come quickly. Adèle and I stood up as we heard a few gasps escape the mouths of many Nazi officials sitting across from where we were to present our confessions. I was fortunate to be able to escape what they were enduring, a death sentence no doubt. I was glad Adèle had inspired me to do what I had done, and not just for the reason that I was permitted to survive untried. But also for the reason that I helped save hundreds of people escape death and torture.

They motioned Adèle to the microphone before myself. She was a wreck knowing she had to go first, but I was confident she would succeed in her speech, whatever it was. I had a pretty good idea of what she might say to all of them. She cleared her throat as she made her way to the podium, taking a breathe before she began to speak. She seemed so innocent, so afraid next to that microphone. I hadn't seen her like that in such a long time that it seemed foreign. It reminded me of when I first saw her, in that rubble and broken wall on the floor of the dingy farmhouse she called home. Now there she was, clad in jewels and beautiful clothing, but the same expression as before, when all she was was red hair and rags.

"I'm sure a few of you know who I am. I may have dealt with you, promised you finance for the purchasing of your Jewish prisoners. I bribed you, and I charmed you, and you helped me in return. None of you suspected a thing. One thing you missed, a crucial thing, is that my name isn't Fleur Blanchett, nor is it Armbrüster. Before I married, I was Adèle Roche, a wanted Jewish fugitive," she explained. Her voice was not as shaky but it wasn't rounded and loud like I had expected it to be. She needed to raise her voice to gain some message from them. I watched as her eyes became glassy with tears.

"Right under your noses, I lurked and found ways to work around your fascist authority. I stopped you from killing, I raised a factory with Jewish employees, not slaves, employees. I paid them, we held them accountable for a wage. We treated them as people! We were humane and we didn't harm those that made a mistake! We treated them with good, a principle they had forgotten because of how you treated them! Now we have relinquished your fight for a Final Solution, and we are alive! Jewish people have lived, despite you killing nearly all of us. We are still here, and so we will remain until the end of time! My name is Adèle Armbrüster, and I am Jewish. My three children are Jewish, and my beliefs are Jewish," she admitted through shouts of passion and sadness. Her eyes were now filled with tears as I watched, letting my heart crack with hers. That was when she stepped off the podium.